A. L. Brown High School

A.L. Brown High School
A.L. Brown High School
Location
415 E. 1st Street Kannapolis, North Carolina, 28083 USA
Information
Type	Free public
Established	1924
School district	Kannapolis City Schools
Principal	Todd Parker
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1350
Campus type	Suburb
Color(s)	Kelly green, White
Nickname	Wonders
Rival	Concord High School
Website	http://kcsbrown.ss3.sharpschool.com

A.L. (Alfred Luther) Brown High School (also sometimes referred to as Kannapolis or simply Brown) is a comprehensive public high school in Kannapolis, North Carolina. It is the only high school in the Kannapolis City Schools district as well as the city of Kannapolis. As of the 2005/06 school year, the current enrollment is 1,350 students.

Brown was recognized by DPI as a "School of Distinction" under the state's ABC standards for public education for the 2003–2010 school years.

During the expansion of the Cannon Mills Corporation during the 1920s, James William Cannon donated a piece of land just east of the town for a school. Centerview School was constructed in 1924, about the same time that a new Concord High School opened. Later in the early 1930s Centerview School was renamed J.W. Cannon High School, after the town's founder. A few years later Cannon High School was destroyed by a fire, then later rebuilt. In 1951, the school was renamed A. L. Brown High School, and moved to a new building southeast of the old facility. The former building was converted into a junior high school under the name Cannon Junior High School. In 1974, A.L. Brown was almost destroyed by a fire started in the attic; fearing auditorium damage, graduation was moved to the primary gymnasium. Then on January 10, 1982, James William Cannon Junior High School was completely destroyed by a fire.

Many additions have been built on to Brown and there is a separate vocational building as well as a free-standing gymnasium. During the 2006/07 school year, a newer gymnasium/PE facility opened on campus. These free-standing buildings give A. L. Brown its unique character. Instead of a traditional single building like most high schools, Brown has a small, college-like atmosphere with numerous buildings around a central courtyard. All of the buildings on the campus are built in the Colonial Williamsburg style of architecture. All of the buildings are brick with white trim, modeled after most of Kannapolis.

The $8.1 million, 50,000-square foot STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Academy, designed to resemble the nearby North Carolina Research Campus Core Lab, held its grand opening on September 25, 2011. The top two floors offer modern science labs, while the second floor will house communication classes. The basement has a health center and an international welcome center.