Myers Park High School
Encyclopedia
Myers Park High School is a secondary school
in Charlotte
, North Carolina
.
Magazine has ranked Myers Park in the Top 40 Best High Schools in the United States
, for three consecutive years.
The Ranking of America's High Schools takes place every year among 1,950 high schools in the United States
.
neighborhood. Two entrances are on Colony Road; a third is on Runnymede Avenue. The front circle of the school contains a garden housing a brick wall in the shape of a pentagon. In the middle of the front circle stand two marble statues as a monument to the World Trade Center Towers, dedicated in 2002 by Senator Elizabeth Dole
.
The campus is centered around a quadrangle, commonly known as the "quad". The Student Center (SC), Math Building, Social Studies Building, Auditorium, and Language Arts Building (LA) all open onto this large grassy area where many students eat lunch. Behind LA are buildings that house science, vocational, and mobile classrooms. The campus was built in the collegiate mold, with the entire campus revolving around an open quad area. The campus is about 62 acres (250,905.3 m²); the size of a college campus.
.
Myers Park has 30 junior varsity and varsity sports for males and females. In 2008 the Men's soccer team completed an undefeated season winning the state title while climbing to number 3 in the country (as ranked by ESPN) and in 2010 the Men's Lacrosse team won the state title by defeating Apex High School 15–11 at the Durham Athletic Park
. Myers Park is also home to 3 club sports, Women's Lacrosse, Field Hockey, and Rugby. Myers Park has developed an intense rivalry with nearby school South Mecklenburg this rivalry is biggest in football and basketball, the mustangs were victorious in 2010 with a 31–29 victory in football, while splitting basketball contest at 1–1.
The debate team won the State Championship eight out of the last eleven years.
The Myers Park Hoofprint, the student paper, was named a First Place newspaper by the American Scholastic Press Association in 2008. The ASPA also named one of the Hoofprints front pages a First Place Front Page, one of only six pages in the nation to be so honored.
The yearbook, the Myers Park Mustang, was named a First Place Yearbook by the American Scholastic Press Association in 2009.
The Myers Park Pegasus is the school's literary-art magazine. The 2008–2009 edition of the magazine earned various awards: the highest award ranking from the National Council of Teachers of English, the gold medal from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the first place award from the American Scholastic Press Association, an award of distinction from the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association and the first place prize from the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association.
In 2010, The Myers Park Mustangs Varsity Men's Lacrosse won the Inaugural North Carolina 4A State Lacrosse Championship.
In 2008, The Myers Park Mustangs Varsity Soccer team won the North Carolina 4A State Soccer Championship.
In 2008, the Myers Park Mustangs Women's Varsity Tennis team won the North Carolina 4A State Championship.
Graham Tillett Allison, Jr. (born 23 March 1940) is an American political scientist and professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
Walter Estes Dellinger III (born May 15, 1941 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is the Douglas B. Maggs Professor of Law at Duke University and head of the appellate practice at O’Melveny & Myers in Washington, D.C.
A subsequent Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
investigation found no evidence that the Myers Park administration attempted to coerce students to drop out, or to falsify data to reduce dropout statistics. A number of students with large numbers of absences were dropped from enrollment on the basis of attendance, which is an incorrect procedure.
De la Canal finished this work in February of 2011. The Myers Park administration team, led by principal Thomas L. Spivey, requested a copy of the book on lyrics of this new musical to approve before allowing any work to be done on the production. After reading the musical, the administration censored the production on the grounds of inappropriate content that had the capacity to emotionally damage members of the Myers Park administration team. Specifically, administrators had concerns about the principal, Thomas Spivey, being depicted as having a toupee and one of the Vice Principals, Jason Kline, as having a troubled childhood in which his (fictional) high school sweetheart leaves him which enrages the character to the point that he murders his mother onstage with a cutthroat razor in the style of Sweeney Todd.
De la Canal questioned the legality of the decision.
After posting an announcement on the school's morning announcements advertising upcoming auditions for the musical, de la Canal was immediately suspended for one day by Vice Principal Carlos Grant on grounds of insubordination and unauthorized use of a computer. de la Canal appealed the decision to the school principal, and in June of 2011, Principal Spivey repealed the suspension. All attempts to put the production onstage have proved unsuccessful thus far.,
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
History
The school opened its doors in 1951 and has a rich sense of history and a legacy of academic success.Facilities
With a 62-acre campus and 13 individual buildings, students are able to learn in an environment similar to a small college.The Ranking
The NewsweekNewsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
Magazine has ranked Myers Park in the Top 40 Best High Schools in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, for three consecutive years.
