Rosenwald High School (Panama City, Florida)

Last updated

Rosenwald High School
Location
Rosenwald High School (Panama City, Florida)
924 Bay Avenue,
Panama City, Florida, U.S.
Coordinates 30°9′58″N85°38′27″W / 30.16611°N 85.64083°W / 30.16611; -85.64083
Information
Former namePanama City High School
School typePublic Alternative High School
School districtBay District Schools
NCES District ID1200090
NCES School ID120009007763
Enrollment249 (2021–2022 [1] )

Rosenwald High School (originally Panama City High School) is a public alternative secondary school in Panama City, Florida. [1] It inherits the name of the Rosenwald School, a type of school founded for African American students established with support from Julius Rosenwald. [2] The former school building is a historic landmark. [3] [4]

Contents

About

Rosenwald High School, located in Panama City, Florida, currently caters to a diverse student body, specializing in serving students with various special needs. Renowned as a vital educational resource, Rosenwald offers a distinctive credit recovery program designed to assist students who may have encountered academic or behavioral challenges in traditional high school settings.

In addition to its academic support initiatives, Rosenwald High School pioneers innovative programs to meet the unique needs of its student population. Notably, the school houses a childcare academy program tailored for young mothers, enabling them to attend classes while their newborns receive care onsite.

Following the closure of the adjacent CC Washington Academy due to the impact of Hurricane Michael in 2018, Rosenwald expanded its educational reach to accommodate students in grades 6 through 12. This expansion has further solidified Rosenwald High School’s commitment to providing comprehensive educational opportunities for all students in the community.

History

Panama City High School (1914) Panama City High School (1911).png
Panama City High School (1914)

From 1911 to 1914, the Panama City High School building was built from red bricks, and opened at the corner of Harrison Avenue and Seventh Street in Panama City. [5] The first teacher was Annie McDonald, who taught all four high school grade levels. [5] The first school graduation was in 1918, with a class of three. [5]

The Panama City High School building was later used for the school for First Presbyterian Church. [3] It was located at 819 East 11th Street, Panama City.[ when? ] [4]

From 1937 to 1944, Richard V. Moore served as principal of the school, he later went on to become the third president of Bethune–Cookman College (now Bethune–Cookman University) in Daytona Beach. [6]

Rosenwald was a middle school serving grades 6 through 8 from 1967 to 2009, and then became an alternative high school serving grades 9 through 12. Rosenwald and its alumni continue to be a vital part of the community.

Prior to desegregation, it was one of the only African American schools in the city. [4] In October 2018, Hurricane Michael caused severe damage to the old school building structure. [3] The original building is extant, and was purchased in 2021 with the intention of forming new housing. [7] [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethune–Cookman University</span> Private historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.

Bethune–Cookman University is a private historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune–Cookman University is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The primary administration building, White Hall, and the Mary McLeod Bethune Home are two historic locations.

Columbia College is a private liberal arts college in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1854 by the United Methodist Church as a women's liberal arts college, Columbia College became fully coeducational in 2020 welcoming its first coed residential class in Fall 2021. It also offers evening, graduate, and online programs for women and men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary McLeod Bethune</span> American educator and civil rights leader (1875–1955)

Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was an American educator, philanthropist, humanitarian, womanist, and civil rights activist. Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935, established the organization's flagship journal Aframerican Women's Journal, and presided as president or leader for a myriad of African American women's organizations including the National Association for Colored Women and the National Youth Administration's Negro Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmonton Public Schools</span> Public school division in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Edmonton Public Schools is the largest public school division in Edmonton, the second largest in Alberta, and the sixth largest in Canada. The division offers a variety of alternative and special needs programs, and many are offered in multiple locations to improve accessibility for students. As a public school division, Edmonton Public Schools accepts all students who meet the age and residency requirements set out in provincial legislation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts</span> Secondary school in Jacksonville, Florida

Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts (DCSoMA) is a secondary school within the Duval County Public Schools system in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. It is a National Blue Ribbon School as recognized by the US Department of Education. It is also an "A" school in Florida's grading system. The school is across 8th Street from UF Health Shands Hospital. DCSoMA is a dedicated magnet school serving students in grades 6 through 12. The first graduating class received its diplomas in the spring of 2012. Admission to the school is through a magnet lottery system administered by the Duval County Public Schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosenwald School</span> Schools in the United States

The Rosenwald School project built more than 5,000 schools, shops, and teacher homes in the United States primarily for the education of African-American children in the South during the early 20th century. The project was the product of the partnership of Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish-American clothier who became part-owner and president of Sears, Roebuck and Company and the African-American leader, educator, and philanthropist Booker T. Washington, who was president of the Tuskegee Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary McLeod Bethune Home</span> Historic house in Florida, United States

The Mary McLeod Bethune Home is a historic house on the campus of Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Built in the early-1900s, it was home to Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955), a prominent African-American educator and civil rights leader, from 1913 until her death. It was designated a United States National Historic Landmark in 1974 It is now managed by the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation as a historic house museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Hall (Daytona Beach, Florida)</span> United States historic place

