Corbin High School will be graduating its 100th class Sunday at The Arena

When Corbin High School seniors don cap and gown this Sunday and go through formal graduation ceremonies they will have a special distinction … they will part of the school’s 100th graduating class.
The CHS graduation ceremony will be held at The Arena at 2:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
Corbin High School Principal John Crawford said there are some special things planned for the centennial class, and said recognition of the history of the school, its growth and progress are in the works.
“It’s just exciting to see how our school has continued to grow and we are just doing so many things well in the arts, and things like choir, JROTC, academically and our sports. I am thrilled to be a part of it,” Crawford said.
Crawford noted that this year’s graduating class would be receiving over $3.2 million worth of scholarships. Two students will be attending Ivy League schools, Yale and Princeton respectively.
“If you look at the growth in the number of students at our school in the last five to six years, it’s astounding,” Crawford said. “When I was teaching, it was 500 to 600. It’s gone to 930 in four to five years.”
Kim Croley, Chairperson of the school district’s Board of Education, said there has been some focus on this milestone class coming through the high school.
“We’ve talked about it with the kids and gave them a special t-shirt,” she said. “I think it’s another piece of our history. We are a pretty pride and tradition related anyway. We’ve talked a lot with students about what that tradition means and why we pursue excellence.”
Croley said she thinks the school district’s large graduating class this year can be attributed to an inviting atmosphere, and robust offering of course and extracurricular activities.
“Parents probably look at the academic opportunities, but kids look at some of that other stuff as a reason to be there. For some it’s athletics, for others it’s arts,” Croley said. “You’d be amazed how many students take piano lab and go on to take more lessons. We have a state winning theater group. We have archery. Those are reasons kids come to school.”