The history of Lincoln Park Academy can be traced back to 1906 when families in the Woodbine (Marvilla) area in Ft. Pierce requested a teacher. The first school, an old school supply building, was on North Eighth Street. The school had five teachers, eight grades and was open for seven months a year. It was rather poor with no teachers, including the principal having no more than a high school education. There were no teaching materials, not even a dictionary.
The citizens were determined to have a high school. To understand how ambitious this was, there was no full four-year Negro high school south of Palatka, Florida. In 1921 there were only 18 Negro pupils listed in 12th grade in three unaccredited high schools. In September 1923 Lincoln Park Academy opened as a junior high school with five ninth graders. When a new superintendent, Mr. Riggs, was elected he met with a group of citizens at St. Paul AME Church. He told the crowd that they would need to pledge $1,600 to approve the senior high school. Although Superintendent Riggs was skeptical, the citizens paid more than $2,600 during the term. The school board approved the senior high school, thus Lincoln Park Academy was born. During the 1925–1926 term, a new building was completed at a cost of $10,000. It included four classrooms, an office, a library, and an auditorium. Principal Espy put partitions in the classrooms, doubling the capacity. The school year was also expanded to eight months.
When a survey of the schools was made in the 1920s a passage in the report of the survey, commented on the Negro schools of the state and said, "Education among Negroes in Florida is very spotty, ranging from very good at Lincoln Park Academy, down to the very poorest." In 1928, LPA was accredited as a Standard Senior High School by the Florida State Department of Education. One criterion that contributed to the rapid development was the agreement that all teachers would have bachelor's degrees, usually something reserved only for colleges.
In its early years, Lincoln Park Academy developed a reputation for scholarship, athletics, and student activities. On May 1, 1936, the first school paper was printed, called The Moon. The school won the first State Tournament in boys' basketball in 1930 and again in 1932. New textbooks and furniture were ordered for the school in 1946, which was almost unheard of for an all-black school.
During the 1953–54 school year, the school board voted for a new campus at its current location. At the time supplies, textbooks, and materials were not distributed equally. Despite its hardships, the school continued to excel academically and athletically. The school became fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1959. The famous American writer Zora Neale Hurston also joined the staff at LPA briefly as an English teacher and later as a substitute teacher in the late 1950s due to the fact she was unable to obtain her transcripts in order to get a state professional teaching certificate.
Under Principal John L. Walker, the integration of the school's faculty took place. When the county's school system came under federal desegregation order, Lincoln Park was phased out as a high school, and the last class to graduate was the class of 1970. It became a countywide ninth grade center.
In the early 1980s, the school board started looking into the magnet concept and controlled choice. After a tour of the only other district using controlled choice, the school decided to adopt the method. Lincoln Park Academy became the site of the county's first magnet school. The school opened its doors for the 1985–86 school year to seventh and eighth graders. Dr. Lambertson was appointed as the new principal. On May 30, 1990, the first graduating class in twenty years left the halls. The decision was made to purchase land on the north side of the school to build a new high school. The school board approved the contract in 1995, and the ribbon cutting was held in 1997. The auditorium opened in 2000. A new middle school building was constructed and opened for the 2011-2012 school year.
The boys track & field team won the Division 2A Florida state championship in 2002.[9]
Fall Sports
Cross Country, Bowling, Swimming/Diving, Golf, and Volleyball
Winter Sport
Basketball, Cheerleading, Wrestling, and Soccer
Spring Sports
Baseball, Tennis, Track & Field, and Softball
Recognitions
Lincoln Park Academy has been recognized nationally by Newsweek Magazine for it high standards. According to Newsweek's "Challenge Index", Lincoln Park Academy ranked 21st in the nation in 2003, 322nd in 2005, 237th in 2006, 43rd in 2007, 249th in 2008, and 312th in 2009.[10] This ranking takes into effect the difficulty of the courses, including IB and AP testing. The Florida Department of Education has rated LPA an "A" school each year. The school has also made AYP each year under the NCLB Act
Suncoast Community High School is a public magnet high school in Riviera Beach, Florida. The school's campus was built in 1955 as Riviera Beach High School. It was desegregated in the 1960s and renamed in 1970. It became a magnet school in 1989 and has selective admissions.
