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., ...

(

grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

9-12) in Memphis,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, United States. Founded in the early 1900s, it is popularly considered the first high school in Memphis. This, however, is not accurate; in fact, 3 High Schools in Memphis were established before Central: Booker T Washington in 1873 (with the same colors and mascot), Manassas HS in 1899, and Melrose in 1894. Central is often called "THE" High School. It is a part of the Shelby County Optional School system where it is recognized as a school specializing in college preparatory programs. The principal is Amy Epps. Central's mascot is the Warrior and the school colors are green and gold. For recognition as the successor to Memphis High School, the first high school for whites in Memphis, Central High's football team, rather than having artwork denoting the "Warrior" mascot, simply has a capital "H", for THE High School

History

Central High was built in 1911 by the Memphis Board of Education, when the current building was erected on Raleigh Avenue, now called Bellevue Blvd. It is in the Jacobean Revival architecture style, with corner pavilions on the west facade, and rusticated surrounds on the upper story windows. Though there have been additions, the school retains its architectural integrity. . Central High's building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on September 17, 1982.

Academics

Central High School offers a traditional program of academics as well as a College Preparatory Optional Program. Honors and

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...

courses are offered. In 2014, 405 students received diplomas. ACT composite scores for the 2014-2015 school year were 18.1 vs 19.8 for the state and 21.1 national.

Extra-curricular activities

Central High School has clubs in foreign language, volunteer service, and honor societies. Central's jazz band placed first in the 2025 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition in New York City, winning additional awards for trumpet, trombone, and rhythm sections.

Sports

Central High has numerous varsity sports teams, including baseball/softball, basketball, swimming, golf, football, soccer, volleyball, cross country/track, tennis, and wrestling.

Notable alumni

* William F. Barnes - football coach at UCLA * John S. Bull - CHS '52, NASA Astronaut Group 5 selected in 1966. * Charles W. Burson - CHS '62; legal counsel and chief of staff to Vice-President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950March 17, 2010) was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock bands the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops ...

- musician of the Box Tops – “The Letter”; would have been CHS '69, but dropped out when The Letter became a hit * John Farris - CHS ’55; author “Harrison High”, a fictional account of Central High * Avron Fogelman - Memphis businessman *

Key Glock Markeyvius LaShun Cathey (born August 3, 1997), known professionally as Key Glock, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. The cousin of late Memphis rapper Young Dolph, Cathey signed with his record label, Paper Route Empire, t ...

- CHS '15; music artist and rapper signed to Paper Route Empire *

Bette Greene Bette Jean Greene (née Evensky; June 28, 1934 – October 2, 2020) was the author of several books for children and young adults, including ''Summer of My German Soldier'', ''The Drowning of Stephan Jones'', and the Newbery Honor book '' Philip ...

- CHS ’52; author “Summer of My German Soldier” *Natalie Jackson - CHS '78; (a.k.a. Kudisan Kai) background vocalist for Elton John, Natalie Cole, and others * Lester Hudson - professional basketball player * George Barnes - alias Machine Gun Kelly * William G. Leftwich, Jr. - Marine killed in Vietnam *

Terry Manning Terry Don Manning (December 29, 1947 – March 25, 2025) was an American recording engineer, record producer, musician and photographer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he worked with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top, the ...

- music producer, photographer * William Poduska - CHS '55; electrical engineer, businessman, and professor * William Sanderson - CHS ’62; "Larry" on the Newhart show *

Pooh Shiesty Lontrell Donell Williams Jr. (born November 8, 1999), better known by his stage name Pooh Shiesty, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He signed with Gucci Mane's 1017 Records, an imprint of Atlantic Records in 2020, he rose to promi ...

- CHS '18; rapper and music artist * Edward L. Stanton III -

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

& federal judicial nominee * Tyler Stone (born 1991) - basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

* Art Tait - American football player in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) * Peter Taylor - short-story writer and novelist * Margaret Valiant - musician, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and activist *Jon Wells - CHS '76; alias "Thunder Paws", former drummer for Black Oak Arkansas (recorded on Ready As Hell) *

Kemmons Wilson Charles Kemmons Wilson (January 5, 1913 – February 12, 2003) was an American hotelier. He is best known for founding the hotel chain Holiday Inn in the 1950s. Personal life He was born in Osceola, Arkansas, the only child of Kemmons and Ru ...

- founder of

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...

Ryan Chittum (September 20, 2005). "The Holidome Returns: Slumping Holiday Inn Expands Water Parks". The Wall Street Journal.

References

External links

CHS History
{{authority control Public high schools in Tennessee School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee High schools in Memphis, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Memphis, Tennessee 1909 establishments in Tennessee