Cleveland Junior Naval Academy (also known as Cleveland High School) was a

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nicke ...

military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

high school in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and was a part of the St. Louis Public Schools. Cleveland High School opened in 1915 as a comprehensive high school, merging with the Junior Naval Academy in 1984. The Junior Naval Academy was a magnet military academy, founded in 1981. In 2006, the school moved from its original location on Louisiana Avenue to the Pruitt Military Academy building on North 22nd Street, then, in 2010, it moved from Pruitt to the Southwest High School building at Arsenal and Kingshighway. In 2021, the St. Louis Public Schools board voted to close the location effective the upcoming school year.

Events and celebration

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

was a traditional homecoming festival, including a football game, parade, and dance. The parades were held on Saturday morning of the weekend designated for the homecoming football game. The parade route was usually in the school's neighborhood. The dance was held that same Saturday, in the Field House, one of Cleveland High School's old buildings. *Pass-in-Review was an event held in the spring, usually near the end of April. The event began with a visitation by a high ranking

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

Officer, who spent a couple of days inspecting the individual platoons in the regiment. On the Friday after the Regimental Inspection, the

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

was formed up on the nearby parade ground to perform the various procedures (i.e. Report-in, Parade the Colors, Guest Speaker, Drill Teams etc.) The ceremony commenced with the regiment parading past the military and civilian dignitaries in the review stand. *Naval Ball was held in May. The Naval Ball was the school's version of a

Prom A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school y ...

, and was open to all Cadets (Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors.) Male cadets wore the Military Service

Dress Uniform Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, ...

. Female cadets wore the military service

, or they had the option of wearing formal dresses or gowns.

Special activities

As a Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps

NJROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools acr ...

unit, cadets were offered many experiences that were only offered through the NJROTC program. * During the spring of their freshman year, Delta cadets could have attended a 5-day training course in Tullahoma, TN called Mini-Boot Camp. Mini- Boot Camp emphasizes one must be a good follower to be a good leader. Cadets received two ribbons after completion. * During the summer break between their freshman and sophomore years, cadets were offered a 3-week course called

Platoon Commander {{unreferenced, date=February 2013 A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or firs ...

and MAA school. Cadets were taught the fundamentals of drill and small group leadership. Most cadets that completed this course went on to be platoon commanders or

Master at Arms A Master-at-Arms (US: MA; UK & some Commonwealth: MAA) may be a naval rating, responsible for law enforcement, regulating duties, security, anti-terrorism/force protection (AT/FP) for/of a country's navy; an army officer responsible for physical ...

. * During the summer break between sophomore and junior years, ''SELECT'' cadets were offered to go to the Area Nine Leadership Academy in Tullahoma, TN. This was the most prestigious and honorable course offered. Cadets were taught all of the essentials of being a leader. They were taught drill with swords and guide-ons,

military courtesy Military courtesy is one of the defining features of a ''professional'' military force. The courtesies form a strict and sometimes elaborate code of conduct. Military courtesy is an extension and a formalization of courtesies practiced in a cult ...

, proper procedures for military banquets, leadership skills, emphasis on physical fitness etc. Cadets who attended were the top cadets in their unit. Normally, Cleveland would send five to eight cadets. In general, NJROTC cadets that attended became the commanding and executive officers of their units. Upon completion of Leadership Academy, cadets were rewarded the silver aigrette which was the only aigrette nationally recognized by the NJROTC program.

Activities

For the 2011–2012 school year, the school offered 17 activities approved by the

Missouri State High School Activities Association The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri. Approximately 580 high schools are members of MSHSAA. The MSHSAA conducts championship-level activi ...

(MSHSAA): baseball, boys and girls basketball, sideline cheer leading, boys and girls cross country, 11-man football, boys and girls soccer, softball, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls track and field, girls volleyball, wrestling, and speech and debate.MSHSAA: Cleveland
/ref> In addition to its current activities, Cleveland students have won several state championships, including: *Baseball: 1958 *Boys Basketball: 1953 *Girls Basketball: 1983 *Boys Cross Country: 1949 *Boys Swimming and Diving: 1942, 1948, 1955 The school also has produced two individual wrestling state champions.MSHSAA: Championship Histories by Sport
/ref>

Notable people

Alumni

Bennie Anderson Tyron Lamar "Bennie" Anderson (born February 17, 1977) is a former American football guard. He played collegiately at Tennessee State University. High school and college careers Anderson attended Cleveland Junior Naval Academy in St. Louis ...

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

, played for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

Bob Broeg Robert William Patrick Broeg (March 18, 1918 – October 28, 2005) was an American sportswriter. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, he officially covered the St. Louis Cardinals for forty years. He graduated from Cleveland High School ( ...

, journalist, baseball Hall of Fame inductee *

Bob Ferry Robert Dean Ferry (May 31, 1937 – October 27, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, assistant coach, and general manager (GM) in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the St. Louis Hawks, Detroit Pistons, and ...

, professional basketball player, assistant coach, and general manager in the NBA *

Harry Keough Harry Joseph Keough (November 15, 1927 – February 7, 2012) was an American soccer defender who played on the United States national team in their 1–0 upset of England at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. He spent most of his club career in his ...

: member of the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

Phyllis Smith Phyllis Smith (born July 10, 1951) is an American actress and casting associate. She is best known for playing Phyllis Vance in the television series '' The Office'' and her critically acclaimed voice role as Sadness in the film '' Inside Out'' ...

: film and television actress, played

Phyllis Lapin-Vance ''The Office'' is an American mockumentary sitcom television series that depicts the everyday work lives of office employees at the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. It aired on NBC from March 24, 2 ...

on ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...

'' *

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...

Professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

NWA World Heavyweight Champion The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is i ...

, member of the

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestli ...

team

References

*NJROTC Curriculum Advisory Committee. ''NJROTC Cadet Field and Drill Manual.'' Pensacola, Florida: USN, 2006. {{authority control High schools in St. Louis Magnet schools in St. Louis Military high schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 1915 Public high schools in Missouri 1915 establishments in Missouri Educational institutions disestablished in 2021 2021 disestablishments in Missouri Buildings and structures in St. Louis