Creston High School (Michigan)
Creston High School opened in 1923 as Creston Junior High School, with its first class graduating in 1927. This school was one of the five high schools in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At its peak, it housed around one thousand students and over fifty teachers making the teacher to student ratio about 1:20. The school mascot was the polar bear. The colors were blue and gold.
Closure
In 2012 the district administration proposed closure of Creston, on the basis of an enrollment decrease, as part of a plan to shutter ten campuses. Monica Scott of
MLive wrote that "biggest push back has come from closing Creston High School."[1]
As part of a realignment among
Grand Rapids Central High School. The consolidated high school kept the Grand Rapids Central High School name and location. Students who lived too far from Grand Rapids Central's location have been allowed to attend the high school nearest their neighborhood, including Grand Rapids City High-Middle School which moved into the former Creston High School building. The realignment took place for the 2013–14 school year.[citation needed
]
Campus
The building could house 1,397 students.[1]
Demographics
In 2012 the school had 650 students. 56% did not come from the northeast part of Grand Rapids, where the school was located.[2]
Notable alumni
- Cameron Bradfield - football offensive tackle who played for NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars
- Carlton Brewster - football wide receiver who played for NFL's Browns, Packers, Chargers, Broncos, and Saints[3]
- Chuck F. DeShane - football player who played for Detroit Lions from 1945 to 1949, after he coached football at Creston from 1942 to 1944[4]
- Jim Command - former Major League Baseball player for Philadelphia Phillies
- Sparky McEwen - football quarterback and head football coach for Creston from 1996 to 2003, winning three city league titles and school's first appearance in the state championship game[5]
- Scott S. Haraburda - U.S. Army Colonel and former president of Indiana Society of Professional Engineers[6]
- Doug Meijer - co-chairman of supermarket Meijer[7]
- Hank Meijer - co-chairman and CEO of supermarket Meijer[7]
- Roger W. Wilkins - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and African-American civil rights leader[8]
References
- ^ MLive. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
- ^ Dewey, Charlsie (2012-11-10). "Creston High closure could impact business district". Grand Rapids Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2019-08-17. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
- ^ "Carlton Brewster Chosen to AP Little All-America Team" (Press release). Ferris State University. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "Chuck DeShane, two-way player for Lions, dies at 87". USA Today. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ^ "Sparky's Total Athlete Factory". sparkystotalathletefactory.com. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-9886072-0-0.
- ^ a b "Hank & Doug Meijer". Forbes. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- ISBN 0-671-22673-8.
External links
- Creston High School at the Wayback Machine (archive index) - Grand Rapids Public Schools
- Creston High School, History of Grand Rapids