Central Gwinnett High School

Infobox HighSchool
name = Central Gwinnett High School


city = Lawrenceville
state = Georgia
country = United States
campus = Suburban
type = High School (Grades 9 - 12)
established = 1957
head = Valerie Clark
motto = "The Best School Of America"
students = aprox. 3000 students
free_label = Mascot
free = Black Knight
colors = Black,Gold, and White as an unofficial accent. color box|Blackcolor box|Goldcolor box|white
Address = 564 West Crogan StreetLawrenceville, GA 30045
homepage = [http://centralgwinnett.net/ http://centralgwinnett.net/]

Central Gwinnett High School is a high school in Lawrenceville, Georgia. The school is operated by Gwinnett County Public Schools. With the only school feeding into it being J.E Richards Middle School.Central Gwinnett High School has had a long academic, and athletic rivalry with nearby Brookwood High School.

History

Central Gwinnett-Lawrenceville High School can trace its roots back to 1821 when the Georgia General Assembly passed an act to open an Academy in Lawrenceville. On January 1, 1826, the Gwinnett Academy began classes in Reading, Writing, English Grammar, Science, Latin and Greek. Later in 1853 the Lawrenceville Female Seminary opened with classes in Greek, Latin and Stitchery. The first public school in Lawrenceville began in 1902 after the city of Lawrenceville enacted a school tax. The citizens of town felt that the city would need public schools to provide for the population growth resulting from the construction of railroads. A new brick structure for the high school was constructed in 1923. The "Lawrenceville Panthers" in their gold and white were strong contenders in basketball, track, Latin and Greek orations, one-act plays, girls' and boys' declamation, music, spelling, and debate. The Lawrenceville Public School System became a part of the Gwinnett County System in 1938. The current Central Gwinnett High School was formed in 1957 by the consolidation of Lawrenceville High School, Bethesda High School and Lilburn High School. When the former Lilburn High School attendance area was assigned to the then Berkmar High School, the Lawrenceville Community succeeded in having the name changed to Central Gwinnett-Lawrenceville High School.

Criticism

Though Central Gwinnett is one of the top rated schools in the county it is said to lack meeting some of the students needs. It is balanced in both positive and negative reviews.

"It is in your child's best interest to avoid moving into the Central Gwinnett High School district and the middle school is also a nightmare, Richards. We wish that we had received truthful information on this school before we invested in a home purchase here. We are actively searching for a school that better meets the needs of our children and will move as soon as possible, after 3 years of giving this school environment the 'benefit of the doubt'. Believe me when I say that as a parent, you have better options available for your children. Teachers are non-involved and offer no support to students who need it and the extracurricular activity programs are poorly run. There is no communication from counselors or teachers to encourage parents to get involved or even inform them of school related issues." [http://www.greatschools.net/school/parentReviews.page?id=1129&state=GA&sortBy=ra Parent Reviews of Central Gwinnett High School - Lawrenceville, Georgia - GA ] ]

"Great leadership brings out the best in everyone, and Central Gwinnett has great leadership! Central has a principal who exhibits a high level of professional integrity and cares about teachers and students"."

"Unfortunately I am a Central Gwinnett alumni (class of 2006). If you have the choice of attending Central or another school I'd highly suggest another school. With the exception of a few teachers the staff is unhelpful, uncaring, and uncooperative. The counselors are useless. They are more interested in their own problems than actually being helpful to the students. My counselor actually signed me up for Algebra I when I had passed Algebra II the previous semester. The lack of communication between the school and parents will cause you headaches down the road."

"I have a 12th grader and we are so happy to have her at Central. It's been awesome the time that she has been there. Teachers at Central are wonderful and they do their best to teach our children. Some students may cause problems making the teaching a little bit more difficult, however teachers at Central shine for their skills, and I recommend this school to anyone. What a joy to have my child in the best school of America!"

Athletics

* Baseball (9th Grade, JV & Varsity)
* Basketball (9th Grade, JV & Varsity)
* Cheerleading (9th Grade, Jv & Varsity)
* Cross-Country
* Dance Team
* Football (9th grade, JV & Varsity)
* Golf
* Soccer (JV & Varsity)
* Softball
* Swim & Dive Team
* Tennis
* Track
* Volleyball (9th Grade, JV & Varsity)
* Wrestling

Clubs and activities

* Anime Club
* Art Club
* Band/Marching Band
* Beta Club
* Care Teens
* Chorus
* Chess Club
* Color Guard/Winter Guard
* CBE (Cooperative Broadcasting Education)
* CIE (Careers In Education)
* Debate Team
* DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America)
* Drumline
* Excalibur (Student Newspaper)
* FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America)
* FCA (Fellowship Of Christian Athletes)
* French Club
* French Honor Society
* FEA (Future Educators of America)
* German Club
* German Honor Society
* Key Club
* Knight Riders (Equestrian/ Competition Team)
* Latin Club
* Latin Honor Society
* Mu Alpha Theta (Mathematical Honors Society)
* Math Team
* Model Arab
* Model UN
* Mock Trial
* NHS (National Honors Society)
* Odyssey Of The Mind
* Orchestra
* Peer Leaders/Mediators
* Scholar's Bowl
* Student Book Club
* SGA (Student Government Association)
* Spanish Club
* Spanish Honor Society
* Troubador (Literary Magazine)
* Yearbook

Band

Since their inception in 1957, Central Gwinnett High School and Band program, have embodied a tradition of quality. The Symphonic Winds is an auditioned group of top instrumentalists at Central Gwinnett. They consistently receive top ratings at festival and contests on local and national levels. In addition to numerous performances around Atlanta, the Central Gwinnett Band has performed in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, New York City, and on the popular morning show Good Day Atlanta.

The Central Gwinnett High School Band has more than one hundred and thirty students actively involved in Marching Band, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and two performing concert bands. There have been many directors for the group including Keith. Many students are involved in local performing groups, including District Honor Band, GMEA All-State, Gwinnett County Youth Symphony, Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, and The Governor's Honors Program.

Notable Alumni

* Kyle Brogdon - Former spokesman, Gwinnett Medical Center
* Stephanie Higgs - basketball player, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
* Jeff Keppen - baseball player, Clemson
* Jeremiah McClary - football player, Georgia Tech's 1990 National Championship team
* Rex Millsaps - Mayor, Lawrenceville, GA
* Ida Neal - basketball player, Georgia Tech
* Chuck Oliver - radio personality, 790 the Zone (Atlanta)
* Anastesia Opata- Tennis player for Washington State University
* Ted Roof - Assistant football coach University of Minnesota, Former head football coach, Duke University; football player, Georgia Tech
* Ethan Speir - Trumpet player, Georgia Tech
* Bill Zurmuehl - radio personality, WYAY (Y106FM) (Atlanta)
* Josh Aiken-Phillips - Football Player, Georgia Southern

References

* http://www.centralgwinnett.net
* http://www.centralblackknightfootball.org/
* http://www.cghsband.com

External links

* [http://centralgwinnett.net/ Central Gwinnett High School website]
* [http://gwinnett.k12.ga.us/ Gwinnett County Public Schools Website]