Southwest High School building at the corner of Kingshighway and Arsenal. , the Garrison Avenue building, home to Yeatman High School from 1904 to 1927 and to Central from 1927 to 2004, is for sale for $250,000. In December 2008 as part of a promotional tour, actor Will Smith visited students at Central VPA and viewed them conducting a dance routine to one of his songs. As of the 2010–2011 school year, Central VPA began no longer offering programs in television or radio. In addition, Central discontinued its sports program in order to use the money to help fund the remaining arts programs. On October 17, 2012, the Garrison Avenue building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. On October 24, 2022, a 19-year-old former student shot and killed two people in a mass shooting at the institution, before being killed in a shootout with responding police officers. Current status As of the 2015–2016 school year, Central VPA operates on a 7:20 am to 2:27 pm schedule. Activities For the 2011–2012 school year, the school offered only two activities approved by the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA): band, orchestra and vocal music, and speech and debate; the school does not sponsor athletic teams. In addition to its current activities, its students have won three state championships: Baseball: 1950, 1951, 1952 The school also has produced four singles tennis state champions and three individual wrestling champions. Demographics Academic and discipline issues Central VPA has a higher graduation rate of 87.7 for 2010–2011, higher than the state average of 79.8. Central VPA also has a discipline incident rate of 3.3 percent. Since the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001, Central VPA met the requirements for adequate yearly progress (AYP) in communication arts in 2006 and 2011; it met AYP in mathematics in 2011. In addition, more than 80 percent of Central VPA graduates enrolled in a public university in Missouri required remedial coursework in either English or mathematics. Notable people Faculty Helen Almira Shafer: Later president of Wellesley College Alumni Ray Armstead: Olympic gold medalist runner Hettie Barnhill: Dancer and choreographer Frank Baumann: Major League Baseball player Freeman Bosley, Jr.: 43rd Mayor of St. Louis Al Caldwell: R&B musician and producer Richard Fortus: Guitarist with Guns N' Roses Nathan Frank: Member of the United States House of Representatives Walker Hancock: Sculptor and winner of the Medal