Stuart W. Cramer High School is a public high school in the

Gaston County Schools Gaston County Schools is an American public school district in Gaston County, North Carolina. With 30,046 students enrolled in 56 schools as of the 2021–22 academic year, it is the tenth largest public school district in North Carolina. ...

district located in Cramerton, North Carolina (though its mailing address says Belmont). Its attendance range covers the central portion of eastern

Gaston County Gaston County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 227,943. The county seat is Gastonia. Dallas served as the original county seat from 1846 until 1911. Gaston County is included in the ...

and includes all of the towns of Cramerton and McAdenville and portions of Belmont and Mount Holly. Jessica Steiner serves as principal. Assistant principals include Brittany Beckham, Phillip Morris and Deidre Johnson. Mike Patton serves as athletic director.

Naming

The school was named for

Stuart W. Cramer Stuart Warren Cramer (March 31, 1868 – July 2, 1940) was an American engineer, inventor, and contractor, who gained prominence after designing and building near 150 cotton mills in the southern United States. He was the founder of Cramerton, N ...

Thomasville, North Carolina Thomasville is a city in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 27,183 at the 2020 census. The city was once notable for its furniture industry, as were its neighbors High Point, North Carolina, High Point and Lexington ...

. Cramer was the founder of Cramerton, North Carolina, a leading industrialist in the

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and

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industries, and one of the founding partners of

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History

In 2007, Gaston County voters approved a $175 million bond package that included the construction costs for a new high school in the fast-growing eastern portion of Gaston County, intended to relieve overcrowding at East Gaston High School and South Point High School. The 138-acre site of the former Lakewood Golf Course was chosen as the site with the new school being built on the 99 acres on the east side of Lakewood Road. The school was designed by Boomerang Design/MBAJ Architecture P.A., and the primary construction contract was executed by Shelco Construction Company, both of

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. Total building construction costs were $38.6 million, or $ in current value. Total cost for the entire project including athletic facilities, roadways, parking lots and ground works was $63 million, or $ in current value.Cramer High sets the standard - Gaston Gazette - Gastonia, NC
/ref> Stuart W. Cramer High School opened in 2013 with 550 students in grades 9 and 10. In 2014, two staff members were named Outstanding Educators for Gaston County.

Facilities

The building has 268,000 square feet of built floor space, and is currently built to house 1,200 students. The school was designed for expansion to 288,214 square feet of floor space to accommodate expansion to 1,500 students. The school, set on 90 acres of campus, was featured as one of eleven model examples in ''American School and University'' magazine's 2014 Architectural Portfolio, recognizing it as a national model in educational architectural design. Its football stadium was built at the time of school opening, seating 3000 people and featuring the first artificial turf field in the county. The L. Reeves McGlohon Auditorium, named for the serving Gaston County Schools Superintendent at the time, seats 1,500 and is the largest auditorium in the county.EDITORIAL: Stuart W. Cramer High School arrives! - Opinion - Gaston Gazette - Gastonia, NC
/ref>

References

{{authority control Education in Gaston County, North Carolina Educational institutions established in 2013 Schools in Gaston County, North Carolina Public high schools in North Carolina 2013 establishments in North Carolina