HISTORY OF SIMON G. ATKINS HIGH SCHOOL

 

     Atkins High School located at Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, was built with the assistance of the Rosenwald Fund philanthropic organization devoted to building schools for black children. Atkins High was a new venture for the Fund, an experiment of sorts, and the Fund dictated both the new school’s curriculum and the design of the building. The Rosenwald program originated in 1912 from the efforts of the African-American educator, Booker T. Washington, of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Washington sought to improve education for black children in the rural South by creating partnerships between black communities and philanthropists. His program had three primary goals: to improve schools, to improve black/white cooperation, to increase communities’ support for black education.

     Atkins High was dedicated on April 2, 1931, as a facility for “Negro children”. The building, equipment and grounds were valued at that time at $400,000. This was paid primarily by the city, with a grant of $50,000 from the Rosenwald Fund.

     Julius Rosenwald was a president of Sears Roebuck who was noted for supporting black schools throughout the south. The first principal was John Carter, who had previously been a professor at Winston-Salem Teacher’s College. He continued as principal until 1959. The school curriculum included both an academic track for those students intending to go on to college, and a vocational track for those intending to start work immediately.

     Atkins High was named after Dr. Simon Green Atkins. Dr. Atkins came to Winston-Salem from Raleigh, North Carolina, where he graduated from St. Augustine Normal and Collegiate Institute (now St. Augustine's College). In 1890, he accepted the position of principal of Depot Street School in Winston-Salem. Dr. Atkins was the organizer, secretary, and agent of the board that started Slater Industrial Academy in 1892, now Winston–Salem State University. Dr. Atkins served as principal of Slater on a part-time basis for the first two years of its existence, while he continued his work as principal of Depot Street School. As Slater Industrial Academy grew, the demands upon Dr. Atkins' leadership and direction increased. In 1895, he resigned his position at Depot Street School to devote himself entirely to Slater Academy.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

     The Atkins name was transferred to a new building housing the Simon G. Atkins Academic & Technology High School in September 2006.

Notable Alumni:

• William Bell (1957) - Mayor of Durham, North Carolina.

• Carl Eller - Minnesota Vikings.

• Happy Hairston - Los Angeles Lakers.

• Togo D. West, Jr. (1959) - Secretary of the Army, Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

• Nadine Winter - Member of the District of Columbia Council

• Larry W. Womble - Member of the North Carolina State House of Representatives.

• Lawrence Joel - United States Army Medal Of Honor Recipient.

• Herman Gilliam - Atlanta Hawks, Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trail Blazers.

• Willie William Porter - Cincinnati Royals.

• Talmadge L. Hill - Buffalo Bills.

• William Edmond McKoy - Denver Broncos.