Facing declining enrollment, North High is in serious jeopardy. On Tuesday, October 12th, Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson made the decision to vote on whether North High will continue to stay open, or be phased out over the next four years.

North High School is a tight-knit community with a diverse population. From the time it was built in 1888, throughout all the changes in structure and location, North has had a considerable amount of students. At one time the student population was nearly three thousand.

In 2004 the school had just under 1,200 students enrolled. Although there were many students attending North six years ago, it has decreased in size by 75 percent since then. Currently the school has only 265 students. What does this mean for the future of the North High Polars?

“We recognize students are first in the decisions that are made,” said Assistant Director of Media Relations, Rachel Hicks.

According to Hicks, North has so few students that there aren’t many extracurricular activities for students to participate in. The school is also lacking in academic achievements.

Only 4 percent of North’s students are proficient in science, 8 percent in math, and 26 percent in reading. Because of this, North High is looking less attractive to parents as a place to send their kids.

All of these events have affected the North High population. The students are all coming together to protest this decision. “I think it’s going to affect how we act our senior year,” said North High student Sarah Johnson. “When you’re a senior, you have to focus more on yourself. We’re acting more as a family. We take more time out of our day to show the good qualities of North.”

Although the seniors are leaving North next year and going their separate ways, the students continue to support and defend their school.

“They should keep North open because there’s so much history behind it,” said senior Semaj Kennedy.

North has been around for quite a while, and there are many alumni. Current North students say they want the chance to become alumni themselves. If North High closes, they will never have the opportunity to visit their old school.

Though North may be phased out, students are still fighting to keep their school running. Many people think the size of the school has a negative effect on students. However, some believe the small number of students at North is a good thing, since it puts the students in a comfortable Small Learning Community. As Kennedy puts it, “Why North?”