- Nathan Bedford Forrest High School (Jacksonville, Florida)
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Nathan Bedford Forrest High School 
Nathan B. Forrest Coat of Arms
Motto "Exceeding expectations" Established 1959 Type Public school Principal Dr. Alvin Brennan Admin. staff 100 Students 1,800 Location Jacksonville, Florida, USA Colors Gray Black and Red Nickname Forrest Mascot Rebels Website [1] Nathan Bedford Forrest High School is a public high school in the Duval County School District located on the Westside of Jacksonville, Florida. Forrest opened in 1959 in Jacksonville's Wesconnett neighborhood, at the site of present-day J. E. B. Stuart Middle School. Forrest moved to its current location on Firestone Road in 1966. The facility on Firestone Road was a duplicate of the design used for Samuel W. Wolfson High School, the work of Jacksonville architect Taylor Hardwick. The school is named for the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Contents
Namesake
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and later became and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.[1] As of 2011, it is only one of two high schools named after Forrest; the other is located in his hometown of Chapel Hill, Tennessee. Prior to the school's opening in 1959, many Jacksonville organizations suggested names for the new school, to be voted on at a school board meeting. After many ballots, "Nathan Bedford Forrest High School," suggested by the Daughters of the Confederacy, won.[2]
History
From its opening in 1959 Forrest High School remained an all-white school until the fall of 1966, when a small and carefully selected number of African-American students were allowed to enroll. Beginning in 1971, mandatory integration of Duval County Schools by federal district court order introduced a more diverse population, based on geographic attendance districts. Currently, over 1800 students attend Forrest, 54% of whom are African-American.
In November 2006, the latest in a long line of petitions to change the name of the high school was submitted to the Duval County School Board. Some students from the Florida Community College at Jacksonville wanted to have the school renamed in honor of Eartha M. M. White, a Jacksonville native and philanthropist, due to Forrest's connection with the Klan.[3] In November 2008, the Duval County School Board voted 5-2 to keep the name the same.[4]
Feeder schools
- J.E.B. Stuart Middle School
- Cedar Hills
- Sadie Tillis
- Stonewall Jackson
- Timucuan
- Wesconnet
- Jefferson Davis Middle School
- Cedar Hills
- Chimney Lakes
- Enterprise
- Gregory Drive
- Hyde Grove
- Jacksonville Heights
- Normandy Village
- Sadie Tillis
- Oak Hill
- Wesconnett
Academics
The school currently has a pending grade. The results of the school grade will be known in November, 2010. In 2009 the school earned a "D" grade. The school earned an "F" the two years before. But as of now (2010) the school is known to be "exceeding expectations" as their motto states. [5]
Athletics
Like typical American high schools, Forrest fields sports teams in football, baseball, swimming, basketball, volleyball soccer and wrestling, among others. The wrestling program is almost certainly the most successful sports program at the school, having won the Gateway Conference championship in 2008 for the 20th time over all. The school mascot is the Confederate Rebel, modeled in appearance after Colonel Reb, the former mascot of the University of Mississippi.
Their most famous athletic alumni is basketball guard/forward Otis Smith, who played at Jacksonville University after graduating from Forrest in 1982, then went on to play for the NBA Denver Nuggets for two seasons, Golden State Warriors for the 1987-88 season, then three seasons with the Orlando Magic. He retired as a player in 1992 and is now the current general manager of the Orlando Magic.
The school also has a large AFJROTC program, including three unarmed drill teams, a sabre guard, an armed drill team, and a color guard.
The school has an outdoor pool which is used by the athletic teams and physical education classes during the academic year; then it becomes a free public pool operated by the City of Jacksonville Parks & Recreation Department during the summer months.
Notable alumni
- Gene Deckerhoff - Radio play-by-play announcer of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and broadcaster of Florida State Seminoles athletics.
- Otis Smith - Former Jacksonville University standout, retired American professional basketball player and current general manager of the NBA's Orlando Magic.
- Scott Speicher - United States Navy pilot who was killed when his F/A-18 Hornet fighter was shot down over Iraq on January 17, 1991, the first night of Operation Desert Storm.
