Glynn Academy

Glynn Academy (GA) is an American public high school in Brunswick, Georgia, United States, enrolling 1,755 students in grades 9–12.[3] Along with Brunswick High School, it is one of two high schools in the Glynn County School System. Glynn Academy offers technical, academic, and Advanced Placement programs and is accredited by the Georgia Department of Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.[3][4] The school has consistently been ranked among the top public high schools in the United States by Newsweek.[5][6]

Glynn Academy
Address
1001 Mansfield Street

Brunswick
,
Georgia
31520

United States
Coordinates31°08′50″N 81°29′24″W
Information
TypePublic
Founded1788
School districtGlynn County School District
SuperintendentDr. Scott Spence
PrincipalMr. Matthew Blackstone
Teaching staff97.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,960 (2017-18)[1]
Student to teacher ratio20.21[1]
LanguageEnglish
CampusUrban
Color(s)Red and white   
MascotRed Terrors
RivalBrunswick High School
WebsiteGlynn Academy
Glynn Academy
The 1840 building
LocationCorner of Monck and Norwich Streets, Brunswick, GA
Coordinates31.14864°N 81.49062°W / 31.14864; -81.49062
Built1840
Architectural styleGreek Revival
NRHP reference No.11000775[2]
Added to NRHPNovember 2, 2011

Chartered by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on February 1, 1788,[7] Glynn Academy is the second-oldest public high school outside of New England and the seventh-oldest public high school in the United States;[8] at its inception, the school embraced all grades of primary and secondary education.[9] The first recorded building was built in 1819 on a tract of land known as Academy Range.[8] A new building was erected in 1840 on Hillsborough Square, the present location of the school.[8] From 1819 to 1840, the school was known as Glynn County Academy.[10] Because of an unsatisfactory courthouse, the county's superior and inferior courts often met at the school from 1825 to 1884.[11] In 1889, the Annex Building was constructed,[9] followed by the Prep Junior High School in 1909 (later annexed to the school as the Prep Building),[8][12] and the Glynn Academy Building in 1923.[8] The original 1840 structure was moved out of the city in 1915;[8] in 2008, it was relocated to the current campus where it serves as an interpretive museum.[13] The 1840 building itself is on the National Register of Historic Places and three other buildings (the Prep Building, 1905–09; the G.A. building, 1922; and the Annex, 1889) are contributing properties to the Brunswick Old Town Historic District.

The school, in addition to serving sections of Brunswick, serves Brookman, Blythe Island, Sea Island, and St. Simons Island.[14][15] It also serves sections of Country Club Estates and Dock Junction.[16][17]

History

On February 1, 1788, Glynn Academy was created by an act of the General Assembly of Georgia making it the second oldest high school in Georgia. For more than a century the name "Glynn Academy" included all grades of public school from young learners to senior high school students. In 1888, one hundred years after its founding, Glynn Academy records show a graduating class consisting of four girls and two boys.[18]

Campus

Buildings
Campus sign, oldest building, and Glynn Academy building

Renovation of the School Buildings started in 2016. The Prep Building was renovated in 2017. The Sidney Lanier Building was renovated in 2019. The Science Building finished renovations in 2020.

Other Campus Buildings and Additional Information

Constructed in 2014, the tennis complex features 10 lighted courts — allowing Glynn Academy to host competitive tournaments — along with fencing, some additional parking spaces and a large building which holds concessions and restrooms. John Tuten was also the architect for the tennis complex.

Memorial Plaza and the Veterans Memorial Wall are both notable places that are centrally located on campus.

The building used as the previous cafeteria is serving as temporary classrooms during renovations of other buildings.

New Glynn Academy Athletic Complex (Officially Completed in 2018) A lighted baseball field and parking lot built on the site of the current Glynn Middle School football field. A lighted softball field will be constructed south of the baseball field, along with an additional parking lot along Lanier Blvd.

On the site’s southwest side, there will be a full-size football/soccer field inside a regulation 400-meter track.

A 13,000-square foot indoor batting and pitching facility will also house boy’s and girl’s locker rooms, a concession stand and restroom facilities.

Old Glynn Academy Building

Built in 1840, the Old Glynn Academy Building was the first building on Hillsborough Square, the present location of the Glynn Academy campus; it is the oldest wooden schoolhouse in Georgia[13] and the second oldest wooden schoolhouse in America.[19] This building served as the only public school building in Brunswick for more than fifty years.[13] In 1915, it was disassembled and reassembled in Sterling, an unincorporated community in northern Glynn County.[13] There, it served as a consolidated school for African-American students.[13] After desegregation, it became a county-maintained community center for Sterling residents.[13]

In 2008, the Old Glynn Academy Building was relocated to Hillsborough Square.[13] It now serves as an interpretive museum.[13] On November 4, 2011, the 1840 building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

Wolfe Street Building

Constructed in 2016, the Wolfe Street Building houses the Foreign Language Department and the Technology and Career Departments. The original Wolfe Street Building was built in the 1940s and stood where the new cafeteria (built in 2016) now stands. John Tuten was also the architect for this building.

