2009 was the Year of the High School for Davidson.
Davidson Day, a private prep school, graduated its first class of seniors in the spring. Community School of Davidson named its debut high school principal and launched a renovation that will lead to the opening of a high school wing in the fall. Meanwhile, at Davidson’s borders, a new public high school rose from the ground and, with no small amount of controversy, received the name of William A. Hough High.
Those were the top stories for 2009, a year which also saw new grades added to Woodlawn School, the Community School of Davidson and McKinney Academy, and lots of honors for local students and teachers.
SCHOOLS: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
January:
Students gathered in the new Davidson Day gym for a grand opening celebration.
Davidson Day celebrated the grand opening of its new Arts & Athletics Center with a ribbon cutting and pep fest. The new center includes a 250-seat performance hall alongside a 9,412-sq.-ft. gym with stands that can seat 392. The building was quickly put to use, seeing sports tournaments, drama productions and the school’s first commencement ceremony.
See: “Davidson Day dedicates new arts and sports center”
February:
Snow closed school Jan. 20, Feb. 4, and March 1, causing Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to have to make up the missed classes on Memorial Day.
March:
Woodlawn sophomore Sawyer Bowman’s documentary, “Cancer: It’s Personal,” placed first among 921 entries in a national C-SPAN contest, garnering a $5,000 award for Sawyer, and a $1,000 donation to Woodlawn. The eight-minute film viewed the need for more cancer research funding through the prism of Sawyer’s own grandparents, who died of the same form of brain cancer in 2002 and 2007.
See: “Awards for Woodlawn students”
April:
Fabrice Fresse
Bailey Middle’s French teacher, Fabrice Fresse, organized an exchange program that brought two dozen students from a school in Paris to spend two weeks with Bailey host families. Mr. Fresse was named NC International Teacher of the Year at a banquet in April.
See: “Bailey’s Mr. Fresse”
May:
The first graduating class at Davidson Day School received diplomas May 29 at an emotional ceremony in the school’s new auditorium. Ten students graduated from the private prep school on Jetton Street.
See: “Davidson Day holds inaugural commencement”
The Davidson IB Science Olympiad team
The end of the school year also saw numerous student accomplishments, notably:
- Woodlawn 8th grader Lachlan Johnson placed 11th at National History Day
- Davidson IB Middle’s Science Olympiad team went to nationals
- North Mecklenburg High seniors (all with Davidson ties) Alyssa Botelho, Teresa Portone and Krista White were named National Merit Scholars.
June:
Terri Cockerham
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools name former Providence High Principal Dr. Terri Cockerham to head the new high school in Cornelius. She organized a committee to pick a name for the school, now known as William A. Hough High (see below) and held a public vote over the school’s mascot and colors.
The Hough High Huskies will have the colors of silver and black when the school opens this fall.
See: “Terri Cockerham prepares for opening day,” and “It’s the Hough High Huskies!”
July:
Terry Hall
Terry Hall begins her tenure as the new principal of Davidson Elementary. She was selected by a committee of parents and school representatives after former principal Celeste Spears-Ellis transfered to another CMS school.
See: “Terry Hall dives into new role as DES principal”
Ms. Hall arrived just as budget cuts due to the economic downturn were costing local schools resources and staff, including veteran teachers like Bill Strong of North Meck High. The cuts also put on hold plans to renovate Davidson IB Middle.
See: “Local public schools feel the pain of teacher cuts” and “IB school/community center project delayed at least a year”
August:
McKinney Academy bumped up against the state cap of 100 for charter schools. McKinney was among seven finalists for provisional charter status, but in the end did not make the cut.
See: “McKinney Update”
September:
The start of a new school year saw several schools adding grades:
- Community School of Davidson, a state charter, added the 8th grade and dropped its original “Children’s Community School” name.
- McKinney Academy, a private elementary school, expanded to the fifth grade
- Pine Lake Prep, a state charter located next door to Davidson on Hwy. 115, added the 12th grade, becoming a full K-12 facility.
- Woodlawn School, a private academy, added grades one and 12.
October:
Cannon School, located in Concord, kicked off a celebration of its 40th birthday with a day-long festival, while Community School of Davidson celebrated its expansion.
A teary Joy Warner described her dreams for the new Community School of Davidson high school. Looking on was Dr. Ralph Pillsbury, the new principal.
CSD held a ceremony Oct. 4 to officially mark the start of a $5.5 million renovation project to turn the former Liburdi Engineering factory on Armour Street into a high school. The charter’s first class of freshmen will start at the new site in the fall of 2010. Dr. Ralph Pillsbury will be the first CSD high school principal.
See: “Ceremony kicks off new charter high school”
Also in October, North Mecklenburg High seniors Chris Bradfield and Ian Chesser were among the 33 CMS students named 2010 semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship program. Chris and Ian are Davidson residents and former classmates from Davidson Elementary.
In sports Jenny Falcone, a junior at Davidson Day School, won the N.C. Independent Schools state tennis 1A championship.
November:
Rhonda Lennon.
Election Day results showed that Rhonda Lennon of Huntersville defeated Robin Bradford and Gail Summerskill. She replaced Larry Gauvreau, a long-time board member known for his contentious “no” votes, as the District 1 representative on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education.
See: “Rhonda Lennon wins school board seat”
Ms. Lennon told DavidsonNews.net that she wanted to “build bridges,” but her first act after being sworn in was an unsuccessful attempt to undo the previous board’s vote to name the new high school in Cornelius after William A. Hough (see bel0w).
December:
Dr. William Hough holds a sign showing his support of the school named for his father.
After a month of controversy, the CMS school board upheld its vote to name the new high school on Bailey Road for William A. Hough. The controversy resulted from concerns over how the name might be pronounced (it rhymes with ‘tough’). Many long-time residents spoke publicly in favor of naming a school for Mr. Hough, who died in 1998 and was a respected former principal who successfully integrated North Mecklenburg High School in the 1960s and 70s.
