C. Leon King High School

C. Leon King High School
C. Leon King High School
Address
	6815 N. 56th Street; Tampa, Florida 33610; United States
Coordinates	28°00′31″N 82°23′29″W / 28.008521°N 82.391464°W
Information
Type	Public high school
Motto	Land of the Lions
Established	1960; 64 years ago
School district	Hillsborough County Public Schools
Superintendent	Van Ayres
School number	2241 (for District use)
CEEB code	101717
Principal	Gregory Basham
Staff	92.00 (FTE)
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,262 (2023–2024)
Student to teacher ratio	20.01
Color(s)	Red, white, and Columbia blue ;
Sports	See article
Mascot	Lion
Nickname	Lions (general); Lady Lions (girls sports)
Newspaper	Scepter
Yearbook	Clarion
Website	king.mysdhc.org

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's musical programs include Chorus and Show Choir (PRIDE), a Marching Band (Marching Lions), Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, and a Concert Orchestra. The Marching Band received Superior ratings at the annual FBA competition for 45 consecutive years and has been 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
Addison Barger, professional baseball player
Derek Bell, former professional baseball player^[4]
Pam Bondi, 1984, Florida Attorney General^[4], nominee for US Attorney General (2025)
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]
Reena Ninan, 1997, National mainstream media news anchor^[7]
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.
^ King High grads say poignant goodbye, Tampa Bay Times, June 5th 1997, by Linda Chion-kenney

External links

[NCES-1] ttps://www.hillsboroughschools.org/cms/lib/FL50000635/Centricity/Domain/4/DemographicReport.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[2] "Radar finds 145 graves buried beneath King High School in Tampa". Tampa Bay Times. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.

[3] "King High School: Tribune scholars profiles and essays". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved December 22, 2020.

[King_history-4] ^ ^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.

[5] "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.

[6] 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.

[7] King High grads say poignant goodbye, Tampa Bay Times, June 5th 1997, by Linda Chion-kenney

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v t e Hillsborough County public and private schools
High schools	Alonso High School (8th–12th grade) Armwood High School Blake High School Bloomingdale High School Brandon High School Chamberlain High School Durant High School East Bay High School Freedom High School Gaither High School Hillsborough High School Jefferson High School King High School Lennard High School Leto (A. P. Leto) High School Middleton High School Newsome High School Plant City High School (7th–12th grade) Plant High School Riverview High School Robinson High School Sickles High School Spoto High School Steinbrenner High School Strawberry Crest High School Sumner High School Tampa Bay Technical High School Tampa Marine Evening (7th–12th grade) Wharton High School
Middle schools	Louis Benito Middle School Pete Davidsen Middle School Angelo L. Greco Middle School Ben Hill Middle School John Quincy Adams Middle School James Buchanan Middle School William G. Pierce Middle School (6th–9th grade) Memorial Middle School Sligh Middle Magnet School D.W. Webb Middle School Dowdell Middle Magnet School Roland Park Middle School Dr. John A. Coleman Middle School Martin Van Buren Middle School James Madison Middle School Progress Village Middle Magnet School Dr. R. Reche Williams Middle Magnet School Nathan B. Young Middle Magnet School Benjamin Franklin Middle Magnet School Andrew J. Ferrell Middle Magnet School James Monroe Middle School Woodrow Wilson Middle School Garland V. Stewart Middle Magnet School Orange Grove Middle Magnet School Hillsborough Academy (5th–8th grade) Liberty Middle School
Elementary schools	Booker T. Washington Elementary School Macfarlane Park International Baccalaureate School Westchase Elementary School Alafia Elementary School Symmes Elementary School Summerfield Elementary School Crestwood Elementary School Claywell Elementary School Cypress Creek Elementary School Essrig Elementary School Limona Elementary School Boyette Springs Elementary School Egypt Lake Elementary School Dale Mabry Elementary School Pride Elementary School Forest Hills Elementary School Dunbar Magnet School Gorrie Elementary School Mitchell Elementary School Oak Grove Elementary School Lee Magnet School Roosevelt Elementary School West Shore Elementary School Walden Lake Elementary School
Charter schools in Tampa and surrounding Hillsborough County	Anderson Elementary Academy Bell Creek Academy Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School Carl Sagan Academy Cristo Rey Tampa High School Hope Preparatory Academy Kid’s Community College Learning Gate Community School Literacy/Leadership/Technology Academy Metropolitan Ministries Mount Pleasant Standard-Based Middle School Pepin Academy of Tampa Prince Academy Quest Middle School Re-birth Academy RCMA Wimauma Academy Richardson Montessori Academy Tampa Bay Academy Tampa Charter School Tampa Transitional School of Excellence Terrace Community Middle School Trinity School for Children USF/Patel USF/Patel Intermediate Village of Excellence Walton Academy of the Performing Arts
Private schools in Tampa	Academy of the Holy Names (9–12) American Youth Academy (PreK–12) Bayshore Christian School (PreK–12) Bell Shoals Baptist Academy (PreK–8) Berkeley Preparatory School (PreK–12) Cambridge Christian School (PreK–12) Carrollwood Day School (PreK–12) Christ the King Catholic School (PreK–8) Citrus Park Christian School (PreK–12) Foundation Christian Academy (PreK–12) Grace Christian School (K–12) Jesuit High School of Tampa (9–12) Paideia Classical Christian School (K–12) Seffner Christian Academy (PreK–12) St. John's Episcopal Parish Day School (PreK–8) St. Mary's Episcopal Day School (PreK–8) Tampa Baptist Academy (PreK–12) Tampa Catholic High School (9–12) Tampa Preparatory School (6–12)