Accomplishments

Awesome Facts about Walton....

Academics:

The Class of 2023 included 430 students graduating with honor, having earned a weighted GPA of 3.5 or above.
Class of 2023 Top 20% weighted GPA ranges were 4.86-4.24 (Top 10% 4.436-4.86).
Walton has a long tradition of above average SAT scores and above average percentage of students testing. Based on the highest score received, the Class of 2023 averaged a total score of 1269.
In 2023, Walton students had an average composite ACT score of 26.5.
Walton has a nationally certified pre-engineering program. We are the only school in Cobb County offering this four year program through Project Lead the Way.
ISA at Walton is a rigorous Humanities-based program of study for students who are learning Spanish as a foreign language. In 2008 the ministry of Education of Spain named Walton an International Spanish Academy (ISA). The academy promotes the values of a multicultural education to foster international communication and respect among different cultures. ISA graduates receive nearly 30% of their course instruction in Spanish throughout their high school career. These students earn diplomas from the Cobb County School District and from the Ministry of Education of Spain.
Last year, Walton has had 22 National Merit Semi-Finalists.
In 2023, 497 Walton students earned the HOPE Scholarship.
Not including the Hope scholarship, the Class of 2023 was offered $ $21,493,632 million in scholarship monies.

Advanced Placement (AP) program:

69.5% of seniors have passed one or more AP courses.
Walton offers 34 AP courses. Our newest is the AP Seminar course which is part of the new College Board Capstone Program
May 2020, 1289 students took 2727 exams with 86.3% scored 3 or higher.
Walton currently has multiple teachers who have participated as AP Readers for The College Board
Each year, AP Spanish students have an opportunity to study in Spain as part of their AP language studies through an immersion program developed by the school and tailored specifically for our students. The activities are often exclusive to our students and are led by professionals and experts in their field. Since 1999, over 1700 Walton students have studied at the Universidad Pontificia in Salamanca.

Walton Fine Arts Program:

Over 1000 students participate in our music programs—chorus, band, and orchestra and about 200 in visual arts every semester. All of these programs consistently receive the highest ratings at festivals & competitions.
Band: The Walton Band program consists of over 350 students in four concert bands, two jazz bands, two percussion ensembles, winterguard, and the Walton Marching Raider Band. The Walton Wind Symphony has performed at the Georgia Music Educators Association’s annual Convention, and at the Music for All Southeastern Concert Band Festival. The Walton Raider Band is a recipient of the prestigious Sudler Shield by the John Phillip Sousa Foundation, and has participated in many prestigious events and parades through the years, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, three appearances in the Tournament of Roses Parade, and numerous Bowl game performances. The Walton Raider Band also has a long record of success in competition, including numerous local Grand Championships, consistent finalists in Bands of America Regional and SuperRegional competitions, and a three-time semi-finalist at the Bands of America Grand National Championships.
Chorus: Walton Chorus is the largest high school choral program in Cobb County and one of the largest in the southeast with 420 singers in six choral ensembles. The choruses of Walton consistently earn the highest ratings in choral performance and music reading. Walton Chorus has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and in the Spivey Hall Young Artists Series. Our choirs have been selected to perform for the Georgia Music Educators Association In-Service Conferences on five occasions. Bel Canto in 2003. Men's Ensemble in 2007. A Cappella in 2010, 2013 and 2018. Walton Tour Choir has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious places such as: Carnegie Hall, NYC, the Cathedral of St. Patrick’s, NYC, St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice, St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armaugh, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris, the American Church, Paris, the American Cemetery, Normandy, the Duomo in Salzburg, Austria, Melk Abbey, Austria, and St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Austria. Walton chorus students represent our school in the Governors Honors Program, the Georgia Music Educators Association All-State Chorus, and the National Association for Music Education National Honor Choir. Choral students are scholars, athletes, leaders, actors and give hundreds of hours in community service. Choral students sing the National Anthem for school and community events such as the Braves Games.
Orchestra: Walton’s Orchestra has over 400 students enrolled in seven orchestra class and is the largest program in Cobb County and one of the largest in the country. The orchestras have performed at the prestigious, international Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic five times: 2000 (string orchestra), 2005 (string orchestra), 2009 (first high school chamber music performance), 2012 (symphony orchestra), 2016 (chamber music). The Orchestra was accepted in 2020 as well as a chamber orchestra. In 2014 and 2015, the orchestra program won the National Championship in the Mark of Excellence competition. The Walton Chamber Orchestra has been invited to perform at the national ASTA conference three times (2009, 2012, 2018). In 2016, the Walton Orchestra Program performed at the state music conference for a record-breaking ninth time. The Walton orchestras have completed six European tours (2000, 2004, 2007, 2000, 2015, 2017).
Drama: The Walton Drama Club has had multiple nominations for the Shuler Hensley Awards as well as several wins. Most recently garnering 3 nominations and 2 wins for Matilda the Musical. DramaClub members have been accepted into competitive BFA programs such as Pace, NYU, Tisch and Harvard. Walton Drama Club has also received multiple invitations to participate in the International theater festival in Scotland and London.
Art: The Walton Art program has received numerous accolades. In 2015, a Walton Art student was chosen from thousands of participants from grades 4 through 12 as the national winner in the State-Fish Art Contest, aimed at promoting wildlife conservation. Thanks to Wildlife Forever, student artwork is now available to buy in the form of a collector’s stamp and a souvenir sheet. All proceeds will contribute to wildlife conservation. Walton’s National Art Honor Society club won 1st place in Wyland’s National “Water is Life” Contest in 2013, 2015 & 2016!. They were featured in the National Arts & Activities Magazine as well as Wyland’s website Walton student art has been featured and published in SchoolArts & Art & Activities Magazines many times

