Exerpt from 'Whistling in the Graveyard, Saving Our Students', by Joe Kelly. 2015.

The vision for Landmark High School began in the early 1970s. Superintendent J. Wayne Nelson, along with Bob Evans, traveled the country observing and researching alternative high schools in preparation for starting the school district's own school for struggling students. We have yearbooks and records that date back to 1976, the year that Landmark was created as a school.

The Nebo Alternative High School opened in the fall of 1976, with Bob Evans as the first principal and fifteen students were taught in one large room that was divided into small classrooms by 'walls' made of bookshelves. This first building is currently a part of the Nebo District Offices and is on the national register of historic places. This building, and its architectural significance is how Landmark got its name.

While the school's mascot was always a dragon, it wasn't until we moved into a new building in 2008 that we renewed our focus on its significance. Dragons represent knowledge, power, and wisdom. The Chinese believe that dragons gave man fire and taught the first Chinese emperor to read. Sumerian tradition states that dragons taught man to write cuniform. 

There are as many reasons students end up attending Landmark as there are students who attend Landmark. Our teachers work diligently to help students be more successful than they have been in the past. Dragons are about change and magic and a promise that something special is about to happen. This is the attitude that we want to foster and encourage in our students. We want them to walk the halls and expect that good things will happen. Having this expectation is the beginning to their educational success.  

It's a Great Day to be a Dragon!

Joe Kelly was the principal of Landmark High School from 2002-2015