Pensacola High School
500 W Maxwell Street, Pensacola, FL, 32501 - Map Map

School Overview:
Definition of Terms
Pensacola High School
School Level High school
School Type Magnet School
Grades Offered Grades 9 - 12
County Escambia County, FL
Students & Faculty
Total Students 1577 students
% Male / % Female 46%  /  54%
Total Classroom Teachers 108 teachers
Students by Grade
Pre-K - 8 students
Grade 9 - 572 students
Grade 10 - 356 students
Grade 11 - 325 students
Grade 12 - 316 students
This School
(FL) School Average
Teacher : Student Ratio 1:15 1:19
Students by Ethnicity
This School
(FL) School Average
% American Indian n/a n/a
% Asian 8% 2%
% Hispanic 3% 18%
% Black 54% 26%
% White 35% 52%
Additional Student Information
This School
(FL) School Average
% Eligible for Free Lunch 56% 26%
% Eligible for Reduced Lunch 12% 6%
% Migrant Students Enrolled 3% n/a
School Performance:
(FL) Statewide Testing Performance
School Statewide Performance View Education Department Test Scores
School District:
School District Name Escambia County School District
This School's Agency
(FL) District Average
Number of Schools Managed 79 24
Number of Students Managed 44,072 students 15,852 students
District Total Revenue $357,806,000 $150,286,000
District Expenditure $362,107,000 $148,035,000
District Revenue / Student $8,119 $9,481
District Expenditure / Student $8,216 $9,339
District Graduation Rates 87% 90%
In the News:
View all past news stories
School Notes:
  • Pensacola High School is a secondary school located near downtown Pensacola, Florida, USA.
  • The school celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2001 and graduated its 100th class of seniors in 2005; however, the school has not always been at its current location. It was moved to Maxwell Street in 1952. In 1969, a fire gutted the previous school building on Lee Square, prompting its demolition. Currently, it is the oldest secondary school in Pensacola.
  • The school is part of the Escambia County School District. A former principal, Norm Ross, is the Deputy Superintendent of Schools for the county. Currently, the principal is David Williams, who previously served as Assistant Principal of Grounds and Maintenance.
  • After Hurricane Ivan, which struck the Pensacola area on September 16, 2004, Pensacola High School was damaged, especially in the gym (one of the four towering walls was completely destroyed). While large renovations were needed, the school remained open and in operation. The gymnasium, which had only recently been remodeled, was demolished in June 2005.
  • Origins
  • The first public school for boys in Pensacola was organized in 1870. A two-story building on Wright Street was erected by the School Board in 1875. It was known as the Pensacola Academy and its principal was John Wilmer. In 1886, a new building was erected on Lee Square, known as Public School No. 1. Its first graduating class consisted of Albert Reed and J. Whiting Hyer.
  • In 1905, Pensacola Senior High School was organized in the Public School No. 1 building. The school was a four-year high school, and its first principal was J. B. Lockey. PSHS's first graduating class consisted of Dudley Barrow and Nell Richards.
  • International Baccalaureate
  • Pensacola High School is the only school in the county to have an International Baccalaureate program as well as a Health Occupation Students of America honors program and a law academy. The International Baccalaureate program was introduced in 1986 as a last-ditch effort to keep the school open; many students had performed poorly, and there were high dropout rates. The school district had given the administration an ultimatum: improve the numbers or be shut down. With the introduction of the IB program, the higher test scores helped bring up the average and kept Pensacola High open.
  • The IB program at Pensacola High was developed by Donna Dunson. Richard Kuhn served as the coordinator from 1994 until 2002. Under his guidance the program achieved great success, all the more impressive when considering the poor funding provided to the county. Upon his resignation, former teacher and District Social Studies Specialist Colleen Boyett served as coordinator. Under her leadership AP and IB course offerings were expanded, resulting in Pensacola High being named as one of the top ten high school programs in America by Newsweek magazine in May 2005. Upon her departure to return to graduate school, she was replaced by Dr. Joy McMichael. In July 2007, however, Dr. McMichael became Assistant Principal of Curriculum, and Deanna Gordon (previously the IB World Literature teacher) became the new IB coordinator.
  • National Recognition and Prominence
  • In the news magazine Newsweek's published list of America's Top Public High Schools, Pensacola High School ranked as follows:
  • 2003 - #188
    2005 - #8
    2006 - #38
    2007 - #38
    2008 - #42
    2009 - #54
  • Extracurricular programs
  • PHS features a variety of athletic programs; many of which often do well at the district and occasionally state level. Those are boys' football, weightlifting, and golf and girls' volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball, cross country, track and field, swimming and diving, and tennis.
  • PHS also currently features two strong academic extracurricular activities which have enjoyed great success on the county/northwest Florida/state level:
  • The academic team (quiz bowl) has had the longest win streak in the Cox Academic Tournament and has in recent years taken most or all of the spots on the county all-star academic team. The team frequently competes on the state and national level, with both the team and individual team members placing highly.
  • Mu Alpha Theta (Math Team) which attends three regional competitions and the Milton math competition. The Pensacola High School math team consistently has individuals placing in the top ten and teams placing in the top five. It usually also places in the sweepstakes division.
  • PHS Football team has the distinction of being the OLDEST Football Program in the state: pro, college or high school. 1st game played in 1905.
  • There are also band and cheerleading programs as well as an active Student Government Association. Although the school's newspaper, the Prowler, has not been active for several years, this publication will be up and running as of the 2008-2009 school year.
  • Notable alumni
  • Reubin O'Donovan Askew (Class of 1946) - Former Governor of Florida
  • Fred Levin (Class of 1954) - Famed civil trial lawyer for whom the Law School at the University of Florida is named as well as sometime lawyer and adviser to boxer Roy Jones Jr.
  • Neal Boortz (Class of 1963) - Libertarian talk-show host
  • Adam McCloskey - The Current Sports Talk Radio host at WTKE-FM and Deadspin; also a recognized blogger
  • Michelle Snow (Class of 1998) - WNBA basketball player and former University of Tennessee standout
  • Hunter Scott (Class of 2003) - History activist
  • William Freeman
  • External links
  • Pensacola High School website
  • Escambia School District
  • Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
  • Add/edit information about this school (e.g., awards, news stories, notable alumni, fun facts)
 
School Zip Code:
About This Zip Code (32501)
School Zip (32501)
(FL) State Average
Population (Approximate) 16,154 people 15,366,089 people
% (age 25+) w/College Degree 24% 27%
Population Average Age 38 years old 37 years old
Average Household size 2.2 persons 2.3 persons
Median Household Income $22,351 $38,396
Avg. # of Rooms in Household 5 rooms 5.0 rooms
Median Age of Housing Structure 59 years old 32 years old
View Current Housing Listings View current housing listings in this area
Median Value of Housing Unit
Zipcode (32501)


Zillow Median Value of Housing Unit
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Zillow Median Value of Housing Unit
% Owning / % Renting 53% / 47% 67% / 33%
School Map:
1. Lakeview Special Education - 43 students - 0.5 mi. away - view location
2. Lakeview Dropout Prevention - 13 students - 0.5 mi. away - view location
3. A. A. Dixon Elementary School (inact - n/a - 0.8 mi. away - view location
4. Gulf Coast High School (formerly Ac - 97 students - 0.8 mi. away - view location
5. Dixon Center - 172 students - 0.8 mi. away - view location
View all schools in: Pensacola, Escambia County, Zip 32501 
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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects 2006 statistics (most recent year available).

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