Clubs and Extra-curricular Activities:

Graphic Arts students have won 7 state championships for SkillsUSA in Screen-Printing technology in 2020, 2016, 2015, 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008 and a national championship in 2009. In 2020, we had 3 other students who placed in the SkillsUSA state competitions. First place in Graphic Communications and Related Technical Math and a 3rd place winner in Graphic Imaging/Dye Sublimation. Students have also been among the top schools every year in the National Gutenberg Print Competitions winning multiple 1st, 2nd and 3rd place awards in various categories as well as a top award winner in PIAG’s (Printing and Imaging Association of Georgia) Print Excellence Awards annually. For many years students have also been recognized in national Gutenberg Awards for their design and print excellence projects. Most exciting, for 2019 in the PIAG Print Excellence competition, Walton's Advanced Graphic Arts class was awarded the JUDGE'S CHOICE AWARD for the “Life is a Flickering Moment" 90-page + cover poetry book which was a collaboration between English, Art and Graphic Arts departments our multi-departmental collaborate effort entitled We are proud of this very prestigious award.
Walton Robotics has won numerous regional competitions and qualified for the FIRST World Championship for the 6th consecutive year in 2016. In 2016, the team won the State Championship and its 4th Chairman’s Award, the highest award in FIRST Robotics. At the Dalton District Competition the team won the Robot Competition and Chairman’s Award and seeded first. The team won the Gracious Professionalism Award at World Championships, the only Georgia team to win an award at Worlds.
Walton has won 9 State Math Team Championships and most recently placed 2nd in the state tournament. The team placed 1st in the Georgia Southwestern Tournament with the highest score in the 40 year history of the tournament, as well as taking the top 3 individual trophies. In the last two years, the Walton Math Team has also placed first in the University of Georgia High School Math Tournament, the Georgia Tech High School Math Tournament, and the College of Charleston Math Meet, with a number of individual awards complementing the team awards. For the past four years, the team has traveled to the Harvard and MIT campuses to compete in the Harvard-MIT Math Tournament, an international invitational tournament where Walton has scored as high as 23rd in the world. Walton has also routinely placed first as a team and in individual performances in the annual Cobb County School District Three-Series math competitions.
In 2019, the Varsity Academic Bowl Team won the Division 1 State Championship (following other recent Varsity State Championships in 2004, 2005, and 2006, 2009, and 2011). In national competition, the team finished in the Top 10 in 2006, 2005, and 2004, and was a National Champion in 1995.
The Academic Bowl has competed in the Championship Round of WSB-TV's High-Q 17 out of the 32 seasons that it has been on the air. Walton holds the state record by winning 13 High-Q Championships (most recently in 2011).
Walton’s Latin program is nationally recognized for its excellence. Walton’s Latin Academic Bowl team (Certamen) has won the state championship seven of the last eight years, and members of Walton’s Certamen teams regularly make up a large part of the teams which represent Georgia at the National Junior Classical League Convention. Walton has won the overall state championship at the Georgia Junior Classical League Convention for fourteen of the last fifteen conventions.
Walton’s Latin program consistently ranks #1 in the state and top ten in the nation on the National Latin Exam, with students receiving the most gold medals in Georgia. For the second time in the last four years, a Walton student was awarded the prestigious National Latin Exam Scholarship. In addition, Walton had the only student in the world who earned 5 perfect papers on the National Latin Exam, out of over 128,000 students who took the test in the United States and 20 other countries.
Walton is the national leader in results on the Medusa Mythology Exam, and among the best in the nation on the National Classical Etymology Exam, the National Roman Civilization Exam, the CAMWS translation Exam, and the National Latin Vocabulary Exam. Students from Walton are regularly selected to attend GHP in Latin, including 2 this past year.
In 2020, the Mock Trail team were the District II champions which qualified them for state competition.
In 2018-2019, Model UN team won overall delegation awards at GT, GSU, KSU & BU (along with numerous individual awards at each). In 2019-20, the team won an overall delegation award at GSU (along with numerous individual awards at GT and GSU). The team is ranked as one of the top 100 teams in the US by Best Delegate
Walton's Science Bowl Team won the State Championship in 2014, placed second in 2015 and competed against 67 teams at the National level, with 7 wins and one loss at the event. The Science Bowl Team has been in existence for 20 years and won first place at the regional competition for 14 years, and first place at the State competition 8 years. In addition, Walton has attended the national competition hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy 8 years, and made the championship round for 4 of those years.
Walton competed in the AAPT Physics Bowl Competition 14 of the past 21 years and been recognized 13 times for placing first or second in our region.
Walton Habitat for Humanity will build its 20th house this year and will celebrate its 21st anniversary. In these 21 years, students have raised over $800,000 dollars for the community. In addition to the funds they have raised, the homes that these students built have generated an additional $1.8+ million in revenue for the local economy because of increased disposable income of homeowners, which would not have been possible had they continued to be renters. In addition, Walton Habitat has expanded its service projects to include providing school supplies and a food drive for families at Powers Ferry Elementary, and helping Habitat families provide holiday gifts for their children. This year we were given a $20,000 grant from State Farm, which will play a pivotal role in achieving both our fundraising goals and our goal to expand our impact on the local community.

