Hayes High School
| Hayes High School | |
| |
|
Birmingham City Schools |
| Years | 1960–2008 |
|---|---|
| Location | 505 43rd Street North, (map) North Avondale |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Principal | Anthony Gardner |
| Enrollment | 650 (2007) |
| Colors | bavy blue and burnt orange |
| Mascot | Pacesetters |
| Website | birmingham.schoolinsites.com |
Carol W. Hayes High School (opened in 1960) is a Birmingham City Schools high school located at 505 43rd Street North alongside Messer Airport Highway in Avondale. The principal is Anthony Gardner. The school colors are burnt orange and navy blue and the athletic teams are called the Pacesetters, with a bald eagle as mascot.
The school was planned in the late 1950s as a high school for African-American students and was constructed on a 17-acre site adjacent to the Kingston Housing Development. Originally referred to as Eastern High School, it was named for Birmingham's long-time "Director of Negro Schools" Carol W. Hayes just before it opened. The first principal was A. C. Dickinson, who came to Hayes from Powderly Elementary School.
The school opened with 622 9th through 11th-graders. A second wing was completed in 1961, in time for the first 12th grade class. A gymnasium along with space for home economics and industrial arts classes was finished in 1962. Another expansion, completed for the 1967 school year, provided a library and auditorium as well as more space for vocational education.
Hayes graduated its first senior class in May 1962. Although Birmingham City Schools were formally integrated in the fall of 1963, the first non-Black student at Hayes arrived in 1970. In 1972 the school's enrollment peaked at 1,220. It was converted into a middle school in 1989 before resuming high school status in 2003. The Hayes High School class of 2005 was the first to graduate there in 16 years.
On May 22, 2005 Assistant principal Walter Moore was reported missing. His remains were found a year later in a wooded area of Wylam. In the early hours of the morning on June 5, 2007 Alfonzo Turner, an alleged intruder, was shot and killed by a security guard at the school. The guard was charged, but a Grand Jury failed to indict.
In recent years Hayes has ranked as the worst-performing high school in the state of Alabama. The possibility of closing the school has been considered several times as the system adjusts to a shrinking student enrollment. In the latest school consolidation plan proposed by acting superintendent Barbara Allen and approved by the Board, Hayes would closed during the summer of 2008 with students transferring to Woodlawn and Carver High Schools.
Principals
- A. C. Dickinson (1960-1965)
- John B. Norman (1965)-
- Raymond Reddick (2003-2004)
- Vanessa Byrd (2004-2006)
- Fred Stewart (2006)
- Anthony Gardner (2007)-
Notable graduates
- Wayne Bracy, high school coach and former Auburn basketball player
- Elvin Ivory, ABL basketball player
- Buck Johnson, NBA basketball player
- Robert Scott, former UAB basketball coach
References
- Miller, Charlotte (December 16, 1960) "The Origin of Hayes High School." The Beacon, Hayes High School. Vol. 1, No. 1 - accessed at Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections (link)
- Leech, Marie (February 24, 2008) "Birmingham's Hayes High is in midst of a turnaround, but progress may have come too late to save the school." Birmingham News
- "Hayes High School (Birmingham, Alabama)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 22 Dec 2007, 21:07 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 24 Feb 2008 [1].
External links
- Hayes High School at birmingham.schoolinsites.com