Omaha Central High School

For schools of a similar name, see Central High School (disambiguation).

Omaha High School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	Omaha, Nebraska
Architect:	Latenser,John,Sr.
Architectural style:	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Other
Governing body:	Omaha Public Schools
NRHP Reference#:	79003684 [1]
Added to NRHP:	October 11, 1979

Omaha Central High School, originally known as Omaha High School, was founded in 1859.

The current building, located in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska, was designed by John Latenser, Sr. and built between 1900 and 1912. It is believed to be the oldest active high school building in the city.^[2]

With an enrollment of around 2,500 students, today Central High School is the largest school in the state. Central is a four-year high school with a traditional college preparatory curriculum, an honors and advanced placement program, and a diverse student body which includes international students from all over the world. Co-curricular activities such as athletics, clubs, honor societies, student government, drama, art, musical groups, speech, and debate are offered.^[3] Central High School is also a candidate for the IB Diploma Programme .

Athletics

CHS is also known as "Champ High" due to the excellence of its athletic programs. Central's recent success has resulted in state championships in basketball (1912, 1974, 1975, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011), track and field (1922, 1924, 1945, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1982, 1983, 1989, 2007, 2010, 2011), and football (1984, 2007). In 2007 the Eagles became the only high school in Nebraska to have won championships in three main sports in the same calender year, and the following year Central was ranked by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 10 high-school athletic programs in the country.

Central's football program is also known as "I-Back High" for the production the football team receives from their backfield. Notable I-backs in Central history include Gale Sayers, Ahman Green, Damion Morrow, David Horne, Keith "Endzone" Jones, and Calvin Jones.

Other state championships

• Baseball - 1939
• Cross Country - 1965
• Wrestling - 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1955
• Boys soccer - 1992

Venues

• Home football and soccer games are played in Seeman Stadium, a multi-million dollar stadium on campus.
• Home basketball games are played in the Central High gym.
• Home baseball games are Played at Boyd Stadium, a renovated city park 3 miles north east of campus.

Newspaper and media

The high school's newspaper is known as The Register. In 1986 Quill and Scroll, officially declared The Register the oldest continuously published newspaper west of the Mississippi.^[4] After running a controversial story in 2001, the staff and the paper was rebuked by the administration. The story reported on a football player continuing to play, despite 2 assault charges. The charges, as stated in the school's handbook, should have led to a dismissal from the team. After running the story, the paper was threatened with being shut down. The school advisor received support from media outlets on the local and national level. This support stopped the paper from being shut down.^[5]

The staff of Central's student newspaper, were awarded the Student Press Review's Edmund J. Sullivan Award in 2002 after they wrote a series of articles exposing several controversial topics throughout the school.^[6] After administration had again threatened the paper with closure, the students won reprieve through the support of professional journalists across the country.^[7]

Central has had youth-led media for some years. Starting in 1923, the school had a high school radio station for five years. First, KFCZ operated during the 1923–1924 school year. In 1925 the call letters changed to KOCH, and the Central High School Radio Club presented shows throughout the school day and special events on the weekends. The station was ordered discontinued by the Federal Communications Commission in 1928, as they devalued the purpose of school-affiliated radio stations and rescinded their licenses across the United States.^[8]

JROTC

The Military Science program at Omaha Central High School predates the JROTC program. It began in the 1892–1893 school year. It became the most popular activity at the school. At one point, all male students were required to participate.^[9]

