It has been 20 years since Siegel High School welcomed its first students.
Local farmer Richard Siegel provided 50 acres for the school in his will along with land for Siegel Middle (opened in 2011) and Murfreesboro City’s Erma Siegel Elementary (opened in 1997).
Siegel High’s 20th homecoming is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 8, beginning with a tailgate at 5 p.m. Alumni and former faculty members are invited to attend.
Students and teachers have come and gone over the years, but a dozen educators from the original faculty still call the school home.
They are Stacie Andersen, business; Deborah Butler, media specialist/library; Richard Delbridge, science; Brenda Dent-Gregory, choir; John Dusenberry, math; Shirley Fara, special education; Dallas Hill, driver’s ed; Kim Hinton, science; Tricia Myers, social studies; Trey Ondrus, assistant principal; Craig Reavis, math and Danita Wilson, school counselor.
The longtime educators recently sat down to share some memories of their time at the school.
What makes Siegel High special?
Delbridge: We make room for everyone to be included. I made sure my kids came here. They thrived and not just survived.
Andersen: The background of everyone here is so diverse, even in academics. I teach (business) and came from industry and even within (the Career and Technical Education department), everyone has different backgrounds.
Myers: The Siegel community has always been one of the best. That makes you want to stay.
Talk a little about the relationships you’ve built with each other through the years.
Dent-Gregory: We’ve always been like a family. The philosophy of the administration has been constant. They trust you to do your job.
Fara: We enjoy being with each other outside of school. I feel like they helped me raise my children. When a student or a teacher has a need, the faculty pitches in.
Wilson: We have one teacher that does an Angel program for students who need help around Christmas time.
Dent-Gregory: Siegel has heart. That transcends test scores or anything else.
What are some of the more memorable moments from the past 20 years?
Butler: Senior campouts. One year they taped a kid to the flagpole. I remember we would have to pretty much sweep frogs out the front door because of the wetlands.
Wilson: And sweeping out the farm mice. Moving in was a big deal. We picked all the furniture and getting it all where it was supposed to go was wild.
Ondrus: Clark Adrian (a former student) used to get everybody so fired up at pep rallies.
Andersen: I remember when we didn’t have a football field and we had to play at MTSU. We got a first down and everyone was so excited, you’d have thought it was a touchdown.
And at the variety shows, Mr. Nolan (Ken Nolan, the school’s first principal) was always Elvis. He had his own suit and everything. Even though he’s retired, he still comes out for homecoming or just to see how things are going.
Reavis: We’ve had some really good athletes come through here, a lot of trips to state. Even in the early years. (Siegel has won 18 individual and team TSSAA championships across 11 programs.)
Look ahead to the next 20 years. What excites you most about the future of this school?
Ondrus: I taught and coached their kids and now they are teaching mine.
Wilson: So many of the students who went here are coming back to teach and that has been great to see.