About Us / Our History

The History of Green Magnet Academy

Green School was built in 1909 under the leadership of Mayor Brooks and Superintendent of School, S. A. Mynders. The school was named in honor of the late Dr. Henry Morgan Green, a well-known and respected citizen of Knoxville. Dr. Green was an alderman from the fifth ward at the time the school was erected. Green School was initially a primary school, serving only kindergarten through second grade. The first employees were Miss Sylvia Lillson, Principal Teacher, Miss Rosa Sapp (Trent) and Miss Minnie Robinson (Graham).

By 1915, Austin High School on Central Avenue could no longer accommodate its pupils. An addition to Green School was authorized at a meeting of the Board of City Commissions of Knoxville on June 16, 1915, under the leadership of Mayor S. D. Heiskell. The money was raised to construct this building by a tax levied on all the taxpayers of Knoxville.

After the completion of the annex in 1916, the name Green School was changed to Knoxville Colored High School. The school now accommodated first through tenth grade. In the fall of 1919, the eleventh grade was added. The school population continued to grow, and in 1929 the city built a new Austin High School on East Vine Avenue. All high school pupils were moved there, and the original name, Green School, was restored.

Until 1951, Green School remained a unique combination of an elementary and junior high school, accommodating third through eighth grade. With the building of the new high school in 1951, the old Austin High School building became a junior high school and Green School returned to elementary school status. Renewed efforts began for a new building because the old building had become unsafe. In 1957, the new Green School, spacious and modern in every detail, was completed one block from the old one. It was a “dream come true” for parents, teachers, students, and patrons of the school, for it represented a new challenge to fulfill a larger measure, an obligation to train students to become intelligent, resourceful and useful citizens. In 1993 ground was broken again to build a new wing that would house the magnet school program and the school became known as Green Magnet Math and Science Academy. It has been recognized by the State Department of Education as an “Exemplary School.” In addition, the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce awarded Green School’s faculty, principal and curriculum facilitator the “Best” Award.