Smithfield-Selma High School is a public

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

located in

Smithfield, North Carolina Smithfield is a town in and the county seat of Johnston County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,292. The town is located near North Carolina's Research Triangle and is abou ...

. It is locally referred to as simply "SSS" (pronounced 'Triple S'). The school is part of Johnston County Schools.

History

Smithfield-Selma High School opened its doors in September 1969 and graduated its first class in June 1970. The school opened with about 1400 students in grades 10 through 12. There were 34% black and 66% white. There were 75 faculty members and support staff, two assistant principals, two secretaries, and a bookkeeper. The creation of the school proved to be particularly challenging due to the merging of six high schools. Two of the high schools had been only for black students, while four of the high schools had been predominantly white. The schools were: the Bulldogs of Richard B. Harrison, the Red Devils of Smithfield, the Hawks of Johnston Central, the Yellow Jackets of Selma, the Green Waves of Wilson's Mills, and the Pirates of Corinth Holder. The school's first principal was Charles T. Tucker who brought order out of the chaos. He had new ideas, determination, a belief in people, confidence in the abilities of the youth, and a willingness to listen and understand even when he disagreed. The SSS Football Stadium is in his honor, named the Charles T. Tucker Stadium. The school had a sound vocational program. It also had a first-class academic program. It has a rich tradition of athletics, with many conference and district championships. The AP program came into existence around 1975. In 1975 freshmen came to Smithfield-Selma and it was no longer a senior school. There were over 113 students enrolled in NJROTC and the Drill Team competed and won many championships. The Band program was the pride of the community and was later in the school's history led by local legend John R. "Doc" Windley.

Notable alumni

Barry Foote Barry Clifton Foote (born February 16, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player, scout, coach, and minor league manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (–), Philadelphia Phillies (1 ...

–

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

catcher for the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

References

External links

Smithfield-Selma High School web site
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1969 Public high schools in North Carolina Schools in Johnston County, North Carolina 1969 establishments in North Carolina