Grady History: 1947-2006

When school opened on this 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 Boys High School and Tech High. Because Boys 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 past fifty years. In 1947 the complexion of the school changed. We became a co-educational, neighborhood school that was renamed Henry Grady High School. Henry Grady, for whom the school was named, was the editor of The Atlanta Constitution for nearly twenty years immediately after the Civil War. A well-known orator and writer, Grady proclaimed the advent of what he called the New South.

At the time 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 a 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 Boys and Girls 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 1950s was reflected in a cafeteria mural depicting the merger of Girl's High and Boys High in an idyllic panorama of boys and girls mingling in Piedmont Park with the new school in the background.

The cafeteria painting is a reminder of the excitement that was felt in the 1950s when Atlanta Public Schools were first made co-educational. But, obviously, this new coed, neighborhood high 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 black students.Racial integration at Grady made the news both in the state and the nation as integration proceeded peacefully and smoothly. White flight did occur as integration proceeded throughout the 1960s and 1970s. But the makeup of Grady's school population stabilized between 1980 and 1985. In the 1990s, Grady's ethnic composition 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. These two leaders fostered a renaissance at Grady that provided 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 in the safety of the school. They made Grady a showcase for student talent through revitalized publications, a debate team, and a school-wide festival of the humanities. They were particularly successful in inspiring teachers and students to experiment. Finally, in 1987-88 they led us through another major renovation of the building. Renovations included adding a theater, air-conditioning the main building and the eighth street wing; installing carpets in most classrooms; replacing windows in the eighth street wing; cleaning the facade; installing a closed circuit television system; creating an improved art room; and adding a communications wing with a large darkroom and desktop publishing area. The theme of the school in the 1980s was "All children can learn." That philosophy was soon apparent because test scores in the 1980s improved throughout the student population. Georgia Basic Skills Test scores, for instance, jumped dramatically from 1987 to 1989. SAT scores from 1986 to 1990 reflected a similar pattern: an average verbal score of 350 in 1986 soared to 422 in 1990. In 1983, Grady staff members began the first forensic program in the school system and Grady students have represented Georgia in national competitions every year since 1988.

Much of what was accomplished in the 1980s 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 of the 1980s was the school's genuine acceptance of diversity. We were a school where the 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 1990s hardly missed a beat. Grady's staff changed radically because of retirements and promotions. Led by a new principal, Dr. Vincent Murray, the school adjusted very well to the change. Additions in personnel included many new teachers, counselors, magnet coordinator, registrar, media specialist, and assistant principal.

Creativity in the faculty has been encouraged in Dr. Murray's shared leadership approach. The abundant art work in the halls, the exceptional dramatic productions, the multi-cultural humanities workshops, and the infusion of the fine arts into the curriculum through the efforts of the Arts Council are just a few of the activities indicating the creative energy which abounds at Grady High School.

Freedom of expression is celebrated at Grady High and is the foundation for a strong journalism program. Students working on the publications and Grady News Network won the All Georgia Award for the best print and broadcast journalism program for seven years; twice, the newspaper staff was awarded the Pacemaker citation in print journalism from the National Scholastic Press Association; the yearbook was a national marketing sample for Walsworth Publishing Company for seven consecutive years.

While creativity flourished in the 1990s, students continued to excel academically. By the mid-1990s, Grady's SAT scores were higher than the local, state and national averages. Furthermore, Grady High students showed an impressive performance on Advanced Placement exams. In 1996, 62% of the advanced placement students scored 3, 4, or 5 on the advanced placement exams. This percentage was higher than the system's percentages.

Those accomplishments were recognized in 1994-95 when, once again, Grady High School was named a Georgia School of Excellence and in 1995-96 for classroom innovation as one of "America's Best Schools" according to the May 1996 issue of Redbook. In the July 1996 issue of Atlanta Magazine, Grady High was honored as the "Best of Atlanta".

As the 1990s came to a close, Grady continued to garner national acclaim. Enjolique Aytch, class of 1999, was featured in the October 19, 1998 issue of Time for her academic accomplishments, and the school was identified by U.S. News & World Report (January 18, 1999 issue)as an outstanding high school in the United States. The exceptional teaching staff continues to be a major strength at Grady High School. Therefore, it is not surprising that Grady's Teacher of the Year in 1996-97 (Ms. Bryant) and 1997-98 (Mr. Boonyapat) were selected as the Teacher of the Year for Atlanta Public Schools. In addition, Mr. Boonyapat was also chosen as one of the top four teachers in the state. Mrs. Bolster, Grady's Teacher of the Year in 1998-99, and Mr. McCurdy, Grady's Teacher of the Year in 2001-02, were selected as the High School Teacher of the Year for the school system.

Never satisfied to rest on its laurels, the Grady staff continues to seek new challenges. In an effort to address the needs of all students, members of the staff have created a Health Career Academy, an inclusion model of collaborative teaching for students in the Program for Exceptional Children, and a ninth grade transition program. In the past five years, the student attendance has risen 6.1 percentage points, the retention rate for ninth graders has decreased by 18.7 percentage points, the student dropout rate has decreased by approximately 5.3 percentage points, and performance on the Georgia High School Graduation Test has continued to improve.

In the fall of 1999 the Georgia Public Policy Foundation ranked Grady as the best high school in Atlanta Public Schools. The U.S. Department of Education cited Grady High School during the 1999-2000 school year as a "Distinguished Title I High School." Grady's Mock Trial team won the state championship at the March, 2000 competition. In the spring of 2000, the Grady Foundation used funding from several private sources to complete the first phase of the courtyard project. This landscaped area provides many opportunities for students, faculty, and friends to enjoy and learn in a natural environment. The literary magazine, newspaper, yearbook, and Grady News Network continue to win both state and national awards. In 2002 Grady won the School Change Award from the National Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.

The slogan of "Individually, we are different; together, we are Grady" clearly illustrates the spirit of our school. With a history of high performance and dedication, Grady High School's students and staff have successfully moved into the next millennium. Beginning in the summer of 2003, Grady began a major renovation: the 8th Street wing was demolished, and a three-story addition which houses the cafeteria, media center, magnet, health academy, business classrooms, and the arts was added; the Charles Allen building has been gutted and renovated to include new science labs and classrooms for the core curriculum. Grady's new face will provide an excellent setting for the staff and students to continue their history of excellence.