Community on memories, plans for the future
Roderick Smith had heard the rumors for years. His beloved Wingfield High School would be shuttering, closing its doors to Southwest Jackson after a half century.
He had seen the enrollment trends. When Smith assumed the position of Principal seven years ago, Wingfield had 1,100 students. This year, enrollment was down to 594. By December, rumor became reality.
Just before Christmas, Jackson Public Schools’ Board of Trustees announced it would close 11 schools and merge two others. Two middle and eight elementary schools along with Wingfield are closing, and two more elementary schools are merging.
After serving the community for more than 50 years, Wingfield High School will be closing its doors for good.
The announcement about the school closing sparked mixed emotions and concerns among students, parents and faculty members who are grappling with how the closure will affect their educations, relationships and sense of community.
“Initially, I was hurt,” Smith said. “It was heartbreaking to know that all the relationships that had been built would be ending in a sense.”
Changing schools in middle of high school
The closing schools will shut down ahead of the 2024-25 school year, which would have been the graduation year from Wingfield for students, Jasmine Holmes and Mike Lowery.
Holmes and Lowery, who are both juniors at Wingfield, said they were looking forward to graduating from Wingfield
Junior Jasmine Holmes poses for a photo at Wingfield High School in Jackson on May 14. “I know I’m gonna get there,” Holmes said about adapting to her new high school and being successful. “Like — I’m very excited, but at the same time it’s bittersweet, leaving and going to a new place.”
High alongside the friends they have made during their three years attending Wingfield. Now, they are faced with the possibility of being separated from their friends and having to start over at a new school.
After hearing about Wingfield closing, Holmes said she was “heartbroken,” sharing that her fondest memory
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occurred when she was in the ninth grade and received induction into the National Honor Society. Holmes said the motivation to excel academically was instilled in her by her family and friends. Friends, she said she doesn’t want to leave behind.
“The bonds and friendships I have here are very amazing. The friends I have, have my back and I have theirs. I love them,” Holmes said. “If they went to another school, I would really miss them. It’s hard making friends at a new place. It’s hard.”
For Lowery, he described how partaking in activities and events at Wingfield, including prom and Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, brought him out of his shell and made him “confident.” Lowery said while he does not have a problem with going to a new school, he does not want to leave.
Lowery said he currently lives one minute away from campus but by moving to a new school, he will possibly have to leave behind familiar faces and routines to which he has grown accustomed.
“My first-time hearing about the closure was through a rumor during the summertime of last July. I felt that I put a lot of stuff into Wingfield with activities, so it was a disappointment,” Lowery said. “I’ve not only made bonds with students but also with staff and principals, so it’s going to be weird being around new people.”
According to Smith, to make the students’ transitions to a new school smoother, staff at Wingfield will be going to the other schools to which many Wingfield students have been rezoned. Smith said the students will “have familiar faces when they get to those schools.”
“Wherever they are going, whether that’s Jim Hill, Forest Hill, Provine or any of the other surrounding JPS schools, they will still be held to the same mentality that ‘success is the only option,’” Smith said, quoting Wingfield High school’s motto.
Holmes and Lowery are not the only ones to express their sadness and disappointment about the closure, as Wingfield High appears to hold a special place in the hearts of even those who work behind the scenes.
School employee’s future
Cafeteria Manager Ronney Mabry has been working at Wingfield High for 15 years, ensuring the 594 students enrolled at Wingfield receive “nutritional, well-balanced meals” every day.
He has seen generations of students come and go and has become a beloved figure in the school.
“You got to care about what you do and how you do it. And you got to put love into your food, so the kids will eat it,” Mabry said smiling.
Mabry said he has always had a passion for children’s nutrition. So, it is no surprise that when the news about the closure broke, Mabry’s first thought was not about losing his job but losing the interaction with students he sees on a day-to day basis.
“My first initial thought was the kids and how they were going to respond. It’s my duty, and it’s my job to feed the scholars. And I’m just kind of concerned about how it’s going to affect their futures as far as schooling,” Mabry said. “I think Jackson Public Schools as a whole is a great place to be, so it’s just probably going to take a little bit of getting used to, but they will be OK.”
Mabry said that while he is going to miss Wingfield his next step is getting another job at Jackson Public Schools, something he said would not be a problem.
“I love what I do. I love feeding kids,” Mabry said. “You can put me anywhere in Jackson Public Schools, and I am going to do the same as I’ve done here at Wingfield.”