Pensacola High School is a secondary school located near downtown Pensacola, Florida, United States.
Braulio Alonso High School is a public high school located in Tampa, Florida, United States. It serves grades 9-12 for the Hillsborough County Public Schools.
Eastside High School is a public school in east Gainesville, Florida, United States. It was opened in 1970 and is managed by the Alachua County School District. Eastside harbors two magnet programs: the Institute of Culinary Arts and an International Baccalaureate (IB) program.
Riverside High School is a four-year secondary institution in Jacksonville, Florida. It was originally named after Confederate States of America general Robert E. Lee. Located in the Riverside and Avondale neighborhood, it is the second oldest high school in Jacksonville operating at its original location, after its traditional rival, Andrew Jackson High School. The name was changed to Riverside High School in 2021.
F. W. Buchholz High School is a high school in Gainesville, Florida, United States. Buchholz is one of seven high schools in Alachua County. Opened in January 1971, it is the largest public high school in Gainesville, with 2,241 students in 2020. The Buchholz Math Team was dubbed "America's Greatest Math Team" by The Wall Street Journal in 2022, when Buchholz won first place for the 14th time in the annually held national Mu Alpha Theta math competition.
Felix Varela Senior High School is a public high school located at 15255 SW 96th St. in The Hammocks, unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States.
Leon High School is a public high school in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is the oldest public high school in the state, and is a part of the Leon County Schools System.
Alachua County Public Schools is a public school district serving Alachua County in North Central Florida. It serves approximately 29,845 students in 64 schools and centers.
Lake Mary High School is a public high school located in Seminole County, Florida, operating under Seminole County Public Schools. It was opened in 1981.
Dr. Phillips High School is a public high school in Dr. Phillips, Florida, United States, near Orlando.
Stranahan High School, is located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida was officially opened in 1953 as an elementary school. The school is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district. Originally for white students only, In 1963 Chester Seabury became the first African-American to graduate from a white high school in Florida when he graduated from Stranahan.
The Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy, is a coeducational, yeshiva and college preparatory, private, Modern Orthodox Jewish day school, located in Miami Beach, Florida. The school has been awarded a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
Jones High School is located in the Parramore/Lorna Doone neighborhood in the urban heart of Orlando, Florida at 801 S. Rio Grande Avenue. It is a public school in the Orange County School District. The school mascot is the Tiger and the colors are orange and green.
Allen D. Nease High School is a high school in the St. Johns County School District, located in the Nocatee census-designated place, in St. Johns County, Florida. It is a part of the St. Johns County School District.
Amos P. Godby High School is a public high school in Tallahassee, Florida, named for Amos P. Godby, who first served as a teacher and coach at Leon High School, and later became Leon County Superintendent and President and Secretary of the Florida Superintendents Association.
Miami Norland Senior High School is a public high school in the Norland neighborhood of Miami Gardens, Florida. It opened in 1958 and was segregated, serving only white students until 1969. Its student body is approximately 95 percent African American. Its teams have won state championships.
Satellite High School is a public high school located in Satellite Beach, Florida in Florida's Space Coast, Brevard County. It was founded in 1962, and has been rated an 'A' school in the state of Florida since 2003. The mascot is the Scorpion.
Port St. Lucie High School (PSLHS) is a high school in the U.S. city of Port St. Lucie, Florida. It is located in the southeast area of St. Lucie County.
Union Academy is a magnet middle school in Bartow, Florida. It dates to 1897 when it opened as an elementary school for African Americans. It was expanded to include a high school in 1923. The high school was merged into Summerlin Institute in 1969 following the desegregation era and its students became part of Bartow High School on the Summerlin campus. Union Academy became a Middle School.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
