Innovation Central High School

For the Catholic school, see Catholic Central High School (Grand Rapids, Michigan).

Innovation Central High School, founded in 1849 as Grand Rapids High School,^[2] is a public high school located at 421 Fountain Street NE in Grand Rapids, Michigan.^[3] The high school offers classes for grades 9–12. The school colors are Gold and Black, and the school mascot is the Ram.^[4]

Innovation Central High School
Central High School in 2015
Location
421 Fountain St NE, Grand Rapids, Michigan United States
Coordinates	42.9658°N 85.6585°W / 42.9658; -85.6585
Information
Former name	Central High School
Type	public
Established	1849
School district	Grand Rapids Public Schools
Principal	Derrick Martin
Faculty	37.70 (FTE)[1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	722 (2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	19.15[1]
Color(s)	Gold and Black
Teams	Rams
Website	https://www.grps.org/innovationcentral
Michigan State Historic Site

History

Silver, loving cup tennis trophy awarded to Betty Bloomer from Central High School. Engraving reads, "TM / Betty Bloomer / 1929 / Juno - 1930 / Eleanor Heald - 1931/ L-M-Ripley - 1932."

A previous school known as Grand Rapids High School was opened in 1849, and located in an old stone schoolhouse. New buildings were constructed in 1867 and 1893. A new school was constructed from 1910–1911, at a cost of US$435,000, and opened to students on January 31, 1911. The initial class incorporated students from grades 9 through 12, and some courses that eventually evolved into Grand Rapids Community College, which was itself founded in 1914. The high school had a large auditorium, the largest in Michigan at the time that the school was built, so famous figures such as presidents Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft have spoken there. In 1947, the school's football team won the state championship.

In 2013, Central High School consolidated with Creston High School, with the consolidated high school now located on the Central High School campus. Creston High School's former campus became that of City High-Middle School from that year onward. In 2014, the school was renamed the Innovation Central High School along with the consolidation of the district's other career-oriented programs.^[5]

Notable alumni

• Terry Barr (1935-2009), football player for the Detroit Lions
• Hugh Blacklock (1893-1954), NFL player
• John Melville Burgess (1909-2003), diocesan bishop of Massachusetts and the first African American to head an Episcopal diocese.^[6]
• Roger B. Chaffee (1935-1967), astronaut
• Rex Cherryman (1896-1928), actor
• S. B. Conger (1872-1934), journalist
• Robert Dean (Michigan politician) (b. 1954), member of the Michigan House of Representatives
• Arthur Carter Denison (1861-1942), federal judge
• Clarence Ellis (b. 1950), football player for the Atlanta Falcons
• Betty Ford (1918-2011), former First Lady, wife of President Gerald Ford
• Arnold Gingrich (1903-1976), editor
• Paul G. Goebel (1901-1988), mayor
• Ralph Hauenstein (1912-2016), United States Army officer, newspaper editor
• Julius Houseman (1832-1891), politician
• Charles Leonard (1913-2006), general
• Buster Mathis (1943-1996), boxer
• Thomas Francis McAllister, Federal judge
• Gordon Scott (1926-2007), actor who portrayed Tarzan
• Leo Sowerby (1895-1968), composer
• Frank Steketee (1900-1951), football player for the University of Michigan Wolverines
• Arthur Vandenberg (1884-1951), Republican senator who participated in the creation of the United Nations
• Gilbert White (1877-1931), American painter
• Stewart Edward White (1873-1946), author
• Elizabeth Wilson (1921-2015), actress

References

1. "Innovation Central High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
2. "GRPS Central High School Celebrates 100th Anniversary!" (PDF). Grand Rapids Public Schools. January 31, 2011. Archived from the original (press release) on March 25, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
3. "High School Listings". Grand Rapids Public Schools. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
4. "Finding Aid for the Central High School / Grand Rapids High School Collection" (PDF). October 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
5. Scott, Monica (May 19, 2014). "Grand Rapids school board taking steps to include Innovation Central High in downtown master plan". MLive. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
6. "History of the Diocese". Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. Archived from the original on April 21, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2013.

Further reading

• James, Danielle (Aug. 19, 2024). "113-year-old Grand Rapids school revamped with air conditioning, $40M renovations". MLive.com.