While Mabry’s future employment endeavor is a bit uncertain, some teachers who said they have a position secured, still feel anxious and worried about the future.
Teacher and administrator concerns
Chantel Evans-Gatewood, a history teacher at Wingfield for 12 years, said she will continue working in the Jackson Public School District in north Jackson at Callaway High School.
Evans-Gatewood said she is “excited but also apprehensive” about changing schools.
“Going forward to a new school, I have a lot of anxiety. (Wingfield) is like my second home,” Evans-Gatewood said. “It’s just going to be a big adjustment. I know I’m capable, and I’m pretty adaptable. So, once I get there and get feel of the lay of the land, I’ll feel a whole lot better.”
As the final days of the 2023-24 school year approach, Evans-Gatewood said she has made memories and formed bonds with staff members that she will forever cherish.
One of those bonds is with a staff member she called her “bestie” — Dean of Students Frankie Johnson.
Evans-Gatewood and Johnson were both recognized in 2019 on “Good Morning America” for “going above and beyond” to make an impact on the lives of Wingfield High students.
“GMA,” NSYNC’s Lance Bass and the organization Cameo awarded the Performing Arts program at Wingfield with a $15,000 check that would go toward books, costumes and the school’s drama department.
According to previous Clarion Ledger reporting, colleagues and students said Evans-Gatewood and Johnson used their free time and own money to make sure students had after-school activities despite the school having no funding.
Johnson said she plans to continue her efforts of going above and beyond for students at Provine High School, where she will keep her title as dean of students. But outside of her role as
dean, Johnson is also a parent.
Johnson said she started working at Wingfield 10 years ago, when her daughter was only 5 years old. Johnson said her daughter, who is now in the 10th grade at Wingfield, will also be impacted by the closure.
“She’s one of those kids that stays to herself and is quiet,” Johnson said. “When she came to Wingfield, she didn’t know anyone. Now she has gotten to meet different people, so she started to come out of her shell. But I know once we go somewhere, she’ll have to get used to a whole new set of kids, and she’ll probably go back in her shell until she meets them. So, it is definitely going to be different for us. This is home.”
Wingfield is the only school where Johnson has taught.
“There was still a piece of me that felt like it wasn’t going to happen,” Johnson said. “Still just kind of shocked, disappointed, hurt. Change is scary, but it is necessary.”
Student athletes’ futures
Two student-athletes, Kentrell McElroy and Arbon Bryant, are worried about how change will affect their futures in the sport they love, football.
Both juniors are a part of the Wingfield High football team and were hoping to suit up in their blue and yellow uniforms for one final year as seniors.
The juniors described the football team as their pride and joy, saying they have been counting on the 2024-25 school year to showcase their skills under the same Falcon program which produced Pro Football Hall of Farmer Jackie Slater and NFL player Vernon Perry.
Now, they are left wondering what will become of their friendships and dreams.
“I love the coaches. I love the players. I’ve built a strong brotherhood. When I fall down, they pick me up. When I need motivation, they motivate me. I might not be the same person or player as I was here,” McElroy said, voicing his concerns and fears about going to a new school.
For Bryant, he said he was focused on having to start over with building new chemistry with different coaches and making new friends.
“I’m going to miss a lot of my teammates, because some of us won’t end up in the same schools,” Bryant said. “We have been with each other through tough situations and talked about personal stuff. They had me when I had nobody to lean on.”
McElroy and Bryant both expressed their sadness with the possibility of leaving behind the lifelong friendships they have formed with their teammates and Head Football Coach Andrew Watson.
Football coach’s future
Watson, who has been vocal about the closure, witnessed the official vote when it was made.
A week after the board’s announcement, Watson told the Clarion Ledger how “hurt and torn” he was about the closure. And in a May 8 conversation with the Clarion Ledger those feelings were still the same.
“I’m saddened because the job is not done for the community here,” Watson said. “It was a process where I felt like we were uprooting something and getting some things turned around, not just about the sport of football but for life in general. My establishment here at the program was bigger than the game. It was using the game as a tool to branch and help the community build a bond around itself in the city of Jackson.”
Watson said he knows some of his players are upset about the school closing but believes the players will “thrive and give their best” wherever they go.
For Watson’s future, he said he is “letting God take the wheel.”
“I have been reached out to by so many individuals and so many coaches and people trying to assist and help me on this journey for my next future,” Watson said. “As of right now, I still don’t know where I may be, but I’m blessed to have the opportunity to have options because not everybody has options.”
