Just a Small Town School

Harlem High School Baccalaureate 2007

Oh goodness, it's hard to believe this picture was taken over six years ago. I remember wishing I was in high school, then wishing I could graduate. Now I catch myself wishing I could spend one more Friday during football season there.

I graduated from a small town school. Everyone knows everyone, and, unless you moved in randomly, you're probably related to one or five people there.

But seriously. Everyone knows everyone.

When I was in school, there were four high schools in our county. Rumors had it that Harlem was about 50/50 with ethnicity percentage, and 100% redneck. We were also the school that, when you told someone you were a student there, they always apologized and had pity on me.

We were the ugly red-headed step-child of Columbia County.

I say we were, but in some ways, we still are.

When I graduated, we had about 1200 students enrolled. My graduated class had about 250 seniors in it (give or take a few, it's been too long I can't remember), and we were in class AAA for the GHSA sanctions. We were, and still are, the smallest school in the county. Financial support was pretty much relied on our teachers and coaches holding fundraisers, because we were also the poorest school. I'm not saying that we were poor! But I am saying that's how well endowed the other three schools were. Especially one that will remain un-named (does anyone hear any howling?).

If it wasn't bad enough, we also never scored very well on any testing.

Since I have graduated, another school was built in the county that affected Harlem greatly. It took a huge chunk out of our school and replaced it with some from the more rich and elite school of the county. The enrollment went from around 1200 to about 800 or less, which then dropped us to AA. When the re-zoning was taking place, a lot of people refused to go to Harlem. They moved, they pulled strings, they put down other relatives' addresses, anything they could do to not go to Harlem. There were even protests. Many left Harlem and went to the new school, even though they were not a part of the re-zoning. Someone from the more elite school even questioned a dad to see if he was really serious about sending his child to 'that' school. She mentioned it to the wrong person, because he was a graduate of Harlem High.
Needless to say, we weren't very well liked around here. All of our support had to come from those within the school and our wonderful Board of Education representative, because we weren't getting much more from the rest of the county.

I don't understand why, but people hated us.

So, there's the negative, not-so-awesome parts of being a graduate of a small town school. Here's the reasons I wouldn't trade my Harlem Bulldog pride for anything else.

Like I said, I graduated with around 250 other seniors. I knew every person that walked across the stage with me, or at least I knew of them. The majority of them were in at least one of my classes throughout my high school career, and the rest I knew from lunch, from sporting events, or through other friends. I feel like there's not many schools, at least in this county, that can say that.

Every single teacher I had cared about me and my education. Even teachers that I never had, they still cared. It's not easy to teach at Harlem, but I think that's what makes the teachers there so incredible.

After the re-zoning, our test scores improved greatly. In fact, if I am not mistaken, in at least one subject we were the highest in the county. Either way, test scores improved by a great deal.

After the re-zoning, it affected our sports greatly, especially football. We went two seasons with only two wins total. People kept saying that it was the coaching, they should be fired, and if 'so and so' coached instead, we would have winning seasons. If you know me at all, you know my daddy coaches football at Harlem, so hearing these things were very hurtful. Especially since some came from so-called 'friends of the family.'

This season, we are 4-0. And not just scraping-by 4-0. It's stomping-the-other-team-to-the-ground 4-0. I have never seen so much pride in the little town of Harlem like I have now. Everyone is SO excited for our team. They played Social Circle last week and won 38-6. Once they got back in the town of Harlem, they had a police escort to the high school. At the high school, there were parents and fans awaiting their arrival with horns and shouts to welcome them home.

I'm tearing up as I write this.

I have been there for the days when people had nothing but awful things to say about a school that has played such a huge part in my life. After all, my dad has been at Harlem since 1981, so I had no choice but to love Harlem Dogs like I love my UGA Dawgs. I have heard the 'I'm sorry you're at Harlem,' 'I could never go to Harlem,' 'It's not as hard to get good grades at Harlem than it is at the other schools,' and 'The coaches should be fired because they do not care about winning here at Harlem.' By the way, there is a man at Harlem that is still trying to get the coaches fired, even though they're winning. I have had to stand by my dad, my mom, and my sisters while people trash talk us. I have seen the front page covers of The Augusta Chronicle and the Columbia News Times when Harlem has lost by a great number, and I've read the small, barely-there columns when we have actually done well. I've noticed the other schools in the county getting more publicity, just because they are somehow the 'pride' of Columbia County. And I'm not just talking about football! Ask our softball parents, they'll tell you too.

But I was there for the first time Harlem entered the football playoffs in who knows how many years. I was there when Harlem beat Evans High on their own turf the first time we played them in years, and we charged the field and celebrated while the Evans fans we stunned in their bleachers. I was there when Harlem baseball won the region at Cross Creek in 2008, something that we had gotten close but just couldn't achieve in a long time. I was there when we won our first football game in two years on our homecoming, and seeing the coaches faces and knowing that the struggles were finally paying off. And now I'm here to witness this small town school finally get some pride back, and finally get some well-deserved attention.

We may be the red-headed step-child of Columbia County, but I would never trade in my red and black for black and gold, maroon and silver, and not for green and yellow.

I could not be more proud of the school that I have the honor and privilege of calling my alma-mater, and I could not be more happy for this small town phoenix that is finally rising from the ashes of disrespect and defeat.

I hope this school spirit never fades, but that we can continue it on, no matter what I winning record might be.

Gosh, I can't believe I cried actual tears while writing this.

I'm hoping Chris and I will go to the game tonight and watch our Dogs go 5-0, and I cannot wait to dress our little ones up in the future and hear them shout, 'Go Dogs!'

Let that victory bell ring loud tonight, Dogs! We. Are. Harlem!