Talk:Winston Churchill High School (Maryland)

Untitled

Somebody (say, a current student) can fill in this article with relevant information about Churchill's distinctions, performing arts (there should certainly be a section on Blast from the Past), and sports. The Wootton article is a good guide (but try to make it better, petty competitiveness at all). -VJ 06:17, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

Added a bunch myself, but, you know, expand away. -VJ 09:09, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

They added some sort of Asian Studies course, among a few other things, but I'm not sure if that merits adding to the article. I don't know too much about it anyways. And with Churchill, a current student editing this article could lead to some serious NPOV issues... have you seen the urban dictionary entries for WCHS? -backstabb 19:40, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Yasminzand. Peer reviewers: ArianaDuford.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 13:03, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Athletics

I have created a table displaying state championships that Churchill has won. The information comes from 3 record books (for fall, winter and spring sports) in portable document format (pdf) on the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association website. I do not know how to count state championships won in boys tennis or girls tennis. In the record books, the championships appear to be won by individuals rather than a team for those sports.

Here is what the record book has:

Boys Singles: 1978, 1980, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007
Boys Doubles: 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 2006, 2007, 2009
Girls Singles: 1993, 2004, 2005, 2006
Girls Doubles: None
Mixed Doubles: 1985

DAK4Blizzard (talk) 20:27, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Alumni

None of the alumni have references. backstabb 20:04, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

Amanda Scheer Demme went to Wootton, not Churchill. She was in the class of 1983.

Does anyone know if Rachel Nichols from ESPN really went to WCHS? I can't find that information anywhere else.

  - Yes she did.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 153.104.13.135 (talk) 18:52, 13 September 2009 (UTC) 

  -Yes she did.  She was a year younger than me.  Her maiden name listed on the wiki is incorrect, but I am not sure if she wants her real maiden name known.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.76.89.7 (talk) 15:39, 28 September 2012 (UTC) 

High schools worthy of Wikipedia entry?

Are high schools really important enough to be on a site that considers itself an encyclopedia?

Surely that's a Wikipedia policy issue, not a WCHS issue. Thanks. -VJ 19:49, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

VJ, read the heading: Winston Churchill High School (Montgomery County, Maryland) is part of WikiProject Maryland, a WikiProject related to the U.S. state of Maryland. Seth1066 (talk) 11:48, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Controversies section moved

Moving "Controversies here for discussion" Since all listed on the article page don't seem to meet proper notability guidelines (other than maybe the grade changing).

Notable events usually receive coverage beyond a relatively short news cycle. There is a tendency for new and current matters to seem more important than they might seem in a few years time. Many events receive coverage in the news and yet are not of historic or lasting importance. News organizations have criteria for content, i.e. news values, that differ from the criteria used by Wikipedia and encyclopedias. A violent crime, accidental death, or other media events may be interesting enough to reporters and news editors to justify coverage, but this will not always translate into sufficient notability.

No subject is automatically or inherently notable merely because it exists: the evidence must show the topic has gained significant independent coverage or recognition, and that this was not a mere short-term interest. Routine kinds of news events (including most crimes, accidents, deaths, celebrity or political news, "shock" news, stories lacking lasting value such as "water cooler stories," and viral phenomena) – whether or not tragic or widely reported at the time – are usually not notable unless something further gives them additional enduring significance.

An event that is a precedent or catalyst for something else of lasting significance is likely to be notable. Events are often considered to be notable if they act as a precedent or catalyst for something else. This may include effects on the views and behaviors of society and legislation. For example, the murder of Adam Walsh ultimately led to the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, among other notable subjects. Significant national or international coverage is usually expected for an event to be notable. Wide-ranging reporting tends to show significance, but sources that simply mirror or tend to follow other sources, or are under common control with other sources, are usually discounted. Events that are only covered in sources published during or immediately after an event, without further analysis or discussion, are likely not suitable.

Media channels under common control or influence are usually counted as one local or national outlet and a single instance of coverage when they report a matter, even if they have several regional or national outlets. Similarly, where a single story or press release is simply re-reported (often word-for-word) by news publications, or when reporters base their information on repeating news coverage from elsewhere (for example, "AP reported that ..."), this should only be counted as a single source for the purpose of determining notability. The policy on sourcing is Wikipedia:Verifiability, which requires inline citations for any material challenged or likely to be challenged, and for all quotations. The verifiability policy is strictly applied to all material in the mainspace—articles, lists, and sections of articles—without exception, and in particular to biographies of living persons, which states: Contentious material about living persons (or, in some cases, recently deceased) that is unsourced or poorly sourced—whether the material is negative, positive, neutral, or just questionable—should be removed immediately and without waiting for discussion.

