The Naming Committee's Recommendations

  • The Naming Committee was originally responsible for the naming of one portion of NE 32nd Street that runs through the school’s campus, as well as the Library/Media Center.  Working together, this group identified four individuals worthy of such an honor, so they submitted a recommendation to name two additional rooms in the building -- the band and choir rooms. Approval was granted by the principal, and the final recommendations for the four named spaces are as follows:

    • Library/Media Center - A plaque with personal biography will be placed outside the entrance to the media center in the lower level of the building to honor Mrs. Joyce Henderson, former principal of Northeast and Classen SAS and lifelong educator. 

    “I am honored by this recognition. I hope my love and caring for my students played a role in this recognition.” - Joyce Henderson

    • Choir Room - Mrs. Cordelia Bennett, former music teacher at Northeast, dedicated musician in the NE community, and lifelong educator will be honored in this space located in the east wing of the first floor. Mrs. Bennett has passed on from this life, but her family is grateful for this recognition. 

    “I believe it is well-deserved! She put in so much time and effort into students at Northeast and across the district. Her work has lived on through students who have done legendary things.” - Harriett Cooper, daughter

    • Band Room -  Mr. Alvin Jernigan, former band teacher at Northeast and Classen SAS, respected community musician, and lifelong educator. 

    I am a servant of the Lord, and this really humbles me.” - Mr. Alvin Jernigan.

    • Street Name -  At this time we are still in the process of finalizing the details for the portion of NE 32nd street that will be named.

Plaza and Alumni Room Committees' Recommendations

  • The Plaza and Alumni Room committees chose to merge into one group. Unlike the Naming Committee, the work of the Viking Plaza and Alumni Room committee will resume once approval has been granted for the bidding process and renderings are received so they can make a final selection for the design of each. 

    1. Northeast Viking Pride Plaza, located on the north side of the school, will be refurbished with fresh landscaping and will house the Viking benches that have been donated to Northeast High School/Northeast Academy over the years which are now in safe-keeping at the OKCPS Operations Center. A sculpture and/or monument that honors the Viking history is also being considered.
    2. The Northeast Alumni Room will commemorate history with items such as trophies, photos, championship banners, letter jackets, records, and other items that are meaningful for school alumni.  A recommendation was made to the school’s principal to move the original location of the Alumni room from one room to another, and the committee selected various components for the alumni room and the plaza that they felt would help to honor Northeast High School in a comprehensive way. The committee has appointed a curator who will continue to collect items from the NE alumni. 

    “We felt this process was a good experience because it gave us an opportunity to preserve the historical significance of Northeast High School in the building. We look forward to having a permanent place in the building and grounds moving forward.” 

    - Melodie Moore, Chair for the Plaza and Alumni Room Committee

    Scot McAdoo, the current principal of Classen SAS High School at Northeast has been very supportive of the legacy efforts saying, "I consider it an honor to be part of a process that will recognize and celebrate outstanding members of the Northeast community. I hope this will help our students to better understand the history of the building and to appreciate the impact that the educators they interact with here every day could ultimately have on their lives and on our community as a whole.”

    In addition to internal/external signage and engraving on the building, as well as the Viking Mascot which remains in main entrance flooring, OKCPS is currently designing a unit of instruction to engage students in exploring the history of Northeast High School and Northeast Academy. During the 2019-2020 school year this unit will be taught to all students in grades 9-12. Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, all incoming freshmen to Classen SAS High School at Northeast will be taught about the history of NEHS/NEA.

Naming Committee

  • Andre Coleman, Committee Chair

    Alimah Ahmad

    Anttwain Cox

    Deondre Price

    Tiece Dempsey

    Terry Fife

Alumni Room and Plaza Committee

  • Melodie Moore, Committee Chair

    Ebonie Gabriel

    Deborah Binkley-Jackson

    Jayde Williams

    Jesselyn Hall-Head

    Michelle Basco

    Rev. Travis Rollins

    Richard Nix

    Sherry Hall Harris

    Taiese Ray