Dixie M. Hollins High School

Dixie M. Hollins High School is a public secondary school located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school was opened in 1959 as a vocational school for grades 10-12, but in the present day, it also offers 9th grade education. The current population of the school is just under 1,800 students.

Its graphic arts program, known as the Academy of Entertainment Arts, is designated as a center of excellence.[1] Dixie Hollins also offers a program in the culinary arts, which is also designated as a center of excellence.[2] The school also offers Cambridge/AICE curriculum, as well as an army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

History

When Pinellas County separated from Hillsborough County and became its own entity in 1912, Dixie Maurice Hollins was appointed as Superintendent of Pinellas County Schools; he was about twenty-five years old. A champion of civil rights, Dixie Hollins did much to promote the rights of black students to have certified teachers, to attend a full school day, and to attend school for more than just a few months per year. When Dixie Hollins opened its doors for the first time in the fall of 1959, it was first named Northwest High School. Almost immediately the School Board decided to name the new high school after Dixie Hollins. (The Hollins family has always been extremely generous to the Pinellas County School system.) Opening in 1959, Dixie Hollins High School was named after the first superintendent of Pinellas County Schools]. the district in which the school is located. His family still owns and operates one of the largest ranches in the state in Citrus County. He donated the land for both Madeira Beach Elementary and Middle Schools. To this day his estate provides contributions to Dixie's music program.

In 1971, the school became national news when the campus became embroiled in a community protest against racial integration through forced busing.[3] The unrest had been building for several weeks.[4] When the school decided to ban the use of the Confederate flag, community groups began picketing the school. The unrest broke out into violence on October 12, 1971. When Florida schools mandated kindergarten, Dixie Hollins High School incorporated 9th grade into its curriculum. The school underwent extensive renovations in 1992–1996, adding a two-story science wing, a new media center and cafeteria, an art building, a music building, and upgrading the existing classrooms, the gymnasium, and the vocational wing.

The school's early sports rival was Boca Ciega High School ("Bogie"); today Pinellas Park High School is their main adversary.

Academy of Entertainment Arts

In the early 2000s, Dixie Hollins opened its Graphic Arts Academy, offering strands in visual arts such as graphic design and filmmaking. It has since been renamed as the Academy of Entertainment Arts, and its courses are taught by Ronald Flowers Jr. (video game design), Kristen Pineda (photography), Michael Pineda (film and visual effects), Kyle Brown (commercial art), and Nicholas Stefanic (music technology).[5] Don Compton taught commercial art prior to his departure from the school in early 2016; he is currently employed at St. Petersburg College.

The film course teaches techniques such as lighting, storyboarding, and using Adobe Premiere Pro as an editing tool. Films with an MPAA rating of G or PG are viewed and analysed throughout the school year; films shown have included Sunset Boulevard (1950), Vertigo (1958), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Rocky (1976), and Star Wars (1977).

Students in the Academy of Entertainment Arts have the ability to participate in the 48 Hour Film Project contest, wherein filmmakers have two days to create a short film within certain parameters. Students in the program have earned many awards over the years, including over fifty various Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.[6]

Clubs

The school offers a variety of clubs, including a chess club, a street art club, a film club, an anime-cosplay club, and a robotics club (STEM).

List of principals

The following is a list of people who have served as principals of Dixie Hollins High School:[7]

  • H. Bentley Lawson
  • Ken Watson
  • Ron Hallam
  • Dr. Robert Burke
  • Charlie Williams
  • Paul Brown
  • John McLay
  • Jeffrey Haynes
  • Michael Bonet
  • Dr. Daniel Evans
  • Robert Florio

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Graphics Art Academy at Dixie Hollins High School". Dixie-hs.pinellas.k12.fl.us. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  2. ↑ "Dixie's Culinary Arts". Dixie-hs.pinellas.k12.fl.us. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  3. ↑ Duryea, Bill (September 19, 1999). "The rage of a young white rebel". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  4. ↑ "Mangin Bans Rebel Flag At Hollins". St. Petersburg Times. 1971-09-25. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  5. ↑ "The Academy for Entertainment Arts". Dixie Hollins High. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "The Academy of Entertainment Arts Student Awards". Dixie Hollins High. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Our Dixie Hollins Principals' Yearbook". Dixie Hollins High School. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "A Few Just the Ten of Us Articles From St. Petersburg Times". Sitcomsonline.com. 2008-02-18. Retrieved 2014-03-23.

Coordinates: 27°48′58″N 82°43′15″W / 27.81617°N 82.72097°W / 27.81617; -82.72097

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