Pioneer Schools

Pioneer Schools. Faith, Family, and Education . 9th Avenue South Corridor. , Gibbs High School , Opened in 1927, Gibbs High School, originally intended to be a white elementary school, was the first public secondary school for African Americans. It was located a half-mile west of here on a four-acre parcel near 9th Avenue and 34th Street S. According to Ernest Ponder, former student and teacher, school officials felt that there wouldn't be any problems with providing a black high school because it was in an isolated area. The school initially had only eight classrooms, none with electricity., Under the leadership of George W. Perkins, who served as principal from 1929 to 1932 and again from 1938 10 1946, school facilities improved. Perkins, his faculty, students. and volunteers raised money and built a "gymnatorium" under the supervision of African-American contractor P. P. Perkins. During the 1930s, teachers pledged their salaries to help purchase a dilapidated bus nicknamed the “Blue Goose." which students paid a nickel to ride to keep it running. , , In 1950, it was one of the first black high schools in the southeast to be accepted as a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Teachers such as Olive B. McLin, Ernest Ponder, Ruby Wysinger, Eloise Perkins, Lena Lester Brown. Lou Brown Sr., N.L. "Love" Brown, Freddie Dyles, and Emanuel Stewart, among others, served as role models and mentors to generations of students., Jordan Academy , Jordan Academy, later known as Jordan Elementary, was built in 1925 and named after Elder Jordan, Sr. who served as a trustee for African-American schools. Jordan Academy functioned as the neighborhood elementary school for the growing 22nd Street corridor while Davis Academy continued to support the neighborhoods around Methodist Town and the Gas Plant., When completed and opened on September 1, 1925, the school had six classrooms on each floor with a central entry hall and 21 teachers under the administration of Principal George W. Perkins. Operating on a double schedule, Perkins oversaw the student body of Jordan Academy, which had 1,100 children by 1927. He also fought to extend the school term from six months for "Negro" children to the nine month term typical for white children. Jordan Elementary served as an anchor and cultural center for the 22nd Street S. community and instilled the value of education to thousands of children for 50 years. , , Davis Academy , In 1914, Davis Academy, a school for African-American children, opened at 950 3rd Avenue S. It was named for Ned Davis, who helped establish the first African-American school in a three-room, wood-frame building nearby on 2nd Avenue S. in the city ca. 1910. Education in "Negro" schools originally focused on manual training and domestic science rather than academic studies., Students prepared and served meals and performed as a chorus in Williams Park in order to raise money to help extend the school term., (captions) , Gibbs High School, Class of 1945, Ernest Ponder, George W. Perkins and Eloise Perkins at left. Photo courtesy of the St. Petersburg Museum of History., Gibbs High School, ca. 1964, now demolished. Photo by Bob Morstand, courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times., Photo courtesy of the St. Petersburg Museum of History., In this photo, teacher Mary R. Brown educates her class about registering to vote and the democratic process in 1951. Photo courtesy of the St. Petersburg Museum of History., St. Petersburg Times, September 11, 1924., Davis Academy, later Davis Elementary School. Photo courtesy of the St. Petersburg Museum of History., Black teachers such as 3rd grade teacher Mary Fields shown here with her husband ca 1914 were paid far less than white teachers. Photo courtesy St. Petersburg Museum of History.