Woodrow Wilson High School (Portsmouth, Virginia)

Wilson can be traced back to 1885, when a high school was organized at The Academy on Glasgow Street, which had housed only grammar and elementary students from 1850 through 1884. The first high school class graduated that same year. In 1886 the Glasgow Street building was no longer suitable, so the city erected a new building on Green Street, known as the Green Street School. High school, grammar, and elementary students moved there from the Glasgow Street location in September 1886.

In 1888, Portsmouth High School was formally established but continued to be housed in the Green Street building. Portsmouth High School moved to a brand new building on Washington Street in 1909. The new facility was the first one planned for the exclusive use of the high school.

Wilson High soccer team in 1995 led by coach Green.

In September 1919, Portsmouth High School was renamed Woodrow Wilson High School and moved to a new building on High Street. The vacated building became an elementary school called Washington Street School, and later F.T. Briggs School. In September 1955, Woodrow Wilson High School moved again to a new facility on Willett Drive, and the vacated building on High Street became Harry Hunt Junior High School. In September 1993, Woodrow Wilson was merged with Cradock High School and Manor High School. To appease alumni, the Woodrow Wilson name was kept, though the three schools were merged into the Manor building, which opened in 1972.[2]

The school, along with others in the area, has recently become noted for its high dropout rates.[3]

On December 3, 2020 the Portsmouth School Board, responding to calls to remove Woodrow Wilson's name from the school, voted 8 - 1 to restore the name Manor High School, effective July 1, 2021.[4]

• V. C. Andrews – author[5]
• Marty Brennaman – sportscaster for the Cincinnati Reds[6]
• Karen Briggs – violinist[7]
• Mahlon Clark – jazz musician[8]
• LaTasha Colander – track and field sprint star, 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist (4 × 400 m)[9][10][11]
• Mark Steven Davis - Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
• Bill Deal – beach music musician with group Bill Deal and the Rhondels
• Missy Elliott – rapper[12][13]
• Perry Ellis – fashion designer[14]
• Chandler Harper, golfer[15]
• Ben Jones – actor and politician[16]
• T. J. Jordan – basketball player
• Greg Lauer – Mayor Pro Tem, City of Fountain, Colorado[17]
• LaShawn Merritt – sprinter, 2008 Olympic Gold medalist (400 meters and 4 × 400 m relay)[11]
• Tim Loulies, the comediant
• Bill Moran – Former Major League Baseball player[18]
• Clarence "Ace" Parker, Pro Football Hall of Famer and Former MLB player
• Bill Schneider – journalist with CNN[19]
• Aaron Sparrow, American football player[20]
• Jurij Toplak, constitutional scholar, university professor and election law expert
• Khadijah Whittington – Former WNBA basketball player[21]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Woodrow Wilson High School (Portsmouth, Virginia).

• Official website