Talk:Carter G. Woodson High School

Tunnel

A few days ago this article mentioned a tunnel connecting Woodson and Frost: "There is a secret tunnel connecting Frost Middle School and Woodson. The entrances are across from the auxiliary gym at Woodson and behind the cafeteria at Frost." Its now gone in the current article. Does anyone know why that text was removed from the article? Does the tunnel actually exist or not? Murple 06:54, 16 March 2007 (UTC)There is a secret tunnel connecting Frost Middle School and Woodson. The entrances are across from the auxiliary gym at Woodson and behind the cafeteria at Frost

I think it was removed by someone, citing vandalism. Now, I have no idea if it is true or not, but it would make sense. Woodson was built during the same period that other high schools were built that were built with bomb shelters (Early 60's) in them becuase of the fear of nuclear attack i guess. I don't think woodson has a bomb shelter, but if it did, or even if it didnt, the tunnel would make sense since it would allow students from the middle school to get to the high school and vice-versa. The tunnel might even be the bomb shelter. Meanwhile, I work for the school system so I will se if I can get more info on this. KeepOnTruckin ^{Complain to me | my work here} 21:00, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I doubt the tunnel is real, because I go to Frost and I've never heard anything about a tunnel. 151.200.41.155 01:39, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

I went to both schools, and also doubt that a tunnel exists. There is actually considerable distance between the two buildings, it would have been a fairly long tunnel. It sounds like a story to tell freshman, and a good one at that. Grasping at straws, how about a steam tunnel? I doubt it. That would be a fairly long run without a manhole, and I don't think there were any in the field, they would cause problems for gym classes and I don't recall needing to avoid them). Ferritecore 20:48, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

i deleted it because it sounded like vandalism. id never heard that rumor, and even if its true, it is superflous, and there is no documentation that ive ever seen on it. im almost positive it was along the same vein as that swimming pool on the roof story. if anybody can find real evidence of it by all means include it, but for now it shouldn't exist. oh, there is a 60's ere rifle range under the gym, but it is not used because it is a legal liability. its nt big just a crawl space.--68.227.218.128 (talk) 01:33, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

Mr. Woodson

Mr Woodson was involved with the school for many years. He spoke at graduation every year, I don't know when he started or if he missed any, but he spoke at mine (1977) almost 50 years after he became superintendent of schools. I hear that he also attended many games. Does anybody know how late he attended school events? The school opened shortly afer he retired, and was clearly started on his watch. There is a story that the school board wanted to name the auditorium after him, but he asked them not to. They then met while he wasn't there and named the whole school after him. Ferritecore 21:41, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:WoodsonHS.jpg

Image:WoodsonHS.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

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BetacommandBot (talk) 05:41, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

More Stuff!

Ok, this page is a reflection of Woodson, so it needs to be in better shape than this. Here is a plan for improving to it (thus far) to Good article status:

• Add to Orchestra section in Music Programs
• Add to "Test Scores" Section and include more and more recent info on the Woodson academic traddition
• Combine "Rennovation" and "Woodson in the news" section to make one community section
• Add more information, maybe even repeat, some informatin in the "Demographics" section

OR incorporate ethnic data into the info bar on the right

• Cite more sources!!!

I will copy ths list to the top of the page —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rustyfence (talk • contribs) 01:44, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

Wu Tang Woodson High School

Recently, several editors have been adding "Wu Tang Woodson" to the page as a common name for the school. While there is nothing wrong with including this information, the fact that it is not an official name for the school means that it must be supported by reliable sources before it can be included. This is to maintain the core concept of verifiability on Wikipedia. Therefore, I ask any editors who wish to include this name to please find reliable sources to back themselves up. Thanks! FlamingSilmaril (talk) 16:38, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Suicide Controversy

Hello,

Why was the section about Suicide Controversy removed? It is a legitimate concern which many parents, newspapers, and organizations have expressed their concern

74.96.170.226 (talk) 16:44, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

Because you cite no reference to the POV statement about the comparative suicide rate, and because this is an issue which is recent and in the overall history of the school, is not defining of the school. It is WP:UNDUE. All you have is one article in one more or less local paper for a source. If you are a current student, I am sure it seems like a really big deal to you, and you have my sympathies for the losses that you and your classmates have experienced. But this is a school that has been around for 52 years, and in the bigger picture of things, it really is fairly minor.

You may wish to remember that this is an article about your school, not a forum for your school. It is intended to give a fair portrait of your school as a whole to the entire English speaking world, not just what is happening currently. Also, as I mentioned, the intended audience is the whole world. Whereas I am sure these events are very important in your community, your community is not the intended audience of this article. Hope that explains things for you. John from Idegon (talk) 18:46, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

Let me preface this by saying that I do not go to W.T. Woodson High School. There are multiple reputable sources such as The Washington Post, New York Daily News, Fairfax Times, WUSA9, The Washington Examiner, as well as many other sources that mention the suicides. All of my aforementioned sources state very explicitly that youth suicide in Woodson is unusually common and a tremendous issue. Fairfax times claims that "Over the course of the last nine months, three students at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax have died of apparent suicides, a number that experts say seems very high for the school’s population of 1,900, and one that could potentially be a sign of a phenomena called “suicide contagion.” Even Fairfax County Board member Megan McLaughlin asserted that "We absolutely have a responsibility to examine this closely as possible to understand why this has continued to happen in one particular high school at this rate". W.T. Woodson has a history of suicides for years and years and is at a 5 year peak, if you search "W.T. Woodson" in Google, the 5th result is "After Woodson High suicides, a search for solace and answers" and links directly the my aforementioned Washington Post reference. I understand that this may not need it's own section, but I strongly believe that it should at least be mentioned. 74.96.170.226 (talk) 19:15, 12 July 2014 (UTC)

