Little Rock Central High School
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Little Rock Central High School | |
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Front entrance to Little Rock Central High School
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Address | |
1500 Park Street Little Rock, Arkansas 72202-5843 United States |
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Information | |
School type | Comprehensive public high school |
Founded | 1869 1905 Little Rock HS 1927 (current facility) |
Sherman School
Status | Open |
School district | Little Rock School District |
NCES District ID | 0509000[1] |
CEEB Code | 041422 |
NCES School ID | 050900000607[2] |
Principal | Nancy Rousseau (2002–) |
Teaching staff | 160.86 (on FTE basis)[2] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 2,456 (2010–11[2]) |
• Grade 9 | 724 |
• Grade 10 | 624 |
• Grade 11 | 609 |
• Grade 12 | 480 |
Student to teacher ratio | 15.27[2] |
Education system |
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Classes offered | Regular, Career Focus, Advanced Placement |
Hours in school day | 6.75 |
Campus size | 18 acres (7.3 ha) |
Color(s) | Black Old gold |
Fight song | On, Tigers! (based on On, Wisconsin!) |
Athletics conference | 7A/6A East (2012–14) |
Team name | Tigers |
Rival | Little Rock Hall, Little Rock Catholic |
Accreditation | ADE AdvancED (1924–) |
USNWR ranking | Unranked (2012)[3] |
National ranking | No. 275 (2013) No. 119 (2012) No. 123 (2011) No. 92 (2010) No. 55 (2009) No. 32 (2008) No. 23 (2007)[4] |
Publication | The Labyrinth |
Newspaper | The Tiger |
Yearbook | The Pix |
Communities served | Little Rock |
Website | www |
Little Rock Central High School
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Location | Little Rock, Arkansas |
Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Area | 17.95 acres (7.26 ha) |
Architect | Parks Almand, John |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
Visitation | 44,293 (2005) |
Part of | Central High School Neighborhood Historic District (#96000892) |
NRHP Reference # | 77000268[5] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | August 19, 1977 |
Designated NHL | May 20, 1982[6] |
Designated CP | August 16, 1996 |
Designated NHS | November 6, 1998 (#01000274) |
Little Rock Central High School (LRCHS) is an accredited comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Central High School was the site of forced school desegregation during the American Civil Rights Movement.[7] Central is located at the intersection of Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive (named for the civil rights leader and formerly known as 14th Street) and Park Street.[8]
Central can trace its origins back to 1869 when the Sherman School operated in a wooden structure at 8th and Sherman streets, which produced its first graduating class on June 13, 1873. In 1885 the Sherman School was moved to 14th and Scott streets and was aptly named Scott Street School but was more commonly called City High School. Five years later in 1890, the Peabody School was constructed at West Capitol and Gaines streets. It was named in honor of philanthropist George Peabody from US$200,000 received via the Peabody Education Fund. In 1905, the city founded Little Rock High School at the intersection of 14th and Cumberland streets, and shuttered the Peabody and Scott Street schools to serve as the city's sole public high school. In 1927 at a cost of US$1.5 million, the city completed construction on the nation's largest and most expensive high school facility that remains in use today. In 1953 with the construction of Hall High School, the school was renamed to its present-day name of Little Rock Central High School and has since been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and named as a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
Central High School, which covers grades 9 through 12, has an enrollment of 2,456 (2010–11).[2] It is in the Little Rock School District.[9] The current principal is Nancy Rousseau, who became principal in 2002.[8]
Contents
History
Early campus history
Built in 1927 at a cost of $1.5 million, Little Rock Senior High School with its Gothic Revival style, later to be renamed Little Rock Central High, was hailed as the most expensive, most beautiful, and largest high school in the nation. There are statues of four figures over the front entrance that represent ambition, personality, opportunity and preparation.[10] Its opening earned national publicity with nearly 20,000 people attending the dedication ceremony. Historic events in the 1950s changed education at Central High School and throughout the United States.
