Cary High School

History

Original campus

Cary High School opened in 1896 as a private boarding school. It was established to provide "a higher course of instruction" than could be found in the local one-room schools of the area. It was located in the old Cary Academy at the head of Academy Street. Its first class graduated in May 1897. The school's first principal was Edwin Lee Middleton.

In 1907, the North Carolina legislature approved a state-wide public education system. Eight days later on April 3, 1907, the board of directors of Cary High School sold it to the Wake County Board of Education for $2,750—its estimated value at the time was more than $8,000. Half of the purchase price was paid for by the State under the new legislation. Thus, Cary High School is the first county high school in North Carolina, the first state-funded high school in North Carolina, and the first high school in the state system. The school was managed by the Cary School Committee under the leadership of C. W. Scott, chair.

The State Legislature approved the establishment of a Cary School District and authorized a school tax for residents of the area. The Cary School Committee could charge up to 30¢ in school taxes for every $100 of real estate owned in the district. The citizens approved the tax in a referendum held on May 7, 1907. The outcome of the referendum was 100 in favor of the school tax and two against it. Those who lived outside the Cary School District could attend the high school for $14 a term for freshmen and sophomores and $16 a term for juniors and seniors.

Middleton remained as the school's principal during the transition, retiring in 1908. His replacement was superintendent Marcus Baxter Dry. The curriculum consisted of one year of French, three years of science, and four years of English, history, Latin, and mathematics. The latter included arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. Domestic science was added for female students in 1910. Students could add art, elocution, music, or piano to their studies for an added fee.

In the fall of 1912, 119 students enrolled in the high school. This number included eighty boarding students from other counties. The curriculum expanded to include agriculture, botany, and chemistry as science options. That year, the Girls Athletic Club was formed so that female students could play tennis and basketball.

Current campus

The new campus of Cary Senior High School opened on September 7, 1960, with new principal Samuel Arbes. The campus was filled to capacity when it opened with 573 students comprising the sophomore, junior, and senior classes. The campus consisted of three classrooms buildings, a gymnasium, a library, an auditorium, a cafeteria, and a shop building. Its architect was William A. Deitrick and the builder was J. M. Thompson Construction Company of Raleigh. The construction cost $771,251, with an additional $38,000 for design fees. By 1962, it was estimated that the high school needed ten more classrooms. The resulting building expansion allowed the student body to also include freshmen, starting in 1963. At this time, the school's name reverted to Cary High School.

Also in 1963, the Wake County Board of Education approved the voluntary transfer of six students from the all-black Berry O'Kelly School to Cary High School under the "freedom of choice" policy adopted by the board following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on segregation. Cary the first school to be desegregated in Wake County outside of Raleigh (William G. Enloe High School being the first within the city of Raleigh). Board of Education member Ferd Davis recalled that Cary was specifically selected for integration because it was an area that was already rapidly changing and "would accept something new more readily". Some white parents sued the school system over the integration, and the suit was thrown out by the North Carolina Supreme Court.

These transfer students were seniors, Lucille Evans and Frances Louise White, juniors Gwendolyn Matthews and Brenda Lee Hill, sophomore Ester Lee Mayo, and freshman Phyllis Rose. These six African-American girls, chosen to be bright, outgoing, and "strong-willed enough to take what was inevitably coming to them", came to the school amid intense verbal opposition from whites. When the students arrived on campus, they were greeted by student protesters. Matthews recalls, "My parents…said it would get better, and it did. The demonstrations went on for ten days with fewer students participating each day. They were never more than fifty…and that's not many at a school the size of Cary". Evans and White graduated in 1964. That fall, Gregory Crowe became the first African American male student at Cary High School. In 1967, the Board of Education decided to integrate Cary High School by making the former black high school the 9th grade Junior High for all races, and transferring all black sophomores, juniors and seniors to what was again called Cary Senior High School. Under the scheme, the senior high school had 764 whites and 112 blacks, or a minority rate of 12.8%.

Student population

As of the 2021–22 academic year, Cary High School had 2.071 students. Of those students, 1,080 are male and 991 are female. The student population was 44.5% White, 27.5% Hispanic, 17.2% Black, 6% Asian, 4.4% two or more races, and 0.3% American Indian. The school's total minority population was 55.5%. 28% of Cary's students are economically disadvantaged, with 23% receiving a free lunch program and 4% participating in the reduced lunch program.

