Woodson's History
When The W. T. Woodson High School opened
its doors to students for the first time in the fall of 1962,
it was not only the largest school in Fairfax County, but it was
also the largest in the state of Virginia. The Woodson campus
consists of a seventy-nine acre tract of land that was an operating
dairy farm until the school was built. The size of the site was,
and remains, the largest school campus in Fairfax County. Two
farm buildings remain, the white house known as "Woodson House"
and the one-time dairy barn still used by the county maintenance
department.
The original cost of building W. T. Woodson
was $3,300,000, a bargain by today’s standards. A unique feature
of the new high school was a full planetarium of both the northern
and southern hemispheres. Students from elementary and middle
schools continue to visit the Woodson planetarium as part of their
science curriculum. A vocational wing housed a program drawing
students from all over the county for classes in auto mechanics,
cosmetology, carpentry, veterinary science, and electricity. The
vocational programs were gradually phased out over the years and
students interested in such classes now attend Chantilly Academy,
a professional technical center located at Chantilly High School.
The original athletic facilities included two softball fields,
a practice field, two baseball fields, a hockey field, a 5,000-seat
stadium, and ten tennis courts. Added to over the years, the stadium
now seats 15,000.
The budget for the new school did not include
money for stadium lighting. The entire community joined in a fund-raising
plan called "The Light Brigade." Local businesses contributed
so generously that for at least fifteen years Woodson school activities
did not solicit funds from the Fairfax business establishment.
Patrick J. Cunningham, the first Director of Athletics at WTW,
led this massive fund-generating campaign. Within a year, the
stadium was lighted. The stadium is now named the Patrick J. Cunningham
Stadium. In 1962, the main gymnasium was considered huge with
a capacity to seat 1,400. In addition to the main gym, there was
an auxiliary gym then called "The Girl's Gym," and a "corrective
exercise gym." During the 1998-99 school year, the gymnasium was
named in honor of Paul "Red" Jenkins, a health and physical education
teacher who coached basketball at WTW for thirty-five years. The
auditorium, the largest in Northern Virginia at that time, had
a capacity for 1,200. The auditorium is now called Bedinger Auditorium
for long-time drama teacher Joan Bedinger. The W. T. Woodson High
School originally opened its doors to 1,800 Cavaliers. By the
1965-66 school year, enrollment reached 3,300, including 150 minority
students brought to Woodson as a result of the integration of
schools.
The W. T. Woodson High School was named
for Mr. Wilbert Tucker Woodson, superintendent of Fairfax County
Schools from 1929 to 1961. Naming the school after Mr. Woodson
broke a school board rule which prohibited the naming of a school
for a living person. The board made an exception for Mr. Woodson,
and, when he was told the new school was to be named after him,
Mr. Woodson replied, "I appreciate the honor very much, but I
think you made a mistake. I still think the old policy was good."
Until just a few months before his death in 1983, Mr. Woodson
was a frequent and honored guest at Woodson activities and he
continued to make his influence felt in the school that so proudly
bears his name. Making sure the proper name, "The W. T. Woodson
High School," was used took a major effort. Any faculty member
referring to the school name without including the "The" was assessed
a twenty-five cent fine which went to "The Light Brigade."
The first principal of Woodson High School
was Mr. Emory Chelsey. Mr. Chesley handpicked the faculty for
Woodson, luring away from other Fairfax County schools some of
their most talented teachers. He sought diversity, ability, and
strength of character. Not only did Mr. Chesley recruit Fairfax
County teachers, he also hired teachers who had been teaching
at places such as Duke University, the University of South Carolina,
and Johns Hopkins University, in addition to a number of retiring
military officers. With his dedicated Cavalier staff and enthusiastic
students, Mr. Chelsey established a school tradition of academic
excellence, competitive spirit, and school pride that still exists
today.
After just one year, Woodson grew by 1,000
students, and, in 1964, Mr. Chelsey proudly held the first commencement
exercises for Woodson students in the stadium. In 1965, Mr. Chelsey
left Woodson and the assistant principal for instruction, Mr.