Little Rock integration
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LRCHS was the focal point of the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957.[7] Nine African-American students, known as the Little Rock Nine, were denied entrance to the school in defiance of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling ordering integration of public schools.[7] This provoked a showdown between the Governor Orval Faubus and President Dwight D. Eisenhower that gained international attention.[7]
On the morning of September 23, 1957, the nine African-American high school students faced an angry mob of over 1,000 White Americans protesting integration in front of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.[7] As the students were escorted inside by the Little Rock police, violence escalated and they were removed from the school.[7] The next day, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the 1,200-man 327th Airborne Battle Group of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to escort the nine students into the school.[7] By the same order, the entire 10,000 man Arkansas National Guard was federalized, to remove them from the control of Governor Faubus.[7] At nearby Camp Robinson, a hastily organized Task Force 153rd Infantry drew guardsmen from units all over the state.[7] Most of the Arkansas Guard was quickly demobilized, but the ad hoc TF153Inf assumed control at Thanksgiving when the 327th withdrew, and patrolled inside and outside the school for the remainder of the school year. As Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the nine students, remembered, and quoted in her book, "After three full days inside Central [High School], I know that integration is a much bigger word than I thought."
This event, watched by the nation and world, was the site of the first important test for the implementation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954.[7] Arkansas became the epitome of state resistance when the governor, Orval Faubus, directly questioned the authority of the federal court system and the validity of desegregation. The crisis at Little Rock's Central High School was the first fundamental test of the national resolve to enforce black civil rights in the face of massive resistance during the years following the Brown decision. As to whether Eisenhower's specific actions to enforce integration violated the Posse Comitatus Act, the Supreme Court, in Cooper v. Aaron (1958), indirectly affirmed the legality of his conduct, which was never, though, expressly reviewed.[11]
In 1958, federal Judge Jesse Smith Henley of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, stating that integration had "broken down under the pressure of public opinion," suspended operation of the federal integration order until the 1960-61 school term. The school board said that it had faced large fees and could not afford to hire security guards to keep the peace in school.[12]
LRCHS was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1977, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on May 20, 1982.[13] The school itself continues to be used as an educational facility.
In 2007, Central High School held an event for the 50th Anniversary of the Little Rock Nine entering Central. On September 24, 2007, a new museum was opened honoring the Little Rock Nine. That same year, HBO produced a documentary film directed by the Renaud Brothers, "Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later", which explored the significant changes and similarities within the school since its desegregation.
Teaching evolution
Little Rock Central High School made legal history again in 1968, this time in the field of the teaching of evolution in the public schools. LRCHS biology teacher Susan Epperson agreed to be the plaintiff in a case challenging an Arkansas law forbidding the teaching of the theory of evolution by natural selection in the public schools. The United States Supreme Court's decision in Epperson v. Arkansas held that states could not require that "teaching and learning must be tailored to the principles or prohibitions of any religious sect or dogma," i.e., that the teaching of evolution in schools could not be forbidden on religious grounds.[14]
Academics
The assumed course of study follows the Smart Core curriculum developed by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). For 2011–12, Central is in Whole School Improvement Year 4 towards its attempts to reach Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) towards the No Child Left Behind Act.
Central has an International Studies Magnet Program, an EAST Initiative Lab Program, over 30 service, academic, and honors clubs available, award-winning instrumental and concert band and choral programs, over 141 courses offered, including 33 AP and Pre-AP courses and 5 foreign languages.[15]
Publications
Its student publications include The Tiger (the student newspaper), The Pix (the school yearbook), which was originally named The Cage, and The Labyrinth (the school poetry and arts magazine).
