Griffin Middle School first opened its doors to students in September 1972. This school year marks the 50th year of teaching and learning at the Cobb school. 

Named for former Cobb County Schools Superintendent Jasper M. Griffin, the middle school’s first year welcomed 971 students and 68 staff members in a 110,000-square-foot building. The school’s original design was an open space style, with four teachers operating in an open classroom “pod.”

Modifications and additions have been made to the building over the last 50 years, but the basic footprint of the pods are still intact. 

The Griffin community recently came together to celebrate the five decades of learning that have taken place inside the school walls. Bulletin boards highlighting Griffin through the years helped welcome the guests who had the opportunity to browse through artifacts and memorabilia. 

“A lot of our current parents were students here at Griffin. So, they provided some of the  yearbooks that we were missing and some of the memorabilia that’s in the display cases. We’ve been fortunate that many families still live here in the Smyrna area when their students came here,” explained Griffin Assistant Principal Nneka Butler.

Griffin’s PTA of the past kept a scrapbook for every single year, which added to the history of Griffin on display at the anniversary celebration.

Former staff strolled down the halls, remembering the students who once passed through their classrooms as they looked through scrapbooks, slideshows, and photographs from the past. Guests also enjoyed artwork from current Griffin art classes, highlighting the different decades.

“We have some older parents that [attended.] Their children may have moved away, but they came to the celebration as well. One of the people that came with vast knowledge of Griffin Middle School is Mr. Frank Winstead, who was the second principal. He was the assistant principal when Griffin opened, and he came with lots of memorabilia,” AP Butler added.

Mr. Winstead spoke about the history of Griffin, how he started at Griffin, and about some of the early administrators.

From refreshments prepared by the Family and Consumer Science students to performances by the band, orchestra, and chorus, current Griffin students were a pivotal part of the school’s anniversary celebration. 

In addition to the anniversary celebration, Griffin’s current 1,000+ students and 100 staff members also spent the week prior gearing up for the celebration with multiple Spirit Week activities. Students and staff dressed as decades past and took part in daily trivia featuring facts about Griffin from the past 50 years. Inside their classes, students also researched how things have changed over the last 50 years. 

According to AP Butler, Griffin has been and will continue to be a pillar in the Smyrna community, providing a quality education for Cobb students.  

“We are a family,” she added.