White Hall is a historic site on the campus of Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. It is located at 640 Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard. On July 15, 1992, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hungerford Vocational High School</span> School in Eatonville, Florida

Robert Hungerford Preparatory High School was a segregated high school for African Americans in Eatonville, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty Colored High School</span> United States historic place

Liberty Colored High School is a former high school for African-American students in Liberty, South Carolina during the period of racial segregation. It originally was called Liberty Colored Junior High School. The building is now a community center known as the Rosewood Center. It is at East Main Street and Rosewood Street in Liberty. The school was built in 1937 on the site of a Rosenwald school that had burned down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beauregard Parish Training School</span> United States historic place

The Beauregard Parish Training School in DeRidder, Louisiana, was a school for black students and black teachers in training. The two school buildings, located on the original property at the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and Alexandria Street, were the first African-American related structures in southwestern Louisiana to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places, on March 1, 1996.

Suwannee River Junior College, located in Madison, Florida, opened in 1959. It was one of eleven black junior colleges founded in the late 1950s at the initiative of the Florida Legislature. Since racial integration in schools was prohibited in the Florida Constitution of 1885 then in effect, the Legislature wished to avoid the integration mandated in the unanimous Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision of 1954 by demonstrating that a "separate but equal" higher education system existed in Florida for African Americans.

Booker T. Washington Junior College, the first and longest-lasting junior college for African Americans in Florida, was established by the Escambia County school board in 1949. Previously, the only higher education available in Florida to African Americans was at Bethune-Cookman College, Edward Waters College, Florida A&M University, and Florida Memorial College, all historically black.

Rosenwald Junior College, located in Panama City, Florida, opened its doors in 1958. It was one of eleven black junior colleges founded in the late 1950s at the initiative of the Florida Legislature. Since racial integration in schools was prohibited by the Florida Constitution of 1885 then in effect, the Legislature wished to avoid the integration mandated in the unanimous Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision of 1954 by demonstrating that a "separate but equal" higher education system existed in Florida for African Americans.

The Pompano Colored School, also known as the Pompano Beach Colored School, was located at 718 NW Sixth Street, Pompano Beach, Florida. Pompano's first school for colored students, a two-room wooden building on the 400 block of Hammondville Road, was destroyed in the 1926 Miami hurricane. It was replaced in 1928 by a two-story, six-classroom building, with library, assembly hall, and separate office for the principal. The Rosenwald Fund provided matching funds to those raised by the African-American community; Broward County also contributed. Principal Blanche Ely spearheaded efforts for its construction. It was originally for grades one through six, and later expanded to the 11th grade. In 1954, it was renamed Coleman Elementary School, in honor of Reverend James Emanuel Coleman, pastor of Pompano's Mount Calvary Baptist Church.

Pinellas High School was a public high school from 1934 until 1968 in Clearwater, Florida. It served African Americans from the surrounding area of northern Pinellas County including Largo, Clearwater, Dunedin, Safety Harbor and Tarpon Springs during the era of segregation. It was at 1220 Palmetto Street. During its existence, it was the first segregated school in the region and it was the only school exclusively serving Black students in Pinellas County.

Richard Vernon Moore Sr. was an American educator, principal, and university president. He served as the third president of Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida (1947–1975). Moore was also the state of Florida's first African-American Supervisor of Secondary Schools for Negros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milner-Rosenwald Academy</span>

The Milner-Rosenwald Academy building is a former Rosenwald School, located at 1560 Highland Street, Mount Dora, Florida. It was opened in 1926, based on a design by architect Frank L. Bodine, and served students up to 8th grade. The school closed in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaisance School</span> School in Louisiana, United States

Plaisance School is a school, established in 1921 in Plaisance, Louisiana, United States. The school was segregated during the Jim Crow-era and served African American students. It also went by the names Plaisance High School, and Plaisance Rosenwald School.

Okahumpka Rosenwald School is a historic Rosenwald School building in rural Okahumpka, Florida, United States. It was built in 1929 and was used as a school for African American children in the community. It is one of the two remaining Rosenwald Schools in Lake County Florida.

References

  1. 1 2 "Rosenwald High School". National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  2. "Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail - Preservation - Florida Division of Historical Resources".
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bostick, Jacqueline. "Someone plans to make lofts out of Panama City's historic school house?". Panama City News Herald. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Bente, Katie (June 16, 2021). "Rosenwald High School recognized as historic landmark". WJHG Channel 7 News.
  5. 1 2 3 Cvitkovich, Eileen (2000). Bay County. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 52–53. ISBN   978-0-7385-0603-6.
  6. McCarthy, Kevin M. (July 24, 2019). African American Sites in Florida. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 81. ISBN   978-1-56164-951-8.
  7. "The Rosenwald School in Panama City". Visit Florida.