September 6, 2016
By KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT
Rutherford County Schools
SMYRNA — It’s football season and Friday nights in Smyrna are no different than they were 20 or even 50 years ago.
Locals can be found filing into Robert L. Raikes Stadium to watch their Bulldogs.
Most everyone is donning the easily recognizable purple and gold team colors of the one high school that until three years ago — when Stewarts Creek High opened in August 2013 — served the town.
“It’s just what you do,” said Nicole Takayama, an assistant principal and a 1992 graduate of Smyrna High School.
Long before Takayama and her brother Andrew McDonald ever attended the school as freshmen, back in the ’80s, they had attended football games at the old stadium built alongside the school building that now serves as Smyrna Middle School on Hazelwood Drive.
The McDonalds – Nicole, Andrew and their parents Jane and Gary – would bundle up and walk down to the stadium with the Hart and Waldron families, who lived across the street.
Jane would make sure Nicole and Andrew stayed warm by wearing two Bulldog sweatshirts under their respective jackets, while Gary pulled a small red wagon carrying extra blankets for his family. Often wrapped in scarves and their hands covered with gloves for a late-fall game, the three families made their way to the front of the school and walked around to the back, where they cheered and rooted for the Bulldogs with their fellow Smyrna residents.
“The sun would start to set and we would walk down Clearview Drive,” said Takayama, who added, “It was like a Norman Rockwell painting.”
That is how she still remembers the late 1970’s and early ’80’s.
Today the location has changed – Rutherford County built a new Smyrna High School on Bulldog Drive in 1988, which also received additions in 1996 and again in 2005. The Bulldogs got a new football stadium in ’88 as well.
But the pride and tradition stay the same.
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According to a decades-old profile handed down through the years, Smyrna School opened in 1919.
With a student body of approximately 500 students, Smyrna School educated students from first through 12th grade. As Sewart Air Force Base grew the town’s population boomed, and in 1960, Smyrna High School moved into what is now used by the middle school and served grades 10-12.
When the Nissan plant opened in Smyrna, the school experienced another growth spurt that led to the current campus opening in 1988. It includes the more traditional high school grades 9-12.
“Since 1950, there’s only been three principals here,” Rick Powell said. “That’s kind of remarkable. That shows the leadership that’s been here has been stable. It’s been adapting to changes in education.”
Powell became principal in July 2011.
He replaced the legendary Robert “Bud” Raikes, who had been at the school more than 50 years when he announced his retirement, the last 37 of which he was the school’s principal.
Raikes was preceded by the equally celebrated J.J. McWilliams, who was principal for 20-plus years. Like Raikes, Mr. Mac, as he was commonly known around town, was a former Bulldogs football coach.
Some of the past students to have graduated from the high school comprise a who’s who list of famous and active residents from the Town of Smyrna.
The late Ben Guill attended Smyrna School in the 1920’s before relocating to Texas for college and eventually being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Former Rutherford County Director of Schools Harry Gill Jr., who retired as director in June 2012, was a graduate of Smyrna School and later taught and coached at Smyrna High School.
Gill coached the Lady Bulldogs basketball team. Although the school was known as a football powerhouse – they won state titles 2006 and again in 2007 – Gill led the Lady Bulldogs to a state title in 1982. He was selected as the Mid-State High School Coach of the Year in 1976, ’82 and ’83. He was also once nominated for National High School Coach of the Year and the TSSAA inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2009.
School Board member Wayne Blair and Oakland principal Bill Spurlock are both graduates of Smyrna along with Sonny Gray, who graduated in 2008 and is currently a Major League pitcher for the Oakland A’s.
Town of Smyrna Mayor Mary Esther Reed is a lifelong resident of Smyrna and several other council members either attended the school or are currently involved, including Lori North, who is an advisor for the technical department at the high school.
“Those people are here and they’re vested in the town,” Powell said. “We like to say, here in Smyrna, it’s kind of like a family.
“There (are) a lot of Smyrna Bulldogs out there.”
Cole Wise, a special education teacher, and Takayama are just two of several Smyrna teachers and administrators who previously attended the school long before returning as staff members.
Takayama is one of four assistant principals.
All of them – Billy Harris, Joel Rowlett, Sherrie Southerland and Takayama – taught at Smyrna High School before transitioning into their current administrative roles.
