Gibbs High School (St. Petersburg, Florida)

Gibbs High School is a public high school of the Pinellas County School District in St. Petersburg, Florida. Gibbs is home to the Pinellas County Center for the Arts (PCCA), Business, Economics, and Technology Academy (BETA) and their television production in Communication Arts. The school is named for Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, a black man who was Superintendent of Public Instruction and Secretary of State in Florida during the Reconstruction era. Gibbs' current principal is Reuben Hepburn.

Gibbs High School
Address
850 34th Street South

St. Petersburg
,
FL
33711-2208

United States
Coordinates27°45′41″N 82°40′42″W
Information
TypeCoed Public High School
Established1927
School districtPinellas County Schools
SuperintendentMichael Grego
PrincipalReuben Hepburn
Teaching staff74.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,159 (2018-19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio15.66[1]
Color(s)Blue and Gold         
MascotGladiator
AccreditationFlorida State Department of Education
NewspaperThe Gibbsonian
PCCA ColorsBlack and White         
BETA ColorsBlack and Red         
WebsiteGibbs HS website

History

Before Gibbs opened in 1927, Pinellas County had no school for blacks past 6th grade. Families wishing for high school education had to enroll in private, mostly church-run black schools. Gibbs became the county's first public secondary school for blacks, occupying an eight-classroom building that cost $49,490 to build. Proms were held at the Manhattan Casino.

In 1966, Gibbs won the black state high school basketball championship. For the 1966-1967 school year, Gibbs became the first black school to join the FHSAA and compete against white schools.[2] In their first year (1967), Gibbs won the basketball state championship.[3]

In 1970, public schools in Florida were integrated, and whites began attending Gibbs. Gibbs, however, was still primarily black. To assist their integration goals, the district approved the creation of a magnet program at Gibbs, the Pinellas County Center for the Arts, that would instruct those with artistic gifts. In 2004, Gibbs High School was included in the federal grant received by Pinellas County Schools for the establishment of small learning communities (SLCs). Today, the high school is host to smaller learning communities that have curriculum pathways in Communication Arts, Travel & Tourism, Global Studies and a freshmen Renaissance program. The Pinellas County Center for the Arts program offers high-class and one-on-one training with students in varied art fields. The fields include literary theatre, performance theatre, musical theatre, technical theatre, visual arts, dance, instrumental music, and vocal music.

It now also has a new campus that opened to the students in the 2005-2006 school year. In 2006, however, the school was reported to be plagued with rampant violence and defiance fueled by the racial divide in the student population.[4]

Democratic Presidential Nominee and Illinois Senator Barack Obama visited the school for a town-hall style speech on August 1, 2008.[5]

Gibbs became the first high school in Pinellas county to receive an "F" letter grade as of the 2009-2010 school year because of poor FCAT results. Less than one third of 9th and 10th graders were reading at grade level.[6]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "GIBBS HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  2. "Coach Freddie Dyles" (PDF). Pinellas County School Board. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  3. Damron, David (13 May 2004). "50 Years Of Integration 5th In A 9-part Series". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  4. Tobin, Thomas. Turmoil in class, and cry for help, St. Petersburg Times, December 22, 2006.
  5. "Gibbs High School graduates savor Obama visit". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  6. "Zip ties and pepper spray: Welcome to the new, stricter Gibbs High". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  7. Meacham, Andrew (6 December 2016). "Ephraim Sykes' painful St. Petersburg past fuels his performance in NBC's 'Hairspray, Live!'". The Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
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