news-record.com

Ragsdale High School turned 50 this year, and the school on High Point Road will host anniversary events throughout the school year.
 

At Friday’s homecoming game, Ragsdale’s first homecoming queen, Jewel Medley Clayton, will be honored, and former homecoming court members and cheerleaders are invited.

Principal Kathryn Rogers is only the third principal in the history of the school. She’s been at the school 15 years, a rarity these days, when principals stay an average of three to five years.

“Ragsdale has been a large part of our world for a long time and continues to do so,” said Larry Archer, a 1977 graduate and father of two Ragsdale students. Archer’s sister graduated in 1968, his brother in 1964. His daughter Laura is a senior and daughter Katie is a junior.

Archer said he’s looking forward to the school’s future and the upcoming renovations.

“It’s been a great place for us,” he said.

Archer said the school’s athletic and music programs traditionally have been good. He credits the school’s success to parent and staff support.

Ron Kiser agrees the people at Ragsdale are special. “From the administrators to the teachers, coaches and parents, everyone truly cares about what happens at this school,” he said in an e-mail. “It is all about the students and kids. You hear about it almost every day from teachers, coaches and Dr. Rogers. It is about the kids.”

Kiser met his wife, Sheila Pearson, at Ragsdale. They graduated in 1981.

“We moved back to the area to just have our kids grow up in the Jamestown area and attend the schools, especially Ragsdale,” he said.

The Kisers’ son, Ryan, graduated in 2008, and daughter Ashley will graduate in 2011.

Through his work with the Ragsdale Athletic Booster Club, Kiser said he and his kids have learned why being involved is important.

“It is not just a school; it is a family that cares about each of these students and kids,” he said.

Judy Jarrell, school media specialist, shared some of the school’s history, which is published on the school’s Web site (http://schoolcenter.gcsnc.com/education/school/ schoolhistory.php?sectiondetailid=34116).

When Jamestown was settled in 1754, it had a strong Quaker presence and a thriving community of craftsmen.

“Education was a prime concern of residents of the James­town area from its earliest years,” according to school history. A variety of schools flourished there.

“In 1907, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted a law providing for the creation and maintenance of public high schools in each county. Jamestown Public School, a union school, was built and became the ‘best-equipped school’ in Guilford County with dormitories for boarding students. In 1914, the school was destroyed by fire, but a new building was completed the next year.

This building now stands in the heart of Jamestown and houses the Jamestown Public Library.”

The high school complex in Jamestown opened in September 1959, “named for Lucy Coffin Ragsdale because of her dedication and interest to public school education in Jamestown.”

The first principal was T.G. Madison, followed by Steve Dalton and now Rogers.

Ragsdale has been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools since 1962, the first Guilford County high school to receive this recognition, according to the school history.

Contact E.A. Seagraves at 883-4422, Ext. 241, or elizabeth.
seagraves@news-record.com