Watertown High School (South Dakota) Explained

Watertown Senior High School
Motto:Enabling all students to succeed in an ever changing world
Location:209 9th ST NE
Watertown, SD 57201
Type:Public
District:Watertown School District 14-4
Superintendent:Jeff Danielsen
Grades:9-12
Athletics:AA
Conference:Eastern South Dakota (ESD)
Mascot:Arrows
Students:1,259[1]
Colors:Purple, Gold, White

Watertown High School (WHS) is a public high school in Watertown, South Dakota. The school was the first in the state and the second in the United States in which every student and teacher was issued a laptop computer.[2]

Academics

Watertown High School has a dual-enrollment program with the neighboring Lake Area Technical Institute campus, allowing students to take college level course during all four years of enrollment. WHS also allows students to take courses directly through South Dakota State University. WHS has nearly a quarter of its students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) courses.[3] WHS has 102 teachers, of which 70.2% have obtained a master's degree or higher.[4]

Laptop program

Watertown High School first started its laptop program in the 2003–2004 school year, making WHS the first high school in South Dakota and the second high school in the nation to give every student a personal laptop. In 2006, WHS became part of the state-sponsored Classroom Connections project, where it was among 20 selected schools in the state to receive funding for laptops for students and tablet computers for teachers. In the 2017–2018 school year, WHS gave each student an iPad.

Extracurricular activities

Competitive speech activities

The WHS oral interpretation program was among the first 100 chartered squads in the National Forensics League. The department has produced a number of Truman scholars.[5]

The Head coach for Arrow Speech and Debate is Scott Walker, who is an alumnus of Watertown High School himself.[6]

Forensic events offered are: (State championships are listed to the right)

State championships

State Championships
Season Sport Number Year(s)
align=center rowspan="4"Fall 21996, 2001
Volleyball 2 1997, 2017
Golf, Boys 101929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1949, 1950, 1957, 1971
Cross Country, Girls 1 2001
align=center rowspan="4"Winter Basketball, Boys 4 1959, 1992, 1999, 2008
Basketball, Girls 41976, 1993, 2007, 2009
Wrestling 10 1961, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1985, 1992, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2003
Gymnastics 32006, 2009, 2010
align=center rowspan="4"Spring Tennis, Boys41992, 1993, 1994, 2013
Track & field, Boys 5 1915, 1916, 1929, 1930, 1998
Track & field, Girls 11978
Golf, Girls 21978, 1979
Total 48

WHS also offers competitive cheerleading, dance, soccer, softball, and baseball, some of which are sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association.

Notable alumni

Noted faculty

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Contact WHS . 2008-09-11 .
  2. Web site: Watertown High School a leader in laptop learning. Sioux City Journal. 15 January 2006 . 2016-06-10.
  3. Web site: Watertown High School in Watertown, SD . US News. 15 July 2023.
  4. Web site: Watertown High School - Classrooms . www.watertown.k12.sd.us . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140808111558/http://www.watertown.k12.sd.us/education/components/sectionlist/default.php?sectiondetailid=77& . 2014-08-08.
  5. Web site: Abare. Robert. Student Awarded Truman Scholarship for Graduate Education. davidson.edu. Davidson College. 24 April 2014.
  6. Web site: Walker, Scott - Home. watertown.k12.sd.us. 2016-06-10.
  7. Web site: South Dakota High School Activities Association State Championships. sports.sdpb.org. 2017-11-03.
  8. Web site: Arrow speakers win Class AA state title. Watertown Public Opinion. 2016-06-10.
  9. Web site: Letters for Watertown's Major Sports Total 42 . Argus-Leader. Newspapers.com . February 4, 2022 . March 1, 2022.