- John_Rutherford_(sheriff) - Jacksonville_Sheriff's_Office
- Allen Collins - Musician - Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Bob Burns - Musician - Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Don Barnes - Musician - 38 Special
- Brandon Hicks - Former student at University of Florida who now plays professional football for the NFL's Buffalo Bills
- Dave Lubec - Muscian - Molly Hatchet (band)
- Jeff Carlisi - Muscian - 38 Special
References
- ^ The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. Jim Crow Stories . Ku Klux Klan | PBS
- ^ New Page 1
- ^ Students Propose Renaming Westside H.S. - Print This Story News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
- ^ Florida board keeps Klan leader's name at high school
- ^ "School Demographic, Assessment, and Accountability Data". Duval County Public Schools. http://www.duvalschools.org/reseval/Schools/SchoolResearchData.asp?School=241. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
External links
Duval County Public Schools High Schools Douglas Anderson • Atlantic Coast • Baldwin • Darnell Cookman • Englewood • First Coast • Fletcher • Forrest • Jackson • Lee • Mandarin • Terry Parker • Paxon • Peterson • Raines • Randolph • Ribault • Sandalwood • Stanton • Ed White • WolfsonMiddle Schools Arlington • Baldwin • Eugene Butler • Darnell-Cookman • Jefferson Davis • Alfred I. duPont • Duncan Fletcher • John E. Ford • Fort Caroline • Matthew Gilbert • Highlands • James Weldon Johnson • Kernan • Kirby-Smith • Lake Shore • Landmark • Julia Landon College Prep • LaVilla School of the Arts • Mandarin • Mayport • Northwestern • Oceanway • Paxon • Jean Ribault • Southside • Joseph Stilwell • J.E.B. Stuart • Twin Lakes AcademyElementary Schools Abess Park • Alimacani • Arlington • Arlington Heights • Atlantic Beach • J. Allen Axson • Bank of America Learning Academy • Bartram Springs • Bayview • Beauclerc • Biltmore • Biscayne • Brentwood • Don Brewer • Brookview • Richard L. Brown • George W. Carver • Cedar Hills • Central Riverside • Chaffee Trail • Chets Creek • Chimney Lakes • Crown Point • Crystal Springs • Lola M. Culver • R. V. Daniels • Dinsmore • Englewood • Enterprise Learning Academy • Saint Clair Evans Academy • Joseph Finegan • Fishweir • John E. Ford • Fort Caroline • Garden City • Greenfield • Greenland Pines • Gregory Drive • Hendricks Avenue • Highlands • Hogan-Spring Glen • Holiday Hill • Samuel A. Hull • Hyde Grove • Hyde Park • Stonewall Jackson • Jacksonville Beach • Jacksonville Heights • Thomas Jefferson • Mamie Agnes Jones • Justina Road • Kernan Trail • Martin Luther King • Kings Trail • Henry F. Kite • Lake Forest • Lake Lucina • S. P. Livingston • Lone Star • Long Branch • Loretto • Love Grove • John Love • Mandarin Oaks • Sallye B. Mathis • Mayport • Merrill Road • Annie R. Morgan • Neptune Beach • New Berlin • Normandy Village • North Shore • Norwood • Oak Hill • Oceanway • Ortega • Parkwood Heights • Rufus E. Payne • Rutledge H. Pearson • Pickett • Pine Estates • Pine Forest • Pinedale • Ramona Boulevard • Reynolds Lane • Andrew A. Robinson • Sabal Palm • San Jose • San Mateo • San Pablo • Seabreeze • Louis Sheffield • Southside Estates • Spring Park • John N. C. Stockton • Sadie T. Tillis • Timucuan • Susie E. Tolbert • Twin Lakes Academy • Ruth N. Upson • Venetia • Wesconnett • West Jacksonville • West Riverside • Whitehouse • Windy Hill • Woodland Acres • Carter G. WoodsonAlternative Schools Grand Park Center • Marine Science Education Center • Mattie V. Rutherford Alternative Education CenterExceptional Student Centers Alden Road Exceptional Student Center • Mt. Herman Exceptional Student Center •
Palm Avenue Exceptional Student CenterCharter Schools Global Outreach Charter Academy • School of Integrated Academics Tech • SOS Academy - Middle • SOS Academy - High •
Wayman Academy of the Arts • Pathways Academy • River City Science AcademyCoordinates: 30°14′47″N 81°45′57″W / 30.246475°N 81.765713°W
Categories:- Educational institutions established in 1959
- High schools in Jacksonville, Florida
- Taylor Hardwick buildings
- Duval County Public Schools
- J.E.B. Stuart Middle School
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