Central High School (Pueblo, Colorado)

Central High School
Everyone is someone at Central
Address
216 E. Orman St. Pueblo, Colorado United States
Coordinates	38°15′13.15″N 104°37′33.47″W / 38.2536528°N 104.6259639°W / 38.2536528; -104.6259639Coordinates: 38°15′13.15″N 104°37′33.47″W / 38.2536528°N 104.6259639°W / 38.2536528; -104.6259639
Information
Established	1881
School district	Pueblo City Schools
Principal	Dr. Lynn Seifert
Grades	9-12
Campus	216 W. Orman Ave.
Color(s)	Blue and white
Mascot	Wildcat
Nickname	Wildcats
Newspaper	The Central Times
Website	Official website

Central High School is one of seven public high schools located in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. The high school was the second for the city of Pueblo, and was founded in 1881. It is the only high school to have two Medal of Honor recipients, William J. Crawford (Class of '36) and Carl L. Sitter (Class of '40). The school at one time had a reputation for gang membership and used an ad campaign to improve its image.

77% of Pueblo Central High School's students are eligible to receive a free/reduced lunch rate.

The present Neoclassical building on Orman Avenue is built of brick and consists of five floors and an outlying building used as a gym and school meeting area. It was built in 1906. The foyer features right-facing swastikas set into the tile floor. The original Central High School building on Pitkin Avenue (later used as an elementary school) was built of pink rhyolite; the "Stone Schoolhouse" was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Central first opened in 1883, and in 1886 graduated its first class of nine students. In 1889 Central introduced vocational education into its curriculum, making the district the first west of the Missouri River to introduce what was then called "manual training" into the schools.

As of the 2007–2008 academic year Central enrolled 992 students, with an average daily attendance of 819. The academic performance by state standards has been rated as low on the School Accountability report generated by Pueblo City Schools district. The Academic Growth is also rated as low.As of 2015, Central High School reported the second highest graduation and completion rates out of the four District 60 high schools.

In 2013, Pueblo City Schools received a $10.3 million federal magnet school grant. Central High School was named as one of four recipients of the funds, and was designated as a STEM magnet high school. Currently, the STEM courses offered at Central include Computer Software Engineering, Introduction to Engineering, Principles of Engineering, Environmental Sustainability, Principles of Biomedical Sciences, and Human Body Systems. Central High School is also a certified PLTW school, allowing students the opportunity to earn college credit for the STEM courses they take during high school.