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You mean to say that a high school, this high school — Washington-Lee — has an alumni association?

Yes it does … an alumni association is not just for colleges any more. You will be pleasantly surprised to discover how active this association is in keeping that General spirit alive. As of Summer 2017, we now have had 92 graduating classes, from the smallest of 1926 (also the first class, with a single graduate) to our largest, 1955 (913, with class president Warren Beatty leading the way). That adds up to nearly 40000 students passing through these halls in those nine decades.

The W-L Alumni Association was formed by a nucleus of people involved with the 75th anniversary celebration at W-L, in 1999. Over the intervening years, the momentum has built and the W-L Alumni Association has become a vital member of the W-L community.
The mission of the Alumni Association is to keep W-L alums connected to each other and to the current school as best as possible. Some of the activities we are involved with:

  • Hold open meetings with programs of general interest to the alumni community on a regular basis throughout the year.
  • Maintain the Alumni Database website, with up-to-date information about where W-L alums are now. Use the information to reconnect with old friends. See the Alumni Database Section.
  • On the same website, research and maintain the Faculty Database, providing information of all the teachers/administrators at W-L through the years. See Faculty Database Section.
  • Collect and preserve items of importance to the history of the school. Included are collections of Blue and Gray, Crossed Sabres, and Penman, as well as trophies, sports memorabilia, letter jackets, cheerleader sweaters, programs, photos, sound recordings, prom dresses … you name it, we probably have something close.
  • A giant step forward in the realization of the above point was the digitization of all yearbooks from 1926 through 2013 and the Penman magazine from 1948 to 1973. These books can now be accessed on the internet Digital Yearbook and Penman.
  • As a part of the archive initiative, transfer of old W-L game films to DVD.
  • Conduct tours of the school for reunion groups and special visitors to the school (after the 2017 reunion season, this service will no longer be provided by the Alumni Assoc.)
  • Substantial donation to the senior class’s annual Graduation Night Boat Party.
  • Support for class reunions through the Reunion Scorecard, the Alumni Database, as well as advice from many experienced reunion coordinators closely associated with the Alumni Association.
  • Act as a conduit to voice concerns of the alumni to the current school administration, and provide an outlet for information flow from the school to the alumni. For instance, the Alumni Association assisted the school in the Open House for the new building in February 2008.

So, in closing, welcome to the Washington-Lee High School Alumni Association website. We ask that you support the association and its good works by becoming a member. For a small annual fee, you will be kept informed of the activities of your Alumni Association via email. You will also help in keeping the Alumni Database a living, breathing entity, will help preserve W-L’s long history. Please see our Alumni Membership Section for more information. The W-L H. S. Alumni Association is a 501(c)(3) qualified organization, so membership and all additional monetary or item donations are tax deductible.

Thank you
from the W-L Alumni Association