Dondero High School


George A. Dondero High School opened in 1927 in Royal Oak, Michigan in Greater Detroit. It was named after former Royal Oak School Board president and U.S. representative George A. Dondero. A part of the Royal Oak Neighborhood Schools, it and Clarence M. Kimball High School were consolidated to form the current Royal Oak High School.
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Overview

Opened in 1927 as Royal Oak High School, it was renamed as Dondero High School in 1957 after Clarence M. Kimball High School opened.
Due to declining enrollment, the school became a middle school at the beginning of the 2007/2008 school year. Dondero was closed following the 2005-06 school year to allow for renovations, and district high school students from both Dondero and Kimball High School were consolidated. At the peak of enrollment, Dondero had more than 2,000 students, which had declined to 650 in its final year
On October 31, 2006, the Dondero gymnasium was set on fire, causing extensive damage. Arson was suspected, and two teenage suspects were later arrested.
On October 20, 2007, the building was officially re-dedicated as Royal Oak Middle School. The dedication ceremony took place at 4:20 PM in the restored auditorium housing three huge W.P.A. murals.

Pop Concert

From 1967 until 2006, the Dondero A Capella Choir held an annual pop concert. The concert featured choral, and solo arrangements of popular rock and roll songs, and relied on Dondero High School instrumentalists as backup musicians. The choir director Rick Hartsoe was inducted to the Royal Oak High school hall of fame in part due to his leadership of the Pop Concert.

Dondero Sports

Iverson L. “Ivy” Loftin served as a teacher and football coach at Dondero High School in Royal Oak for a duration of 33 years in the 60s, 70s and 80s, during which he achieved recognition through multiple championships and honors. He was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Dondero Hall of Fame. The Dondero High School girls Softball team won a state title in 1979. The 1991 Dondero class had one of the most decorated class of male athletes in Dondero history, featuring ranked teams in both football and boys basketball.

Acorn

The Acorn was the student newspaper of Dondero High School and has continued under the same name at Royal Oak High School. Tom Hayden, a 1957 Dondero graduate, and later a notable civil rights activist, was the editor of the Acorn during his time as a student.

Notable alumni