Controversies section moved from article, and later restored

Controversies In January 2010, a criminal investigation exposed a grade-changing scandal at Churchill. 46 student's grades were modfied after 8 students hacked the school's grade system. The incident was treated by the police as a criminal investigation. In 2016, controversy spiked in Montgomery County around racial incidents at Churchill. In November, two students put a sign reading "whites only" on a bathroom door, explaining to authorities that they found the sign and wanted to see people's reaction. A month later, a few students allegedly entered a meeting of the school's Republican club, called the members racist, and wrote "Black Lives Matter" on the classroom whiteboard. In response, a club member supposedly said "White Lives Matter" directed to the non-club members. A Montgomery County Republican leader was hurt by this and told school district leaders after being informed by a parent. Chair of the education committee of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, Richard Jurgena was worried for the state of the club and called for a "complete, rapid and nonpartisan" investigation. During the 2016–2017 year, on a day with a basketball game between Winston Churchill High School and Walter Johnson High School, Walter Johnson High School students defaced Winston Churchill High School property with vulgar graffiti. This caused $100,000 in damage. On October 13, 2021, a female Churchill student was assaulted by a 17 year old student from Walt Whitman High School. This incident occurred at the Churchill bus loop in the morning where the assailant brandished a knife and attacked the victim. The assailant subsequently fled the scene only to be later identified and taken into custody. The victim sustained minor injuries and "enhanced monitoring" was supposedly implemented during future dismissals. In May 2022, threats of violence were made against the school by a student on social media. These included mentions of bringing guns and explosives on school property and to "kill everybody who's made my life terrible." However, the student was out of state at the time and prohibited from returning to Churchill for the remainder of the school year. References

Zerosumnet (talk) section moved from article at 21:10, May 5, 2023‎ by Zerosumnet

@Zerosumnet: You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding with respect to article content and notability. WP:N applies to whether a subject is notable enough to warrant an article about that subject. It does not apply to whether content should be included in an existing article. This is made very clear in WP:N, in several places. You went on at great length about notability, but apparently you did not actually read the notability guideline WP:N, or at least you did not notice the NUTSHELL notice with "The notability guideline does not determine the content of articles, but only whether the topic may have its own article.", the lead with "These guidelines only outline how suitable a topic is for its own article or list. They do not limit the content of an article or list", or the section WP:NOTEWORTHY with "the criteria applied to the creation or retention of an article are not the same as those applied to the content inside it. The notability guideline does not apply to the contents of articles."

As for your apparent claim that the material is not verifiable, I don't see it. We have a wide assortment of sources, including local and national media. Meters (talk) 04:39, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

Note that this thread may have received no responses before now because it was malformed, undated, and placed at the top of the page. I've reformatted it and moved it. Meters (talk) 04:45, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

In your opinion does the content in the controversies section meet the criteria of significant independent coverage or recognition?:

"The common theme in the notability guidelines is that there must be verifiable, objective evidence that the subject has received significant attention from independent sources to support a claim of notability.

No subject is automatically or inherently notable merely because it exists: the evidence must show the topic has gained significant independent coverage or recognition, and that this was not a mere short-term interest, nor a result of promotional activity or indiscriminate publicity, nor is the topic unsuitable for any other reason. Sources of evidence include recognized peer-reviewed publications, credible and authoritative books, reputable media sources, and other reliable sources generally." Zerosumnet (talk) 23:21, 11 November 2023 (UTC)

Again WP:N applies to whether a subject is notable enough to warrant an article about that subject. It does not apply to whether content should be included in an existing article. We're not writing an article about the controversy. Meters (talk) 00:15, 12 November 2023 (UTC)

I agree with @Meters: the guideline is clear that it is to be used in determining if an event has received enough coverage for an article of its own, and has specific criteria for what governs the content of the article.

Regarding the material itself, it doesn't seem undue and is based on various news reports covering the schools various controversies.

I see no reason why it should not be included in the article, since it has reliable sourcing for each claim and being presented as balanced as possible.

Awshort (talk) 16:55, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

restored Meters (talk) 21:11, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

@Awshort@Meters Great to see some discussion and clarification on this.

For future reference, what determines the relevant content that would be included in a high school article in wikipedia? Is there a standardized format across Wikipedia that outlines it? Should newsworthy events regarding that school which have several reliable sources cited, be included? (Some examples: If a gas explosion destroys part of a school, a celebrity crashes a car into the side of the building, a school program receives national recognition, a school being recognized as a National Blue Ribbon school.) How is the arbitration determined to decide relevant content? Additionally, if the events are only in a short news cycle, should they still be included in an article or is the criteria based on long-term relevance of the event? Is there a general accepted timeframe? Thanks Zerosumnet (talk) 20:47, 7 March 2024 (UTC)