Central High School (Knoxville, Tennessee)

For schools of the same name, see Central High School (disambiguation).

Central High School
Location
Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Information
Type	Public secondary
Established	1906
Principal	Danny Trent
Faculty	150
Grades	9–12
Number of students	1,200
Color(s)	Red & Black
Mascot	Bobcat
Website	centralhs.knoxschools.org

Central High School is a public high school located at 5321 Jacksboro Pike in the Fountain City neighborhood of Knoxville, Tennessee, operated by the Knox County school system. The school's athletic teams are nicknamed the Bobcats, and its colors are red and black.

History

Central was formerly located at what is now Gresham Middle School in the heart of Fountain City, which, in the 1960s, was the largest unincorporated community in Tennessee. Its name is something of a misnomer, because it was never located near the center of Knoxville, even when Fountain City was annexed into Knoxville in the early 1960s. The northernmost high school in Knoxville before the annexation of Fountain City was Fulton, and in the county, Powell, Karns, and Halls high schools were farther north.

2008 shooting

On August 21, 2008, 15-year-old student Jamar Siler entered the school cafeteria and approached student Ryan McDonald sitting at a lunch table. Siler fatally shot McDonald, and was shortly after arrested by authorities. The two had been in previous altercations, the details of which were not released to the general public. Siler was then taken into custody. Court proceedings are to follow October 9th in the decision whether to try Siler as an adult. If he is tried as an adult, he will face a minimum of 51 years in prison. If he is tried as a juvenile, he will be released when he is nineteen years old.

Notable alumni

• Roy Acuff, country music star
• Trevor Bayne, NASCAR driver who won the 2011 Daytona 500
• Ashley Capps, founder of AC Entertainment
• Reggie Cobb, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back
• Todd Helton, professional baseball player
• Frankie Housley, heroic flight attendant
• Terrence Scott, British Columbia Lions football player
• Steve Searcy, professional baseball player
• Bill Snyder, Chancellor of University of Tennessee-Knoxville (1992-1999) and house organist at the Tennessee Theatre
• Jennifer Tipton, Tony Award winning lighting designer
• Bubba Trammell, professional baseball player

External links

• Official website
• Central High School Choir Department website
• Central High School Bobcat Band website
• Archived coverage of the shooting on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008, at Central High School, Knoxville News Sentinel
• Lighting designer takes center stage, Sep. 27, 2008, at Central High School, Knoxville News Sentinel