Garinger High School
Address
Map
1100 Eastway Dr

Charlotte, North Carolina
28205

United States
Coordinates35°14′29″N 80°46′58″W / 35.24139°N 80.78278°W / 35.24139; -80.78278
Information
Former namesCharlotte High School (1908–1920)
Alexander Graham High School (1920–1923)
Central High School (1923–1959)
TypePublic
MottoWhere the world meets for class everyday
Founded1908 (116 years ago) (1908)
CEEB code340668
PrincipalLeDuan Pratt
Staff103.30 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Number of students1,643 (2021–2022)[1]
Student to teacher ratio15.91[1]
Color(s)Blue and gray
  
MascotWildcat
NewspaperThe Rambler
YearbookSnips and Cuts
Websitewww.cmsk12.org/garingerHS

Garinger High School (sometimes referred to simply as Garinger or The G) is a high school located in Charlotte, North Carolina.

History

Garinger was in essence the relocation of Central High School, making it one of the oldest remaining schools in Charlotte. The school's origins date back to 1908–09, when the class of 1909 received their diplomas in the first graduation of Charlotte High School. In 1920, Charlotte High School relocated to a larger building on East Morehead Street and was re-named Alexander Graham High School. In 1923, a new school building located on Elizabeth Avenue opened as Central High School. Central received all students who were attending Alexander Graham High.[2][3]

In 1959, Central High moved to its current facility on Eastway Drive and was renamed Garinger High School in honor of Dr. Elmer H. Garinger, a former principal of Central High and superintendent of the Charlotte City Schools. The building was not condemned and Charlotte College, a night school, continued to operate from the old Central High building until it was absorbed by Central Piedmont Community College.

In early 2006 the school found itself threatened with closure by the State of North Carolina, but received backing from the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

Historical landmark

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historical Landmarks Commission is considering placing Garinger High School on their study list. If placed on the study list a motion would go before the city council who would vote on the issue.[4]

New schools on campus

In the beginning of the 2006–2007 school year, two schools were inaugurated in the CMS system on the Garinger Campus. New Technology High School at Garinger, and International Studies at Garinger. The following year, three more schools were added: the School of Math and Science at Garinger, the School of Leadership and Public Services at Garinger, and the School of Business and Finance at Garinger.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools announced that the five small schools on the Garinger campus would become a one school again under the name of "Garinger High School," effective in the 2011-2012 school year.

Campus

Garinger High School is located in East Charlotte at 1100 Eastway Dr.

Garinger's campus was designed by AG Odell, Jr. and Associates. The campus covers roughly 63 acres (250,000 m2) and consists of several detached buildings, many of which have interior courtyards. Near the center of campus sits a unique circular building with a conical roof, which served as the original library. It has since been converted into classroom space and much of the interior integrity has been lost. A new two-story library was added in the 1970s. [1]

The campus was considered state-of-the-art when it first opened, winning many architectural awards for its unique modern buildings. Garinger was featured in a 1962 edition of National Geographic as Charlotte-Mecklenburg's showplace high school. [2]

Traditions

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Garinger has many long standing traditions, many of which were carried over from Central High. The teams are known as the "Wildcats," and the school colors are blue and white; high school teams under that nickname and colors have played since 1908 at Charlotte High/Central High.

Fight song

Garinger's fight song is based on The Washington and Lee Swing.

Willow tree

The official symbol of Garinger High School is the weeping willow tree. The school's annual literary magazine is called Under the Willow Tree.

Sports

Garinger's mascot is a wildcat, and the school colors are royal blue and gray. These traditions harken back to the days of Charlotte Central High School. Garinger competes as a North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 4A school.

While competitive and occasionally successful in basketball, track and field, and golf, the Wildcats have struggled greatly in other sports, most notably football (discussed below). Garinger often sells out its intimate 600-capacity gym for basketball games against West Charlotte and Independence.

One of Garinger's historic forms, Charlotte (later Central) High School, was a football powerhouse and used American Legion Memorial Stadium as its home field in its latter days.

Garinger's current stadium is Phil Hughston Memorial Stadium, named for a player who died from injuries sustained in a 1971 football game.