The student graduation rate is 87%. Based on test scores, 41.7% of the students are ready for college, above the district average of 37.8%.

Faculty

In the academic year 2021–22, Cary High School had 120 teachers, with a student-teacher ratio of 17:1. The majority of the teachers, 97%, have been in their profession for three or more years and are also certified.

In addition, Cary has a student–counselor ratio of 299:1, better than the state average of 361:1. The faculty also includes a social worker.

In 2019, Nolan Bryant received a Maggie Award for Best High School Principal in Western Wake County. Track and cross country coach Jerry Dotson for also received a 2019 Maggie Award for Best High School Coach in Western Wake County.

Academics

Curriculum

Cary High School includes grades 9 through 12. The school operates on a traditional calendar, with a block schedule.

The school offers Advanced Placement® courses, with 53% of students participating. In addition, 38% of the students passed at least one AP® Exam. 53% of the school's students take the SAT, with an average score of 1146. However 64% of the school's graduates pursue either college or vocational training. Students from Cary High School have received the Morehead-Cain Scholarship for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the John T. Caldwell Scholarship to North Carolina State University.

The school's Career & Technical Education Department's goal is to prepare students for employment. In addition to classroom learning, internships are also included for many students. The educational areas include agriculture; business, finance and marketing; career development; computer science and information technology; family and consumer sciences; health sciences; and trade, technology, engineering and industrial education.

Since the fall of 2022, Cary High School also includes The Academy of Technology and Advanced Manufacturing, an "immersive, smaller learning community within Cary High School". The academy is a four-year program that focuses on advanced manufactures, design, engineering, and technology. Cary High School invested more than $100,000 in electrical, electronic, instrumentation, pneumatic/flow control, and robotic equipment that incorporates current technologies.

Rankings

As of 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranks Cary High School 18th amongst the high schools in Wake County, North Carolina. It is also ranked 91st in North Carolina, and 3,446 in the nation. Niche gives the school an "A" rating and places the school at #95 in best public high schools in North Carolina.

Academic honors

Juniors and seniors with a 3.6 GPA can apply to join the National Honor Society. The top twenty juniors based on GPA rankings are selected to serve as Junior Marshalls for major senior class activities related to graduation. Before graduation each year, there is a reception for Honor Graduates and an Academic Awards Night. At graduation, Honor Students with a GPA of 3.75 or greater receive gold/silver/red tassels for their mortar board and a patch to add to their gown.

Library

The school's media center has a staff of two. Students have access to online databases as well as a physical book collection. The media center's website includes book reviews written by students and staff.

Student life

Traditions

In 1960, the student council held a design contest for a school seal. The winning seal features pine cones and dogwood blossoms and the Latin phrase Cognito Vincit or Knowledge Conquers.

The Cary High School Alma Mater is sung to the tune of "Over the Summer Sea" or "La Donna e mobile" from the opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. For more than fifty years, the school had the lyrics to the Alma Mater, but did not know the tune. Research finally revealed the tune and the song were performed by the Cary High Marching Band and Concert Chorus at a football game on October 22, 2021. Since then, the Alma Mater has been revised as a campus tradition. Its lyrics are: "Cary! here’s love to thee / And we will ever be / Filled with true loyalty / And with devotion. / Long we will ever claim / The blessings of thy name, / And may thy spirit reign / From crest to ocean. / Fond hearts entwining, / Cease all repining, / Near us is shining / Cary’s bright smile."

Another school tradition involved members of the rising senior class painting their class year on the water tower across Maynard Road from the school before the start of the school year. Fearing for the safety of students, the Town of Cary took over painting the water tower for the Class of 1986. Locals pitched in to pay the professional painters. The Town of Cary has continued this tradition for decades.

Cary Band

The Cary High School Band, established in 1921, is a corps-style marching band that has "gained local, national, and international acclaim". In addition to the marching band, Cary also has three concert bands, a jazz ensemble, an indoor percussion ensemble, an indoor marching wind ensemble, and a symphony. The current director of bands is Christopher R. Foster. The band is supported by the Cary Band Boosters, a nonprofit corporation. The Cary Band hosts Cary Band Day, an annual festival featuring marching bands from the North Carolina and Virginia area since 1958.

