T.C. Williams High School
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T.C. Williams High School is the sole public high school in Alexandria, Virginia. Named for a former superintendent of schools who served from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, it is located near the geographic center of the city, at 3330 King Street. It is referred to informally as "T.C." (rather than "Williams") by students, faculty and locals.
The school and its legendary former football coach, Herman Boone, were featured in the Walt Disney motion picture Remember the Titans, starring Denzel Washington. The movie depicted the integration of the Alexandria City Public Schools in the early 1970s, focusing on the school's successful football program. T.C. Williams remains one of the most diverse schools in Virginia, with a large number of immigrant students in addition to the black and white communities depicted in the movies. The school's atrium features hundreds of flags from countries that have been represented in the student body.
T.C. Williams is unique not only for its diversity, but also for its educational philosophy. Unlike most Virginia jurisdictions, students from Alexandria do not feed into statewide magnet programs such as the one at nearby Thomas Jefferson High School, thus avoiding much of the educational and economic stratification found in other suburban communities. That approach hasn't hurt T.C.--each year, dozens of graduates go on to elite colleges, and T.C. Williams has won numerous statewide academic and scientific competitions.
In addition to being academically successful, T.C. Williams is one of the first high schools in the nation to offer laptops to all of its students. The laptop initiative, which began in the 2004-2005 school year, provided every student with their own personal computer as well as campus-wide wireless internet access.
The school is also known for its nationally and internationally competitive rowing program, which has its own boathouse on the Alexandria bank of the Potomac River. The program has produced several Olympic athletes. T.C. Williams' Junior ROTC program is also quite successful, traveling to competitions up and down the East Coast.
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History
In the early 1960s, the City of Alexandria began planning for the integration of its public schools. T.C. Williams opened in 1965, and became the city's only public high school in 1971, serving 11th and 12th graders. Currently, the school serves 10th through 12th grades, with two middle schools serving the city's 6th through 8th grade students, and one school serving only 9th graders.
Increasing enrollment has strained the school's resources over time. In January 2004, the Alexandria school board approved a plan to build an entirely new school building on the current location of T.C. Williams in order to provide more space.
Notable alumni
Famous people which have attended T.C. Williams include:
- Jim Morrison, rock icon. Attended George Washington High School, which was replaced by T.C. Williams after desegregation.
- Angus King, governor of Maine, 1995-2003 (actually attended Hammond High School, a few years before T.C. Williams opened)
- Linda Miller, Olympic rower (1999 World Championships silver medal)
- Alexander Kerr, concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
- Dermot Mulroney, actor
- Diedrich Bader, actor
- Cass Elliot, solo artist and member of the Mamas and the Papas, attended George Washington High School before TC Williams opened
Academics
Alexandria recently became one of the first school districts to pay for its students to take Advanced Placement Exams, at a cost of more than $70,000 per year. T.C. Williams offers more than a dozen different A.P. courses, and is one of only only a few schools in Virginia to offer a course in organic chemistry.
External links
- T.C. Williams High School (http://www.acps.k12.va.us/tcw/index.html)