Athletics:

Walton offers 26 varsity sports and has won 87 State Championships and 312 Region Championships in 49 years.
Walton has won the GADA Regions Directors’ Cup, representing the best overall athletic program in the state in its’ class, 10 times in the 25 years the award has been in existence, including 2000, 2002, 2007-2009, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, and 2024.
During the 2023-24 academic year, all 26 varsity teams made the state playoffs, two won state championships, 25 advanced past the first round of the playoffs, and 16 finished in the top ten in the state.
Boys Swim & Dive won back-to-back State Championships in 2023 and 2024, the second time it has accomplished that feat (2014 and 2015) and has five total titles.
Competition Cheer won its first state championship in the coed division in 2023.
Girls Tennis won the State Championship in 2023, 19 of the last 24, and 23 overall, and holds the record for the longest winning streak of any sport in the state of Georgia (158-0 from 2004-2011).
Girls Swim & Dive won the State Championship in 2022, its 3rd title overall.
Boys Tennis won the State Championship in 2022, its 10th title overall.
Girls Volleyball won the State Championship in 2021, has won 10 of the last 14 State Championships, and a total of 15 titles since 1998, and finished ranked 1st in the country by Prepvolleyball.com and MaxPreps and 2nd by USA Today in 2017.
Girls Track & Field won the State Championship in 2021, its 2nd title overall.
Boys Lacrosse won the State Championship in 2019, its 2nd title overall.
Girls Lacrosse won its first State Championship in 2016 and finished ranked 19th in the country by USA Today.
Baseball won the State Championship in 2016, its 3rd title overall, and finished ranked 6th in the country by USA Today.
Other sports that have won State Championships include Fastpitch Softball, Girls Cross Country (6), Boys Cross Country (5), Girls Soccer (2), and Boys Soccer (6).
Football has played in the State Finals twice (2011 and 2023) and has won 9 Region titles overall.
Boys Golf was the state runner-up in 2019 and Girls Golf in 2014.
In only its second year in existence, the Precision Air Rifle team won its first Area Championship and placed third in the state in 2016. It won a second Area Championship in 2019.
During the 2023-24 academic year, 45 senior student-athletes signed letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college.