Pensacola High School

Pensacola High School
Address
North Palafox Street
Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida, Florida 32501-1664
United States
Information
School type Comprehensive Public High School
Magnet High School
Established 1905[1]
Founder Joseph Byrne Lockey[1]
School district Escambia County School District
Principal David Williams[2]
Grades 9-12
Gender Coeducational
Enrollment 1,447[3] (2014-15)
School color(s) Maroon and White          
Mascot Tiger
Accreditation Florida State Department of Education
Newspaper The Prowler
Yearbook Annona
Band Fighting Tiger Band
Website www.pensacolahighschool.org

Pensacola High School is a secondary school located near downtown Pensacola, Florida, United States.

The school celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2001 and graduated its 100th class of seniors in 2005; however, the school has not always been at its current location. It was moved to Maxwell Street in 1952. In 1969, a fire gutted the previous school building on Lee Square, prompting its demolition. Currently, it is the oldest secondary school in Pensacola.

The school is part of the Escambia County School District. A former principal, Norm Ross, is the Deputy Superintendent of Schools for the county. Currently, the principal is David Williams, who previously served as Assistant Principal of Grounds and Maintenance.

After Hurricane Ivan, which struck the Pensacola area on September 16, 2004, Pensacola High School was damaged. While large renovations were needed, the school remained open and in operation. The gymnasium, which had only recently been remodeled, was demolished in June 2005. The auditorium was rebuilt in the spring of 2007, and the gymnasium was rebuilt in time for the 2008-2009 school year.

Origins

The first public school for boys in Pensacola was organized in 1870. A two-story building on Wright Street was erected by the School Board in 1875. It was known as the Pensacola Academy and its principal was John Wilmer. In 1886, a new building was erected on Lee Square, known as Public School No. 1. Its first graduating class consisted of Albert Reed and J. Whiting Hyer.

In 1905, Pensacola Senior High School was organized in the Public School No. 1 building. The school was a four-year high school, and its first principal was J. B. Lockey. PHS's first graduating class consisted of Dudley Barrow and Nell Richards.[1]

Pensacola High School is also recognized as having Florida's oldest high school football program, girls basketball program, and school yearbook.

International Baccalaureate

Pensacola High School is the only school in the county to have an International Baccalaureate program. It is an application-based program, typically accepting applications in the fall of a student's 8th, 9th, or 10th grade year.

The International Baccalaureate program was introduced in 1986 and has been a well recognized program since. IB is a university-preparatory program and is designed to prepare students for admission to and success at prestigious universities.

IB program students must complete rigorous, college-level curriculum in addition to a Community Action Service project, an extended essay, and various other academic and social requirements.

PHS IB is the only school in NW Florida with National Merit Commended Scholars, Semi-Finalists, and Finalists every year for the past 21 years 15 students accepted into MIT in the last 16 years At least one student every year has been accepted into a top Ivy League School

PHS IB is the only school in the county that offers: • 3 years of Chemistry, Biology, and Physics • AP BC Calculus & IB Math HL -instrumental in some college acceptance • PHS is consistently ranked one of the top most challenging schools: http://weartv.com/news/local/pensacola-high-makes-list-of-americas-most-challenging-high-schools

Communities served

Most of Pensacola's historic North Hill community, sections of East Hill community, downtown Pensacola and towards Naval Air Station Pensacola, and Pensacola Beach are zoned for Pensacola High School.

Pensacola High School also serves students throughout Northwest Florida through magnet programs and career academies: International Baccaleaurate Program, Scholar's Program, English Language Learner Program, Academy for Health Professions, Advanced Manufacturing Academy, Early Childhood Education Academy, Law and Public Service Academy, Sports Medicine Academy, and Culinary Arts Academy [4]

National recognition and prominence

In the news magazine Newsweek's published list of America's Top Public High Schools, Pensacola High School ranked as follows:

2003 - #188[5]
2005 - #8[6]
2006 - #38[7]
2007 - #38[8]
2008 - #42[9]
2009 - #54[10]

2010 - #22[11]

2016 - The Washington Post named Pensacola High School in the top 10% of the hardest schools in America, ranking it number 35 out of several thousand.[12]

