Gardendale High School
| Gardendale High School | |
| Established | 1960s |
|---|---|
| School type | Public |
| District | Jefferson County Schools |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Principal | Jeff Caufield |
| Enrollment | 865 (2009) |
| Colors | maroon, gray & white |
| Mascot | Rockets |
| Location | 800 Main Street Gardendale |
| Website | gardendalehigh.jefcoed.com |
Gardendale High School is a public high school located at the corner of Main Street and Mt Olive Road in Gardendale. The school, which belongs to the Jefferson County Schools system, was developed in the mid 1960s with students coming mainly from Mortimer Jordan High School in Morris. The school now takes students from Bragg Middle School in Gardendale. The first graduating class completed their schooling in 1968. The school's current enrollment is approximately 865. The principal is Anna Vacca.
The Alabama Department of Education recognized Gardendale High School's Family and Consumer Sciences Education Program as the "Outstanding Program of the Year" for 2003.
Gardendale's athletic teams are called the "Rockets", a name chosen by vote of the first students during the height of the space race. The school's Driver Stadium, originally called Rocket Stadium, was the largest of any school in the county during the 1970s. The school colors are maroon, gray and white. The head football coach is Chris Fancher.
Gardendale has won state championships in boy's indoor track (1978-80, 1984, 1988 and 1989) and boy's cross-country running (1976-79 and 1982). The school also won the 1974 state wrestling championship and has produced individual wrestling champions Tripp Otis and Chad Bearden.
Current building
In early 2007, plans were announced for a new school to be built with part of the county's share of the County's 1¢ sales tax for school construction. A proposal to merge Fultondale High School into the new school was rejected during planning.
On June 21, 2007 the County Board of Education contracted with Maloney Construction to demolish the old school building. The new $48 million school building was built on the north campus of the former school. It was planned for an overall enrollment of 1,200 students, with room for adding as many as 32 classrooms in the future. It has a 600-seat auditorium and 100-seat lecture theater, separate competition and practice gymnasiums. The school also has a vocational education center for use by all county high school students.
Gardendale students used the Rogers Building and 22 portable classrooms during the two years of construction for the new school, which opened on February 16, 2010.
Notable alumni
- Jerry Hairston (1971), Baseball player
- Curt Jarvis (1983), NFL player
- Willie Wyatt (1986), NFL player
- Alan Ogg (1986), NBA player
- Chris Fryar (1989), percussionist
References
- "Gardendale High School." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 20 May 2007, 17:32 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 21 Jun 2007 [1]
- Leech, Marie (March 30, 2007) "Jeffco high schools won't merge". Birmingham News
- Leech, Marie (June 21, 2007) "Contract awarded for demolishing Gardendale High." Birmingham News
- "Students get tour of new Gardendale High School, which opens Tuesday." (February 12, 2010) Birmingham News
External links
- Gardendale High School website
- Gardendale Rocket Football website
- Gardendale High School football history from ahsfhs.org website