Let me preface this by saying that I don't doubt the hugeness of this currently and locally, but again, this article is not for the locals and is not a newspaper. Stuff that is of current interest quite probably won't be in 5 years. The NY Daily News article is based on one of the Post stories. ALL of the remaining sources you've mentioned are local. I'll bet if you dug deep you could find some story somewhere in time about just about every high school in a major metropolitan area that drew media attention for a few months. It's the nature of media. Suicide rates are up everywhere due to the economy, PTSD, drugs or whatever reason. The fact that some students who went to the school committed suicide doesn't say anything about the school. As one of your sources mentioned, there is a phenomenon especially prevalent in teen suicides where one leads to more.

If this article had a history section (which it doesn't), in two or three years when what this all means might be a little clearer, a line or two there might be appropriate. Before then, it is both WP:UNDUE and WP:NOTNEWS. In addition, it is most likely a violation of the provisions of the school article guidelines which say that things that are primarily of interest to the local school community should not be included in a school article. I am totally against including anything about this in this article at this time. John from Idegon (talk) 05:43, 13 July 2014 (UTC)

Why do you have to be condescending? That is unprofessional and quite frankly, rude. Let me tell you why I completely disagree with you. I clearly have multiple sources and references from around the world that clearly references and expresses concern for the well being of the community. Whether an article "is based on one of the Post stories" is irrelevant, a newspaper from New York discussing and reporting about the recent suicides is not trivial -- it means that an organization as big as New York Daily News believes that a topic is relevant even to the people of New York -- there is even an article from Georgia and the UK. W.T. Woodson is under fire from multiple organizations and that is something that cannot be disputed. I think it is important to include this in "Woodson in the News" section. An editor as big as yourself, should understand that one should compromise in addition to finding objective criteria. 74.96.170.226 (talk) 19:57, 13 July 2014 (UTC)

You would be much better served by not personalizing this discussion. I'm sorry you felt like I was condecending, but that has no bearing on this and does no good to discuss. Notability, which is what you are showing with all the references, is not a question on the table at this point. You need to address my arguements, which are primarily WP:NOTNEWS, WP:UNDUE and the previously referenced school article guidelines on info primarily of local interest. You have addressed the local interest arguement. Notability is not a reason for something to be included in an article. See WP:N. Perhaps the best compromise might be for you to create a stand alone article on the suicide issue (I think controversy is a bit POV for an article title) and add a link to it in a "See also" section on the school article. You have more than enough, I think, to create an article. The fact that you do does not mean any of it should be included in the school's article at this point in time. When we have a historical perspective, maybe then (assuming someone writes a "History" section for this article by then). John from Idegon (talk) 23:23, 13 July 2014 (UTC)

Suicide Controversy has been a recurring issue for the school that has led to several additional articles over a three year span. See ongoing coverage from the local section of the national paper Washington Post in May 2017, April 2016, and in the local paper Fairfax Times in May 2017. At the least, the controversy should be included in the Woodson in the News section, since the controversy generated more coverage than any single event in the current section.

Response to third opinion request:

Reading the above arguments, I feel that a mention of this is not relevant to this article. From Recentism, I'll quote the Ten year test, "In ten years will this addition still appear relevant? If I am devoting more time to it than other topics in the article, will it appear more relevant than what is already here?". The key guidelines here are WP:UNDUE and WP:NOTNEWS. I do see that this had quite a bit of coverage beyond local sources, but it still remains largely temporary. This is the usual cycle in the media. Personally, when such focus on a topic occurs due to a sudden news coverage, I generally wait a while and see if it lasts beyond a few weeks. If there isn't any media discussion over it and the subject isn't actually affected by it (school gets closed down, principal resigns..etc), then I conclude that it doesn't belong to the encyclopaedic article on it. Sincerely, Ugog Nizdast (talk) 13:18, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

Pretty much what I said. Thanks! John from Idegon (talk) 18:24, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

References

Move

Should we move this to Carter G. Woodson High School or Woodson High School (Virginia)? JoshuaAuble (talk) 20:10, 10 January 2024 (UTC)

Preferably Carter G. Woodson High School as it's as specific as the current one.

More information: https://www.fcps.edu/renaming-woodson 2600:1016:B150:B1ED:F098:8E30:8CBB:1345 (talk) 03:32, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

Name change

I'm not an experienced editor, so I hesitate to make all the edits necessary for this update, but the name change has been completed, and, as of the start of the 2024-2025 academic year, this school is now Carter G. Woodson high school. Source: https://www.fcps.edu/renaming-woodson

The physical signage at the school has the new name, but the school's own website seems to mostly use the name "Woodson High School" and still uses the old name in some places. C5karl (talk) 19:27, 23 September 2024 (UTC)