Austin-East High School facts for kids

Austin-East High School, also known as Austin-East Magnet High School, is a public high school in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is run by Knox County Schools.

The school offers a special program called a magnet school. This program focuses on performing arts, like music, dance, and theater.

History of Austin-East High School

Austin-East High School was formed in 1968. It brought together two older schools: Austin High School and East High School. Before 1968, schools in the United States were often separated by race. Austin High was for black students, and East High was for white students. When they combined, it was part of a movement to create integrated schools. The new Austin-East High School was located in the old East High School building.

Austin High School's Beginnings

Austin High School first opened in 1879. It was named after Emily Austin, a woman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She worked hard to raise money to start the school. It was Knoxville's first high school for black students. Before this, black children in Knoxville learned in church basements or small one-room schoolhouses. Emily Austin raised $6,500, and the Knoxville Board of Education added $2,000 to help start the school.

John W. Manning became the principal in 1881. He was the first black person to lead the school. He had graduated from Yale University that same year. Manning was principal until he retired in 1912. Charles W. Cansler, who had taught at Austin since 1900, took over as principal.

In 1916, Austin High School moved to a new building and was renamed Knoxville Colored High School. By 1928, the school needed more space because the black population was growing. It moved to another new location and went back to being called Austin High School. William A. Robinson became principal in 1928. He was followed by Thomas R. Davis, who was principal until 1948. In 1952, Austin High moved to a modern new building, where it stayed until it merged with East High School.

East High School and the Merger

East High School opened in 1951. It was one of four new schools created after the old Knoxville High split up. East High was originally for white students. However, in the early 1960s, it began to accept black students as schools in Knoxville slowly started to integrate. East High School had 17 graduating classes before it merged with Austin High School in 1968. Its sports teams were known as the "Mountaineers."

In 1968, Austin High and East High, which were only a few blocks apart, joined together. They formed a single racially integrated high school called Austin East High School. The old Austin school building became Vine Middle School. After the merger, many white students from East High moved to other high schools. This meant Austin-East became a school mostly for black students.

In 1987, the school's management changed. It moved from the city of Knoxville to Knox County Schools. This happened when the city's school system joined with the county's.

In 1997, Austin-East became a magnet school. This meant it offered special programs in performing arts, science, and math. The magnet program aimed to attract more white students. However, by 2008-2009, over 80% of Austin-East's students were African American. The school also reorganized into smaller learning groups in 2008-2009. This was done after it struggled to meet certain performance goals for several years.

April 2021 Incident

On April 12, 2021, an incident happened at Austin-East High School. Police were called to the school about a disagreement involving a 17-year-old student, Anthony Thompson Jr. During an encounter in a school bathroom, Thompson was shot and died. A police officer was also hurt by a shot from another officer. This event led to protests in the community.

After some discussion about police body camera videos, the District Attorney released the footage on April 21, 2021. It was announced that no officers would be charged. The event caused ongoing protests about racial justice in the community. Students began daily walkouts at 3:15 p.m., the time Thompson died. They demanded changes in police practices. Anthony Thompson's family was represented by a well-known civil rights lawyer, Ben Crump.

The mother of Thompson's girlfriend later said she regretted calling the police. The Knoxville Police Department investigated a possible related incident at her home.

Following weeks of protests, Knoxville's mayor, Indya Kincannon, made an announcement. She said that at the end of the school year on June 12, 2021, the Knoxville Police Department would remove its uniformed officers from Knox County schools.

On May 14, a local man was charged in connection with providing the gun to Anthony Thompson. Prosecutors stated that video footage showed the man buying the gun for Thompson on April 12.

Magnet Program

The Austin-East magnet program focuses on performing arts. It works like a "school-within-a-school." This means students can take specialized classes. These classes include dance, theater, vocal music, and instrumental music. They also offer courses in finance and business.

Sports

Austin-East has many sports teams. They compete in football, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, cross country, track and field, marching band, wrestling, and volleyball. The school's football team is in Class 3A, according to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA).

The school's sports teams are called the "Roadrunners."

• The boys' basketball team won state championships in 1977, 1985, and 1987.
• The football team won state championships in 1983, 1986, and 2001.
• In 2007, the girls' basketball team won the state championship.
• The boys' track team won state championships in 1981 and 1987.
• The girls' track team won state championships in 1986, 1987, 1988, and 2007.

Notable Alumni

Many successful people have graduated from Austin-East High School or its earlier forms:

• Bianca Belair - A professional wrestler for WWE. She was also a track and field athlete at the University of Tennessee.
• Daniel Brown - The first African American to serve as mayor of Knoxville.
• Joey Clinkscales - An NFL player and executive.
• Beauford Delaney and Joseph Delaney - Famous artists.
• Joe Fishback - A former NFL player who won two Super Bowls.
• Nikki Giovanni - A well-known poet.
• Paul Hogue - A basketball player who won two NCAA championships with Cincinnati. He was a first-round pick in the 1962 NBA draft.
• Raleigh McKenzie - A former NFL player who won two Super Bowls.
• Reggie McKenzie - An NFL player and executive. He was the top student (valedictorian) for the Austin-East Class of 1981 and won two Super Bowls.
• Sam McKenzie - A member of the Tennessee House of Representatives.
• Leroy Thompson - A former NFL athlete and All-American football player. He helped Austin-East win state championships in football, basketball, and track in his senior year.
• Carl Torbush - A football coach. He attended East High School and graduated from the first combined Austin-East class. He was the first Austin-East football player to receive all-state recognition.
• Elston Turner - An NBA player and coach. He played on the school's 1977 state championship basketball team.