West Charlotte High School

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Mission Statement

“To promote and support student learning in a safe, diverse learning community where students, staff, and parents actively commit to academic excellence and personal responsibility.”

-Principal John Modest

That mission has carried West Charlotte High very far since it's opening as the first major black high school in 1938 in urban Charlotte, North Carolina. West Charlotte High School is a 76 year old school in the heart of Charlotte NC, adjacent to Beattis Ford Road.

In recent years the school's performance on standardized testing has fallen. In 2005 it was last in the county with only 37.1% of students passing End of Course tests. A new princpal was appointed and improvements are being pursued. It is significant to note however that there are suggestions that the school should be closed from many, including Wake Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr. The school has remained open, in part because of the response of it's active alumni.[1]

The athletics at the school are exceptional. The Mighty Lions football team has not missed a showing at the North Carolina state playoffs in over three decades, the track team averages one athlete at the nationals every year, and the marching band is one of the best known extra-curricular activities at West Charlotte. They have performed at a bowl game every year since 2004, when they debuted at the Sugar Bowl.

On a Friday night in 1989, a young man named Alex Orange lost his life while trying to break up a fight at a party. Alex could have been just another statistic of another young life lost to violence. But the following Monday, his grieving classmates gathered in West Charlotte Senior High School's cafeteria and vowed to organize against violence in Alex's memory. The group formed Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE), with the vision that all students will be able to attend a school that is safe, secure, free of fear, and conducive to learning.

In just 15 years, SAVE has expanded from that first chapter in Charlotte, North Carolina, to over 185,000 members in 1,600 SAVE chapters across the U.S. Today, SAVE serves youth in elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges, and community youth-serving organizations in 44 states and several foreign countries. Our diverse members represent all races, ages, ethnic groups, sexual orientations, and physical abilities. SAVE is coordinated by a North Carolina-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere, but it is still led by students, for students.

The school goes by the nickname of "the dub" or "dub c" and is composed of the children of the adults who once attended Second Ward High School/