Notable alumni

• Henry Fonda, Academy Award Winning (On Golden Pond) Actor
• Dorothy McGuire, Academy Award-Nominated (Gentleman's Agreement) Actress
• Wynonie Harris, American Rhythm & Blues Singer with 15 top 10 hits
• Charlie T. Munger, Billionaire Investor & Warren Buffett Partner
• Gale Sayers, Pro Football Hall of Fame running Back immortalized in movie Brian's Song
• Ahman Green, NFL Pro Bowl Football Player (Running Back), Most prominently with the Green Bay Packers, Currently with the Omaha Nighthawks
• Keith Jones, NFL Pro Football Player (Running Back)
• Larry Station, NFL Pro Football Player & College All American (Linebacker) & Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009
• Alan J. Heeger 2000 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry
• Lawrence R. Klein 1980 Nobel Prize winner in Economic Science
• Saul A. Kripke, American philosopher & Princeton University Professor
• Jarvis Offutt, American WWI aviator, namesake of Offutt Air Force Base
• Brenda Council, Long-time North Omaha city councilwoman
• Terry Goodkind, Author
• Edward Zorinsky, Former Omaha mayor and Nebraska senator
• Jed Ortmeyer, NHL, former University of Michigan standout and current Nashville Predator
• Pat Venditte, Minor League Baseball pitcher currently signed to the Tampa Yankees; also signed to the New York Yankees
• James W. Fous, Vietnam War veteran; recipient of the Medal of Honor award
• Gerry Thomas, inventor of the TV dinner in 1952
• Peter Kiewit, founder of the Kiewit Corporation, one of the world's largest construction companies
• Peter Hoagland, politician who represented the 2nd congressional district of Nebraska in the United States House of Representatives
• Kenneth C. Stephan, justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court appointed by Senator Ben Nelson in 1997
• William Marshall Roark, Lieutenant; killed in Vietnam
• Harold Cooperman, founder of No Frills Supermarkets
• Susan Alice Buffett, daughter of Warren Buffett; philanthropist
• Susan Thompson Buffett, mother of Susie Buffett, former wife of Warren Buffet; former president of the Buffett Foundation
• Peter Buffett, son of Susan and Warren Buffett; musician
• Inga Swenson, award winning actress
• Calvin Jones, halfback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1990–1993, part of the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl XXXI championship team
• Jason Brilz, MMA fighter

Former principals

The list of principals of Omaha High School/Central dates from 1870 to present.^[10]

• John Kellom, 1870–1875
• W. H. Merritt, 1875–1877
• C. H. Crawford, 1877–1881
• Charles Hine, 1881–1882
• Homer Lewis, 1882–1896
• Irwen Leviston, 1896–1899
• A. H. Waterhouse, 1899–1908
• E. U. Graff, 1908–1911
• Kate McHugh, 1911–1914
• Clayton Reed, 1914–1915
• Joseph G. Masters, 1915–1939
• Fred Hill, 1939–1944
• J. Arthur Nelson, 1944–1968
• Gaylord “Doc” Moller, 1968–1995
• Gary L. Thompson, 1995–2002
• Jerry F. Bexten, 2002–2006
• Gregory Emmel, 2006–2010
• Keith Bigsby, 2010-

Central High School at night.

On The Grounds of Central High School

Dodge Street entrance of Central.

Looking west up Capitol Ave; Central sits atop capitol hill.

See also

• Omaha Public Schools

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ Gerber, Kristine; Jeffrey S. Spencer (2003). Building for the Ages: Landmarks in Omaha.. Landmarks, Inc.. pp. 84–85. ISBN 0-9745410-1-X. 
3. ^ (2005) Central High Newsletter. Central High School. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
4. ^ History
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ (2003) Edmund J. Sullivan Award to two newspaper staffs Student Press Review. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
7. ^ Wynn, C. (2002) Threat of censorship has chilling effect: High school journalists try to continue work after clash with administration. The Quill. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
8. ^ Frost, S., Frost, E. (1977) Education's Own Stations: The History of Broadcast Licenses Issued to Educational Institutions. National Advisory Council on Radio in Education Committee on Research. pp299-300.
9. ^ History of Central High, Central High Traditions, Military
10. ^ (2006) Annual Report. Central High School Foundation. Retrieved 2007-05-16.

External links

• Omaha Central High School Home Page
• Central High School Foundation
• Central High School-Class Reunion Websites at Classreport.org
• Historical photo of the school (see upper right-hand corner.)
• [2]