Norcross High School

Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil.

Norcross High School
Address
5300 Spalding Drive

Norcross
,
Georgia
30092

United States
Coordinates33°58′01″N 84°12′44″W
Information
School typePublic high school
Established1903 (Norcross High)
1957 (West Gwinnett High)
1962 (Norcross High)
2001 (Current location)
School districtGwinnett County Public Schools
PrincipalWill Bishop
Teaching staff161.30 ((on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment2,675 (2021–22)[1]
Student to teacher ratio17.58[1]
Classes offered3DE by Junior Achievement
Advanced Placement
International Baccalaureate
Campus size10.1 acres (4.1 ha)
Color(s)Blue, silver, and white      
Athletics conferenceGeorgia High School Association
NicknameBlue Devils
Websitehttps://www.gcpsk12.org/norcrosshs

The school is also the first in the Gwinnett County Public School System to offer the IB Diploma Programme, first implemented in 1999.

History

Twentieth century

Municipal bonds were issued for a new modern brick schoolhouse in 1903, and another bond issue approved an additional school in 1914. These buildings stood side by side on College Street for many years in the center of Norcross and were preceded by an old wooden building at the same site. Before this older wooden school was destroyed, it became very unsteady.

After the second red-brick building was constructed as a grammar school, the first building became Norcross High School. Both of the brick schools were demolished several years ago, although the first building was in use until 1970.

According to a booklet compiled in 1923 and recently reprinted, the rural schools surrounding Norcross were Beaver Ruin with 60 students, Glover with 172, Mechanicsville School with 87, and Pittman with 60. Crabapple School, which was located at Pinckneyville, had apparently closed earlier.

In 1933, a report printed in Flanigan's History, Volume I stated, "Norcross has three buildings valued at $60,000, and used thirteen teachers. For many years this has been one of the best schools in the county and is accredited first class." A school for black children was located near Hopewell Baptist Church at that time, according to Clara Nesbit.

"Norcross Elementary School" was built in 1939, and the Board of Trustees of the Norcross Consolidated School System listed on the cornerstone were H. L. Sudderth, J. Howard Webb, B. F. Summerour, B. W. Westbrook and C. A. Garner. This school is still in use, although many additions have been built through the years. With the completion of the new elementary school, the two older buildings "on the hill" became Norcross High School.

When West Gwinnett High School was built in 1957, parents of Duluth students objected to consolidation and fought successfully to have a new high school built in Duluth. The citizens of Norcross later asked to have the name West Gwinnett changed back to Norcross High School.

The school colors, blue and white, and the school mascot, the Blue Devil, were chosen by the students in 1957 when football was played as a school sport for the first time.

Present day
Norcross High School front entrance

Norcross High School opened a 440,000-square-foot (41,000 m2) facility at 5300 Spalding Drive in Norcross in August 2001. This land was purchased by the Gwinnett County Public School System as the 1998 Dunwoody tornado cleared the land of trees. The new building shared the same design as its Gwinnett County neighbor, Peachtree Ridge High School.

The former facility at 2595 Beaver Ruin Road was renamed the Buchanan High School of Technology, which until July 2013 housed the Gwinnett Online Campus and GIVE Center West, a grade 6-12 alternative school. In January 2013, the Gwinnett County Board of Education voted to move GIVE and the online center to a new location, and the original Norcross High School was demolished. All existing buildings with the exception of the 1996 gymnasium were removed making way for the relocated Summerour Middle School, which opened for the 2015–2016 school year. The previous Summerour building had been next to the old NHS, and was itself torn down to make way for the new Baldwin Elementary.

The school opened with a student population of 2,400, and as of 2015 had an estimated 4,000, one of the largest high schools in the state. It has since slightly decreased since the opening of nearby Paul Duke STEM High School in the 2018–2019 school year, which opened in part to relieve overcrowding at Norcross.

Athletics

Norcross competes in Region 7-AAAAAAA.[2] The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school competes in football, baseball, softball, lacrosse, track and field, cross country, swimming and diving, wrestling, golf, soccer, tennis, volleyball, marching band, and competitive cheerleading.

Norcross varsity boys' basketball team won the Class AAAAA Georgia state championship in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011, and the Class AAAAAA state championship 2013 and 2022.[3] The girls won the basketball state championship in 2010, 2011, and 2022.[4]

The Norcross football team won the 2012 and 2013 state championships.[5]

Notable alumni

Other programs

In 1996, Norcross High School's band received the Legion of Honor award from the John Philip Sousa Foundation

References
  1. "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Norcross High School". nces.ed.gov. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  2. "2012-2013 Region Alignments". GHSA.net. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  3. "GHSA Boys Basketball Champions". ghsa.net. Georgia High School Association. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  4. "GHSA Girls Basketball Champions". ghsa.net. Georgia High School Association. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  5. "GHSA Football Champions". ghsa.net. Georgia High School Association. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  6. "Magic forward, Norcross grad Al-Farouq Aminu out indefinitely with knee injury". Gwinnett Daily Post. December 1, 2019. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  7. "Norcross product Backus announces retirement from NFL". Gwinnett Daily Post's GwinnettPrepSports.com. March 14, 2013. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  8. Hammock, Will (July 30, 2021). "Former Norcross stars J.T. Thor, B.J. Boston selected in NBA Draft". Gwinnett Daily Post. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  9. "Dallas Cowboys sign Brice Butler, giving Norcross 7 current NFL players". Gwinnett Daily Post. September 18, 2018. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  10. Hammock, Will (September 3, 2020). "Norcross grad Jake Camarda, one of nation's top punters, may add kicking this year for Georgia". Gwinnett Daily Post. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  11. "Lorenzo Carter (LB): Bio, News, Stats & more". Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  12. "Report: Bills re-sign TE Jason Croom, a Norcross grad". Gwinnett Daily Post. March 14, 2020. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  13. Thomas, Paul (April 5, 2015). "NFL dream close to a reality for Norcross' Geremy Davis". Gwinnett Daily Post. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  14. "Former Norcross star Diamond DeShields leaving Tennessee to be a pro". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. June 23, 2017. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  15. Thomas, Paul (January 22, 2016). "Move to center about to pay off for Norcross' Max Garcia in NFL Draft". Gwinnett Daily Post. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  16. Spencer, Sarah K. (January 5, 2020). "Norcross' Brandon Goodwin taking advantage of time with Hawks". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  17. "Cleveland Browns sign former Ohio State linebacker Larry Grant". Cleveland.com. May 21, 2014. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  18. "NFL suspends Jets tight end, Norcross grad Chris Herndon 4 games for substance violation". Gwinnett Daily Post. July 12, 2019. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  19. Holcomb, Todd (December 28, 2012). "Alvin Kamara named AJC high school football player of the year". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  20. Curtright, Guy (November 3, 2015). "Norcross grad Jeremy Lamb gets new NBA life with Charlotte". Gwinnett Daily Post's GwinnettPrepSports.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  21. "Sixers waive former Norcross star Gani Lawal". Gwinnett Daily Post. October 26, 2013. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  22. Eldredge, Richard L. (February 16, 2010). "Norcross High grad Chandler Massey settles into Salem on 'Days of our Lives'". Atlanta. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  23. Friedlander, David (December 14, 2019). "Jersey retirement a special honor for Norcross grad, NBA veteran Jodie Meeks". Gwinnett Daily Post's GwinnettPrepSports.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  24. Glenesk, Matthew (December 22, 2010). "Music as the Falcons' secret weapon". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  25. Bookman, Julie. "Nic Stone keeps it real". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.