Wilkes Central High School

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Wilkes Central High School is a public high school (grades 9-12) located in Moravian Falls, North Carolina. It is a part of the Wilkes County School System. The school's enrollment is typically around 1,000 students. The school's district includes the towns of Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro as well as the southern regions of Wilkes County. The current principal is Mr. Steve Moree. Wilkes Central has the largest enrollment of Wilkes County's four public high schools.

1 History
2 Academics
3 Athletics
4 Notable Alumni
5 See also
6 Links

[edit] History

Wilkes Central High School was formed in 1953 from a merger of Wilkesboro High School and North Wilkesboro High School. The school's first campus was located on the banks of the Yadkin River in Wilkesboro, the county seat. In 1981 the school moved to a new campus in the community of Moravian Falls, located just south of Wilkesboro in the foothills of the Brushy Mountains. In 1964 Wilkes Central became the first high school in Wilkes County to be racially integrated; that year Wilkes County's all-black high school (called Lincoln Heights) closed and its students began attending Wilkes Central.

[edit] Academics

Wilkes Central High School courses follow Block scheduling. A normal day consists of four 90 minute blocks. The third block is 120 minutes long allowing for a 30 minute lunch period. A normal day begins at 8:00am and ends at 3:00pm.

The school offers career prep classes and college prep classes. It offers Honors mathematics, English, and science courses. Wilkes Central also offers Advanced Placement courses in subjects such as Calculus and English. The language department offers courses in Spanish, German, Latin, and French. Wilkes Central is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, also known as SACS.

[edit] Athletics

Wilkes Central's sports mascot is the Eagle (also sometimes called the "Golden Eagle"). Wilkes Central is a member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and is classified as a 2A school. The school is a member of the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference, which includes other 2A schools from Wilkes County and neighboring counties in North Carolina. The school's colors are green and gold.

Wilkes Central is home to very successful athletic teams including the following:

2A Women's Tennis Team State Champions (2002)
2A Men's Soccer State Champions (2005)
Many Individual Women Cross Country and Track and Field State Champions

Recent athletic achievements since 2000 include conference championships in football, men's soccer, women's tennis, women's cross country, women's basketball, men's tennis, women's soccer, and men's swimming.

[edit] Notable Alumni

John Swofford, (born 1948), former Athletic Director of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; since 1997 the Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), one of the premiere college sports conferences in the nation.
William Oliver Swofford, (1945-2000), pop singer known as "Oliver", recorded two hit singles in 1969; "Good Morning Starshine" reached #3 on the billboard hit list, while "Jean" reached #2. "Jean" was the theme song for the Oscar-winning film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. He was the older brother of John Swofford.
Deneen Graham, (born 1964), the first black woman to be crowned Miss North Carolina (in 1983).
Zach Galifianakis, (born 1969), a popular-stand up comedian and actor who has made frequent appearances on television programs such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the Comedy Central network.
Skip and Logan Matheny of the Chapel Hill-based band Roman Candle