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“In the beginning…there was an idea, a complex plan took form. But that was not the end. From the plan evolved the creation of the Roy J. Wasson High School. Over three and a quarter million dollars and two years of work were not enough, however, to fully create a school. Students were needed, and they came and they built traditions.” From the Wahian, Vol 1, 1960 The year was 1948. These were the years that followed the “Great War” and many of those returning fighting men and women would make Colorado Springs their home. It was the start of a decade that saw great expansion along the central Front Range. Districts including Fountain Valley schools and the Cheyenne school, serving the children of the Broadmoor, dating back to shortly after the establishment of the Fountain Colony were expanding to meet a new level of expected enrollment. Fountain Valley would create the Fountain Fort Carson High School. The Broadmoor School would see the population of their new Cheyenne Mountain School district swell from 359 students in 1946 to over 1500 in 1958. Opening the new Cheyenne Mountain High School in 1962. A new high school to serve the children of the Air Force community would be built and open in 1956 on the grounds of the recently opened United States Air Force Academy. The town of Widefield would open a new high school in 1958. A new Superintendent had recently taken the reins for Colorado Springs School District Eleven. Dr. Roy J. Wasson, selected as Superintendent in 1942, arrived in Colorado Springs during the early 1920’s. A trained educator schooled at Cornell University, Dr. Wasson began his service to District Eleven as a classroom teacher and through the principle of hard work moved through the ranks to serve as a Principal, Director of Instruction and to finally be selected as the Superintendent of schools. His intelligence, training, wisdom and foresight served the district exceptionally for nearly 40 years. The challenge facing the new Superintendent in the decade from 1948 till 1959 was to navigate the district through the growth. The decade would see total enrollment grow from 9,000 in 1951 to over 20,000 by 1961, outpacing the growth of the previous 80 years and more than doubling the districts enrollment. Planning for and opening schools in time to meet the needs and yet stay within the fiscal restraint of school financing. Rather then wait till a need arose Dr. Wasson and his team compiled a plan that would include buildings for all levels of instruction from elementary through high school. Noting that the new high school would be needed by 1959. During the time frame between 1948 and 1958 fourteen new Elementary schools were constructed along with two new Junior high schools. The district would begin budgetary planning in 1955 and 1956 for monies needed for land acquisition. In November of 1956 Colorado Springs School District Eleven under the leadership of Dr. Roy J. Wasson would purchase land of the legal description: Block # 2, Highland Village # 1 subdivision, with the apropos nickname, “The Bird Farm”. The new high school originally referred to, as the Northeast high school would see the Bond monies approved by the citizens of Colorado Springs on December 10th, 1956. The District and the City of Colorado Springs began negotiations February 13, 1957 on a parcel of land North of Constitution Ave. between Circle Dr. and Glen Summer Rd. that became Wasson Park. The drawings by Architects Edward L. Bunts and F. Lamar Kelsey were approved on April 29th, 1957. Ten months later, March 1st, 1958, construction would begin with a scheduled completion date of August 15th, 1959. November 29, 1959, after construction had been completed earlier that month, Mr. William H. “Brick” Preston presided over the dedication ceremony for the school he had been chosen to lead as Principal. The board had unanimously voted to honor the sitting Superintendent by naming the district’s newest building in honor of his years of service, steady handed leadership, and superior vision for the education of all children in Colorado Springs. The festivities included a concert by the Roy J. Wasson band, under the direction of Mr. G.E. Jackson, Invocation by Reverend Hurley Begun, D.D., vocal selections by the Roy J. Wasson Choristers, directed by Mr. Charles A. Meeker, the dedication address by Mr. Wilber S. Marshall, President of the Board of Education, remarks by Mr. F. Lamar Kelsey, Mr. W. Don Weidner, President, Wasson PTA and Mr. Douglas Johnson, student and member of the Wasson High School Student council. The heartfelt response by Dr. Wasson thanked those who had worked with him, as teachers and administrators during his time of educational service. He also thanked his wife “ it gives me extraordinary satisfaction to especially mention my wife, the other member of the Wasson partnership, who is being honored too on this occasion.” The following is a passage from his “talk” that day to the student body. “To the students of Wasson High School, both those of the present and of the future, I am proud to have my name associated with your school. I trust you may find some of the joy and satisfaction in work that I have always found. It is a great blessing. But what reputation Wasson High School earns in the future can in no way be assured by its name, even if it were the most illustrious name in history. The opportunity is yours to create a tradition and make a reputation for your school; it is yours to write on the blank pages of the future. May I say that I think that the students this year are making a fine start and showing a fine spirit under the guidance of a wise and capable principal and faculty and such an example will make it easier for classes of the future to follow successfully.”
Wasson is a comprehensive high school which has been recognized at the state and national level as a school on the forefront of educational reform and innovation. Wasson is also the only high school in District Eleven with a dance studio. Wasson's technology wing contains a one-of-a-kind multimedia classroom, a video production room, a professional quality audio recording studio, a 25 station CAD lab, a science technology lab, and a music lab with 20 computers equipped with Midi keyboards. In addition to the technology wing Wasson has 8 computer labs used by teachers in all content areas and also computers in the classrooms.
Course offerings include:
Wasson's
mascot is the Thunderbird. The athletic programs are a member of the
Colorado Springs League Class 4A . Wasson has won 10
state championships. Some alumni are: Roc Alexander, Colorado 200-meter record holder and Denver Bronco Dan Audick, former NFL lineman, San Francisco 49ers Tina Carlino, founder, CEO Philosophy Cosmetics Dick Dodge Jr., Pikes Peak Hill Climb winner Trip and Mike Frasca, restaurateurs Rich "Goose" Gossage, former major-league pitcher, N.Y. Yankees Scott Johnson, five-time Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Mike Mosely, Wilson Sporting Goods, executive Jeff Smith, owner, Classic Homes Inc. Jerry Van Horn, Laytex gloves manufacturer Joe Williams ,Denver radio sports-talk host, KKFN |