Midtown High School, formerly Henry W. Grady High School, is a public high school located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It began as Boys High School and was one of the first two high schools established by Atlanta Public Schools in 1872. In 1947, the school was named after Henry W. Grady, a journalist, orator in the Reconstruction Era. In December 2020, the Atlanta Board of Education announced the new name of Midtown which took effect June 1, 2021.
Midtown is located adjacent to Piedmont Park at 929 Charles Allen Drive, between 8th and 10th Streets, in Midtown Atlanta.
Elementary schools feeding into Midtown High are: Centennial Place, Mary Lin, Hope-Hill, Morningside, and Springdale Park. David T Howard Middle School also feeds into Midtown.
Initially known as Boys High School, it had a Technical Department which expanded in 1909 to become a separate school: Tech High. The "Henry W. Grady Senior High School for Boys" moved to the current campus site in 1924. The 1924 structure (the wing of the campus facing Charles Allen Dr.) still stands, and has been renovated three times (1950, 1987, and 2004). Between 1909 and 1924, Tech High also moved to the campus' current location. Tech High and Boys High merged in 1947 under the name Henry Woodfin Grady High School.
Grady served as the communication magnet in the Atlanta Public Schools system from 1991 until 2011, when the school closed the magnet following a system-wide grant from the Gates Foundation to open small learning communities. From 2011 to 2015, Grady was home to four small learning communities: Communications and Journalism, Public Policy and Justice, Business and Entrepreneurship, and Biomedical Science and Engineering. In 2015, Grady High School course offerings expanded to include the following pathways: Advanced Academic, World Languages, Fine Arts, Instrumental Music, Theatre Arts, Visual Arts, and Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE).[3] In 2016–17, it was used during the production of the 2017 Marvel Studios film Spider-Man: Homecoming, which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
In February 2016, the school newspaper argued that Henry Grady's name should be removed from the school as well.[5]
In July 2020, the Atlanta Board of Education formed a committee to consider a new name.[6] On December 15, 2020, the Board officially announced the name change to Midtown High School effective June 1, 2021.[7]
The Unmasking literary magazine was founded in 1988 as a collection of student art, literature, and criticism edited by Midtown students, published every spring. The magazine was named "Best in Show" by the National Scholastic Press Association twice, in 2005 (Seattle) and 2001 (Boston).[10]
The Southerner is a monthly newspaper written by Midtown students. Part of the High School National Ad Network, it has been published since 1947. The Southerner has won numerous awards, such as the Pacemaker Award and the Quill & Scroll Award, earning the publication nationwide acclaim.[11]
Grady News Now and Gametime were Midtown High School's programs in broadcast journalism, and are also recipients of many awards. GNN won its first Pacemaker in November 2005. Gametime is a weekly show dedicated to the coverage of prevalent sports stories as well as scores and highlights from all scholastic athletic events. It won the GSPA (Georgia Scholastic Press Association) award for the best new breakthrough production.[12]
Nexus, written by Midtown students, was a bimonthly magazine. Its success in the 2004–2005 school year was at first limited, with only a handful of editions, as that was its first year and it started late. Its second year (2005–2006) saw great success when Nexus gained the Start-Up achievement award from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association. In the 2008–2009 school year Nexus won "All Southern" from SIPA.[13]
Water polo - boys' and girls'; girls 3rd place in state, 2013
Cheerleading (2006 Regional Champions)
Cross-country (boys: 2017 Regional Champions; 2017 APS city champions; 2005 Regional Champions; 2003 2nd at state; 2009 APS city champions, 2010 APS city champions, 2011 APS city champions; 2016 APS city champions, 2018 APS city champions, 2019 APS city champions, 2019 2nd at regionals; 2019 3rd at state; girls: 2017 Regional Champions; 2017 APS City Champions)
Football – varsity and junior varsity (1953 State Champions, 2016 Regional Champions, 2014 Regional Champions, State Football Semi-Finals)
Softball
Volleyball
Winter sports
Swimming - girls 2014 City Champs, boys 2014 City 2nd Place
Basketball – boys' and girls' varsity and JV (2006 Regional Champion Runner-up)
Cheerleading (2006 Regional Champion)
Debate – novice, JV and varsity (see below, under "Speech and Debate")
Riflery – co-ed
Spring sports
Baseball – varsity and JV
Golf
Lacrosse - varsity (boys and girls)
Soccer (boys: 2004, 2005 Regional Champions; girls: first state playoff win ever in 2006, Final Four in 2007) - Grady soccer teams compete in region 5-AAA.
Tennis (varsity boys: 2017,2018, 2019 6AAAAA Region Champions, 2019 AAAAA State Runner Up)
Track (girls, 1988 State Champions, 2013 Atlanta City Champions; boys, 2000, Team 3rd State Class AA, 2001, Team 3rd State Class AA, 2002 Team Region Runner-up, 2003, Team 3rd State Class AA, 2005, Team Class AA State Runner-up, 2007, State runner-up and nationally ranked 4x100 relay, 2011 Atlanta City Champions, 2012 Atlanta City Champions)[15][16][17][18]
Ultimate frisbee - boys' and girls' varsity and JV (2012, 2017, 2018, 2019 varsity Boys state champions, 2017 Varsity Boys Southeast-Region Champions, 2018 Varsity Boys National Champions)
The following are notable alumni of Boys High (pre-1947), Henry W. Grady High (1947-2021) or Midtown High (2021-present), listed with their graduating class and notable accomplishments:
Josie Duffy Rice (2005) Former President of The Appeal and a writer and criminal justice expert.
Danielle Deadwyler (2000) Actress and writer known for her roles in Atlanta, The Haves and the Have Nots, Station Eleven, The Harder They Fall and the upcoming Till.
Stuart Eizenstat (1960) Policy advisor for the Carter and Clinton presidential administrations
Allen West (1979) C/LTC of the 1979 ROTC class, US Congressman from Florida
Donald Windham (1937) Playwright, editor, novelist, short-story writer, and memoirist; known for such works as The Dog Star, Emblems of Conduct, The Warm Country, and Two People; grew up on Peachtree Street
