Beecher Community School District is a public school district in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan and in the Genesee Intermediate School District. It serves the census-designated place of Beecher which is just north of Flint.[3]
History
Beecher High School was designed by the firm of Lyndon and Smith.[4] In 1938, it was included on a list of the finest school buildings in the country by the American Institute of Architects.[5]
The high school took heavy damage in the 1953 Flint-Beecher tornado, which killed 116 people in the community. The tornado destroyed the roofs of the gymnasium and auditorium, but school was not in session at the time.[6] The parking lot was used by the Salvation Army as a central disaster relief station.[7] That August, volunteers rebuilding the neighborhood used the roofless gymnasium for a dance.[8]
In 2004, because the district had a $1.8 million deficit and a decline in enrollment of 600 students over five years, the school board closed the Beecher High School building.[9] Its students were relocated to the middle school.
As of 2025, $20 million has been raised to renovate and reopen Beecher High School.[10]
Schools
Source:[11]
| School | Address | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beecher Adult Education Center | 1020 W. Coldwater Road, Flint | Located at Ira A. Rutherford, III Building (district administration center). |
| Beecher High School | 6255 Neff Rd., Mount Morris | Serves grades 7 through 12 |
| Dailey Elementary School | 6236 Neff Rd., Mount Morris | Serves preschool through 6th grade |
| Beecher Higher Learning Academy | 1020 W. Coldwater Road, Flint | Alternative education options |
Notable events
In 1972, high school assistant principal Paul Cabell Jr. committed suicide. He was distraught over recent fighting and racial tension between the school's 350 Black and 650 white students.[12]
The district gained national attention on February 29, 2000, when six-year-old Kayla Rolland was shot and killed by a classmate at Buell Elementary School.[13] Buell Elementary was closed in 2002 and demolished in 2008.[14]
Athletics
Beecher's mascot is the Beecher Buccaneer.[15]
Notable graduates
- Carl Banks, linebacker for the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and Cleveland Browns[16]
- Lonnie Young, safety/cornerback for the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals, New York Jets, and San Diego Chargers
- Duane D. Hackney, the most decorated enlisted person in history of the U.S. Air Force
- Courtney Hawkins, wide receiver for Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Pittsburgh Steelers
- Roy Marble, former Iowa Hawkeyes and NBA player
- Monté Morris, point guard for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA, former standout point guard for Iowa State Cyclones, former Mr. Basketball Michigan, winner of 3 Class C MHSAA State Championships
References
- ^ Beecher Community School District. "Staff directory". Retrieved February 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Beecher Community School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences.
- ^ Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. "Genesee County School Districts" (PDF). Retrieved February 25, 2025.
- ^ "Architects win award". Detroit Free Press. May 7, 1940. p. 20.
- ^ "Finest types of U.S. architecture to be pictured". The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor, Mich.). September 6, 1938. p. 5.
- ^ "School records safe, to boys' dismay". Detroit Free Press. June 11, 1953. p. 3.
- ^ "For tornado relief job Salvation Army wins high praise". Detroit Free Press. June 14, 1953. p. 24.
- ^ "Mammoth work bee at Flint declared enormous success". The Petoskey Evening News. August 31, 1953. p. 1.
- ^ Vaughn, Marion (February 12, 2004). "Beecher board defends plan to close school". The Flint Journal. p. A13.
- ^ Livengood, Chad (February 24, 2025). "20 years after closing, a Flint-area high school is getting a second chance". The Detroit News.
- ^ Beecher Community Schools. "Schools". Retrieved February 25, 2025.
- ^ Smith, Vern E. (October 1972). "Race strife leads black teacher to suicide". Ebony. p. 154.
- ^ Rosenblatt, Roger (March 13, 2000). "The Killing Of Kayla". Time. Vol. 155, no. 10. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001.
- ^ Jessmore, Steve (November 17, 2008). "Buell Elementary to be torn down; first-grader Kayla Rolland was killed there in 2000". MLive.
- ^ MHSAA High
- ^ Woodyard, Eric (September 27, 2012). "Past Beecher experiences shape former NFL player Carl Banks into successful businessman". MLive Media Group. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
External links