Honors

(*) As Charlotte or Central High

Football losing streaks

Garinger won a North Carolina football state championship the first year the school went under the name Garinger High in 1959. In the ensuing next couple decades, the team saw relative success, and produced NFL players such as multiple time Pro Bowl and Super Bowl champion Dwight Clark who made 'the catch' in the 1982 NFC Championship game, and Troy Pelshak who won Super Bowl XXXIV with the St. Louis Rams.[9] From around the early 1990s and onward however, the team has struggled.

From 2002–2007 Garinger was stricken by North Carolina's longest active losing streak. In September 2007 the streak reached a staggering 51 games before news broke of violations by North Mecklenburg, Providence, and Vance High Schools. Garinger was retroactively awarded wins against North Meck and Vance ending the streak. The streak was also reduced to 49 games as a result of having played Vance in August. Garinger's final record for 2007 was declared to be 4–7, the school's best record in well over two decades under Coach Chris Carter in 2008.[10]

On October 6, 2008, while celebrating the school's 100th anniversary and homecoming, Garinger had their first honorable win against West Mecklenburg High School, beating them 32–12. They went on to end the season with a couple more wins and even made it to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2008 playoffs, the first time in 18 years.

From 2011–2017 Garinger was stricken by another long losing streak. This time spanning 6 seasons and 55 games. On September 8, 2017, the streak finally came to a close when the team beat Monroe's Central Academy of Technology and Arts by a final score of 42–0.[11]

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Garinger High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  2. ^ Garinger High School - The Garinger Education Foundation. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  3. ^ Central High School | Charlotte Mecklenburg Story. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  4. ^ "Garinger - Central Alumni Association - News - Historical Landmarks Commission". Archived from the original on 2008-02-07. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
  5. ^ Baseball State Championships. NCHSAA. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  6. ^ Men's Basketball Champion List. NCHSAA. Retrieved Aug 25, 2020.
  7. ^ Football State Champions List. NCHSAA. Retrieved Aug 25, 2020.
  8. ^ Track & Field Team State Champions. NCHSAA. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  9. ^ Garinger Honors Its Only NCHSAA State Championship Football Team. NCHSAA. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  10. ^ Sports, Observer (2008-07-25). "Post-forfeit football standings". Prep Insiders. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  11. ^ Charlotte's Garinger High School Broke Their 6-Year 0–55 Losing Streak Last Night. charlottestories.com. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  12. ^ Mary Belk Fact Sheet. (PDF). Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  13. ^ Camilo Benitez (Charlotte, NC). maxpreps.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Nflacarolinas.org". www.nflacarolinas.org.
  15. ^ Walter E. Dellinger III | Duke University School of Law. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  16. ^ Sonny Dixon Stats. Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  17. ^ John Donaldson Stats. Baseball-Reference. Retrieved Dec 24, 2019.
  18. ^ Shalom Dutey | Liberty Flames. liberty.edu. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  19. ^ Chris Folk - Obituary. legacy.com. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  20. ^ K-Ci & JoJo Are Born. The Urban Daily. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  21. ^ Jack Helms Stats. Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  22. ^ Charlotte Mayor Patsy Kinsey. Retrieved Aug 25, 2020.
  23. ^ Legacy the Myers Park Story by Kratt, Mary Norton. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  24. ^ Doris Leeper House. Retrieved Aug 25, 2020.
  25. ^ Honors - Dan Locklair. Dan Locklair, Composer. Retrieved Dec 24, 2019.
  26. ^ Robert Massy - Pro Football Archives. Retrieved Aug 25, 2020.
  27. ^ Edwards, Jay. (November 26, 2014). Garinger's Tresor Mbuyu, Weddington's Powell Williams reap Observer's annual men's soccer honors. The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  28. ^ Jim Richards Stats. Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  29. ^ Garinger High School Class of 1962 Alumni. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  30. ^ ncpreptrack.org http://ncpreptrack.org/OlympiansFromNC.html. Retrieved 6 March 2019. ((cite web)): Missing or empty |title= (help)[title missing]

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Garinger High School.
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