In 1959, the band marched in Charlotte's Shrine Bowl Parade, Raleigh's Christmas Parade, and Wilmington's Azalea Festival Parade under the direction of James Johnson. Under the leadership of director Jack White, the band was selected to represent North Carolina at a national band festival in Sioux City, Iowa in 1963. In 1965, the band marched in the Governor Dan K. Moore's inaugural parade under the leadership of director A. J. Moore.

In 1972, the band entered and won the Sun-Fun Festival at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, beating the national champs of Wilson High from Reading, Pennsylvania. Shortly afterward, the Cary High School band was listed in the top twenty nationally by Ruffles and Flourishes, a national band magazine. In January 1973 under the leadership of director Jimmy Burns, the Cary band was the first from North Carolina to march in the Tournament of Roses parade; the community raised $30,000 to send the band to Pasadena, California for the event. That year, the band also competed on a television show called Sounds of '73 that was emceed by Jerry Lewis and viewed twenty to thirty million people. The band also marched in the inaugural parades for Governor James Holshouser and for President Richard Nixon; they were one of ten bands at the latter event. On December 31, 1973 (televised January 1, 1974), the band marched in the King Orange Bowl Festival parade in Miami, Florida.

In August 1974, the Cary band performed at the Fêtes de Genève in Geneva, Switzerland—this honor is limited to only one band from the United States each year. The town celebrated Jimmy Burns Day, in honor of the band's director. In 1975, the band played at the Kentucky Derby, nation's first largest parade. On January 1, 1976, the Cary band was the first out-of-state band to march in the Cotton Bowl parade in Dallas, Texas. Later that year, the band attended the Pennsylvania Festival of the Colonies, winning the parade competition and coming in third overall.

Ambassadors Club

Ambassadors Club members "represent Cary High to new transfer students and to ninth graders as they transition into high school."

IDEA Club

The IDEA Club promotes student engagement and activism with government and politics. In March 2022, the club was involved in fighting censorship of books related to gender, sexuality, and race in the school's library. The IDEA Club also conducts voter registration drives.

NJROTC

In the fall of 1996, alumnus Del Richards donated $40,000 to start a Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NJROTC) program at the high school. NJROTC includes numerous competitive teams, including academics, athletics, drill, marksmanship, and physical fitness.

Performing Arts

Cary High School Performing Arts is an umbrella name for the school's choral group and drama club. The group typically produces a fall play and a spring choral concert. During the COVID-19 pandemic, students replaced live performances with videos that were edited by alumnus Michael Shorb and then streamed to audiences. Cary High School Performing Arts is supported by the nonprofit organization, Cary High School Performing Arts Booster Club.

Publications

The school's yearbook, YRAC, was first published in 1948; this was a revival of a prior publication that ceased during the Great Depression. In 1987, The Spirit student newspaper placed first at the American Scholastic Press Association Writing Contest under the leadership of advisor Janice Richardson. Other student-produced publications include The Page online student newspaper which was founded in 2018 by students Stephen Atkinson and Claire Perry.

Speech and Debate

The Speech and Debate team is a member of the Tarheel Forensics League (TFL) and competes statewide. Formed around 2010, the team finished second in a state-wide tournament its first year. The next year, the team finished in second place at the state championship and qualified for the National Speech and Debate Tournament. Since then, the team has competed at the national tournament seven of its first ten years. The team has also hosted local tournaments.

Athletics

Mascot

Cary High School's mascot is the Imp. Albert H. Werner, football and baseball coach starting in 1935, was an influence in selecting the team mascot. Werner had played football at Duke University where the junior varsity teams were called the Blue Imps rather than the Blue Devils. Probably to balance college favorites, Cary's mascot was called the White Imp, incorporating the White Phantoms which were the mascot of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at that time.

At first, just the football team was referred to as the White Imps, but the name eventually was used for all sports teams. After the 1971-72 school year, "white" was dropped to avoid racial connotations when the school was desegregated. The Imp is now green.

The current illustration of the Imp was designed by student Lee Mauney in the 1960s. Mauney later was the school's art teacher and athletic director. In January 2010, Cary premiered a costumed Imp mascot at the Cary vs. Apex High School basketball game. The mascot costume was purchased with donations and funds raised by student members of the Ambassador Club. The costume was produced by Stagecraft in Cincinnati, Ohio.