Robert Phipps, assumed the role of principal. He held this position
until his promotion to Assistant Superintendent of Schools in
1968. At that time, Woodson’s third principal, Mr. William P.
Ladson, took command. Mr. Phipps returned to the principal’s position
at Woodson in 1972 and remained there until his retirement in
1981.
Many may remember "Hall Duty" from the
early years when a group of boys, known as "The Cavalier Corps,"
maintained order in the halls. Chosen for their leadership ability
and their reputation for high character, the boys wore blue Cavalier
sweaters as they kept order in the hallways. Others may remember
the lunch shifts beginning with a member of the Student Government
ringing a chime to signal the students to stand to repeat in unison
an ecumenical grace. Those days are long gone and a loud bell
now signals the beginning of the three lunch shifts. Grace is
no longer part of the Woodson day, but the 1998-99 school year
brought the return of the Pledge of Allegiance, now said at the
beginning of morning announcements.
The 1960’s saw a dramatic change in the
student body at Woodson. As the population rose, so did the hemlines.
Mini-skirts came into fashion, as did longer hair on the boys.
This caused quite a stir in the school community as questions
arose over just how short was "too short" and how long was "too
long." The faculty had to deal with girls with shrinking skirts
and boys with hair beyond collars. Parent and teacher groups met
to make a decision about whether to allow boys to wear collarless
shirts called "surfer shirts." The dress code mandated that boys
wear shirts with collars that were tucked into trousers worn with
a belt. Girls were required to wear dresses or skirts - no slacks.
One athletic highlight of the 60’s was Woodson’s championship
basketball team, which made it all the way to the state semi-finals
in 1966. The community united with students and faculty groups
in 1963-64 to oppose the building of the Tank Farm that now exists
on Pickett Road.
An increasing interest in the world’s ecology
in the 1970’s brought the celebration of Earth Day to Woodson.
For a number of years, each April, students were released from
class to view and participate in varied ecology-oriented activities.
However, an Earth Day celebration was not to be the most memorable
event of the decade. On April 1, 1973, at about 3:00 p.m., a disastrous
tornado struck the school and surrounding area. Fortunately, the
incident occurred on a Sunday afternoon when there were no students
in the building. The tornado caused such extensive damage that,
for the remainder of the year, Cavaliers attended classes at Oakton
High School. Oakton students attended morning classes and Woodson
students used the building in the afternoon. Round-the-clock work
crews completed repairs and The W. T. Woodson High School re-opened
in the fall of 1973. Woodson, which sits in what is known as "Tornado
Alley," was hit by another tornado several years later. Today,
students are often reminded of Woodson's tornado history and take
their twice-yearly tornado drills quite seriously.
The Bicentennial year in 1976 brought a
sense of patriotism to the Woodson community. Throughout the year,
various activities highlighted the national celebration. The 1970’s
also brought a new championship team to Woodson’s roster, the
nationally prominent W. T Woodson Latin Team under the sponsorship
of Mrs. Maureen O’Donnell. Mrs. O’Donnell would bring further
recognition to Woodson in 1980 when she was selected as Teacher
of the Year for the state of Virginia and awarded an honorary
doctorate from Yale University.
With Mr. Phipp’s retirement in 1981, Dr.
James Wilson became principal. Dr. Wilson oversaw the renovation
of the school which modernized the library and added the business
wing. Under Dr. Wilson’s leadership, the focus toward academic
excellence grew, as students became increasingly competitive in
many areas. Woodson welcomed the addition of GT and AP classes
to its curriculum and Woodson’s academic profile intensified.
The results were reflected in 1984 when Woodson’s "It’s Academic"
team made it to the All-Met finals and the math and English teams
each took first place in the Superintendent’s Academic Competition.
In the early 1980's WTW actually ranked first in the area due
to its number of National Merit Scholars and outstanding test
scores. Outside of class, Woodson students adopted the "Preppie"
look in fashion so popular in the 80’s.
