In many respects, Grady has completed a full circle in the past 70 years. Then: known as a school with academic excellence. Now: topping APS with SAT scores. Then: attracting students from all over Atlanta. Now: draws students from many diverse neighborhoods through the magnet program. Then: a school with tight discipline. Now: new enforcements in discipline. Despite these similarities, the atmosphere of the school has changed along with the years. "I've seen so many changes," Ms. Marian Kelly, Grady teacher since 1970, said.
Grady's Early Years
Grady started as an all boys school in 1925 with the building divided into Boys High and Tech High. At the time it was the only high school for white males in Atlanta, so there were people attending from all over the city. "They came from all around here. Grant Park, Piedmont Park, Cabbage Town, " Mr. James Moye, a Grant Park resident who attended Tech High in 1929 and 1930, said.
"We had shops over there: wood shops and weaving shops," Mr. Moye said. The difference between Boys High and Tech High was the classes offered. Boys High offered more academic classes, 6, while Tech High gave more of a vocational training, according to Mr. William Alexander, 1942 graduate of Tech High.
During this time there was not a problem with drugs. "Nobody drank and you couldn't smoke," Mr. Moye said. "There was no such a thing as dope that I knowed of."
The 40's and 50's: A new school
In 1947 the school
became co-educational and was renamed Henry W. Grady High School
after Henry Grady, a well known writer and orator. It was then
that the yearbook was renamed The Orator and the newspaper renamed
The Southerner; alluding to Henry Grady's career. At this time
the building was renovated and a media center, the office, and
a couple classrooms were added to the main wing. The renovation
was done by Philip Shutze, the original architect, who is recognized
as one of Atlanta's finest architects.
According to Mr. Kempton Haynes, a 1954 graduate, Grady had "tight
discipline, detention was big, there was no talking back, a lot
of respect, and good school spirit." Everyone went to football
games, the band was a big deal, and the big thing was beer, cigarettes,
and skipping during lunch to eat at the Silver Grill, a Popular
restaurant across the street. "Anything like classroom violence
was unheard of and there was great respect for teachers."
Mr. Haynes said.
The 60's and 70's: Integration
It wasn't until 1961 that Grady became integrated. "People got along pretty well," Mr. Alan Begner, class of '67 said. In his third year of high school, the football team began to play all black teams. One of the only racial outbreaks recalls was at a game against Washington when Grady's bus was pelted with rocks. However, this experience did not seem to af fect Mr. Begner's memories of Grady in the 60's. "It was the greatest place... life was nice there, " he said. "It [Grady's administration] was an example of being lenient to students and it worked good."
A graduate of
1972 seemed to have similar memories. "Oh yeah we got along
really well," Ms. Angela Lewis said. "I think a lot
of kids who came had been exposed to a lot of different things...
I don't think we ever had any race fights." Although they
all got along, Ms. Lewis did admit that there were racial groupings.
"We realizedwehad to stick together to have a presence."
Ms. Lewis described Grady then as a type of "open campus," a liberal school. "One of the unique things about it [Gradyl was that we had a smoking lounge," Ms. Lewis said. "We [seniors] could go off campus to have lunch." Ms. Kelly recalled that the school was less strict then. "I guess it was more liberal... the rules were less stringent," Ms. Kelly said.
In addition to being a liberal school Grady also had great spirit. "There was a lot of. school spirit.... school spirit was really big," Ms. Betsy Michaoud, class of '74 said. Although Grady's teams were not on a winning streak, students still participated in pep rallies and attended school functions. "The spirit of the school was so high .... It didn't matter if the teams lost or whatever," Ms. Kelly said.
In the 70's the drug atmosphere was prevalent. This was partly due to the fact that at the time, hippies were camped out in Piedmont Park. Because this was so close to Grady, many students began to adopt the free flowing lifestyle of the hippies in the park.
The 1980's: A Magnet Attraction
A recent change Grady has undergone is the addition of the Communication Magnet Program in 1981. The students in the magnet program attended classes that stressed communication skills. Some people felt this was a barrier. "There was a definite barrier," Mrs. Mattie Curley teacher since 1970 said. She felt that it made it like two schools; the magnet and Grady. "It changed it [Grady] in the sense that many students who were intent in getting an education were grouped in the program," Ms. Curley said.
"I feel that
it changed Grady's status in the community," Paul Nicolson,
1989 graduate said. "Now we had talent, concentrated talent
coming in because of the magnet program... we glowed."
In 1987 Grady went through another major renovation. The theater, air conditioning, and the eighth street wing which included the new communication classrooms, were added. Carpet was installed in most of the classrooms, windows were repaired, and the outside of the building was cleaned. After this dramatic change, Grady's test scores improved in the 80's and in 1991 it was named a School of Excellence for Georgia.