Gainesville High School

Description

Gainesville High School is a high school in Gainesville, Florida, USA.The first public high school in Gainesville was established in 1905 in what is now known as the Kirby Smith Building on East University Avenue. The school consisted of grades 9-12 and was known generally as the "Gainesville graded high school." Today the high school is operated by the Alachua County School District.The current principal is David Shelnutt, who joined the GHS staff in December 2011. Shelnutt graduated from the University of Florida, earning a bachelor's degree in History, a master's degree in Social Studies Education, and a Specialist degree in Educational Leadership.In 2006, Gainesville High School was re-accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.HistoryConstructionThe construction for the first school to be explicitly known as Gainesville High School was completed in 1922 near the intersection of SW 7th Street and West University Avenue. The school lasted at this location for over thirty years with Rhodes Scholar Principal F.W. Buchholz at the helm for almost all of this period. With the construction of the present campus at 1900 NW 13th Street in 1955, the former high school building served as Buchholz Junior High School until its roof collapsed in the mid-1960s.From 1900 until 1970 Gainesville High School was the main public high school serving the city of Gainesville, in addition to the segregated Lincoln High School. However, because of large growth in the city throughout the 60s, the capacity of GHS became strained, forcing the district to plan for a new high school. Because of the complications surrounding integration in the 1969-1970 school year, Lincoln High School was closed midyear and the student body was reassigned to GHS (on double sessions) while two new high schools were constructed and phased in beginning with the 1970-1971 school year. These two schools, F.W. Buchholz and Eastside, continue to be arch-rivals of Gainesville High to this day.