| Central High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 423 E. Central Springfield, Missouri, United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Status | Open |
| Principal | Dr. Ron Snodgrass |
| Assistant principals | Lisa Anderson Courtney Martin |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1,509 (2010–11) |
| Color(s) | Black and Red |
| Mascot | Bulldog |
| Graduation rate | 76.7 (As of 2010) |
| Website | www.centralbulldogs.org/index.html |
Central High School is a high school located in downtown Springfield, Missouri. The school was built in 1893 as senior high school. The first graduating class was one of 41 students in 1894. The school was renamed Central High School after the construction of Springfield's second oldest high school, Parkview, in 1956. The school's yearbook is known as The Résumé, and the school newspaper is called The High Times. Central's mascot is the Bulldog, named Pug by the students at the time of his creation. Central is also the home to the Kiltie Drum and Bugle Corps. This corps was created by Dr. Robert Ritchie Robertson in 1925, and has the distinction of being the first all-female Scottish pipe and drum corps in the country.
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Central High School is home to the only IB Diploma Programme in Springfield. Other notable academic programs at Central High School include the Middle Years Scholars Program, a program from Phelps Center for the Gifted, for gifted middle schoolers featuring advanced middle school classes and honors high school courses; and the A+ Program, an opportunity for advancement, scholarships, and other benefits for high school students.
Being an old school, Central has a varied structure. The original building is almost fully intact, albeit with many additions:
An indoor gymnasium - nicknamed "The Pit" for its sunken floor - houses basketball and volleyball games. As of 2008 "The Pit" was renamed the James Ball Gymnasium in honor of a successful basketball coach at the school. Other sports take place at nearby Harrison Stadium. (Until the gym and auditorium were constructed, other space had to be used for them, which has since been converted into classrooms. Structural marks, though, still remain.)
Some features of the campus are no longer present. The hallways to Central's auditorium once were home to a lot of ivy plants, the seed used to grow them taken from George Washington's home. The plants were removed in the 70's for fear of possible damage to the building, but ivy murals were painted on the walls to replace them. There was once a bell tower on the front of the building, but it had to be taken down circa 1916 due to the strain it placed on the façade.
A system of tunnels exists under the building, but most are filled in; only on special occasions, such as the "Howl Night" event in October, are students allowed into the ones remaining.