George Washington High School has been the talk of Danville since 1956 whether it be about their sports, band, clubs, academics, or students. Now, sixty years later, the Home of the Eagles is still all over the news, but not necessarily in a positive light.

Letters to the editors, local news interviews, online articles- parents and students are speaking out about the problems the school is facing. The administration has held public meetings to address concerns and implemented more security officers, but the rumors continue to float around.

Are they really rumors?

In a letter to the editor published in the Danville Register and Bee back in November, one G.W. senior, Jazzmyne Humphires speaks out about what a typical day in class is like. She said students are on their phones, curling each other’s’ hair, eating, “walking across desks,” talking back to teachers, and even throwing soda bottles at other students while teachers do nothing. The student said on test days, most classmates cheat and they even tried to bribe her with money to give them answers. Humphires even dropped a few of her classes due to the “stress and fear of being at school.”

Humphires describes the behavior problems and lack of discipline as an “epidemic” and says G.W. is becoming a “hangout spot with free food.”

Anna Crooks, Amber Jones, and Amelia Porch are current sophomores at G.W. and would argue that their school is just as good as any other.

“I definitely don’t agree with the rumors making G.W. sound like a terrible place. We have very strict security and I don’t feel like it’s dangerous at all,” said Crooks, who transferred from Tunstall at the beginning of this year.

Jones defended her school, as well.

“G.W. has its problems like any other school. The media keeps focusing on the bad as if other schools don’t have behavioral issues,” she said.

The girls admit that the halls/lunchroom are extremely loud and said there are some fights, but brings up the point that it’s a problem with many schools in the area.

“There are fights, but what school doesn’t have fights?” said Porch.

Overall, Crooks, Jones, and Porch are all very supportive of G.W.

“I feel like a lot of people look down on city schools, especially G.W., but it’s honestly not bad at all. The educational opportunities are extremely good, but I feel like they get overlooked a lot. G.W. has its problems just like any other school, but I feel like we shouldn’t be singled out for them. We’re just like any other school around us, maybe just a little bigger,” said Porch.

Junior Matt Yarborough switched from G.W. to Tunstall last year, but has a different opinion than the girls.

“I saw a lot of issues and problems while at G.W. The biggest difference between the two is how willing the teachers are at Tunstall to help students. Most every teacher at Tunstall I’ve had tutors two to three times a week. There weren’t many tutoring opportunities at G.W.,” he said.

His complaints were “teachers and administrators don’t do enough to discipline students,” but he said students also were very disrespectful and didn’t listen to authority. Yarborough added that things did get out of control, especially during fire drills.

“Fire drills were always hectic. A lot of students did not get back to class in time, if they came back at all.”

Yarborough also witnessed some fights and disciplinary issues.

“There was a fight in my Health and P.E. 9 class, but my teacher did not know how to break it up, so she ran across the hall to get another teacher to break it up. I also took a class where the teacher couldn’t control the students. The class was never quiet and was often heard by the surrounding classrooms,” he said.

Overall, Yarborough still felt safe due to his great group of friends.

“Not everyone at G.W. is this awful person we hear about in the news. There are still many great people there trying to accomplish great things with their lives,” he said.

Even though George Washington High School no doubt has some behavioral and disciplinary issues, the rumors are not all true. There are still students who have positive things to say about this controversial high school.

“I believe G.W. has given me the same opportunities, education, and safety that any other school could,” added Jones.