Booker T Washington High School (also known as BTW)[2] is a public secondary school located north of Downtown Memphis, on the southside of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The school was administered by the Memphis City Schools system, until the beginning of the 2013-14 year, it was served by the Shelby County Schools district. It serves grades 9-12. The school gained national attention when U.S. President Barack Obama delivered the school's 2011 commencement address as a reward for winning the 2011 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge.
| Booker T. Washington High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
715 South Lauderdale Street , | |
| Coordinates | 35°07′40″N 90°02′42″W / 35.127821°N 90.045078°W / 35.127821; -90.045078 |
| Information | |
| Former name | Clay Street School |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Motto | We're tops! We lead and others follow. |
| Established | 1873 (built)-1926 (rebuilt) |
| School district | Memphis City Schools |
| Principal | Alicia Kiner |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 593 (2016-17)[1] |
| Campus | Urban |
| Color(s) | |
| Mascot | Warrior |
| Affiliations | Shelby County Schools |
| Website | BTWHS Website |
 Eastern facade with main entrance from South Lauderdale Street | |
The school was founded as the Clay Street School in 1873 and was among the first public high schools for African Americans in Memphis.[3] Green Polonius Hamilton was its principal. It was renamed Kortrecht High School in 1891.
In 1926 a new building was constructed and the school was renamed in honor of American educator and civil rights leader Booker T. Washington.[4][5] Further expansions were completed in the years since, including the Blair T. Hunt Gymnasium, dedicated in 1950.[6]
The school entered and won the 2011 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge, a competition that "invites public high schools across the country to demonstrate how their school best prepares [students] for college and a career."[7] Among the required application materials were student essays and videos that demonstrated the school's innovation in education. The accomplishments of the school included increasing graduation rates from 55% in 2007 to 82% in 2010 through the use of same-gender freshman classrooms and increased teacher effectiveness.[8] BTW also suffered from and overcame high teen pregnancy and violence rates.[9] The school beat out more than 450 other applicant schools, and as a reward for this achievement, President Barack Obama delivered the school's 2011 commencement speech.[9][10]
