Wilson Memorial High School

189 Hornet Rd
Fishersville, VA 22939

Phone: (540) 886-4286

Augusta County Public Schools District

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Status: Operational
Type: Regular
Grades: 9th - 12th
School Location: A Rural Area

Brief Description
Wilson Memorial High School serves 9th through 12th Grade Students From The City Of Fishersville, Which Is Part Of Augusta County. Some Or All Students From This School Participate In Free Or Reduced Lunch Programs.

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3 Rating(s) Submitted

Reviewed by a Student on May 17, 2007
(Rating: 5 / 5) Report As Inappropriate
good school

Reviewed by a Former Student on June 05, 2008
(Rating: 5 / 5) Report As Inappropriate
I graduated in 1998 after a full four years at WMHS. I experienced two years of a traditional seven - period day schedule with period durations of up to 53 minutes. Each day included a nine minute break after the second period, and a seven minute break after sixth period. Other class exchange times were limited to roughly four minutes. The system was excellent, and had been in place since the 1987/1988 school year. Prior to that time, WHMS employed a six - period day structure. In any case, this very engaging experience was, in my opinion, wrecked by the adoption of "4 X 4" Block Scheduling beginning in the 1996/1997 school year. The transition had been determined, in all fairness, by a vote amongst students and teachers and staff during the 1993/1994 school year, if my memory is correct. I must sadly estimate that those whom voted to transition to Block scheduling were ill informed of the dreadful effects a poorly - executed transition could produce in any given public school. In any case, the first year of the "experiment" was very detrimental towards academically - oriented student organizations. I was at the time vice president of the Spanish Club, and I still have charts that demonstrated a sharp decline in attendance of monthly meetings, as well as a very unprepared group of roughly seven students whom were hand picked to operate the club. It was an interesting oddity that from the late 1970s through 1999, the Spanish club in fact did not host mock elections to delegate club administration. Instead, a veteran educator with great expertise would hand pick and coordinate with students whom demonstrated a sincere interest and a certain level of dedication towards operating the club each year. At our peak in the 1995/1996 school year, I recall, to the best of my memory, the club maintaining an active membership of well in excess of 120 students. It was a beautiful system and, in my opinion, a very interesting example of informed delegation being the means for collaborating the club's various traditional officers. In choosing to distill sincere talent and interest into the administration of that particular student organization, we stood out as an interesting contrast to the often ineffective "popularity contests" which employed "democratic" ideals of "electing" officers at the beginning of each school year. Freed from the stress of such a waste of energy, I recall the Summer months of 1995 and 1996 being time spent wisely with occasional "board meetings" of our various officers and the respective club sponsor, a woman of incredible talent and expertise; beyond intelligence, she possessed an innate wisdom which benefited the Spanish classes of three decades at Wilson Memorial High School. Out of respect for privacy, I shall refrain from directly naming the teacher in question, but those whom attended WMHS from 1977 through 2006 will certainly know of whom I am speaking. She is now, thankfully, still having an even greater impact for the Augusta County School system in not retiring but in fact embarking upon a second career within the upper administration of the entire system. She is what made our Spanish club the amazing experience of which it was during her tenure at WHMS. Tragically, I personally point to the adoption of "4 X 4" Block Scheduling as the primary cause of terribly detrimental impact upon the ability of all student clubs and organizations to have a fighting chance to transform the educational experience into an enriched environment as it was during the years of six and seven period schedules. After witnessing two years of Block, and being co - president of the Spanish club in the 1997 / 1998 school year, I was greatly saddened to find ourselves as club officers adrift in an overwhelmed and ill - informed "reform" / "overhaul" of the schedule structure. Personally, I go even further to advocate eight period days employing class times of approximately 40 through 45 minutes as an excellent method of maintaining the attention of teenagers in a very engaging and well-socialized environment, when managed properly as it was for decades in the Middle Schools of Augusta County. In any case, I sincerely feel that the staff was inadvertently sold a very bunk "quick and dirty" reformation in that original 1993/1994 school - wide vote. It was not the fault of any one person within the upper administration of either the local, state, or federal levels of education administration in this country. It was, in my opinion, a sincere experiment that evolved out of a few innovative high schools in the 1988 time period. Like a tidal wave, it cascaded across our country through many public schools, and I feel it is a disservice towards our dedicated public K - 12 educators to continue the usage of a schedule model with noble intentions and tragically inferior results in most "real world" applications of the Block reform movement. Perhaps during this decade the schools still involved in 4 X 4 Block Scheduling will be granted a much needed period of introspection and analysis; I would estimate the many high schools and veteran educators would come to the conclusion that Block was a great idea on paper, but a Titanic of an application in the vast majority of public schools that converted in the 1990s from six, seven, and eight period schedule systems. For the benefit of current and future generations of public high school graduates, I very much hope that by 2015 a majority of American high schools will revert to the most well - proven system in terms of the psychology of teenage brain structures. Certainly, advocates of Block will persist, and I do not deny that certain subjects, such as certain art or drama courses do benefit from a 90 - minute class period. However, for the core academics, it is a tragic disaster on wheels, in my novice opinion.

Reviewed by a Former Student on November 07, 2008
(Rating: 5 / 5) Report As Inappropriate
My name is CIERRA TERRELL and I am a past student of WILSON( the best school ever) with the best teacher ever( ANITA S.BENSON) I love that school and I always will!