Central High School is a high school located in Aberdeen, South Dakota with an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students. Since 2004, the school has been located at a new site located at 2200 South Roosevelt Street. The new location is on the outskirts of the southeast side of town.

The Thomas F. Kelley Theatre is the fine arts and multi-purpose venue. Golden Eagles Arena is the high school gymnasium that has hosted a number of South Dakota High School Activities Association state championship events. Clark Swisher Field is the outdoor athletic complex located on the Central High School Campus. This complex is an ongoing joint project between Northern State University, the Aberdeen Public Schools, and the City of Aberdeen. The complex hosts both university and high school events in football, soccer, and track.

Central High School is committed to meeting all requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act and was honored with the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement achievement in math and science in 2008. This award is given to the top performing high school in the state of South Dakota.

Central High School ACT scores beat both national and state averages. The staff consists of over 100 people. Central students may earn college credit through the Rising Scholars Program or one of the many Advanced Placement opportunities available. Central High School partners with the Hub Area Vocational School to offer a large number of vocational learning experiences.^[1]

Athletics

Central's mascot is the Golden Eagle. The school has a rich history of athletic success with athletic teams for boys' football, basketball, wrestling, track, cross-country, tennis, golf, and newly added soccer. Teams for girls include volleyball, basketball, track, cross country, gymnastics, tennis, golf, competitive cheer and dance, and soccer. Their football and soccer teams compete on Swisher Field which sits next to the high school.

State Championships:

• Boys Basketball - 1913, 1933, 1938, 1949, 1953, 1961, 1977, 1988
• Boys Track - 2002
• Girls Volleyball - 2002, 2009, 2015
• Girls Basketball - 2016, 2018
• Wrestling - 2014

Central High School participate* Boys Basketball - 1977, 1988 s in the Eastern South Dakota Athletic Conference, the oldest conference in South Dakota. Students can also participate in numerous clubs and activities on campus, including drama, band, chorus, speech and debate.^[1]

Speech and debate

Aberdeen Central has won 9 team state championships in Speech and Debate (2004,^[2] 2006,^[3] 2007,^[4] 2009,^[5] 2012,^[6] 2013,^[7] 2014,^[8] 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021^[9]), and 2022, the most of any school in South Dakota.^[10] The 6 consecutive team state championships won from 2017-2022 marks the longest consecutive win streak in class AA SDHSAA history.^[10]

Aberdeen Central was awarded the National Speech and Debate Association's Debate School of Excellence Award in 2014 and 2015, recognizing it as one of the top 20 debate schools in the nation. Aberdeen Central is 1 of only 3 schools (along with Bellaire High School of Texas & Durham Academy of North Carolina) to have ever won the award in back to back years.^[11][12]

Students from Aberdeen Central compete in all events sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association and National Speech and Debate Association including: Policy Debate, Lincoln Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, Original Oratory, Extemporaneous Speaking, Oral Interpretation, and Student Congress.^[13]

Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in Policy Debate four times (1965, 1997, 2008,^[14] 2010^[15]).^[10]

Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in Lincoln Douglas twice (2012^[16] & 2013^[17]).^[10]

Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in Public Forum four times (2006,^[18] 2013,^[19] 2014,^[20] 2016^[21]).^[10]

Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in Original Oratory eight times (1954, 1961, 1991, 2002,^[22] 2007,^[23] 2008,^[24] 2009,^[25] 2010^[26]).^[10]

Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in International Extemporaneous Speaking five times (2001, 2004,^[27] 2007,^[28] 2008,^[29] 2012^[30]).^[10]

Aberdeen Central has won the state championship in U.S. Extemporaneous Speaking three times (1988, 2007,^[31] 2008^[32]).^[10]

School leadership

• Jason Uttermark, Principal
• Tina Board, Asst. Principal
• Jake Phillips, Asst. Principal

Notable alumni

• Tom Daschle, (Class of 1965); former U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader^[33]
• Josh Heupel, quarterback for the 2000 National Champion Oklahoma Sooners football team, and head coach at Tennessee Volunteers^[34]
• Taylor Mehlhaff, NFL kicker^[35]
• Dean M. Peterson, developer of Instamatic and point-and-shoot cameras^[36]
• Eddie Spears, film actor and model^[37]
• Michael Spears, film actor and model

References

• Uttermark, Jason. "Research: Empowering all students to succeed in a changing world". Retrieved 2009-03-29.

External links

Official website

• SDHSAA school info Archived 2011-12-02 at the Wayback Machine

45°26′35″N 98°27′27″W / 45.44306°N 98.45750°W / 45.44306; -98.45750