Cannon School is an independent, nonsectarian, college preparatory institution serving students in junior

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

through

grade 12 Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final year of secondary school and K–12 ...

. Cannon School is located in

Concord, North Carolina Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 105,240 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Concord is the second-most populous city in the Cha ...

Cabarrus County Cabarrus County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina ...

, on a campus on Poplar Tent Road near the Cabarrus–

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

county line.

History

Cannon School was founded in 1969 as a

segregation academy Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend Racial segregation in the United States, desegregated public schools. They ...

named Cabarrus Academy, immediately following court rulings mandating the desegregation of North Carolina public schools. The school was located in the historic downtown Concord residence of local textile entrepreneur J.W. Cannon. The school initially served students in grades 1-10. Upon opening, the school had 75 all white students, but neither a cafeteria nor a gymnasium. Tuition was $750. Headmaster Herman Butrick claimed that black students would have been admitted, but that none had applied. In 1970, the

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

found that the school had a non-discriminatory admissions policy and was thus eligible for

tax-exempt status Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...

. In 1994 the school relocated to its current campus in the northwestern corner of Cabarrus county, and in 1998 Cabarrus Academy was renamed Cannon School. Originally a school for junior kindergarten through eighth grade, Cannon expanded throughout the 1990s and graduated its first senior class in 2002. (Note: First "new" senior class. As Cabarrus Academy, the school did graduate seniors in its earlier years.) The school enrolled approximately 1045 students for the 2024–2025 school year.

Academics

Cannon School is fully accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

and the

Southern Association of Independent Schools The Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS), founded in 1953, is a U.S.-based voluntary regional accrediting association of more than 380 independent elementary and secondary schools with a combined enrollment of more than 220,000 ...

. The school offers

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

classes in the Middle School and Upper School. Cannon School has developed a sister school exchange program with Tianli International School of

Luzhou Luzhou ( zh, s=泸州, p=Lúzhōu; Sichuanese Pinyin: Nu2zou1; Minjiang dialect, Luzhou dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city located in the southeast of Sichuan Province, China. It is also known as the "Liquor City" (). It was named Jiangyang () ...

, Sichuan, China. Each year, since 2004, local families host Chinese students and teachers in their homes during week-long visits to Cannon School and other points of interest around

the Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean ...

Notable alumni

Jaden Bradley Jaden Shawn Bradley (born September 14, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the Arizona Wildcats of the Big 12 Conference. He previously played for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Early life and high school career Bradley originally grew ...

college basketball player * Vicky Bruce professional women's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player *

Harrison Burton Harrison Brian Burton (born October 9, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 25 Ford Mustang (seventh generation), Ford Mustang Dark Horse for AM Racing. He ...

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

driver for

Wood Brothers Racing Wood Brothers Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was formed in 1950 by brothers Ray Lee, Clay, Delano, Glen Wood, Glen, and Leonard Wood (racing), Leonard Wood. To ...

Austin Cindric Austin Louis Cindric (born September 2, 1998) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske. Prior to competing in stock cars, Cindric ra ...

NASCAR Cup Series driver for

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Day ...

2022 Daytona 500 The 2022 Daytona 500 was the first Stock car racing, stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series and the 64th running of the Daytona 500, event. The race was held on Sunday, February 20, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International ...

winner, and

2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year title. file:Ross Chastain Kaulig Racing 2020.jpg"> List of NASCAR Manufacturers' champions#Xfinity Series">Manufacturer's championship with 10 wins and 1190 points. The 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 39th season of t ...

champion *

Jarell Eddie Jarell Alexander Eddie (born October 30, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Peristeri of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). He played college basketball for Virginia Tech before splitting the first four years of his professio ...

professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player *

Carter Faith Carter Faith Jones (born June 14, 2000), known professionally as Carter Faith, is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released two EPs, "Let Love Be Love" and "Man". Biography Faith is a native of Davidson, North Carolina. Sh ...

country music artist

References

{{authority control Schools in Cabarrus County, North Carolina Private high schools in North Carolina Private middle schools in North Carolina Private elementary schools in North Carolina Preparatory schools in North Carolina Educational institutions established in 1969 1969 establishments in North Carolina Segregation academies in North Carolina