Allen Central High School

Allen Central High School is a Title I secondary school located in Eastern, Floyd County, Kentucky, United States, and is one of four public high schools in the Floyd County School system. The school colors were Columbia blue and gray; however, over time dark red has been added.Built in the late 1960s, the first principal at Allen Central was Dave Hensley. After his death, a bridge that carries Kentucky Route 80 in front of Allen Central Middle School and Hensley's former home was renamed the Dave Hensley Memorial Bridge.The nickname of Allen Central is Rebels. American football games are played on Rebel Field. Basketball, volleyball and archery are played in the J. H. Campbell Gymnasium. The school plays host to many county and district tournaments due to its centralized location.In 2014, plans were made to consolidate Allen Central and South Floyd High School into a new Floyd Central High School, located near the Allen Central campus. The new school is expected to open in the fall of 2017. At that time, Allen Central will be converted into a technical education hub for the Floyd County school district, while South Floyd High will be converted to an elementary school.Mascot and flag scandalsFor the past 34 years, the school has displayed symbols of the Confederate States of America. A Confederate flag was displayed in the school gymnasium as recently as January 2007, and the school mascot is a Confederate soldier who, as of late 2006, appeared on a sign at the entrance to the school. A nearby courtyard has blue brick forming the Cross of St. Andrew, and a mural in the lobby shows a rebel soldier carrying the flag on horseback. Other images of rebel soldiers and Confederate flags cover the same walls. The images have stoked controversy, since many consider them to be racist symbols, whether in Floyd County, in Kentucky, and elsewhere, although there is also support in the county for retaining the symbols.