Centerville High School
600 Chs Drive, Centerville, IA, 52544-2100 -  Map
tel: (641)856-0813
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School Overview:
Definition of Terms Centerville High School
School Level High school
Grades Offered Grades 9 - 12
County Appanoose County, IA
Students & Faculty
Total Students 517 students
% Male / % Female 47%  /  53%
Total Classroom Teachers 36 teachers
Students by Grade
Grade 9 - 151 students
Grade 10 - 121 students
Grade 11 - 132 students
Grade 12 - 113 students
This School (IA) School Average
Teacher : Student Ratio 1:14 1:14
Students by Ethnicity
This School (IA) School Average
% American Indian n/a 1%
% Asian 1% 2%
% Hispanic 2% 6%
% Black 2% 5%
% White 96% 87%
Additional Student Information
This School (IA) School Average
% Eligible for Free Lunch 29% 28%
% Eligible for Reduced Lunch 9% 8%
% Migrant Students Enrolled n/a 1%
School Performance:
(IA) Statewide Testing Performance
School Statewide Performance View Education Department Test Scores
School District:
School District Name Centerville Community School District
This School's Agency (IA) District Average
Number of Schools Managed 10 3
Number of Students Managed 1,573 students 714 students
District Total Revenue $14,445,000 $6,280,000
District Expenditure $15,346,000 $5,910,000
District Revenue / Student $9,183 $12,605
District Expenditure / Student $9,756 $13,570
District Graduation Rates 98% 90%
School Notes:
  • Centerville is a city in Appanoose County, Iowa, United States.
  • It is the county seat of Appanoose CountyGR6. Centerville once boasted a rich history of coal mining that attracted many European immigrants, especially Italian-Americans and Croatian-Americans to the area.
  • History: Founded in 1846 by Jonathon Stratton under name Chaldea, the town was planned around a unique two-block long city square. The name was later changed to Centerville and incorporated in 1855.
  • The town experienced its peak population in the early 1900s as the popularity of coal peaked. After that point, as coal usage dwindled, the coal industry that had been the town's life blood collapsed. In the 1950s and 1960s a civic movement to promote new industries began. This effort culminated in the building of Rathbun Dam, near the town of Rathbun, Iowa, forming Rathbun Lake, known as "Iowa's Ocean", that was dedicated on July 31, 1971 by President Richard M. Nixon.
  • Today the town is supported by many industrial plants, mostly in the area of plastic products. In June of 2006 the Centerville Daily Iowegian reported the largest employer in town, a Rubbermaid plant, would shut down in September 2006 displacing 500 workers.
  • In 1984 The Appanoose County Community Railroad was formed out of discarded pieces of the Wabash and Rock Island lines to maintain a rail link to the outside world.
  • From the 1990s to present day, the town has focused on quality-of-life issues, in an attempt to attract and keep young families in the area. A new emphasis on the arts, culture and local history has emerged, culminating in the Townscape project to beautify the Courthouse Square Historic District, which has hundreds of parking spaces between the shops' sidewalks and the courthouse lawn--in effect, six-lane wide streeting around the Appanoose County Courthouse provides four lanes of public parking.
  • In 1999, the Lake Center Mall was destroyed by an act of arson. The entire site sat unoccupied until a cineplex and a pizza parlor was built there in the early 2000's.
  • Famous Persons: Centerville is the birthplace and childhood home of Metropolitan Opera baritone Simon Estes, who is a 1956 graduate of Centerville High School. It is also the the home of former Governor of Iowa Francis M. Drake, who established Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
  • Centerville is also the birthplace of several members of the Spooner and Payton Families that were well known in the stock theater, including Corse Payton, Claude Payton, Franklin Edward Spooner, Mary Gibbs Spooner, Edna May Spooner and Cecil Spooner.
  • In 2006, Danny Wolf, the lead vocalist of Small Towns Burn A Little Slower, moved to Centerville with his wife, Kelli. Kelli holds a teaching position at Howar Junior High.
  • Events:
  • Pancake Day: Since 1949 the city has conducted an annual Pancake Day festival, held the last Saturday in September, in which local businesses and organizations cook up pancakes which they provide for free to their customers to show thanks for their continued patronage. The event that is held in the Courthouse Square Historic District features a morning kiddie parade, a larger afternoon parade, a queen contest and free entertainment.
  • Pancake Day has been attended by many well-known celebrities including every Governor of Iowa since 1949 along with Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver, J. C. Penney, Philip W. Pillsbury, former New York Governor W. Averell Harriman, Muriel Humphrey, Rocky Marciano and Centerville Native Simon Estes. Entertainers have included Barbara Mandrell and Cousin Minnie Pearl.
  • Croatian Fest: Croatian Fest has been held in Centerville on the last Saturday in July since 1987 to celebrate the areas Croatian Heritage. It is celebrated with colorful ethnic costumes, music, dancing and entertainment, as well as home-cooked ethnic food. The event includes an afternoon Polka Mass celebrated at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church.
  • Croatian Fest was held in the Courthouse Square Historic District thru 2004 and is now held at the Knights of Columbus Hall.
  • Education: The school district serving Centerville is the, K - 12, Centerville Community School District. It consists of Centerville High School, Howar Junior High, Lakeview Middle School and Central, Lincoln and Garfield Grade Schools all located in Centerville and the Cincinnati Grade School and Mystic Grade School located in the communties of Cincinnati, Iowa and Mystic, Iowa.
  • The mascot name for Centerville High School is the "Big Reds" and "Redettes" with the school colors being Scarlett and Black.
  • The first Centerville High School graduate was Jennie Drake, the one and only graduate, from the Class of 1876. She was the daughter of former Governor of Iowa Francis M. Drake. The first African-American graduate was Joseph Edwin Herriford a graduate from the Class of 1885.
  • Centerville is the home of the Centerville Campus of Indian Hills Community College, a two year community college, that was established in 1930 as Centerville Junior College. It later merged with the area community college of Indian Hills Community College with the main campus located in Ottumwa, Iowa.
  • Newspapers: Ad Express Centerville Daily Iowegian.
  • Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL
  • Add information about this school (e.g., awards, news stories, notable alumni, fun facts)
 
School Zip Code:
About This Zip Code (52544)
School Zip (52544) (IA) State Average
Population (Approximate) 8,292 people 2,806,784 people
% (age 25+) w/College Degree 23% 22%
Population Average Age 40 years old 36 years old
Average Household size 2.3 persons 2.4 persons
Median Household Income $28,506 $40,824
Avg. # of Rooms in Household 5.2 rooms 5.5 rooms
Median Age of Housing Structure 57 years old 50 years old
View current housing listings in this area
% Owning / % Renting 68% / 32% 71% / 29%
School Map:
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  Nearby Schools:

1. Appanoose County Alternative High School - 33 students - view location
View all schools in: Centerville Town, Appanoose County, Zip 52544 
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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects years 2002-04 statistics (most recent years available). Area and demographic data reflects year 2000 statistics. Public School Review does not ensure the timeliness or accuracy of the information on this site.

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