Central High School (Louisville, Kentucky)
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38°15′00″N 85°46′13″W / 38.25010°N 85.77020°W
| Central High school | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
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1130 West Chestnut Street , 40202 United States | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public Secondary |
| Motto | "Simply the Best" |
| Established | 1870 |
| School district | Jefferson County Public Schools |
| Principal | Tamela Compton |
| Staff | 78.50 (FTE)[1] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Number of students | 1,248 (2018-19)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 15.91[1] |
| Campus | Urban |
| Color(s) | Gold █ and Black █ |
| Team name | Yellow Jacket |
| Website | Central High School |
Central High School, formally known as Louisville Central High School Magnet Career Academy, is a public high school in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It was a segregated school for African Americans until 1956. The school has many prominent alumni including lawyer and civil rights campaigner William Warley and Muhammad Ali.
Overview
According to encyclopedists Aubespin, Clay, and Hudson: "Central High School opened in October, 1873 at Sixth and Kentucky".[2] The school would have four other locations: Ninth and Magazine, Ninth and Chestnut, Eighth and Chestnut, and its current location of Eleventh and Chestnut Streets since 1952.[3] The school was named Central Colored High School in 1892 and John Maxwell was its first principal.
William Warley attended Central and while a student in 1902 prepared a speech about the inferior educational offerings available to African Americans in Louisville.[4] Until 1956, Louisville Central High School was the only public high school in the city for African Americans. The United States Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in public schools in 1954 in the famous Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas case. In 1956, Louisville public schools desegregated.
Louisville Central High School and the rest of the Louisville school system played a part in both integration efforts and the Cold War. In 1957, as many around the world began to take notice of racial problems within the United States, the United States Information Agency produced promotional materials touting "The Louisville Story" as an example of peaceful integration.
Specializing in preparing students for professional careers, Central offers many magnet programs. As an all-magnet school, it has no home district, instead it brings in students from throughout the Jefferson County Public School System.
Athletics
In the 1950s, Central High School won three national basketball high school championships. In 1983, Central High School won the WAVE-TV's High Q Championship. In 2007, when Central won the 3A State Football Championship, Head Coach Ty Scroggins became the first African-American high school coach in Kentucky history to win a state football championship. On December 12, 2008, Central's football team repeated the feat of winning the 3A State Championship, becoming the first Louisville public high school to do so in 44 years. In 2008, Central was listed by U.S. News & World Report as one of America's best high schools.
Louisville Central's 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2018 football team become 3A champions and their basketball team won 2008's regional basketball championship. It one of two schools in the county attending the sweet sixteen games. Their band, featuring the "Yellow Jacket Drumline", "The Twirlettes" and the "Stingettes" majorette dance team, has become one of the most talented musical ensembles in the region; it is also the first in the county to incorporate majorettes.
In 2009, the Central High School basketball team (which started 0-8) repeated as regional basketball champions and advanced to the sweet sixteen championship game against Holmes High School. Central also swept the boys' and girls' 2-A Track & Field Regional Championship titles.
In 2010 Central made history by beating the Belfry Pirates to win the 3A Conference Championship. This is their 3rd championship in four seasons.
In 2011 Central again made history by beating Phillip Haywood's' Belfry Pirates in the KHSAA 3A State Championship. This was their 4th Championship in five seasons.
In December 2012 for the 3rd consecutive year Central High School claimed the KHSAA 3A State Championship. They defeated the Belfry Pirates with a score of 12-6. This was their 5th championship in 6 seasons.
On November 30, 2018, the Yellow Jackets won another KHSAA 3A State Championship, their first under coach Marvin Dantzler.
Central High School is located at 1130 W. Chestnut Street, and the principal is Dr. Tamela Compton.
Magnet programs offered
- Law/Government
- Business
- Accounting
- STEM Innovation
- Pre-Medical
- Pharmacy
- Nursing
- Veterinary
- Dental
- Montessori
The Law and Government magnet is the only program like it in the JCPS school system. It is directed by Joe Gutmann. He worked as an Assistant Commonwealth attorney for more than 20 years before joining the Central staff. He has been at Central for 11 years as of the 2012-13 school year. The Law & Government Magnet has a signature partnership with the University of Louisville and Louisville Bar Association.
Louisville Central High School offers Kentucky's first public high school Montessori program. Dr. Montessori's vision for cosmic education, micro-economics, grace, and peace, is paired with Central's successful career themed magnet program.
Racial preference controversy
Until 2000, all high schools in Jefferson County were required to maintain a percentage of African-American students between 15 and 50%. In 2000, a group of black parents sued after their children were denied admission to Central High School. As a result, US District Judge John Heyburn II struck down the use of race-conscious school assignment procedures for Jefferson County magnet and traditional schools such as Central.
Notable alumni and faculty
 | This article's list of people may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. (September 2021) |
- Muhammad Ali, Class of 1960, three-time World Heavyweight Champion and boxing Hall of Famer
- Elmer Lucille Allen, ceramic artist and first African-American chemist at Brown-Forman
- Yvonne Young Clark, first woman to graduate from Howard University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering
- Keelan Cole, NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars
- Jimmy Ellis, former WBA Heavyweight champion
- Sam Gilliam, artist
- Lyman T. Johnson, plaintiff in Federal Court case that desegregated the University of Kentucky in 1949
- Lenny Lyles, 11-season NFL player, mostly with the Baltimore Colts
- Bob Miller, NBA basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs
- Darryl Owens, Kentucky State Representative
- Greg Page, former WBA Heavyweight champion
- Corey Peters, NFL player with the Arizona Cardinals
- Maurice Rabb, Jr., University of Illinois ophthalmologist
- D'Angelo Russell, NBA player with the Minnesota Timberwolves attended only his freshman year.
- Ed Smallwood, basketball player[5]
- C. J. Spillman, former NFL player
- Bob Thompson, painter
- William Warley, lawyer, editor, and civil rights leader
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Central High Magnet Career Academy". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ Aubespin, Mervin, Kenneth Clay, and J. Blaine Hudson. Two Centuries of Black Louisville. Louisville: Butler Books, 2011.
- ^ Tilford-Weathers, Thelma Cayne. A History of Louisville Central High School Louisville, KY: 1982.
- ^ https://filsonhistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/publicationpdfs/76-4-3_But-He-Did-What-He-Could-William-Warley-Leads-Louisvilles-Fight-for-Justice-1902-1946_Wigginton-Russel.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Big Ed not outdone often". Evansville Courier & Press. August 14, 1977. p. 62. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- Dudziak, Mary L., The Louisville Story: Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000).
- [1]
External links
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