One of the largest high schools in North Carolina turned 75 this year. Its foundation planned a week of events for alumni and students in late September, and set out to raise $2.5 million while it had everyone's attention.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the opening of Myers Park High School, which the anniversary mark printed with the story dates to 1951.
For three-quarters of a century, MPHS has been a cornerstone of academic opportunity and community in Charlotte. It is one of the largest high schools in North Carolina, and its students come from every socioeconomic level and speak more than 47 languages.
A week for Mustangs
To mark the anniversary, the Myers Park High School Foundation, working with principal Robert Folk, invited alumni, students, families, faculty and friends to a week-long celebration of Mustang pride, Tuesday, Sept. 22, through Saturday, Sept. 26.
Through the week, current students were to take part in activities honoring the school's history and traditions. All Mustangs, past and present, were invited to the Friday, Sept. 25, home football game in Gus Purcell Stadium, with alumni recognition and reserved seating.
The reunion itself was set for Saturday, Sept. 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the MPHS Quad, with class gathering areas, school memorabilia and food for purchase. At 4:30 p.m. a ticketed program for current MPHS families and alumni was planned in Gus Purcell Stadium, with music, games, food trucks, speakers and recognition of past and present students and staff.
The magazine said ticketing and parking details would be posted in late August at mphsfoundation.org.
The foundation behind it
The MPHS Foundation, founded in 2012, is a nonprofit that funds programs meant to improve graduation rates, expand college access and give individual support to more than 250 students a year: a graduation coach, a Communities in Schools student support specialist, after-school tutoring, scholarships, college visits and student wellness initiatives.
As part of the anniversary, the foundation launched a 75th Anniversary Legacy Campaign to grow its endowment by $2.5 million. An endowment is a fund kept intact so its earnings can pay for programs year after year; the campaign is meant to create permanent funding for future generations of MPHS students.
This story appears in the August 2026 issue of Stroll Dilworth.