W.T. Sampson High School

W. T. Sampson High School (W.T.S.) is the only American high school that is located in a communist country. W.T.S is considered a unit school, which means one or more schools that act as one entity. The high school is located at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. The school is operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity of the United States Department of Defense. W.T.S. is also the oldest DoDDS school.

Currently enrolled in W.T. Sampson High School are 104 students. Students are the children of military and civilian families stationed at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The school is accredited by The North Central Association of Schools and Colleges (NCA) and has held accreditation since 1931.

History
W. T. Sampson School was officially dedicated on October 25, 1956. Named after Admiral W. T. Sampson, USN, a Spanish-American War naval hero who headed the U. S. Fleet which operated in the water surrounding Cuba.

Academic assessment
Students of the DODEA school system are subject to two assessment standards to measure academic performance. There is the TerraNova (test) which is taken in Grades 3-11. "DoDEA students scored substantially higher than the national average (50th percentile) in all subject areas.". The other test is the SAT. The SAT is not a required test. The participation rate of DoDEA students in 2009 was 67%. The national SAT participation rate was 46%.

Campus
Previously, the campus was located at Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill is the location of the base church. Across from the chapel was a series of offices and classrooms that was the original location for the school from 1931-1986.

The current home of W. T. Sampson High School is a modern campus. The current campus was dedicated in 1986.

The school has been remodeled in recent years. The school has a state-of-the-art Information-Center, two full-size computer labs, Internet access in all classrooms, a gymnasium, and a track-and-field.