{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox school | name = Colonel White High School | image = | image_size = | motto = | motto_translation = | address = 501 Niagara Ave. | city = Dayton | state = Ohio | country = United States | zipcode = 45405 | areacode = | phone = | fax = | email = | website = | school_number = | school_board = Dayton Public Schools | affiliation = | superintendent = | trustee = | principal = | administrator = | schooltype = Public Secondary School | grades = 9–12 | language = English | area = Urban | mascot = Cougar | team_name = | colors = Green and Gold {{Color box|green|border=darkgray}}{{Color box|gold|border=darkgray}} | athletic_conference = Dayton City League | newspaper = Cougar Den | founded = 1929 | closed = 2008 | coordinates = {{coord|39.780361|-84.218565|display=inline,title|format=dms|type:landmark_region:US-OH}} }}
'''Colonel White High School''' was built in 1929 in Dayton Ohio. It stood on the corner of Wabash and Niagara in Upper Dayton View until it was demolished in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kelley |first1=Jeremy P. |title=Dayton school board sells two former school sites |url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local-education/dayton-school-board-sells-two-former-school-sites/lmCn748IISNAE6R6I9AXuM/ |website=The Dayton Daily News |access-date=25 June 2021 |date=May 31, 2019}}</ref>
Colonel White was named for Colonel William Jeremiah White, an officer who fought in the Spanish–American War. It was named for White because he had been superintendent of Dayton Schools in 1888 and lived in Lower Dayton View.<ref>{{cite web |title=CWHS History |url=http://www.littlecolonels.com/Littlecolonels.com/CWHS_History.html |website=Little Colonels |access-date=25 June 2021}}</ref>
Initially, Colonel White school was a junior high school. An auditorium, east wing, and south wing were added during the 1950s and 1960s as the school became a high school. Briefly, students attended Colonel White for their first two years, and then would attend Fairview High School for Junior and Senior years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kelley |first1=Jeremy P. |title=Dayton school board sells two former school sites |url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local-education/dayton-school-board-sells-two-former-school-sites/lmCn748IISNAE6R6I9AXuM/ |website=The Dayton Daily News |access-date=25 June 2021 |date=May 31, 2019}}</ref>
In 1957, Jack A. DeVelbiss (1927–1988) became the music director of Colonel White High School. DeVelbiss is responsible for creating the "Little Colonels," a drill team famous for precision military-style marching. He also created a range of music programs and directed several musicals in the newly-built auditorium. This began Colonel White's legacy as an award-winning music and theatre school.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jack A. DeVelbiss, "Mr. D" |url=http://www.littlecolonels.com/Littlecolonels.com/"Mr._D".html |website=Little Colonels |access-date=25 June 2021}}</ref>
As the demographics of Dayton View shifted, the high school was the cite of racial unrest. Rioting erupted in cities across America. A riot broke out in West Dayton when white men in a car shot Lester Mitchell at 3 am on September 1, 1966.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sweigart |first1=Josh |title=Lasting Scars, Part 1: Shooting sparked 1966 Dayton riots |url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/lasting-scars-part-shooting-sparked-1966-dayton-riots/3jKIHlMSeAQwMbAZqh2kQM/ |website=The Dayton Daily News |date=September 22, 2016}}</ref> Dayton View was a neighborhood that was open to Black residents. It had a large Jewish Community and was home to three Synagogues at the time. It was also home to Appalachian migrants and southern and eastern European immigrant communities. By the time Dayton Public Schools were ordered to desegregate, Colonel White was already racially balanced and was exempt from busing.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weiss |first1=Marshall |title=The Attempt to Desegregate, Part 2 |url=https://daytonjewishobserver.org/2016/09/the-attempt-to-desegregate/ |website=The Jewish Observer |access-date=25 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lipper |first1=Hal |title=Dayton Schools Again Ordered to Desegregate in Seesaw Case |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1978/07/28/dayton-schools-again-ordered-to-desegregate-in-seesaw-case/981cb4b4-1ad6-41f9-9e3d-4dd430bfcf9f/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=25 June 2021 |date=July 28, 1978}}</ref>
In 1983, the name of the school was changed to The Colonel White High School for the Performing Arts.
The land it stood on was eventually sold to Frederick Holley for $4,290.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kelley |first1=Jeremy P. |title=Dayton school board sells two former school sites |url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local-education/dayton-school-board-sells-two-former-school-sites/lmCn748IISNAE6R6I9AXuM/ |website=The Dayton Daily News |access-date=25 June 2021 |date=May 31, 2019}}</ref>
==Notable alumni== * Howard Bayne {{ndash}} former ABA power forward (Kentucky Colonels) * Matt Blair {{ndash}} former NFL linebacker (Minnesota Vikings) * Doug France {{ndash}} former NFL offensive tackle (Los Angeles Rams) * Bobby Martin {{ndash}} former high school defensive lineman, born without hips or legs * Rebecca Wanzo {{ndash}} academic specializing in African-American literature and culture * Bakari Lumumba {{ndash}} academic specializing in Black Cultural Centers and Black student development
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1929 Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2008 Category:High schools in Dayton, Ohio Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Ohio Category:1929 establishments in Ohio Category:2008 disestablishments in Ohio