Gibbs High School (St. Petersburg, Florida)

Gibbs High School
Address	850 34th Street
Town	St. Petersburg, Florida 33711-2208
Established	1928
Type	Public secondary
Students	Coeducational
Grades	9 - 12
Accreditation	Florida State Department of Education
District	Pinellas County Schools
Mascot	Gladiators
Gibbs/PCCA Colors	Blue and Gold
PCCA Colors	Black and White
BETA Colors	Black and Red
Yearbook	'
Newspaper	The Gibbsonian
Website	Link

Gibbs High School is a public high school of the Pinellas County School District serving in St. Petersburg, Florida. Gibbs is home to the Pinellas County Center for the Arts (PCCA) and Business, Economics, and Technology Academy (BETA). Gibbs' current principal is Antelia Campbell.

History

Before 1928, Pinellas County had no school for blacks that educated past 6th grade. Families wishing for higher education had to enroll in private, mostly church-run black schools. Even though there was increasing demand for black secondary school, the School Board began construction on an additional white-only elementary school for $49,490. However, expansion slowed due to economic trouble, and the school became the 34th Street Colored School. In 1970, public schools in Florida were finally truly 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. Today, the school named for the first black secretary of state in Florida is the largest high school in Pinellas County with over 2500 students. Also now it has a brand new campus and state of the art facilities, that opened to the students in the 2005-2006 school year.

Notable Alumni

• James Meredith: The first African American to be enrolled at the University of Mississippi graduated from Gibbs High School.

• Shaun King: He was a Consensus All-America pick as a prep quarterback at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg. Though heavily recruited as a prep football star, chose Tulane for challenge of helping to revive a losing program. A five-year veteran, King owns a 14–8 record as a starter and guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to an appearance in the NFC Championship game following the 1999 season.

• Michelle Dowdy: PCCA graduate of 2005. Became the understudy for the lead role of Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway production of Hairspray on the day of her commencement.