Julianne Foster, current CHS student intern Kate Jackson, and Rita Gentry are pictured editing the Trojan Legacy Digital Archive website in a training session earlier this school year.
After two years of planning, research, and development, Carrollton City Schools has launched the Trojan Legacy Digital Archive, an online collection created to honor Carrollton High School’s rich history and share the people, stories, and traditions that have shaped generations of Trojans.
The growing archive features historic photos, videos, and documents spanning decades of student life at CHS, along with yearbooks, personal interviews, valedictorian photographs, athletics history, band performances, and Carver High School materials. Led by CHS students, the ongoing project will preserve the school’s history for future generations as content is added through the years.
Over the past year and a half, six members of the Class of 2026 played key roles in bringing the project to life: Hutch Jennings, Makiyah Cofer, Elizabeth Albertus, Dylan Sceals, Iain Gray and Makayla Reid. The students spent time digitizing and uploading items to preserve the stories and memories of Carrollton High School for future generations.
In spring 2024, then-Principal Dr. Ian Lyle began exploring ways to preserve the school’s history after discovering historic film and photos housed at CHS. After consulting with CCS departments, local historical societies, and the University of West Georgia’s Ingram Library, work on the Trojan Legacy Digital Archive began.
Former Carrollton City Schools Director of Communications Julianne Foster led the project’s research and development, including the creation of the website. Former CHS educator and historian Rita Gentry contributed her extensive knowledge of CHS history and materials.
“The Trojan Legacy Digital Archive is about preserving the stories behind Carrollton High School’s history,” Foster said. “Every photograph, yearbook, video, and document represents people and memories that helped shape CHS. We wanted to create a place where those stories could be preserved and where current and future generations of Trojans could discover and connect with them.”
Gentry said the project provides a meaningful opportunity for current students to unite with other Trojans who came before them.
“The most exciting thing about this project is that it joins generations together. A student today can look at a photograph of a Trojan from 50 or 75 years ago and begin to understand that they are part of something much bigger than themselves. That connection is what makes preserving this history so important.”
CCS Superintendent Dr. Mark Albertus said the archive reflects the generations of Trojans who built Carrollton City Schools and the students who will carry its legacy forward.
“We are proud of the work that has gone into the Trojan Legacy Project and all of the students and staff who helped make it possible,” CCS Superintendent Dr. Mark Albertus said. “Preserving our history allows us to honor the generations of students, teachers, coaches, and community members who helped build Carrollton City Schools into what it is today. This project gives us an opportunity to celebrate that legacy while giving future generations a place to learn from and build upon it.”
CCS Sports Information Coordinator Matt Skinner will oversee the ongoing project as CHS students continue building the archive and expanding to collect items from all schools, past and present, in the district. The district invites alumni, families, and community members to share Trojan history by submitting photographs, videos, or other digital materials to legacy@carrolltoncityschools.
Author: Matt Skinner
