# Watertown High School (South Dakota)

Watertown High School (WHS) is a public high school in Watertown, South Dakota. The school was the first in the state and the second in the United States in which every student and teacher was issued a laptop computer.

## Academics

Watertown High School has a dual-enrollment program with the neighboring Lake Area Technical Institute campus, allowing students to take college level course during all four years of enrollment. WHS also allows students to take courses directly through South Dakota State University. WHS has nearly a quarter of its students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. WHS has 102 teachers, of which 70.2% have obtained a master's degree or higher.

## Laptop program

Watertown High School first started its laptop program in the 2003–2004 school year, making WHS the first high school in South Dakota and the second high school in the nation to give every student a personal laptop. In 2006, WHS became part of the state-sponsored Classroom Connections project, where it was among 20 selected schools in the state to receive funding for laptops for students and tablet computers for teachers. In the 2017–2018 school year, WHS gave each student an iPad.

## Extracurricular activities
### Competitive speech activities

The WHS oral interpretation program was among the first 100 chartered squads in the National Forensics League. The department has produced a number of Truman scholars.
The Head coach for Arrow Speech and Debate is Scott Walker, who is an alumnus of Watertown High School himself.
Forensic events offered are: (State championships are listed to the right)
* Policy Debate: 2006, 2016

## State championships

State Championships :
| Season | Sport | Number | Year(s) |
| Fall | Football | 2 | 1996, 2001, 2024 |
| Fall | Volleyball | 2 | 1997, 2017 |
| Fall | Golf, Boys | 10 | 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1949, 1950, 1957, 1971 |
| Fall | Cross Country, Girls | 1 | 2001 |
| Winter | Basketball, Boys | 4 | 1959, 1992, 1999, 2008 |
| Winter | Basketball, Girls | 4 | 1976, 1993, 2007, 2009 |
| Winter | Wrestling | 10 | 1961, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1985, 1992, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2003 |
| Winter | Gymnastics | 3 | 2006, 2009, 2010 |
| Spring | Tennis, Boys | 4 | 1992, 1993, 1994, 2013 |
| Spring | Track & field, Boys | 5 | 1915, 1916, 1929, 1930, 1998 |
| Spring | Track & field, Girls | 1 | 1978 |
| Spring | Golf, Girls | 2 | 1978, 1979 |
| Total | Total | 48 | |
WHS also offers competitive cheerleading, dance, soccer, softball, and baseball, some of which are sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association.

## Notable alumni

* Notable Watertown High School alumni include:
* Stephen Foster Briggs, 1903, inventor of the Briggs & Stratton engine.
* George R. Mather. 1929, Commander in-chief of U.S. Army, United States Southern Command.
* John Hamre, 1968, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1997–2000.
* Lee Raymond, 1956, CEO and President, ExxonMobil.
* Neal Tapio, 1988, Trump Presidential Campaign Director
* Stephen Foster Briggs (1903), inventor, Briggs & Stratton engine and co-founder of the Briggs & Stratton manufacturing company.
* Robert J. Fox, Catholic Priest, promoter of Our Lady of Fatima Devotions and the Blue Army
* Cleveland L. Abbott (1912), Tuskegee Institute educator and coach
* George R. Mather (1929), Commander in-chief of U.S. Army, United States Southern Command
* Ross Horning (1939), historian
* Sylvia Bacon (1949), Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia and was a Nixon and Reagan shortlist candidate for the United States Supreme Court
* Charles B. Kornmann (1955), current Judge, United States District Court for the District of South Dakota
* Bob Scholtz (1955), NFL offensive lineman for the Detroit Lions, New York Giants, and New Orleans Saints
* Jake Krull (1956), U.S. General and South Dakota state senator
* Lee Raymond (1956), CEO and President, ExxonMobil
* Terry Redlin (1956), Wildlife artist and philanthropist of the Redlin Art Center
* Roger Zwieg (1960), NASA astronaut and test pilot
* John Hamre (1968), U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, Clinton administration, and international relations specialist
* Neal Tapio (1988), current candidate for U.S. Representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district and Trump presidential campaign director for South Dakota.
* Timmy Williams (1999), American comedian, Whitest Kids U' Know

## Noted faculty

* Jim Marking, former Watertown High School basketball coach and former South Dakota State Jackrabbits men's basketball coach
* Brian Norberg, former Watertown High School basketball coach, South Dakota State men's basketball all-time leader in assists
* Vic Godfrey, former Watertown High School track coach, and head coach of Kingdom of Bahrain 1984 and 1989 Olympic Track teams.
* Scott Hardie, current Watertown School Board member and former NASA engineer on Challenger and Columbia.