Farewell Reception for James Blair Middle

By Amber Lester Thursday, April 08, 2010

Grammy-winning musician Bruce Hornsby and former NFL player Lawrence Taylor are just two of the thousands of people who climbed James Blair Middle School’s U-shaped stairs, played on its basketball courts and ran on its field.

Now alumni are invited to say goodbye to James Blair Middle School as it prepares to close its doors to students. At the end of this year, the school will be transformed into a central school office and home for the Academy of Life and Learning. The school is in its 55th year; it opened as a high school in 1955 and became a middle school in 1973.

The yearbook staff is hosting an alumni reception to commemorate the school from 6 to 9 p.m. on April 13 at the James Blair auditorium. Due to the size of the auditorium, reservations are required. The first deadline has passed, but organizer Julie Durrant is still taking RSVPs at legacy.durrant3@gmail.com or at 220-8324.

At the event, alumni will be invited to share memories, stories, anecdotes and historical tidbits with the audience. The alumni can also participate in interviews with the National Junior Honor Society and yearbook staff, who are hoping to fill the school’s final yearbook with personal histories.

In a press release, Durrant said an abundance of people have traveled the halls of James Blair and “sent their children and grandchildren there to carry on the tradition. Some alumni have returned to their beloved school as teachers and staff.” She added that many employees spent most of their careers at the school and retirees continue to volunteer and work as substitutes.

The WJCC school board voted in July to convert James Blair into a central office and classrooms for ALL. When the division first decided to build a new middle school, it planned to operate four schools based on projections of growth. But when the housing industry slowed with the economy, the projected growth slowed, too, and budget constraints couldn’t allow the division to operate four middle schools in 2010-2011.

If the projections become reality, however, James Blair will be converted back into a middle school; the school administration estimates that will be necessary within six years.