ESPN selected the Cary Imp as one of the best nicknames for a football team in the country in 2009. The Imp was also recognized as the fourth most unique high school nickname in the country by Sports Illustrated in 2010. In 2023, the Cary Imp was voted as the best high school mascot in the country in the Sports Illustrated High School Fan National annual competition.

School Colors

Historically, the school's colors were olive green and white. Today, Cary High School's colors are Kelly green and white.

Rivalries

Cary's historic rival was Garner High School—The New and Observer noted it "was as intense a rivalry as there was". As the community grew and part of the school's students were sent to the new Apex High School, this became the biggest rival.

Sports teams

Cary is a member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) and are currently classified as a 7A school. The school is a part of the Triangle Six 6A/7A Conference.

The school has the following co-ed sports teams: cheerleading, junior varsity cheerleading, cross country, indoor track, track, and swim and dive. Sports teams for women include varsity basketball, junior varsity basketball, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, junior varsity lacrosse, varsity soccer, junior varsity soccer, varsity softball, junior varsity softball, stunt, tennis, varsity volleyball, and junior varsity volleyball.

Men's sports teams include varsity baseball, junior varsity baseball, basketball, junior varsity basketball, varsity football, junior varsity football, golf, lacrosse, junior varsity lacrosse, varsity soccer, junior varsity soccer, tennis, and wrestling.

Cary High School's first football team was organized in 1917. The coach was Tal Stafford who was previously a North Carolina A&M (now North Carolina State University) football star and All American. Probably because of World War I and the closing of the school during the influenza epidemic, the football team disbanded. It was reorganized in 1923. In 1935, Albert H. Werner, a former player at Duke University, became the football and coach.

In 1955 under coach John Ebby, the football team was undefeated, winning the Class A state championship. Players included fullback John Yarborough and quarterback Charles Maison who was later an All-American at Elon College.

On September 15, 1961, the football field on the new campus was dedicated as the Paul W. Cooper Athletic Field. In 1970, the Imps Booster Club announced it would raise $100,000 to expand Cooper Field to include locker rooms, restrooms, showers, and expanded seating. In 1973, a press box was added. In October of that year, A. E. Finley donated $15,000 toward the stadium's debt. As a result, the facility is renamed Cooper Field at A. E. Finley Stadium. In 1982, the press box was replaced for $29,500.

In 1976, Cary won the conference title with a record of 6-1 for coach Dave Riggs' final season. The team won the first round of the playoffs but then lost to undefeated Richmond County High School. This was Cary's best season until 1995. In the 1995-96 year, the team was undefeated under coach Bill Devine. Winning the conference title, the team had only allowed 45 points during their regular season. Although winning their first playoff game, the team did not make it to the finals. However, in this season, Cary's football team had the second-longest winning streak in the school's history, tied the school records for wins, and set school records for most points scored in a season and most interceptions.

Notable people

Alumni

John Altschuler, television and film writer and producer

Debbie Antonelli, sports commentator

Reggie Barnes, former pro-skateboarder and founder/owner of Eastern Skateboard Supply

Chris Castor, former NFL wide receiver

William C. Creel, former North Carolina Commissioner of Labor

Carter Cruise, DJ, producer, model, and adult film actress

John Custer, Grammy Award-nominated record producer and musician

Ben Fountain, author

Linda Hinkleman Gunter, former member of the North Carolina Senate and president of the North Carolina Electoral College

Vance Heafner, professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour

DJ Horne, college basketball player

Andrew Hubner, author

Greg Jones, MLB player

Scott Kooistra, former NFL offensive tackle

Roderick Perry II, former NFL nose tackle

Justin Ress, competitive swimmer, represented the United States at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships

Anthony Rush, former NFL defensive tackle

Mark Scalf, college baseball coach, head coach of UNC Wilmington baseball from 1992–2019

Faculty

Linda Gunter, teacher: former member of the North Carolina Senate and president of the North Carolina Electoral College

Phil Spence, basketball coach: former NBA player and member of the NC State Wolfpack men's basketball national championship team

Julie Schilawski, teacher: recipient of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

Tal Stafford, football coach: head football coach at North Carolina State University

Jerry Winterton, wrestling coach: inducted into the North Carolina chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the National High School Hall of Fame