School type Public, Secondary Mascot Warriors Website warwick.k12.pa.us District Warwick School District Superintendent April Hershey | Grades 9th - 12th Feeder schools Warwick Middle School Phone +1 717-626-3700 Principal Kristina Szobocsan | |
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Address 301 W Orange St, Lititz, PA 17543, USA Similar Manheim Township High Sch, Warwick Middle School, Hempfield High School, Manheim Central High Sch, Penn Manor High Sch | ||
Warwick High School is a public secondary school in the Warwick School District located in Lititz, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
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School history
Warwick High School was opened in 1956 and included students in grades six through twelve. Warwick Middle School was opened in 1971, which removed students in grades six through eight, leaving the current ninth- through twelfth-grade configuration. The school district now has four Elementary schools for grades K-12: Lititz Elementary, John Beck Elementary, Kissel Hill Elementary, and Bonfield Elementary. The school district has recently renovated the Middle School and HIgh School campus, which has provided several new athletic fields for various sporting events. The school district is most widely known for their Field Hockey program, which has produced several Division 1 athletes.
2007 racist incident
Warwick High School received press coverage on October 11, 2007, after three white students allegedly yelled racial slurs at minority students outside of the school building. As a result, the students were suspended, and Confederate flags were banned on school property. Several other incidents also occurred in the following days. In response, the community of Lititz commemorated the 2009 Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday with "a clear statement against racism."
2009 shot glass incident
During the prom at the Willow Valley resort on May 2, 2009, shot glasses were handed out as prom favors, contradicting the school's anti-drinking demonstration that was specifically directed at the prom. The junior class, which was responsible for ordering the prom gifts, labeled them only as "prom souvenirs", therefore not allowing the principal to identify and stop the shot glasses from being ordered.
School mascot
The high school's current mascot depicts the profile of a Native American warrior. Since 1999, Lititz residents, teachers, and students have criticized the mascot both as a racist stereotype and for misrepresenting a Native American religious symbol. The campaign to eliminate the mascot resurfaced during the 2009-2010 school year, as the district renovated the high school's football field; current plans call for a spear design in the center of the field. In 2010, the district removed the warrior logo from the high school's sign, replacing it with a black-and-red seal featuring the letter W. The warrior image has been used less frequently since 1999; since then, residents have suggested to the school board that the mascot be changed to something representative of Lititz, such as "Wilbur Buds," a well-known product of the local Wilbur Chocolate Company.
Fine arts
The school is well known for the strength of its music program, notably its marching band, which won three consecutive championships in the Cavalcade of Bands competition circuit from 2006 to 2008.
Club for the Integration of the Arts
In addition to success of the high school's curricular music program, many students also participate in a student-run organization called Club for the Integration of the Arts (CIA). Its main event, the coffeehouse, attracts upwards of 200 students (roughly 180 in 2010) and raised in 2010 $348 at a single coffeehouse. The proceeds are used to fuel art projects and curricula both within the high school itself and elsewhere. In 2010 proceeds were donated to Blackfeet Indians in Browning, Montana to help fund their initiative called "Sacred Grounds", an event similar to the CIA's coffeehouse.