Wingfield High School Explained

Wingfield High School
Streetaddress:1985 Scanlon Dr
City:Jackson
State:Mississippi
County:Hinds
Zipcode:39204-4419
Country:United States
Coordinates:32.2808°N -90.2417°W
Schooltype:Public
Established:1966
Status:Closed
Closed:2024
Us Nces School Id:280219000423
Principal:Roderick Smith[1]
Teaching Staff:44.55 (FTE)
Grades:912
Students:608 (2022–23)[2]
Ratio:13.65
Colors:Royal blue and gold
[3]
Sports:Boys Sports

FootballCross CountryBasketballTrackSoccerBaseballTennisGolf

Girls Sports

BasketballTrackSoccerSlow Pitch SoftballTennisGolfVolleyball

[4]

Mascot:Falcon
Team Name:Mighty Falcons
Feeders:Peeples Middle School, Whitten Middle School

O.H. Wingfield High School was a public high school located in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It was part of the Jackson Public School District. Almost 900 children from South Jackson attended Wingfield High School in grades 912, as well as over 70 administration and staff. The principal of Wingfield was Roderick Smith. The school closed in May 2024.

The mascot of Wingfield was the falcon.

Demographics

There were a total of 859 students enrolled at Wingfield during the 20112012 school year. The gender makeup of the district was 49% female and 51% male. The racial makeup of the school was 97.35% African American and 2.65% White.[5]

History

In 1966 the school opened.[6]

1982 shooting incident

On November 12, 1982, an 18-year-old dropout James Hartzog armed with a 20-gauge shotgun killed his girlfriend, 17-year-old Faye Williams, in her algebra class at Wingfield High School. Hartzog then killed himself.[7]

Closure

In 2008 enrollment was about 1,200.[6] Circa 2017, the enrollment count was 1,100. Pam Dinkins of the Clarion Ledger stated that rumors that Wingfield would close had circulated for years in the Jackson community.[8]

The school district stated that the number of students and the amount of money in the system declined, and therefore it decided to close 11 schools after Spring 2024, with Wingfield being the sole high school closed.[9] At the time it closed, the high school had 594 students.[8]

A balloon release was planned as a goodbye ceremony.[10]

Scott Simmons of WAPT-TV stated that two schools that were likely to receive Wingfield students were Forest Hill High School and Jim Hill High School.[6]

New Horizon Church International expressed interest in buying the Wingfield site.[11]

Feeder pattern

The following schools fed into Wingfield High School, prior to its closure.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: *Wingfield Administration / Principal . www.jackson.k12.ms.us . 19 June 2019 . en.
  2. Web site: Wingfield High School. National Center for Education Statistics. August 26, 2024.
  3. Web site: MHSAA School Directory. 2024-03-09. Mississippi High School Activities Association. en-US.
  4. Web site: Athletics. Wingfield High School. 6 February 2013.
  5. Web site: Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System . Office of Research and Statistics, Mississippi Department of Education . 2007-10-12 . 2007-03-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070323012858/http://orsap.mde.k12.ms.us:8080/MAARS/indexProcessor.jsp . dead .
  6. Web site: Simmons. Scott. End of an era at Wingfield as school closes its doors for good. WAPT-TV. 2024-08-29.
  7. News: Shotgun Murder, Suicide In High School Classroom . The Victoria Advocate, Volume 137, Number 190 (Victoria, Texas) . November 13, 1982 . 9A .
  8. Web site: Dinkins. Pam. Wingfield High School closure: Students, staff, faculty cope with the loss of their 'home'. Clarion Ledger. 2024-05-22. 2024-08-28.
  9. Web site: Wingfield High closes doors for good as Jackson Public Schools begins consolidation plan . Mississippi Public Broadcasting. 2024-06-06. 2024-08-28.
  10. Web site: Banks. Delesha. Wingfield High closes its doors for the final time. WJTV. 2024-05-29. 2024-08-29.
  11. Web site: Adams. Ross. South Jackson church plans to buy Wingfield High School. WAPT-TV. 2024-05-03. 2024-08-29.
  12. Web site: School Directory / School Feeder Patterns . www.jackson.k12.ms.us . June 19, 2019 . en.