The Pix was inducted into the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association’s Arkansas Yearbook Hall of Fame on April 16, 2010. The 2010–11 edition of the PIX received a Silver Medal from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.[16]
The Tiger is the official news publication of Little Rock Central High School and one of the oldest high school newspapers in the country. It is issued in the form of a quarterly mini-magazine that keeps students updated on issues around the school. The newspaper has won many Arkansas Scholastic Press Association awards. The periodical is known for covering many negative issues pertaining to student life, including eating disorders, drug use, and academic dishonesty.
Awards and recognition
Central is a charter member and has been fully accredited by AdvancED since 1924.[17] It has the oldest charter west of the Mississippi River in the Cum Laude Society.
As of 2008[update] Central has had the most National Merit and National Achievement finalists in the state over the past 10 years with over $4 million in scholarships awarded during the 2006–07 school year.[15] Central has had five Presidential Scholars in the last decade and had 144 AP Scholars in 2006–07.[15] The school dominates at regional and state Science Fairs.[15] It has the largest number of delegates to Boys' and Girls' State,[15] the most participants in Governor's School Gifted and Talented Program,[15] and has competed in chemistry Olympiad, Arkansas Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, mock trial, various mathematics competitions, and the SECME Olympiad.[15] In addition, Central has had 55 Stephens' Award winners for outstanding academic achievement.[15]
The Drama and Competitive Speech program is competitive and became one of the charter chapters of the Arkansas district of the National Forensic League (speech and debate honor society).[18]
The school's choir programs has garnered several Best in Class awards at the annual Arkansas State Choral Festival administered by the Arkansas Choral Directors Association (ArkCDA). In 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013, the Little Rock Central Madrigals won Class 7A Best in Class for Mixed Ensemble and Overall Ensemble.[19][20][21][22][23]
Since 2007, Central has been ranked nationally within the top 275 high schools based on the Challenge Index developed by the Washington Post.[4] In Newsweek's June 13, 2010 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Little Rock Central High School was ranked 94th in the nation, after having been ranked 20th in the magazine's 2006 rankings.[24]
Little Rock Central High School won the National Fed Challenge competition in 2007 and again in 2008.[25][26]
In 2008, Central was the Quiz Bowl division 7A state champion.[27]
The Little Rock Central Band and Flag Line were selected to participate in the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Parade for Barack Obama.[28]
Extracurricular activities
The Little Rock Central High School mascot for academic and athletic teams is the Tiger with black and old gold serving as the school colors. The school's fight song, "On, Tigers!" is based on "On, Wisconsin!."[29]
Athletics
The Little Rock Tigers compete in numerous interscholastic activities in the state's largest classification (7A) in the 7A/6A East Conference for 2012–14, as administered by the Arkansas Activities Association. The Tigers participate in baseball, basketball (boys/girls), bowling, competitive cheer, cross country, football, golf (boys/girls), soccer (boys/girls), softball, swimming & diving (boys/girls), tennis (boys/girls), track & field (boys/girls), volleyball, and wrestling.[30]
Little Rock Central holds numerous team and individual national and state titles and records including:
- Football: 32 football state championship banners from 1907 through 2004 including the state's all-time win record. Since 1937, home football games are played at Quigley-Cox Stadium at Verizon Wireless Field, originally named for Earl Quigley, a coach for the Tigers from 1914 to 1935. The Tigers won the 1946 and 1957 High School Football National Championship.
- Cross country: 22 boys' cross country state championships from 1955 through 1982;
- Track and field: a national-record 50 track & field state championships (1908–1979) with an 18-year consecutive run of titles from 1926 through 1945, followed by a 10-year title winning streak between 1949 and 1958. Bboth streaks are listed in the national record books.[citation needed]
- Basketball: the boys basketball teams have won 17 state titles between 1912–99, including four consecutive banners (1944–47) and three overall state titles (1972, 1973, 1975);
- Golf: The boys' golf team has won eight state titles between 1948 and 1982.
- Soccer: The girls' soccer team won consecutive state titles in 2002 and 2003.
- Swimming: The girls' swimming and diving team stood atop the podium with eight state titles since 1952.
