" Old Makes you Different "
Sometimes we get carried away when we brag about being an " old " school. Certainly there is a sense of pride one develops when one is associated with something old and good. Austin High IS old, and it HAS been " good ".
But that doesn ' t necessarily mean we ' re " good " today. A school tradition beginning in 1881 doesn ' t mean you automatically are the " best in town " in anything. Those of us who inhabit the building have to do our best to " be the best ". Being old doesn ' t make you better, but it does make you " different ".
" Different " how? You might ask.
What difference does it make to attend an " old school "?
First of all, the accumulated lives of 44,000 Austin High graduates make a statement. Many of them have led happy, ordinary lives, with home, career, children and grandchildren. Austin High was there for them beginning in September 1881. It was their stage, their launching pad, and their laboratory for life.
Some traveled across the country, across the world and into space. They invented color television and wrote " The Kentucky Cycle ". They served in the U. S. Congress and the State Legislature and as Mayor of Austin. Austin High has been a good place to be.
Jacquelyn McGee, Principal from 1975-1986, had a little slogan she presented to the faculty. Reflecting the idea that the school stood at a crossroads- " the belt buckle of the School District ' s integration plan "- she impressed on us that " Everybody is Somebody " at Austin High. In a society where Hispanics, African Americans, and even women were struggling for equal chances at education, Miss McGee challenged all of us to make it possible for all students to succeed.
And secondly, the faculty at an " old School " knows when something is " good " and when something is " sorry ". Most Austin High teachers don ' t tolerate " sorry work ". And that sense of " good and bad " often comes from their experience in our " Tradition of Excellence ". We ' ve been able to produce more than 300 National Merit Scholars since 1970. Whether a person is aiming for college or career, a veteran faculty can challenge students to do their best, because they know " good " when they see it.
Lloyd Doggett U. S. Congressman
Robert Schenkkan, Jr. Playwright, Pulitzer Prize for Kentucky Cycle
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