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Today's commencement is a historic occasion for Garinger High School's senior class.
Their walk across the stage at Bojangles' Coliseum will close the school's 50th anniversary celebration. And many of this year's 244 seniors feel they are Garinger's last class.
Next year the school – on Eastway Drive in Charlotte's Shamrock community – will graduate five senior classes, each from separate, smaller academies now operating on the campus: Business and Finance, International Studies, Leadership and Public Service, Math and Science and New Technology.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools created the career academies in 2006 with hopes of addressing persistently low test scores.
Not surprisingly, the transition from one school to five brought a major shift in the social scene on campus, with this year's senior class becoming somewhat a relic of the school's past.
“We couldn't go into the other buildings,” said Chan Horn, 17. “Everybody was separated. It made us (seniors) stronger as a class.”
The seniors decided to celebrate in earnest their place in history as the 50th and final class of “Garinger proper,” as they call it.
The fall homecoming parade moved from the campus into the community. About 200 students, faculty and alumni rallied residents along Eastwood and Maywood drives and Anderson Street.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats ended a streak of 61 straight losses on the football field, winning their homecoming game and taking the Queen City 3A/4A conference championship.
There was a senior trip for the first time in at least six years. In April, 49 students traveled to Orlando for “Gradbash” at Universal Studios and Universal's Islands of Adventure.
“Everybody's going to remember this year,” said Senior Class President Aisha Lulendo, 18. She was flipping through the pages of the just-distributed 2009 memory book, “Saving the Best for Last,” a collection of photos and information chronicling the year's events.
Most Garinger alumni tie their school's history to that of older institutions and will celebrate today's commencement as the 101st.
Garinger opened in 1959 just as Central High School on Elizabeth Avenue closed. Central's students, faculty and staff moved to Garinger.
Earlier, the school's Wildcat teams also had stints at what was then Alexander Graham High School and Charlotte High School, which graduated its first class in 1909.
In its early years, Garinger's campus-style design and modern architecture won awards and a profile in National Geographic. Yet, its recent status as a historic landmark has done little to reverse signs of age and wear.
While CMS ranks Garinger among academically struggling schools, senior Jackie Moody and many other students see Garinger as a giant. Moody arrived for ninth grade from Galax, Va., a small town that she says offered her few opportunities.
At Garinger, Moody won a state award in fashion construction from Family, Career and Community Leaders of America and will compete in a national competition in July. Her classmates chose her this year as Miss Garinger, the school queen.
She also earned admission to UNC Greensboro. “When I came here,” she said, “so many opportunities opened up.”