- Tennis: The tennis teams have won thirteen titles for the boys' team and seven titles for the girls' team.[31]
Clubs and traditions
Little Rock Central offers a variety of clubs and organizations to support student social and community activities, competitions and events including; Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), Future Educators Association (FEA), Junior Civitan, and Student Council.
In addition to National Honor Society and National Beta Club, exceptional students at Central may be eligible to participate in honor societies including: math (Mu Alpha Theta); science (Science National Honor Society (SNHS)); vocal and instrumental music (Tri-M Music Honor Society); journalism (Quill and Scroll Society); theatre and drama (International Thespian Society); speech and debate as charter members of the Arkansas district of the National Forensic League.[32]
Academic regalia
Students that are members of the following groups wear special academic dress medallions / cords at graduation:[33]
Presented by | Color / Honor |
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Beta Club | Black & Gold Ribbon with Medal |
Future Educators Association | Baby Blue Cord |
Honor Graduate | Gold Cord |
Honor Thespian | Royal Blue & Gold Cord with Medallion |
International Studies | Forest Green Cord |
International Thespian Society | Royal Blue & Gold Ribbon with Bronze Medallion |
Junior Civitan | Blue & Yellow Cord |
National Honor Society | Blue & Gold Tassel |
Principal’s Cabinet | Leadership Medal |
Quill and Scroll | Blue & Gold Cord |
Science National Honor Society | Gold, Green & Purple Cord |
Mu Alpha Theta | Sky Blue & Gold Cord |
National Forensics League | Silver & Red Cord |
Feeder patterns
Elementary schools that feed into Little Rock Central include:
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Middle schools include Cloverdale Magnet Middle School, Dunbar Magnet Middle School, Forest Heights Middle School, Henderson Health Sciences Magnet Middle School, and Pulaski Heights Middle School.
Magnet-only schools that matriculate many students to Central include Mann Arts and Science Magnet Middle School.
Notable alumni
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The following are notable people associated with Little Rock High School / Little Rock Central High School. If the person was a Central High School student, the number in parentheses indicates the year of graduation; if the person was a faculty or staff member, that person's title and years of association are included
Academia and political
- Little Rock Nine (1958–60)—Eight of the nine original students of the 1957 Little Rock integration crisis.
- Charles J. Blake (c. 2001)—Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Pulaski County since 2015.
- Vivion Brewer (1917)—Political activist and one time chairwoman of the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools.
- Brownie Ledbetter (1950)—Political activist and member of the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools that lobbied for the re-opening of Little Rock Central High School during the Little Rock Integration Crisis.
- Calvin Ledbetter, Jr. (1946)—Educator and politician; member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (1967–1977).
- Pratt C. Remmel (1933)—Mayor of Little Rock (1951–55).
- Woodrow Wilson Mann (ca. 1935)—Mayor of Little Rock (1955–57).
- Clarke Tucker (1999)—Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Pulaski County since 2015.
- Darrin Williams—Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (2009–15).
- Mark Pryor—U.S. Senator, Arkansas (2003–15).
Arts and entertainment
- Matt Besser (1985)—Actor and comedian.[34]
- Dee Brown (ca. 1926)—Novelist and historian.
- Rodger Bumpass (1970)—Notable voice actor.[35]
- Gail Davis (ca. 1943)—TV and film actress, best known for her starring role as Annie Oakley in the 1950s television Western series Annie Oakley.
- Dani Evans—Fashion model; winner of 2006 Next Top Model.
- Brent Jennings (1969)—TV and film actor.
- Charlotte Moorman (1951)—Cellist and performance artist.
- George Newbern (1982)—TV and film actor.
- Walter Norris (1950)—Pianist and composer.
- Ben Piazza (1951)—TV and film actor.
- Jason White (1991)—Musician; Green Day Guitarist.
- Clifton Williams (1941)—Composer of symphonic band music[36]
Commerce and industry
- James Smith McDonnell (1917)—Aviation pioneer and founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation.
