Creston High School (Michigan) Explained

Creston High School opened in 1923 as Creston Junior High School, with its first class graduating in 1927. This school was one of the five high schools in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At its peak, it housed around one thousand students and over fifty teachers making the teacher to student ratio about 1:20. The school mascot was the polar bear. The colors were blue and gold.

Closure

In 2012 the district administration proposed closure of Creston, on the basis of an enrollment decrease, as part of a plan to shutter ten campuses. Monica Scott of MLive wrote that "biggest push back has come from closing Creston High School."^[1]

As part of a realignment among Grand Rapids Public Schools high schools, Creston was consolidated with Grand Rapids Central High School. The consolidated high school kept the Grand Rapids Central High School name and location. Students who lived too far from Grand Rapids Central's location have been allowed to attend the high school nearest their neighborhood, including Grand Rapids City High-Middle School which moved into the former Creston High School building. The realignment took place for the 2013–14 school year.

Campus

The building could house 1,397 students.^[1]

Demographics

In 2012 the school had 650 students. 56% did not come from the northeast part of Grand Rapids, where the school was located.^[2]

Notable alumni

• Cameron Bradfield - football offensive tackle who played for NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars
• Carlton Brewster - football wide receiver who played for NFL's Browns, Packers, Chargers, Broncos, and Saints^[3]
• Chuck F. DeShane - football player who played for Detroit Lions from 1945 to 1949, after he coached football at Creston from 1942 to 1944^[4]
• Jim Command - former Major League Baseball player for Philadelphia Phillies
• Sparky McEwen - football quarterback and head football coach for Creston from 1996 to 2003, winning three city league titles and school's first appearance in the state championship game^[5]
• Scott S. Haraburda - U.S. Army Colonel and former president of Indiana Society of Professional Engineers^[6]
• Doug Meijer - co-chairman of supermarket Meijer^[7]
• Hank Meijer - co-chairman and CEO of supermarket Meijer
• Roger W. Wilkins - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and African-American civil rights leader^[8]

External links

• - Grand Rapids Public Schools
• Creston High School, History of Grand Rapids

42.9929°N -85.6603°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Scott, Monica. Grand Rapids superintendent says merging Creston and City High-Middle School is an option. MLive. 2012-11-06. 2019-08-17.
2. Web site: Dewey, Charlsie. Creston High closure could impact business district. Grand Rapids Business Journal. 2012-11-10. 2019-08-17. 2019-08-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20190817083808/https://www.grbj.com/articles/74829-creston-high-closure-could-impact-business-district. dead.
3. Carlton Brewster Chosen to AP Little All-America Team . Ferris State University . February 16, 2014.
4. News: Chuck DeShane, two-way player for Lions, dies at 87 . USA Today . 8 November 2006 . 3 October 2015 .
5. Web site: Sparky's Total Athlete Factory . sparkystotalathletefactory.com . 30 September 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141231011536/http://www.sparkystotalathletefactory.com/Facility___Staff.html . December 31, 2014 .
6. Book: Haraburda, Scott S. . Christian Controversies: Seeking the Truth . Meaningful Publications . 2013 . 50–53, 103, 221, 226 . 978-0-9886072-0-0 .
7. Web site: Hank & Doug Meijer. Forbes. 3 January 2015.
8. Book: Wilkins, Roger . A man's life: an autobiography . registration . 1982 . New York, NY . Simon & Schuster . 0-671-22673-8 .