History of Southside
Southside High School, now in its 46th year, opened in the fall of 1963 under the direction of Victor E. Stewart who remained as principal of Southside for 19 years until his retirement at the end of the 1981-82 school year. Southside opened with 971 students in grades 7-10 and a staff of 37 teachers, three administrators, one counselor, four secretaries, four custodians, and four cafeteria workers.
In 1982-83 Wayne Haver became the second principal of Southside and is now in his twenty-seventh year. In the 2007-08 school year the enrollment in grades 10-12 is 1,610 students, with 543 sophomores, 537 juniors, and 530 seniors. Southside presently has a staff of 97 teachers, four administrators, four counselors, one nurse, nine secretaries, eight paraprofessionals, 13 custodians, and 10 cafeteria workers, for a total of 146 staff members.
The original building of 44 classrooms was added to in 1968 with a nine room wing, in 1973 with a 12 room wing, in 1977 with a 600 seat auditorium, in 1978 with an all-weather track, in 1981 with a physical education facility, in 1988 with a new stadium, in 1992 with a 10 room business wing and a cafeteria addition. An athletic addition that includes a weight room, dressing room, training area, and office space was completed in July 1997, and a new 12 classroom science addition and library and office expansion was completed for the 1998-99 school year. A fine arts complex was completed in August 2000 that added new band and orchestra, choral, drama, and counseling facilities. An activities center was completed in June 2008. With all the additions and interior renovations, there are 96 teaching stations.
The first graduating class was the Class of 1966 with 282 graduates. In the Class of 2007 there were 432 graduates. The Class of 1978 was the largest graduating class with 503 graduates. Southside had its 10,000th graduate in the Class of 1991 and its 15,000th graduate in the Class of 2003.
Southside was recognized as a "
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