Powell said it was a “valuable experience” for them to have an understanding of the focus and vision of the school.
“They’ve been in the classroom here and knew what the administration expected of them,” Powell said.
Takayama added, “We know what it’s like to be in the classroom in this school.”
Takayama said her current role at the school gives her the opportunity to shape the minds of young people.
She works one-on-one with teachers, namely with the AVID program, an acronym for "Advancement Via Individual Determination." Takayama is also a liaison for the fine arts departments, foreign language department and leads faculty meetings. She was previously a math teacher for 14 years before Raikes promoted her before his retirement.
“You’ll find that every administrator here at Smyrna High School gets to have a hand in just about everything,” Takayama said, “but, for me, it’s very personal because it’s my alma mater.”
According to the 2015 report card from the Tennessee Department of Education, 16.1 percent of the student body at Smyrna High School is Hispanic or Latin and another 6.1 percent is Asian.
“For the high schools, if we don’t have the largest it’s one of the largest ESL populations,” Powell said, “but we have a very good ESL program and we have great teachers, who really work with them.”
The most recent report also indicates that 46.9 percent of the 1,771 students come from economically disadvantaged families.
And yet the school maintains a 97.2 percent graduation rate.
Now in its fourth year, Smyrna is the only high school in Rutherford County that offers students the AVID program.
According to www.avid.org, the program trains educators to use proven practices to prepare students for success in high school, college and a career, especially students traditionally underrepresented in higher education.
It also brings research‐based strategies and curriculum to educational institutions in elementary, secondary and higher education. AVID annually provides more than 30,000 educators with training and methodologies that develop students’ critical thinking, literacy and math skills across all content areas throughout the entire campus.
“It targets those students who have the capabilities of going on to college,” Powell said, “but they don’t have either the background or the support.”
Teacher Emily Johnson leads the AVID program.
Students are selected for the program based on test scores and recommendations from teachers and counselors.
Johnson described AVID as a “college readiness” program that provides support through tutorials and helps to prepare students for college by succeeding in rigorous classes. AVID students are required to take at least one honor or advanced placement course.
This year’s senior class were freshmen when the AVID program first started at Smyrna.
“It changed me because my freshman year I was very unorganized,” said Ember Brewer, a senior involved with AVID. “I played around too much and overall I didn’t care, but when I got into AVID it helped me with my organization with notes, schoolwork and such. It made me care about my grades.
“I became not only a better student, but a better person.”
Brewer isn’t alone.
Kameron Solomon said AVID keeps him on track when it comes to achieving his goals.
Joseyln Quintanilla was previously aware of the AVID program before arriving at Smyrna and still “learned new things.”
“I have gained more knowledge in all aspects with the help of AVID,” explained Solomon, who said her transition from middle school to high school was made easier with the help of the program. “I am in my senior year and although high school has not been easy, the load of it has lightened because of what I have learned in AVID.”
“Seeing a student succeed when they never thought that was possible” has been rewarding for Johnson.
Powell said the school has certainly benefited from having both Nissan and Bridgestone located nearby.
In fact, in addition to their successful career and technical education program, like Oakland High School, Smyrna has added a new mechatronics program with the guidance of both Nissan and Bridgestone.
In addition to prep sports, Smyrna offers 40 extracurricular activities from a chess club to a more modern gamers club along with the FFA, JROTC, Spanish Club, Historical Society, SADD, Science Olympiad, Skills USA and less traditional clubs like bass fishing and ultimate Frisbee.
Powell said all freshmen are encouraged to find something they’re interested in. He said studies have shown when students are involved in programs outside of the classroom they also tend to be more successful in the classroom.
“That will tie you to the school,” said Powell, “and creates a bond.”
And, in Smyrna, that bond tends to last a lifetime.
Although there was a point when Takayama thought she wanted to live in a larger and seemingly more vibrant city – “everybody knew everybody and (Smyrna) felt very tiny to me” – she eventually grew to see the value in the loyalty of a town like Smyrna.
This was especially important once she and her husband had children.
“I’ve got my letterman jacket sitting in my office to remind me that this isn’t just where I’ve been,” Takayama concluded. “It’s where I want to (be).”
PHOTOS / KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT
AVID instructor Emily Johnson works one-on-one with Xzavia Quartey.