The Ranking of America's High Schools takes place every year among 1,950 high schools in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
- In 2007 Myers Park was ranked the 27th best high school in the country.
- In 2008 Myers Park was ranked the 33rd best high school in the country.
- In 2009 Myers Park was ranked the 39th best high school in the country.
The Campus
Myers Park High School is located at 2400 Colony Road in the Myers ParkMyers Park, Charlotte, North Carolina
Myers Park is an affluent neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. Though its boundaries originally coincided with the boundaries of the John Spring Myers farm, by 2008 the neighborhood comprised and a population of 9,809...
neighborhood. Two entrances are on Colony Road; a third is on Runnymede Avenue. The front circle of the school contains a garden housing a brick wall in the shape of a pentagon. In the middle of the front circle stand two marble statues as a monument to the World Trade Center Towers, dedicated in 2002 by Senator Elizabeth Dole
Elizabeth Dole
Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford "Liddy" Dole is an American politician who served in both the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations, as well as a United States Senator....
.
The campus is centered around a quadrangle, commonly known as the "quad". The Student Center (SC), Math Building, Social Studies Building, Auditorium, and Language Arts Building (LA) all open onto this large grassy area where many students eat lunch. Behind LA are buildings that house science, vocational, and mobile classrooms. The campus was built in the collegiate mold, with the entire campus revolving around an open quad area. The campus is about 62 acres (250,905.3 m²); the size of a college campus.
Students
The class of 2004 received over $4.2 million in scholarships and the class of 2005 received over $4.9 million. In 2005, 90% of graduating seniors pursued further education after high school. 93% went to a four-year college and 7% went to a community or technical college.Extracurricular activities
The school mascot is a green mustang. The school's official colors are kelly green and whiteWhite
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
.
Myers Park has 30 junior varsity and varsity sports for males and females. In 2008 the Men's soccer team completed an undefeated season winning the state title while climbing to number 3 in the country (as ranked by ESPN) and in 2010 the Men's Lacrosse team won the state title by defeating Apex High School 15–11 at the Durham Athletic Park
Durham Athletic Park
Durham Athletic Park, affectionately known as "The DAP" , is a former minor league baseball stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The stadium was home to the Durham Bulls from 1926 through 1994...
. Myers Park is also home to 3 club sports, Women's Lacrosse, Field Hockey, and Rugby. Myers Park has developed an intense rivalry with nearby school South Mecklenburg this rivalry is biggest in football and basketball, the mustangs were victorious in 2010 with a 31–29 victory in football, while splitting basketball contest at 1–1.
The debate team won the State Championship eight out of the last eleven years.
The Myers Park Hoofprint, the student paper, was named a First Place newspaper by the American Scholastic Press Association in 2008. The ASPA also named one of the Hoofprints front pages a First Place Front Page, one of only six pages in the nation to be so honored.
The yearbook, the Myers Park Mustang, was named a First Place Yearbook by the American Scholastic Press Association in 2009.
The Myers Park Pegasus is the school's literary-art magazine. The 2008–2009 edition of the magazine earned various awards: the highest award ranking from the National Council of Teachers of English, the gold medal from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the first place award from the American Scholastic Press Association, an award of distinction from the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association and the first place prize from the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association.
In 2010, The Myers Park Mustangs Varsity Men's Lacrosse won the Inaugural North Carolina 4A State Lacrosse Championship.
In 2008, The Myers Park Mustangs Varsity Soccer team won the North Carolina 4A State Soccer Championship.
In 2008, the Myers Park Mustangs Women's Varsity Tennis team won the North Carolina 4A State Championship.
Notable alumni
- Omar GaitherOmar Gaither-Philadelphia Eagles:Gaither was drafted in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Gaither received significant playing time later in the 2006 season due to the struggles and injury of starter Matt McCoy. Gaither got his first NFL start at weakside linebacker on December...
, Carolina PanthersCarolina PanthersThe Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
linebacker and special teams player - Haywoode WorkmanHaywoode WorkmanHaywoode Wilvon Workman is a retired American basketball player, and active NBA referee.He played the point guard position at 6'2", and played 359 games in eight NBA seasons for five teams from 1989 to 2000...
, former Indiana PacersIndiana PacersThe Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
guard, current National Basketball AssociationNational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
referee - Ben BrowderBen BrowderRobert Benedic "Ben" Browder is an American actor and writer, best known for his roles as John Crichton in Farscape and Cameron Mitchell in Stargate SG-1.-Early life:...
, actor, television series FarscapeFarscapeFarscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
and Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
. - Seth AvettSeth AvettTimothy Seth Avett is one of the lead singers and founding members of the folk-rock band The Avett Brothers. Avett sings and plays guitar drums and piano for the band based out of Concord, North Carolina...
, musician, The Avett BrothersThe Avett BrothersThe Avett Brothers is a folk rock band from Mount Pleasant, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Scott Avett and Seth Avett, who play the banjo and guitar respectively, and Bob Crawford who plays the stand-up bass. Joe Kwon, cello, and Jacob Edwards, drums, are touring members of... - Hannah Tosco of the band JustincaseJustincaseJustincase is an American alternative-pop band from Charlotte, North Carolina, best known for their 2002 single "Don't Cry for Us", which was co-written by Michelle Branch, who was one of the band's early champions. Consisting of teen siblings Hannah, Justin, and Nick Tosco, the band was signed to...
- Brian Holberton, baseball player at The University of North CarolinaUniversity of North CarolinaChartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
, competed in the College World SeriesCollege World SeriesThe College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
in 2011. - Miller Snyder, Kicker/Punter at the University of North CarolinaUniversity of North CarolinaChartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
, Snyder was an All-American at Myers Park and competed in the US Army All-American Bowl following his senior season in 2010. - Everett WithersEverett Withers-External links:*...
, Interim head football coach at The University of North CarolinaUniversity of North CarolinaChartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
(2011–). Was promoted following the firing of Butch DavisButch DavisPaul Hilton "Butch" Davis, Jr. is an American football coach and former player in the United States. He was the head coach at the University of Miami from 1995 to 2000, the Cleveland Browns of the NFL from 2001 to 2004, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2007 to 2011.-Early...
on July 27th, 2011. Withers was named head coach the following day.
Graham Tillett Allison, Jr. (born 23 March 1940) is an American political scientist and professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
Walter Estes Dellinger III (born May 15, 1941 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is the Douglas B. Maggs Professor of Law at Duke University and head of the appellate practice at O’Melveny & Myers in Washington, D.C.
Curriculum
The curriculum provides for different levels of instruction: Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and honors courses.Allegations of coerced dropouts
During March 2007, allegations were made that Myers Park was coercing low-performing students to drop out in an effort to boost test scores. A Time Magazine article cited claims of students who stated that they were told that they would not be allowed to return to Myers Park.A subsequent Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is a local education agency headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and is the public school system for Mecklenburg County. With over 133,600 students enrolled, it is the second-largest school district in North Carolina and the twentieth-largest in the nation...
investigation found no evidence that the Myers Park administration attempted to coerce students to drop out, or to falsify data to reduce dropout statistics. A number of students with large numbers of absences were dropped from enrollment on the basis of attendance, which is an incorrect procedure.
Myers Park: the Musical
In fall of 2010, a Myers Park senior, Nicholas de la Canal, approached the Myers Park theatre teacher, Caitlin Cornwell, and the Myers Park administration with the idea to write a play based on the people and event of Myers Park. After receiving very little feedback, de la Canal went to work on what was primarily meant to be a short, one-act satirical play. However, almost immediately after finishing his work in December of 2010, it was announced that because of budget cuts to the school system, there would be money to purchase rights to perform a spring musical. Immediately after hearing this news, de la Canal set to work on a full-length, two-act musical comedy entitled Myers Park: the Musical.,De la Canal finished this work in February of 2011. The Myers Park administration team, led by principal Thomas L. Spivey, requested a copy of the book on lyrics of this new musical to approve before allowing any work to be done on the production. After reading the musical, the administration censored the production on the grounds of inappropriate content that had the capacity to emotionally damage members of the Myers Park administration team. Specifically, administrators had concerns about the principal, Thomas Spivey, being depicted as having a toupee and one of the Vice Principals, Jason Kline, as having a troubled childhood in which his (fictional) high school sweetheart leaves him which enrages the character to the point that he murders his mother onstage with a cutthroat razor in the style of Sweeney Todd.
De la Canal questioned the legality of the decision.
After posting an announcement on the school's morning announcements advertising upcoming auditions for the musical, de la Canal was immediately suspended for one day by Vice Principal Carlos Grant on grounds of insubordination and unauthorized use of a computer. de la Canal appealed the decision to the school principal, and in June of 2011, Principal Spivey repealed the suspension. All attempts to put the production onstage have proved unsuccessful thus far.,