- Sanford N. McDonnell (1940)—Engineer, businessman and philanthropist; former Chairman and CEO of McDonnell Douglas.
Sports
- Mike Beard (1968)—Former professional baseball player.[37]
- Alvin Bell (1919)—Umpire; all-around high school and collegiate athlete; 1978 inductee, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame[38]
- Charles Clay (2006)- NFL player Buffalo Bills
- Walt Coleman (1970)—American football player (NFL); inductee, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.[39]
- John Hoffman (1945)—NFL player (1949–1956); 1976 inductee, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame[38]
- Joe Johnson (1999)—NBA All Star and USA basketball player.
- Danny Nutt (1980)—Former assistant coach of collegiate football.
- Dennis Nutt (1981)—Men's basketball head coach of collegiate basketball: former professional player.
- Dickey Nutt (1977)—Men's basketball head coach of collegiate basketball.
- Houston Nutt (1976)—Former head coach of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Razorbacks and the University of Mississippi Rebels football team[40]
- Jack Robbins (1933)—Football and basketball standout player, NFL player; 1974 inductee, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.[38]
- Brooks Robinson (1955)—Hall of Fame third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles[41]
- Drew Smyly (2007)—Baseball player[42]
- Reggie Swinton (1993)—Former American football player.[39]
- Harry Vines (1957)—Wheelchair basketball coach.[43]
- Fred Williams (1978)—Four-time NFL Pro Bowl defense lineman.[39]
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
On November 6, 1998, Congress established Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. The National Historic Site is administered in partnership with the National Park Service, Little Rock Public Schools, the City of Little Rock, and others.[44]
The Visitor Center for the site is located diagonally across the street from the school and across from the memorial dedicated by Michael Warrick, and opened in fall 2006. It contains a captioned interpretive film on the Little Rock integration crisis, as well as multimedia exhibits on both that and the larger context of desegregation during the 20th century and the Civil Rights Movement.
Opposite the Visitor Center to the west is the Central High Commemorative Garden, which features nine trees and benches that honor the students. Arches that represent the school's facade contain embedded photographs of the school in years since the crisis, and showcase students of various backgrounds in activities together.
Opposite the Visitor Center to the south is a historic Mobil gas station, which has been preserved in its appearance at the time of the crisis. At the time, it served as the area for the press and radio and television reporters. It later served as a temporary Visitor Center before the new one was built.
References
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- ↑ National Geographic September 2000 (Vol 198 No 3) Hallowed Site, Working School Geographica Section-sub-section U.S. History
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Little Rock Central High School. |
- Official website
- LR Central High School at Little Rock School District web page
- See article on legacy of Little Rock on Time.com.
- Guardians of Freedom - 50th Anniversary of Operation Arkansas, by ARMY.MIL
- National Park Service: Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
- National Historic Landmarks Program
- Desegregation of Central High School
- Little Rock Central High School Class of 57
- ”From Canterbury to Little Rock: The Struggle for Educational Equality for African Americans”, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plans
- Documents relating to the Little Rock School Integration Crisis, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
- LRCH Memory Project website
- Little Rock Central High School Integration, Civil Rights Digital Library.
- Use mdy dates from February 2013
- Historic district contributing properties in Arkansas
- Articles with unsourced statements from July 2014
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Official website not in Wikidata
- Little Rock Central High School
- 1905 establishments in Arkansas
- 1927 establishments in Arkansas
- Educational institutions established in 1905
- Gothic Revival architecture in Arkansas
- High schools in Little Rock, Arkansas
- Historically segregated white schools in the United States
- History of African-American civil rights
- Little Rock Nine
- Magnet schools in Arkansas
- National Historic Landmarks in Arkansas
- National Historic Sites in Arkansas
- Public high schools in Arkansas
- School buildings completed in 1927
- Schools in the Little Rock School District
- African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68) museums