Wood Gym
A.V. Wood Gymnasium

The Wood Gym is the original gymnasium of Glynn Academy, named after a Brunswick resident who donated money to the school for physical education. The Wood Gym is now rarely in regular use by the student body, having been supplanted by a modern gymnasium across campus. There are four tennis courts located behind the building used for tennis classes. The interior of the gymnasium has functioned as home to the varsity wrestling team during the winter months since their inaugural season in 1996. When necessary the gym interior area also functions for administering standardized testing, and occasionally, a physical education class takes place here. A full weight room has been installed for weight training classes.

Annex Building
The Annex Building

The Annex Building was built in 1889. On August 19, 2005, the Annex Building was severely damaged as the result of a lightning flash[20][21] but has since been remodeled. It is a contributing property to the Brunswick Old Town Historic District.

Prep Building
The Prep Building, erected in 1909, is the second-oldest building at the school. It is perhaps the most iconic building on campus due to its façade.

In the late-19th century, as the student population of Glynn Academy increased, the need arose for an additional facility to accommodate an expanding student body. Thus, the Prep Junior High School was constructed, serving as a bridge between elementary school and high school and serving sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The school was later annexed to Glynn Academy.

Renovation of Prep Building was completed in early 2018.

The Prep Building is the most recognizable building on the campus due to its massive stairs and columns, and the now closed off tunnel that connects it to the Glynn Academy building. This building holds most of the foreign languages classes as well as the visual arts and music classes. It is a contributing property to the Brunswick Old Town Historic District.

Glynn Academy Building
The Glynn Academy building in the Brunswick Old Town Historic District

The Glynn Academy Building is the main administrative building on campus. At the end of World War I, a new school building was erected as a memorial to the men of Glynn County who had fought in war. Funds for it were raised through a bond election and the Glynn Academy Building was completed in September 1923. Renovations took place in 1999. In an effort to memorialize the structure, the architect of the building, Hendrik Wallin, drew inspiration from the Louvain Library in Belgium whose destruction by the Germans infuriated the Allied Forces.

The Glynn Academy Building houses the Memorial Auditorium. It is a contributing property to the Brunswick Old Town Historic District.

Sidney Lanier Building
The Sidney Lanier Building

The Sidney Lanier Building, a former primary school, was incorporated into Glynn Academy in the early 1970s. It was built in 1936 and named for the poet Sidney Lanier, who wrote a set of lyrical nature poems known as the "Hymns of the Marshes" describing the vast open salt marshes off the coast of Georgia. There is a historical marker in Brunswick commemorating the writing of “The Marshes of Glynn.” The Sidney Lanier Building houses primarily social studies classes. The Sidney Lanier Building had renovations during the 2018-2019 school year and is finished.

Science Building
The Science Building

The Science Building was completed in 1963 and houses the literature and science classes. The school's library is also located in the Science Building. The Science Building is now the oldest (meaning least renovated) building on campus and is building #1. Renovations finished in the summer of 2020.

Gym

The gym was completed in the 1980s.

Glynn Academy New Cafe

The Glynn Academy Cafe serves as many as 2000 students and faculty daily. Construction of the new cafeteria building was completed by the end of the 2015-2016 school year. John Tuten was also the architect for this building.

Liberty Bell
Replica of the Liberty Bell

The bell in front of the Glynn Academy Building is a near replica of the Liberty Bell in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is mounted on a red brick base and totals about 2,000 pounds. In 1897, the bell was cast in bronze by McShane Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland and was used in the clock tower of Brunswick City Hall until the 1930s.

The Glynn Academy Student Council of 1968–1969 is credited with finding the Liberty Bell and assembling it on a plinth at the downtown campus. With the help of the Brunswick Fire Department and businessmen, parents and students, the bell was set during the 1969–1970 school year. The plaque at its base reads: "Erected by the Student Councils 1968–1969 and 1969–1970".

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. Glynn Academy
  2. "Weekly list of actions taken on properties:11/07/11 Through 11/10/11". National Park Service. November 18, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  3. "Glynn Academy at the Georgia Department of Education". State of Georgia. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  4. "Southern Association of Colleges and Schools". Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  5. "America's Top Public High Schools 2006". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  6. "America's Top Public High Schools 2008". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  7. "February 1, 1788". Revolutionary Records of Georgia I: 620–621.
  8. "The History of Glynn Academy". Glynn County School System. Archived from the original on 2009-05-21. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  9. "Annex Building fire". Coastal Georgia Genealogy and History. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  10. Barefoot, Patricia (2000-11-08). Brunswick: The City by the Sea. Arcadia Publishing. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7385-0642-5.
  11. "Glynn County Courthouse". Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  12. "Prep Building". Emporis. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  13. Stepzinski, Teresa (2008-06-11). "Historic school goes home to Glynn Academy campus". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  14. "High School Zones Map." Glynn County School System. Retrieved on March 13, 2019.
  15. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): St. Simons CDP, GA." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on March 13, 2019. Pages: 1, 2, and 3.
  16. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Country Club Estates CDP, GA." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on March 13, 2019.
  17. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Dock Junction CDP, GA." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on March 13, 2019. Pages 1 and 2.
  18. "Glynn Academy History". 7/1/2011.
  19. "Glynn Academy History". Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  20. "Fire Hits Brunswick School | Jacksonville.com." Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment | Jacksonville.com. Web. 23 June 2010. <http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/081905/geo_fire.shtml>.
  21. "Glynn Academy building burns". The Brunswick News. 2005-08-19. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
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