Woodham High School
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| Name |
Woodham High School | |
| Address |
150 East Burgess Road | |
| Town |
Pensacola 32503 | |
| Established |
1965 | |
| Type |
Public secondary | |
| Religion |
Secular | |
| Students |
Coeducational | |
| Grades |
9 to 12 | |
| Accreditation |
Florida State Department of Education | |
| District | ||
| Mascot |
Titans | |
| Colors |
Columbia Blue and White | |
| Yearbook |
Mnemosyne | |
| Website | ||
Woodham High School is a secondary school located in Pensacola, and is a part of the Escambia County School District. The current principal is Dr. Michael Roberts.
The school is named for Dr. William Jesse Woodham, Jr., a former Escambia County School District superintendent.
Woodham High School is the only high school in Escambia County to have a Law Academy, as well as to have a Future Educators Academy. In addition, Woodham also sports a Health Science Program.
History
Woodham High School was opened in 1965 response to the tremendous growth of Pensacola's northern suburbs. This move took pressure off of Pensacola High School, which at the time was suffering from severe overcrowding.
In the late 1970's, Woodham featured a marching band which wore the same style of uniforms as the USC Trojan marching band. The marching band, concert band and jazz rock ensemble (JRE) all posted "superior" ratings at state contests.
Woodham itself also experienced overcrowding, and a new campus for Booker T. Washington High School was constructed in the early 1980s as a result. Before this time, Woodham students attended split class sessions, with half of the student body attending in the morning and the other half attending in the afternoon.
The football team won the district in 1981 and 1983. In 1982 and 1984, the "Fighting Titans" won the state AAAA championship and, for a period of time, were ranked number one in the nation by USA Today. The 1982-4 seasons featured 28 straight regular season victories. The school's boys' basketball team won the Florida Class 4A state championship in 2003.
In March of 2000, Woodham High School's Varsity Cheerleading squad won it's first National Championship at the American Open Cheerleading Competition. The team of 15 members won the title in the small varsity division. The squad was featured in the August 2000 issue of American Cheerleader Magazine.
Hurricane Ivan damaged several parts of the school. The cafeteria sustained moderate roof damage but was repaired within a few weeks. The media center, however, sustained significant damage, but is currently fixed and operational.
In the fall of 2005, the Escambia County School District and the superintendent, Jim Paul, discussed plans of closing Woodham and converting it into a middle school for Brentwood and Wedgewood Middle schools. Current Woodham students would be re-districted to other area high schools. The plan, approved by the school board as of November 21, 2006, will be effective for the 2007-2008 school year.
Notable alumni
- Reggie Evans, a 6'8" power forward, attended Woodham before going to the University of Iowa, the Seattle Supersoncis and the Denver Nuggets. He led the nation in rebounding, free-throws made, scoring and rebouding double-doubles in 2001. In that year he also helped the U.S. team win the World Championship for Young Men.
- Justin Gatlin is probably best known among Woodham High School alumni. Gatlin graduated from Woodham in 2000 and went on to win the gold medal in the Men's 100m in the 2004 Summer Olympics.[1] He also shares the world record in that event at 9.77 seconds.
- Greg Litton was drafted in the first round by the San Francisco Giants in 1984. The second baseman played six seasons, hit a home run in the World Series and had a post season batting average of .571
- Ron Stallworth played defensive end for Auburn University and then the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons from 1989-1990.