When school opened on our site
for the school year 1924-1925 Atlanta's schools were segregated
both by gender and by race. Our school began, therefore, as an
institution for white males, divided into Boy's High and Tech
High. Because Boy's
High and Tech
High were the only
high schools for white males in early twentieth century Atlanta, the schools count among their graduates
many of Atlanta's most influential citizens in the last fifty
years.
In 1947 the complexion of the school changed. We became a co-educational,
neighborhood school that was renamed Henry
W. Grady High School.
Henry Grady, for whom the school was named, was the editor of
the Atlanta
Constitution for nearly
tweny years after the Civil War. A well known orator and writer,
Grady proclaimed the advent of what he called the New
South.
At the time that Grady High School received its new name, it also
went through a physical transformation. The office, media center,
and a few classrooms were added to the main wing. The original
neo-classical design of Grady High School in 1924 and the renovation
in 1950 was the work of an architect named Philip Shutze who is
now recognized as one of Atlanta's finest architects, famous for
such monuments as the Swan House and Glenn Memorial Church.
As this new Henry Grady High School emerged, a faculty that was
drawn from both Boy's and Girl's High inspired a burst of creativity.
The school yearbook was renamed The
Orator and the newspaper
The Southerner, names that clearly alluded to Henry Grady's career.
And within a short time, The
Southerner was named
the best school newspaper in the state and The Orator the third
best yearbook. This creative period in the 1950's is still reflected
in the cafeteria mural depicting the merger of Girls High and
Boys High in an idyllic panorama of boys and girls mingling in
Piedmont Park with new school in the background.
The cafeteria painting is a reminder of the excitement that was
felt in the 1950's when Atlanta
Public Schools were
first made co-educational. But, obviously, this new coed, neighborhood
school did not include every high school age child in the neighborhood.
Not
until 1961 did Grady High School begin racial integration of the
student body. At that
time the school became one of the first high schools in the state
of Georgia to open its doors to African-American
students. Racial integration at Grady made the news both in the
state and in the nation as integration proceeded throughout the
1960's and 1970's. But the makeup of Grady's school population
stabilized between 1980 and 1985 . For the past ten years Grady's
ethnic composition has remained close to 70% Black, 29% white,
and 1% other.
The stabilization of the ethnic makeup of Grady coincided with
dramatic changes in the administrative leadership of the school.
In 1981 Thomas Adger became principal, and Kay Earnhardt became
the coordinator of the new Communication Magnet Program. These
two leaders fostered a renaissance at Grady that continues to
provide inspiration to the school. They emphasized hiring creative
faculty members, providing flexible scheduling for electives,
encouraging cooperation between academic departments, creating
advanced placement classes, procuring better technology and equipment
from the business community, and developing the community's trust
of the school. They made Grady a showcase for student talent through
revitalized publications, a debate team, and a schoolwide festival
for the humanities. They were particularly successful in inspiring
teachers and students to experiment. They provided encouragement
and support, but they let the school community create without
interference. Finally, in 1987-88 they led us through another
major renovation of the building. Renovations included:
The theme of the school in
the 1980's was "All Children Can Learn." That philosophy
was soon apparent because test scores in the 1980's improved throughout
the student body, not just among those students in the magnet
program. Georgia Basic Skills Test scores, for instance, jumped
dramatically from 1987 to 1989. SAT scores from 1986 to 1990 show
a similar pattern: an average verbal score of 350 in 1986 soared
to 422 in 1990.
Much of what was accomplished in the 1980's was recognized in
1991 when Grady High School was named a School
Of Excellence for the
state of Georgia. The intangible that accounted for
much of the turnaround was the school's genuine acceptance of
diversity. We were a school where racism, sexism, and cultural
bias that was still prevalent in the surrounding society were
largely excluded. Students were learning well, partly because
past stereotypes were not hindering them in their interactions
with each other or with their teachers.
Grady High School in the 1990's has hardly missed a beat. Grady's
staff has changed radically in the last three years largely because
of retirements and promotions. Led by a new principal, Dr. Vincent
Murray, the school has adjusted to the change. Additions in personnel
have included many new teachers, counselors, a new magnet coordinator,
a new registrar, and a new assistant principal. Creativity in
the faculty has been encouraged by Dr. Murray 's shared leadership
approach. The science department now has a stronger emphasis upon
laboratory science as well as innovations in the teaching of ecology.
Vocational education has developed a new program in graphic communications
as well as installing a business education lab with 29 IBM word
processors capable of desktop publishing.
These recent accomplishments were recognized again in 1994-95
when, once again, Grady High School was named a School of Excellence.
In 1996 Redbook
Magazine cited Grady
High School as one of twenty schools nationwide using innovative
teaching methods in the classroom.