Watson said the closure also had a ripple effect on the community.
Wingfield graduates losing legacy
Alumni Franicole Sutton, who graduated from Wingfield in 2005, attested to a sense of loss, saying she was “saddened to learn of Wingfield’s closing.”
Sutton told the Clarion Ledger that she graduated fifth in her class, and she was inducted into the Wingfield High School Hall of Fame due to her academic achievements. Accomplishments, she said she and many others achieved at Wingfield.
“Wingfield was a unique school,” Sutton said. “It was in South Jackson during the time when the crime was beginning to peak in the area, but that did not deter students from earning an education. Wingfield is evidence that its attendees did not become products of their environment. Wingfield has produced a number of professionals who excelled in sports, academia and as mentors.”
For teacher-alumni Jamario Winston, who grew up in the halls of Wingfield, the closure means leaving behind the place he called home and the staff who have “become like family” to him.
Winston is one member of many families who have been a part of the Wingfield community for generations, making the closure even more heartbreaking for him.
“I have been around Wingfield since I was in the sixth or seventh grade,” Winston said. “I was the waterboy for the basketball team. My sister graduated in 2023, and my brother graduated in 2006. I grew up in these hallways.”
Winston has taught at Wingfield for six years — five years as an ACT prep teacher and one year as a Digital Media teacher. He is the head coach of the girls’ basketball team. And he is also a part of the 2011 graduating class.
Winston said during his 10th or 11th-grade year at Wingfield, he recalls hearing rumors that the school would close and that he and his classmates would not graduate. But as the years passed, Winston believed, “everything was all good.”
Since then, Winston said he has spent his career giving back to the place that gave him so much. But his time at Wingfield will soon end.
“It didn’t feel like just a building for me,” Winston said. “Even now, I bring my kids by and be like, ‘This is where Daddy went to school.’ It is going to be a difference now because it is not going to be here anymore.”
Winston told the Clarion Ledger that he chose not to sign a contract and come back to Jackson Public Schools due to not liking “the way things happened.”
“I’m letting God work and see what happens for me and see where I land,” Winston said. “I didn’t really agree with the way it happened and how it happened and how it just came out like that. So, I’m just going to take a step another way.”
Winston recalled the moment he went into the locker room and broke down after coaching at a Wingfield girls’ basketball game. He said members of the team gave him a hug and picked his spirits up a bit.
This bond is something Winston said he will always appreciate.
“I appreciate, from the students on up to the custodian workers, everybody in this building,” Winston said. “We all went through a transition this year when this news came out. We have to be here for our students and also be here for each other.”
“Anytime you deal with a life-changing situation, I think it shows people’s true colors,” Winston said. “I think the building as a whole amongst each other did well with helping pick each other up.”
On May 7 and May 8, the Clarion Ledger talked to some parents and guardians outside of the school’s parking lot who expressed interest in what will happen to the Wingfield High building.
School building’s future
Bishop Ronnie Crudup of New Horizon Church International told media outlets he plans to buy Wingfield High School once Jackson Public Schools goes through with the consolidation process and a price is in place.
This optimization plan was proposed by JPS Superintendent Errick Greene in October 2023. The main reasons for the plan are declining enrollment, expensive investments in the school’s facilities and issues with staffing teachers.
According to previous Clarion Ledger reporting, the 2015-16 school year saw 27,267 students enrolled at JPS. That has declined by almost 10,000 students, with 2023-24 enrollment numbers at 18,773.
In early May 2024, JPS released the following statement regarding the possible future sale of Wingfield High School: “While Jackson Public Schools is excited that there is interest in Wingfield High School, specific proposals related to any properties have yet to be introduced, evaluated, or approved. We remain dedicated to the fair, equitable, and transparent repurposing of all our closed facilities.”
On May 15, Greene announced the district will be seeking proposals for what could be done with 33 JPS properties. There are 17 school buildings, including Wingfield High School, and 16 undeveloped parcels of land. The school district launched a webpage for Requests for Proposals, where each will be reviewed for feasibility and to determine if it contributes to the “growth and prosperity of Jackson’s neighborhoods.”
Greene said the properties could be redeveloped to serve as community centers, health care facilities, affordable houses, creative hubs, etc.
The message principal Smith left for parents and guardians: “We all have the students’ best interest at heart.”