Mulberry High School (Florida) Explained

Mulberry High School
Motto:Where today meets tomorrow's goals
Established:1914
Type:Public
Staff:62.00 (FTE)
Ratio:21.21
Principal:Michael Young
Enrollment:1,315 (2022-23)[1]
City:Mulberry
State:Florida
Country:United States
Colors: blue
white[2]
Mascot:Panther
District:Polk County Public Schools
Location:One Panther Place
(Northeast Fourth Circle)
Mulberry, FL 33860
Pushpin Map:Florida#USA
Information:+1-863-701-1104

Mulberry High School (also referred to as Mulberry Senior High School) is a four-year public high school located in Mulberry, Florida, serving the city and surrounding areas.

History

Mulberry's then-only public school began high school classes in 1907. In 1909 the first high school building was opened, which later became the elementary school. In 1914, a second high school was constructed; it was a two-story brick building with six classrooms and an auditorium, costing approximately $12,500.[3]

In 1921, the first edition of the MHS yearbook was published, titled The Mulberry Tree in honor of the city's famed mulberry tree.

In 1922, land was donated for the construction of a new high school, on the east side of what is now Northeast First Avenue; construction was completed in 1924. Also in 1924, MHS began inter-school football play.

During the Great Depression, many schools cut their terms or lost their accreditation, and the state of Florida ran out of money, but MHS was able to stay open and retain accreditation thanks to taxes paid by area phosphate firms.[3]

In 1955, the current school was constructed on 65acres of land given by Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corporation and International Minerals and Chemical Corporation;[4] the old high school was converted to an elementary school, Purcell.[5]

In summer of 2020 ground was broken on the baseball field to begin construction on a brand new 3-floor high school done in the architectural style known as International. The new school will feature state of the art computer labs, collaboration areas with alternative seating, a 3-bay automotive garage, a robotics lab, an engineering lab, a new gymnasium, a courtyard, and new security features. It is set to be completed by December of 2021.

Notable alumni

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MULBERRY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL. National Center for Education Statistics. August 9, 2024.
  2. Web site: General Info . Mulberry High School . January 15, 2019.
  3. Fisher, James Arthur Fisher . The History of Mulberry and Frontier Florida: A Model for the Teaching of Local History . 1974 . Xerox University Microfilms.
  4. Book: Huddle , James A. . Controlled Modular Scheduling with Complete Flexibility . Polk County Schools . Bartow, Florida . 1970.
  5. Purcell Elementary School . School Improvement Plan . 2006-09-07.
  6. Web site: 1985 Polk County Schools Hall of Fame Inductees . 2006-08-10 . School Board of Polk County, Florida, Department of Community Relations.
  7. Web site: Biographies . 2006-08-10 . Scalable Computing Laboratory (Iowa State University and United States Department of Energy) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060813184436/http://www.scl.ameslab.gov/ABC/Biographies.html . 2006-08-13 .
  8. News: The Way It Was . . 2005-10-15 . 2006-09-07.
  9. http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=DODGEDED01 Dedrick Dodge
  10. Web site: Valerino. Lorraine. Bubba Smith roasted and toasted. Lakeland Ledger. 2014-04-04. 1986-05-18.
  11. Web site: Polk Celebrities . 2006-08-10 . 2006-03-20 . The Ledger.
  12. Web site: Man in Arizona Slayings Was Violent Polk Teen . Elvia Malagon . . May 8, 2012 . November 12, 2012.