Wando High School

History

Wando High School takes its name from the nearby Wando River, a major tributary of the Cooper River that divides Charleston and Mount Pleasant. The school opened in 1973 shortly after desegregation was completed in Charleston County.

In 2004, the new facility at 1000 Warrior Way in Mount Pleasant opened its doors. In 2009, principal Lucy Beckham was named the 2010 MetLife/National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) National Secondary Principal of the Year. This is classified as the highest honor for a secondary school principal in the nation. In 2014, Beckham stepped down from her role as principal, being replaced by interim principal Sherry Eppelscheimer.

After the new campus was completed, the old campus became a temporary home for other local schools while they rebuilt their primary campuses. First it became the home to Laing Middle School, and in 2010 Charleston County leased part of the property out to Buist Academy. When Buist completed its new downtown campus, it left and its place on the old campus was taken by Jennie Moore Elementary. This arrangement continued until the 2014-2015 school year, for which both Laing and Jennie Moore moved into their new facilities a few miles away. Demolition of the old campus was completed in the fall of 2016. Today, the only remnant of the old campus is the football stadium, which is still used by the Wando football team.

Campus

Situated on 110 acres (0.45 km²), the main school building is 433,121-square-foot (40,238.3 m²) in size. The grounds include a 4,800-square-foot (450 m²) field house complete with a 1,598-square-foot (148.5 m²) press box. Student parking spaces total 1,179, with 33 visitor spaces, 368 staff spaces and room for 20 buses. The layout of the school was based on the similar layout of West Ashley High School, one of Wando's cross town rivals.

Inside the school, there is a 906-square-foot (84.2 m²) performing arts center; the gym has over 2,560 square feet (238 m²); and the specialized food court has 780 square feet (72 m²). 27,800,000 tons of steel, 12,000,000 tons of concrete, over 800,000,000 bricks and concrete blocks and a total of 176 individual HVAC units were used in construction. The school has two multi-purpose fields along with separate fields for marching band practice, soccer, football, baseball and softball. There are also six tennis courts, a track area, and a shot put and javelin area.

Academics

According to data released by the South Carolina Department of Education, Wando High School earned an "A" letter grade for the 2012-2013 school year, substantially exceeding academic expectations put forth by the state in standardized testing and graduation accomplishment. The school previously earned a "B" for the 2011-2012 school year.

Wando High School received "excellent" scores on the Absolute Rating and Growth Rating metrics on its 2012 state report card. In 2012, 97.0% of students passed the state-mandated High School Assessment Program (HSAP). The four-year graduation rate was 85.3% in 2012, a slight decrease from 85.9% in 2011. The teacher retention rate was 90.2%. Based on 2011 financial data, the dollars spent per student was $6,834.

In 2012, the average student-teacher ratio in core subjects was 29.3 students for every 1 teacher. In total, 26.5% of students were enrolled in Advanced Placement courses and 64.7% of students were enrolled in career/technology courses. Wando High School is accredited with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Wando offers over 250 classes, including Advanced Placement, Dual Credit, Honors, College Preparatory, and Applied Technology courses. The addition of a "Ninth Grade Academy" improves the smooth transition of the change from middle school, to high school. All Wando students are to select a "major" and enter into one of the following "schools of study": arts & humanities; business and information systems; health sciences and human & services; and math, science, and engineering.

Curriculum

Athletics

Wando competes at the Class AAAAA level of the South Carolina High School League. Due to it being among the largest schools in the state, it is one of the "Big 16" schools for football. Wando's main rivals are the West Ashley High School Wildcats and the Bishop England Battling Bishops.

Boys' sports

Boys Basketball

Cross Country

Golf

Lacrosse

Soccer

Swimming

Track & Field

Girls' sports

Basketball

Cross Country

Lacrosse

Soccer

Swimming

Tennis

Volleyball

Activities

Wando boasts over 70 different unique clubs, including the National Honor Society, to The Rock Climbing Club, and the Dance Dance Revolution club.

Marching band

The Wando High School Marching Band [1] has won the SCBDA state 5-A championship 10 times with their 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015 shows respectively entitled Equilibrium, Watermark, Promethean Dreams, Incarnata, Beyond, Turn, Daedalus and Icarus, Immortal, It's All Wright, and Empire of the Sky. Turn included the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff, the changing of seasons and included a plume change. In 2005 the band had an undefeated season, achieving first place in every competition attended. The Band is also the second band from South Carolina to make the Bands of America Grand National Finals, placing 11th in 2009, 12th in 2011, and 7th in 2014. The first was Irmo High School. Additional achievements are listed below:

The band is under the direction of Bobby Lambert, and assisted by Jeff Handel and Lanie Radecke. Former directors include Scott Rush, Basil Kerr and Miller Asbill.

Chorus

The Wando choirs are led by Director Eric Wilkinson, Associate Director Mary Elizabeth Morton, and Associate Director Matt Taylor. In 2014, Wando Chorus was ranked 2nd in the State, previously ranking 3rd in 2011. Vernon Huff, Rodger Wiley and Marilyn Austin are former directors. Their website is wandochorus.com.

Tribal Tribune

Tribal Tribune|Wando's school newspaper, viewable online at their website, has won many awards including for the second consecutive year the Best in Show Award for newspapers over 17 pages at the National Scholastic Press Association Convention, the All-American Award from the NSPA for the sixth consecutive year, the Silver Crown Award for the second consecutive year from Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and the Gold Medalist award from CSPA. Tribal Tribune won the equivalency for a Pulitzer Prize in 2009 called the Pacemaker, under the direction and advisement of Mrs. Watkins for over 25 years. It also is consistently placed in the top 35 newspapers in the nation. It has received the Best in State of South Carolina Award from the Southern Interscholastic Press Association for the sixth consecutive year, an All-Southern ranking, the SIPA’s highest ranking, for the 16th consecutive year, and Best in State from SCSPA for five of the last seven years. Tribal Tribune's website is tribaltribune.org.

Engineering program

The Wando engineering program is one of the best in the state. Offering eight courses and an internship program, it is also one of the biggest in the state as well, with more than 400 students and a faculty of 5 teachers. In 2008, the Wando engineering program was named a National Model Site by Project Lead the Way. Teacher David Roemer was inducted into The Citadel's "Wall of Fame" in 2011 as the first ever STEM Educator of the Year in South Carolina. David Roemer and Katie Johnston sponsor the Engineering Club, which is home to several competitive teams including:

Notable alumni