Walnut Hills High School

Walnut Hills High School is a public college-preparatory classical high school in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school teaches grades seven through twelve.

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The school was founded in 1895 on the corner of Ashland and Burdett Avenues in Cincinnati, and in 1919 became a college-prepatory high school. It became so popular that a new building had to be built. In 1931, the new building on Victory Parkway was opened. The front of the building was inspired by Thomas Jefferson's designs at the University of Virginia. It still remains in use today. In the early 1960s, a new Annex was built. In the 1970s, a wing that houses art and music classrooms was built. In 1998, the old Annex was torn down and replaced with an Arts and Science Center which was opened in 1999. What makes it unique is that the center was built exclusively using donations by the school's alumni, after the voters in the Cincinnati Public Schools district vetoed a tax levy that would have paid for it.

Related Topics:
1895 - 1919 - 1931 - Thomas Jefferson - University of Virginia - 1998 - 1999

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The original Ashland and Burdett location became the Burdett School in 1932; it was closed in 1979. After years of being rundown, the building was renovated in 2005 as the Schoolhouse Lofts.

Related Topics:
1932 - 1979

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In keeping with its classical format, emphasis is placed on Greek and Roman history and culture. Incoming 7th and 8th graders must complete at least 3 years of Latin instruction to graduate.

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Their yearbook, the Remembrancer (Rem, for short), has been published annually since the early 1900s. Their newspaper is called the Chatterbox.

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The sports teams have played in a number of leagues since the demise of the Public High School League in 1984. Today they play in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference.

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The school colors are blue and gold. The motto is "Sursum ad summum", which means "rise to the highest" in Latin. The mascot is the eagle, and the sports teams are known as "The Eagles."

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Famous alumni include Theda Bara, early movie star of the silent screen; Miller Huggins, who managed Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees; DeHart Hubbard, who became the first African-American to win a gold medal at the Summer Olympics when he won the long jump at the 1924 Paris Games; Charles Guggenheim, four-time Academy Award winner for documentaries; Stan Aronoff; conductor James Levine; 1960s radical Jerry Rubin; Stanley B. Prusiner, 1997 Nobel Prize winner in medicine; Itaal Shur, who won a Grammy Award in 2000 for co-writing the smash hit song "Smooth" which bought Carlos Santana back into the spotlight and the top of the charts; and even, for a short time, infamous mass murderer Charles Manson.

Related Topics:
Theda Bara - Miller Huggins - Babe Ruth - New York Yankees - DeHart Hubbard - Charles Guggenheim - Academy Award - Stan Aronoff - James Levine - Jerry Rubin - Stanley B. Prusiner - Nobel Prize - Grammy Award - 2000 - Carlos Santana - Charles Manson

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The school has long admitted only students who pass an admissions test; recently it has been accused of grade-fixing scandals, but investigations have proven the allegations false.

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