Central High School is a public
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
located at 5321 Jacksboro Pike in the
Fountain City neighborhood of
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
, operated by the
Knox County school system. The school's athletic teams are nicknamed the Bobcats, and its colors are
red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
and
black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
.
History
Central was formerly located at what is now
Gresham Middle School in the heart of Fountain City. In the 1960s, it was the largest
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in Tennessee. Its name is something of a misnomer, since it has never been located near the center of Knoxville, even when Fountain City was
annexed
Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...
into Knoxville in the early 1960s. The northernmost high school in Knoxville before the annexation of Fountain City was
Fulton, and in the county,
Powell,
Karns, and
Halls high schools were farther north.
2008 shooting
On August 21, 2008, 15-year-old student Jamar Siler entered the school cafeteria and approached student Ryan McDonald sitting at a lunch table. Siler fatally shot McDonald, and was arrested by authorities a short time later. The two had been in previous altercations, the details of which were not released to the general public.
Siler was initially tried as a juvenile until Juvenile Court judge, Tim Irwin, ordered that he be tried as an adult.
In November 2011, at age 18, Siler pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 30-year sentence.
[
Siler is currently incarcerated in the ]Trousdale Turner Correctional Center
The Trousdale Turner Correctional Center is a private prison for men, located in Hartsville, Tennessee, Hartsville, Trousdale County, Tennessee, owned and operated by CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America) under contract with th ...
.
Notable attendees
* Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...
, country music star
*Kelsea Ballerini
Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. A five-time Grammy Award nominee, she began having success in the 2010s, being honored with the Academy of Country Music Awards#Special awards, Ge ...
, country music star
* Trevor Bayne
Trevor Mitchell Bayne (born February 19, 1991) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, Dirt track racing, dirt racing driver, team owner, and businessman. He is currently a pit reporter for NASCAR on Prime Video, ''NASCAR ...
, NASCAR driver who won the 2011 Daytona 500
The 2011 Daytona 500, the 53rd running of the event, was held on February 20, 2011, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Trevor Bayne, driving for Wood Br ...
* Reggie Cobb, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
running back
* Tony Cosey, Olympic steeplechase runner
* Michele Carringer, state legislator.
* Ray Graves
Samuel Ray Graves (December 31, 1918 – April 10, 2015) was an American professional football player and college football coach. He was a native of Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he was the starting center and ...
, football player at Tennessee and head football coach at Florida
* Todd Helton
Todd Lynn Helton (born August 20, 1973) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played his entire 17-year career for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). A five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, and t ...
, professional baseball player
* Scott Holtzman, UFC Lightweight Fighter
* Frankie Housley, heroic flight attendant
* Con Hunley, American country music singer
* Tim Irwin, former Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
lineman, former University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...
lineman, Judge of Juvenile Court, Knox County, Tennessee
* Josh Lovelace, singer, songwriter and musician best known as the keyboardist for the rock band Needtobreathe
Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The group first gained fame for their Christian themes, eventually reaching crossover success. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, ...
.
* Terrence Scott, British Columbia Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions playe ...
Football Player
* Steve Searcy, baseball player
* William T. Snyder, Chancellor of University of Tennessee-Knoxville (1992–1999) and house organist at the Tennessee Theater
* Bob Suffridge, lineman for Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
and University of Tennessee.
* Jennifer Tipton
Jennifer Tipton (born September 11, 1937) is an American lighting designer. She has designed for dance, theater, and opera. She is known for working on many productions of American Ballet Theatre.
Life and career
Tipton was born in Columbus, Ohi ...
, Tony Award-winning lighting designer
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
Public high schools in Tennessee
Schools in Knoxville, Tennessee
Educational institutions established in 1906
1906 establishments in Tennessee