Washington High School of Information Technology (formerly Washington High School) is a magnet high school located in the Sherman Park neighborhood on the north side of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. It is one of the oldest schools in the

Milwaukee Public Schools Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is the largest school district in Wisconsin. As of the 2015–16 school year, MPS served 75,568 students in 154 schools and had 9,636 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions. The Milwaukee Public Schools system i ...

system, and was founded in 1911. In September 2005 Washington was divided into three "schools within a school," which are divided among the school's four floors. These are the School of Law, Education, and Public Service; Washington High School of Expeditionary Learning; and Washington High School of Information Technology. In June 2010, LEAPS closed and was combined with EL and renamed Washington High School. The Washington High School of Information Technology, which continues the legacy of the Career Specialty Program begun in 1976, has continued to operate. In June 2011 the combined LEAPS and EL school was closed and merged into Washington High School of Information Technology, thus creating a single school again.

Athletics

Washington's athletic teams are known as the Purgolders, named for the school's colors of purple and gold. It competes in the Milwaukee City Conference. Washington has garnered four boys basketball Division 1 state titles since 1985. It is part of an intense three-way rivalry with

Rufus King High School Rufus King International High School, or Rufus King, is a public magnet high school located on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools district. The school is ranked the 1,658th best public high school in the ...

and Vincent High School. These schools have accounted for 14 of the last 23 state titles in Division 1 boys basketball. The girls' basketball team is one of three Milwaukee City Conference girls teams to have won a WIAA state title ( Harold S. Vincent High School and

Riverside University High School Riverside University High School is a public high school located on the East Side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a college preparatory curriculum. It is a part of the Milwaukee Public Schools system. History Pre-1912 Starting in the early 18 ...

are the others), having done it five times, a Division 1 record. They also won three consecutive state titles (1994, 1995 and 1996). Washington won the state championship in boys' cross country in 1930 and 1935 and tied for the championship with Bay View High School in 1932 in single-division contests, won the 1952 championship in the larger of two divisions, and won the 1964 championship in the largest of three divisions.

Demographics

*77% Black, 774 students *15% Asian/Pacific Islander, 150 students *8% Hispanic, 80 students *0% American Indian/Alaska Native, 2 students

Notable alumni

* Brian Burke, Wisconsin politician and legislator *

Wally Cruice Walter Cruice (April 13, 1913 – December 7, 2001) was a professional American football player, assistant coach, and scout in the National Football League with the Green Bay Packers. He served as Chief Scout for 31 years under every head coach fro ...

, NFL scout *

Lee S. Dreyfus Lee Sherman Dreyfus (pronounced ; June 20, 1926 – January 2, 2008) was an American educator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 40th Governor of Wisconsin from January 4, 1979 to January 3, 1983. Dreyfus is a 33 ...

, Governor of

Michael Feldman Michael Feldman (born March 14, 1949) is an American radio personality. He is the host of ''Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?'', formerly a radio show distributed by Public Radio International and now a podcast. His former announcer, Jim Packa ...

, host of radio show ''

Whad'Ya Know? ''Whad'Ya Know?'' is an American comedy, interview, and quiz radio show. Hosted by Michael Feldman, it was created in 1985. During its radio run, it was produced by Wisconsin Public Radio and distributed through Public Radio International. Fel ...

'' * Earle W. Fricker, Wisconsin politician *

Pat Harder Marlin Martin “Pat” Harder (May 6, 1922 – September 6, 1992) was an American football player, playing fullback (American football), fullback and Kicker (american football), kicker. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in ...

, UW-Madison and NFL player *

Otto Junkermann Otto Junkermann (February 7, 1929 – July 27, 2016) was an American businessman from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and a former Republican member of the Wisconsin Assembly from the Sixth District (parts of Brown County). In 2011, he ran as a "fake ...

, former Wisconsin State Representative, former Brown County Supervisor * Norman R. Klug, Wisconsin politician *

Herb Kohl Herbert H. Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American businessman and politician. Alongside his brother and father, the Kohl family created the Kohl's department stores chain, of which Kohl went on to be president and CEO. Kohl also served as a ...

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Tom Laughlin Thomas Robert Laughlin Jr. (August 10, 1931 – December 12, 2013) was an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator, and activist. Laughlin was best known for his series of ''Billy Jack'' films. He was married to actress D ...

, actor *

John Allen Paulos John Allen Paulos (born July 4, 1945) is an American professor of mathematics at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has gained fame as a writer and speaker on mathematics and the importance of mathematical literacy. Paulos write ...

, writer, speaker, mathematics professor *

Stan Pelecky Stan Pelecky is a former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Biography Pelecky was born on April 27, 1934 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After graduating from Washington High School, Pelecky attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison A u ...

, Wisconsin politician *

Lois Plous Lois Plous (born August 14, 1938 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.) served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. She graduated from Washington High School and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Plous has two children. Career Plous was fir ...

, Wisconsin politician * Jack (Jackie) Porter, WHS, Class of 1962---sociologist, writer, and political activist * Mark Ryan, Wisconsin politician *

Bud Selig Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth Commissioner of Baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served a ...

, Commissioner of

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

* Milton Shadur, United States judge * Paul Sicula, Wisconsin politician *

Latrell Sprewell Latrell Fontaine Sprewell (born September 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Du ...

, former NBA basketball player * Erwin G. Tamms, Wisconsin politician * Fred W. Vetter, Jr.,

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

general *

Gene Wilder Jerome Silberman (June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016), known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. He is known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Won ...

, actor * Wayne F. Whittow, Wisconsin politician

References

{{authority control High schools in Milwaukee Educational institutions established in 1912 Public high schools in Wisconsin Magnet schools in Wisconsin 1912 establishments in Wisconsin North Side, Milwaukee