C. Leon King High School

Public high school in Tampa, Florida, United States

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C. Leon King High School is a Tampa, Florida public high school named in honor of C. Leon King, a member of the Hillsborough County Board of Public Instruction for 18 years. It opened in 1960 with 58 faculty members and 960 students. It is located at 6815 North 56th Street in Tampa, Florida 33610.

King High School, a part of Hillsborough County Public Schools, is a traditional/hybrid magnet school. It has one of five International Baccalaureate programs in Hillsborough County, Florida. The IB program of King began in July 1994. Ninety eight percent of IB seniors earned the IB Diploma in 2014—one of the highest rates in the United States. For the 2010–2011 school year, King High School received an A grade in education overall. As of 2017^[update], King High has been rated a "B".

Its student population was 1,889 in 2014–15 and the attendance rate was 92% in 2005.

History

The school was built on the site of Ridgewood Cemetery, a municipal cemetery for poor African-Americans established in 1942. Hillsborough County Public Schools acquired 40 acres (16 ha) of land for the school from a private company in 1959, and that company bought the site from the City of Tampa in 1957; the cemetery is in that plot and became used for agricultural classes. In 2019, officials discovered graves of 145 people.^[2]

Academics

King High School hosts an International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, which began in 1994. King High also offers advanced placement courses (KAPS).

The school has various academic clubs. The speech and debate team competes at various statewide and national NSDA events. The math club Mu Alpha Theta has won the county math bowl 22 times and competes at regional and statewide events. The science bowl team competes at science bowl and Science Olympiad. The math and science clubs administer the qualifying examinations for the various international science olympiads. Other academic clubs include HOSA and FBLA.^[3]

The IB Program offers various standard level (SL) and higher level (HL) IB courses in subjects such as English, history, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology.

Student Government

The Student Government Association has a structure similar to the federal government system.

Sports

Fall:

Football
Boys Golf
Girls Golf
Boys Cross Country
Girls Cross Country
Swimming
Volleyball

Winter:

Boys Basketball
Girls Basketball
Wrestling
Boys Soccer
Girls Soccer

Spring:

Baseball
Softball
Flag Football
Track
Tennis

Music programs

King High School has multiple musical programs such as Chorus and Show Choir (PRIDE), a Marching Band (Marching Lions), Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, and a Concert Orchestra. King High School's Marching Band received Superior ratings at the annual FBA competition for 45 consecutive years and is often invited to perform in the State's band events. The show choir, PRIDE, is one of the top show choirs in the state. The dance team (Lionettes) have one of the most talented and culturally diverse teams in the county.

Notable alumni

Musa Abdul-Aleem, professional basketball player
Mike Awesome, 1984, former WWF Champion
Derek Bell, former professional baseball player^[4]
Pam Bondi, 1984, Florida Attorney General^[4]
Tim Crews, former professional baseball player^[4]
Ty Griffin, former professional baseball player^[4]
Eric Hayes, former NFL football player
Pam Iorio, 1977, former Mayor of Tampa^[4]
Gary Koch, 1970, former professional golfer and ESPN sportscaster^[4]
Jim Morrison, former professional baseball player
Edmund Nelson, 1978, former professional football player, graduated in 1978
Audrey O'Brien Nelson, 1973, director of VISN 8 at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and prominent research scientist^[5]^[6]
Henry Paul, musician formerly with the Outlaws
George Peoples, 1978, former professional football player
Calvin Pickering, 1995, former professional baseball player^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c https://www.hillsboroughschools.org/cms/lib/FL50000635/Centricity/Domain/4/DemographicReport.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ "Radar finds 145 graves buried beneath King High School in Tampa". Tampa Bay Times. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
^ "King High School: Tribune scholars profiles and essays". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "The History of King High School". King High School. March 17, 2014. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
^ "VA Sunshine Healthcare Network: Board of Directors". U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. November 10, 2009. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
^ Service, the Partnership for Public (August 10, 2009). "Audrey Nelson: On a Quest to Protect Health-Care Workers". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 2, 2018.