Central High School is a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

with an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students. Since 2004, the school has been located at a new site located at 2200 South Roosevelt Street. The new location is on the outskirts of the southeast side of town. The Thomas F. Kelley Theatre is the fine arts and multi-purpose venue. Golden Eagles Arena is the high school gymnasium that has hosted a number of

South Dakota High School Activities Association South Dakota High School Activities Association governs high school sports and other activities in the state of South Dakota. The SDHSAA was founded in 1905 and has been a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations The N ...

state championship events. Clark Swisher Field is the outdoor athletic complex located on the Central High School Campus. This complex is an ongoing joint project between

Northern State University Northern State University (NSU) is a public university in Aberdeen, South Dakota. NSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and offers 45 bachelor's degrees, 53 minors, six associate degrees, 16 pre-professional programs, 23 certifi ...

, the Aberdeen Public Schools, and the City of Aberdeen. The complex hosts both university and high school events in football, soccer, and track. Central High School is committed to meeting all requirements under the

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...

and was honored with the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement achievement in math and science in 2008. This award is given to the top performing high school in the state of South Dakota. Central High School ACT scores beat both national and state averages. The staff consists of over 100 people. Central students may earn college credit through the Rising Scholars Program or one of the many Advanced Placement opportunities available. Central High School partners with the Hub Area Vocational School to offer a large number of vocational learning experiences.Uttermark 2009

Athletics

Central's mascot is the Golden Eagle. The school has a rich history of athletic success with athletic teams for boys' football, basketball, wrestling, track, cross-country, tennis, golf, and newly added soccer. Teams for girls include volleyball, basketball, track, cross country, gymnastics, tennis, golf, competitive cheer and dance, and soccer. Their football and soccer teams compete on Swisher Field which sits next to the high school. State Championships: * Boys

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

- 1913, 1933, 1938, 1949, 1953, 1961, 1977, 1988 * Boys

Track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

- 2002 * Girls

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

- 2002, 2009, 2015 * Girls

- 2016, 2018 *

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

- 2014 Central High School participate* Boys

- 1977, 1988 s in the Eastern South Dakota Athletic Conference, the oldest conference in South Dakota. Students can also participate in numerous clubs and activities on campus, including drama, band, chorus, speech and debate.

Speech and debate

Aberdeen Central has won 9 team state championships in Speech and Debate (2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), and 2022, the most of any school in South Dakota. The 6 consecutive team state championships won from 2017-2022 marks the longest consecutive win streak in class AA SDHSAA history. Aberdeen Central was awarded the National Speech and Debate Association's Debate School of Excellence Award in 2014 and 2015, recognizing it as one of the top 20 debate schools in the nation. Aberdeen Central is 1 of only 3 schools (along with Bellaire High School of Texas & Durham Academy of North Carolina) to have ever won the award in back to back years. Students from Aberdeen Central compete in all events sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association and National Speech and Debate Association including:

Policy Debate Policy debate is an American form of debate competition in which teams of two usually advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government. It is also referred to as cross-examinat ...

, Lincoln Douglas Debate,

Public Forum Debate Public Forum debate is a widespread form of middle and high school competitive debate which centers on current events and relies on both logic and evidence to construct arguments. Invented in the US, Public Forum is one of the most prominent Americ ...

Original Oratory {{Multiple issues, {{No footnotes, date=November 2017 {{Notability, date=May 2020 Original Oratory (often shortened to "OO") is a competitive event in the National Speech and Debate Association, Stoa USA, National Catholic Forensic League, and o ...

Extemporaneous Speaking Extemporaneous Speaking (Extemp, or EXT) is a speech delivery style/speaking style, and a term that identifies a specific forensic competition. The competition is a speech event based on research and original analysis, done with a limited-prepar ...

, Oral Interpretation, and Student Congress. Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in Policy Debate four times (1965, 1997, 2008, 2010). Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in Lincoln Douglas twice (2012 & 2013). Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in Public Forum four times (2006, 2013, 2014, 2016). Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in Original Oratory eight times (1954, 1961, 1991, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010). Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in International Extemporaneous Speaking five times (2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012). Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in U.S. Extemporaneous Speaking three times (1988, 2007, 2008).

School leadership

* Jason Uttermark, ''Principal'' * Tina Board, ''Asst. Principal'' * Jake Phillips, ''Asst. Principal''

Notable alumni

Tom Daschle Thomas Andrew Daschle ( ; born December 9, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he became U.S. Senate Minority Leader in 1995 an ...

, (Class of 1965); former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

and

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

Josh Heupel Joshua Kenneth Heupel ( ; born March 22, 1978) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the Tennessee Volunteers football, University of Tennessee. Previously he served as head coach at the UCF Knights fo ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the 2000 National Champion

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...

football team, and head coach at

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

Taylor Mehlhaff Taylor Mehlhaff (born August 25, 1985) is a former American football placekicker. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin Badgers football, Wisconsin where he was a ...

, NFL kicker * Dean M. Peterson, developer of

Instamatic : ''For the film formats associated with the ''Instamatic'' and ''Pocket Instamatic'' camera ranges, see 126 film and 110 film respectively.'' The Instamatic is a series of inexpensive, easy-to-load 126 and 110 cameras made by Kodak beginning ...

and

point-and-shoot A point-and-shoot camera, also known as a compact camera and sometimes abbreviated to P&S, is a still camera designed primarily for simple operation. Most use focus free lenses or autofocus for focusing, automatic systems for setting the exposu ...

cameras *

Eddie Spears Edward Spears (born November 29, 1982) is an American actor. He is a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate Lakota (often called "Sioux") Lower Brulé Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Early life Spears was born in Chamberlain, South Dakota on the Lower Bru ...

, film actor and model *

Michael Spears Michael Spears (born December 28, 1977) is an American actor. He is a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate Lakota people, Lakota (often called "Sioux") Lower Brulé Tribe of South Dakota. Early life Michael Spears was born in Chamberlain, South Dakota ...

, film actor and model

References

External links

SDHSAA school info
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Aberdeen, South Dakota Public high schools in South Dakota Schools in Brown County, South Dakota Sports teams in Aberdeen, South Dakota