Edward H. White High School is a public high school operated by the Duval County Public Schools. It is located on Jacksonville's Westside. It is almost exclusively referred to by Jacksonville denizens as "Ed White High School," not "White High School".In 2016, the school converted to a dedicated magnet with a military theme and program. The school is now known as Edward H. White Military Academy of Leadership (EWMAL).Edward H. WhiteEdward H. White High School was named in honor of Edward Higgins White, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, NASA Astronaut, and first American to conduct a spacewalk. He was killed during a pre-launch test aboard Apollo 1 on January 27, 1967 along with fellow astronauts “Gus" Grissom and Roger Chaffee.Early yearsUpon opening in 1971, Ed White took overflow students from Forrest High School and Paxon High School, also on the west side. Like all high schools in Duval county, it served students in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. In 1991 the Duval County School Board implemented a change in grade distribution that affected nearly all schools in the county. 9th graders, who had previously attended "junior high schools," were switched to traditional high schools, matching the four-year pattern found in the vast majority of high schools in the United States. Since August 1991, Ed White has been one of these four year high schools, serving 9th through 12th grades.
