Evolution of Greenway from 1995 to Today

Students at Greenway hanging out at the middle of the campus. (Greenway Yearbook 1995)

Over the years, Greenway High School has evolved. From the layout of the school to the curriculum of all classes, our school has always strived to be better. How did Greenway improve, and what was our beautiful school like in the past compared to today? An exclusive interview with a former Greenway High School student, Eara Bets, who was at Greenway from 1995 to 1998, can finally answer these questions.

Greenway has changed in many influential ways over the years. Eara, when asked, said, “On the surface, Greenway has changed immensely. For example, there are very few original buildings on campus, even though the general position of where things are has remained the same.” Then said, “Honestly, my position at Greenway has evolved as well: I started as a freshman, graduated my senior year, returned as a substitute teacher, and now I’m a parent to a freshman.” Change is important, and it is better to let evolution make Greenway a better place than to stop it as soon as it starts.

Student council is a very important part of Greenway, so how was it different in the mid-90s? The student council wasn’t much different from what it is now, still planning for events and doing a lot for the community. When asked, Eara said, “Being a part of the student council when I was in high school. I’m probably really biased because we did a lot for the school. For example, in my freshman year, we would call out to the community about school overrides. We would also feed the homeless at soup kitchens, visit sick children at children’s hospitals, and we were pen-pals with at-risk youth at a specific elementary school. In fact, I am still friends with the kid I was partnered up with. As I continued to progress with the student council, I learned what they had done over the years. We planned homecoming week, the parades, and we needed to get the permits for the bonfire and parade. We would communicate with other student councils, and we would constantly try to learn together.” Eara then said, “Junior year, I focused more on planning prom and raising money for prom. That’s when my leadership teacher told me to run for student body vice president, and then as student body vice president; I learned lots more about the position. I was more involved with students, teachers, and the Admin.” The student council’s position at Greenway in 2026 is just as amazing, if not better than before, in its leadership, planning, communication, and community service. 

The layout of Greenway was remodeled into the campus we have today through a process that took place from 2011 to 2014. The original layout of Greenway and Thunderbird was built by the same company, which told the county it could build two schools for the price of one. When asked about what she thinks of the newer campus, Eara stated, “I think that this is a really tough question to ask because I walked the school when it was my old school, and it was my home. I’ve walked the campus now, and it’s not my home. However, I understand that there is a need to continuously update the school.” Even though Eara grew up with the old layout of Greenway, the new layout shows that Greenway is constantly updating the school when needed.

Between 1995 and 2025, there was only one class that Eara could say was completely removed from Greenway: “I remember that my German teacher taught Russian, and it became widely unpopular, so they pulled it.” Eara also mentioned another class, but it was not typed into the transcript for lack of evidence of its existence. From this, we can say that very little has changed with class options and opportunity at Greenway.

Individuality is something we take pride in showing here at Greenway, so I asked about individuality in 1995. Eara explained, “From what I know from when I was in high school, people were treated well despite their differences.” Now we have clubs like GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) to show our individuality, Eara said, “We didn’t necessarily have clubs that would welcome others, like you have clubs now that do that, which I think is very awesome. Still, we didn’t disparage people for being who they were. For example, there used to be something called Jumpstart, and that’s where I met an incoming freshman who came out of the closet as gay. It was the first time any student had come out so bravely. I think he came out of the closet because he was so comfortable with the students, teachers, and environment that he was in; that made me very happy to know he felt welcome and safe. However, Greenway did not have clubs or groups as you have in the present day, and I think that is a wonderful thing that Greenway has these clubs now because it provides more scaffolding and support for people who want to express themselves however they want to express themselves.” Acceptance and support of individuality has come with time; being true to yourself and the people around you is a very important step on the path to success, and hiding it only causes more issues in the end. 

Overall, Greenway has changed many times and in many ways for the better. Now, Greenway High School is still evolving, updating, and innovating before our eyes. Greenway has tried its hardest to be as open as possible to the students who attend it. Finally, from the curriculum to the school’s entire layout, Greenway has always tried to be better whenever possible for everyone who attends this school.