Charles E. "Chuck" Billak, who had been
a biology teacher, WTW's first football coach, and an administrator,
became principal in 1986. He led the school until his retirement
in 1991. Mr. Billak was followed by Dr. Gary Miller. Under his
direction, Woodson saw the development of the Student Leadership
class during the 1990s. Dr. Miller was a familiar face in Leadership
as he co-taught the class. The annual highlight of this group
was the summer retreat to set goals for the new school year. This
decade also brought air-conditioning to WTW and the addition of
the "block schedule" with ninety-minute classes that meet every
other day.
Since its beginning, Woodson has had a
strong tradition of student activities. In the 1980s, Woodson
was ranked first and received the Washington Post Athletic
All-Around (all sports) Award. Fall football games are still held
on Friday nights and are well attended by students, parents, and
community members. The highlight of each fall is Homecoming Week.
Activities take place each day with evening activities such as
a bonfire and Powder Puff game. Each class builds a float and
Saturday morning brings the traditional parade through the Woodson
community followed by the carnival, football game, and Homecoming
dance. Many alumni members plan their visits home to coincide
with Homecoming. Athletics continues to be a part of the "Woodson
Way" and in 1999, both the girls' and boys' lacrosse teams won
state championships.
Music has also had a strong tradition at
WTW. During the 1960’s, the music department presented a mammoth
production each February known as the "Extravaganza." This tradition
continues with the choral event, "Dessert on Broadway." The Cavalier
Band, always an impressive organization, has won top honors in
national competitions. The orchestra performs at many school events
and is renown for its talented musicians. The spring musical,
originally called the "Senior Play," has always been a major part
of student life at Woodson. The choral group traveled to Vienna
and Paris this past summer and students actually performed at
Notre Dame.
In addition to the many good and contributing
citizens that Woodson has produced, some graduates have gone on
to incredible accomplishments. They include Andy Heck, a pro-football
player, now with the Redskins; Tommy Amaker, an All-American basketball
player at Duke who now coaches at Seton Hall University; and Michael
Weiss, U. S. skating and Olympic champion. Lynn Herring has played
Lucy Coe on television's soap opera "General Hospital" for many
years and Tommy Perelli is an assistant to Janet Reno, the Attorney
General, at the Justice Department. Cady Coleman, astronaut, recently
returned to Woodson to share with students a video of her July
1999 space shuttle mission. Many WTW graduates probably remember
Mrs. Ruth Opp, chemistry teacher. At the age of 87, Mrs. Opp now
lives in a retirement home and returned to Woodson for an emotional
reunion with Cady, one of her students from the 1970's. Mrs. Opp's
words of wisdom for the current student body were to "Think positively
and you can do anything." Graduate Maribeth Luftglass is now an
assistant superintendent with the county incharge of information
technology.
As The W. T. Woodson High School begins
the new millennium, it does so with some changes. Robert Elliott
replaced Dr. Miller as principal in 1999. In 1999-2000, the parents
worked to raise funds for technology as part of a matching gift
campaign funded by Texaco. The total technology effort includes
a state of the art video conferencing laboratory, as well as other
technological innovations.
Woodson's vision continues to look toward
academic excellence. Woodson is now home to a center for students
who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and a center for students with
emotional disabilities. The building is one of the most used in
Fairfax County, as it houses both Adult Education and Night School.
There is more diversity in the student population, now over 1,700.
Prom is still held before graduation, but now only a few days
before. Graduation itself is no longer held in the stadium, but
in the field house at Robinson Secondary School, and there is
the "Cavalier Cruise," an all-night graduation celebration. Soon,
the campus itself will change with the building of a new wing
for the Woodson Center which serves students with emotional disabilities.
Students continue to earn remarkable honors in all endeavors,
winning four state athletic titles in 1998-1999 and 1999-2000,
grand prizes at the county Science Fair, and numerous scholarships.
But for all of these changes, there are
still some things that remain the same. The W. T. Woodson High
School continues to be a spectacular school known for its great
scholars, musicians, and athletes. Alumni who return to the Woodson
campus often remark that things "look the same," as staff members
and students continue to follow the outstanding tradition of the
"Woodson Way."
*The following contributed to this page:
Patricia Hans, Pat Bowers, Linda Sudduth, and Red Jenkins.
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