Extracurricular programs

PHS currently features several academic extracurricular activities which have enjoyed great success on the county/northwest Florida/state level:

  • PHS is home to FL-12 AFJROTC, a large Air Force JROTC unit with over 160 cadets. Founded in 1969, FL-12 is one of the first JROTC units in the United States. The FL-12 Drill Team was founded in 1972, winning titles at the local, region, and national level.[13]
  • The academic team (quiz bowl) has had the longest win streak in the Cox Academic Tournament- as champions for the previous ten years. The team has competed on the state and national level, with both the team and individual team members placing highly.
  • Mu Alpha Theta (Math Team) which attends three regional competitions and the Milton math competition. The Pensacola High School math team consistently has individuals placing in the top ten and teams placing in the top five. It usually also places in the sweepstakes division.
  • The PHS drama troupe has been a successful program for many years, competing and winning competitions at the state level. Similarly, the Future Business Leaders of America chapter at PHS is one of the largest organizations on campus and is successful at state competitions, with the current state president being a PHS student. The Health Occupations Students of America student group is also competitive at the state level.
  • PHS Football team has the distinction of being the oldest football program in the state: pro, college or high school. The first game was played in 1905. In 2009 the PHS Football team won the Class 3A State Championship.
  • PHS also features a variety of athletic programs: boys' football, baseball, soccer, weightlifting, lacrosse, tennis, swim and dive, track and field, cross country, and golf; and girls' volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball, cross country, track and field, weightlifting, swimming and diving, tennis, golf, lacrosse, and flag football. [14]

Notable alumni

Name Class year Notability References
Reubin O'Donovan Askew 1946 Former Governor of Florida [15]
Neal Boortz 1963 Libertarian talk-show host
Webbie Burnett Football player [16]
Adron Chambers 2005 Current MLB outfielder (St. Louis Cardinals).
Jim Hutto 1966 Former MLB outfielder and catcher (Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles).
Fred Levin 1954 Civil trial lawyer for whom the Law School at the University of Florida is named as well as sometime lawyer and adviser to boxer Roy Jones Jr.
Terrell McClain Football player [17]
Eric Shaw Football player [18]
Michelle Snow 1998 WNBA basketball player and former University of Tennessee standout
Kay Stephenson Football player [19]
John Webb 1997 Former MLB pitcher (Tampa Bay Rays).
Mark Whiten 1985 Former Major League Baseball player who is famous for hitting 4 home runs in one game for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Damarious Randall 2009 Cornerback for the Greenbay Packers [20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "School History". Pensacola High School. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  2. ↑ "Faculty Phone #s". Pensacola High School. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  3. ↑ "PENSACOLA HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  4. ↑ http://www.pensacolahs.com/academies
  5. ↑ "America's Top Public High Schools 2008 | Newsweek Best High Schools". Newsweek.com. 2007-08-31. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  6. ↑ "America's Top Public High Schools 2008 | Newsweek Best High Schools". Newsweek.com. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  7. ↑ "America's Top Public High Schools 2008 | Newsweek Best High Schools". Newsweek.com. 2007-08-31. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  8. ↑ "America's Top Public High Schools 2008 | Newsweek Best High Schools". Newsweek.com. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  9. ↑ "America's Top Public High Schools 2008 | Newsweek Best High Schools". Newsweek.com. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  10. ↑ "America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools". Newsweek.com. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  11. ↑ "America's Top Public High Schools 2010". Newsweek.com. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  12. ↑ "Florida Schools - The Washington Post". apps.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  13. ↑ "Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps". www.airuniversity.af.mil. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  14. ↑ http://www.pensacolahs.com/TigerAthletics
  15. ↑ "HONORING THE LIFE AND DEDICATED SERVICE OF GOVERNOR REUBIN ASKEW". United States Congress. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  16. ↑ Mitchell, Billy (February 15, 1985). "About recruits, basketball, etc". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "TERRELL MCCLAIN". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  18. ↑ "ERIC SHAW". profootballarchives.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  19. ↑ "KAY SREPHENSON". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  20. ↑ "DAMARIOUS RANDALL". packers.com. Retrieved March 24, 2016.

Coordinates: 30°26′03″N 87°13′29″W / 30.434288°N 87.224784°W / 30.434288; -87.224784

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