Dixie M. Hollins High School

Dixie M. Hollins High School is a public secondary school located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school was opened in 1959 as a vocational school for grades 10-12, but in the present day, it also offers 9th grade education. The current population of the school is just under 1,800 students.

Its graphic arts program, dubbed the Academy of Entertainment Arts, is designated as a center of excellence.[1] Dixie Hollins also offers a program in the culinary arts, which is also designated as a center of excellence.[2] The school also offers Cambridge/AICE curriculum, as well as an army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

History

Opening in 1959, Dixie Hollins High School was named after the first superintendent of Pinellas County's school district, the district in which the school is located.

In 1971, the school became national news when the campus became embroiled in a community protest against racial integration through forced busing.[3] The unrest had been building for several weeks.[4] When the school decided to ban the use of the Confederate flag, community groups began picketing the school. The unrest broke out into violence on October 12, 1971. When Florida schools mandated kindergarten, Dixie Hollins High School incorporated 9th grade into its curriculum. The school underwent extensive renovations in 1992-1996, adding a two-story science wing, a new media center and cafeteria, an art building, a music building, and upgrading the existing classrooms, the gymnasium, and the vocational wing.

Controversy arose in January 2015, when a 15-year-old female student informed authorities that she had been sexually assaulted by two students, supposedly members of the school's football team, whom she did not know. On January 13, detectives spoke with the suspects, whose names were not released; they were charged with sexual battery and were taken to the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center.[5]

The school's sports rival is Pinellas Park High School.

Academy of Entertainment Arts

In the early 2000s, Dixie Hollins High School opened its Graphic Arts Academy, offering strands in visual arts such as graphic design and filmmaking. It has since been renamed as the Academy of Entertainment Arts, and its courses are taught by Ronald Flowers Jr. (video game design), Kristen Pineda (photography), Michael Pineda (film and visual effects), and Nicholas Stefanic (music technology).[6] Don Compton taught commercial art prior to his departure from the school in early 2016; he is currently employed at St. Petersburg College.

The film course teaches techniques such as lighting, storyboarding, and using Adobe Premiere Pro as an editing tool. Films with an MPAA rating of G or PG are viewed and analysed throughout the school year.

An exclusive class is offered known as The Agency, taught by Michael Pineda; students enrolled in the class must be invited specifically by the teachers. The class involves creating advertising projects for clientele both within the school and from outside businesses. Students in the Academy of Entertainment Arts have the ability to participate in the 48 Hour Film Project contest, wherein filmmakers have two days to create a short film within certain parameters. Students in the program have earned many awards over the years, including over fifty various Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.[7]

Clubs

The school offers various clubs for students to join, including a FIRST Robotics Competition team,[8] a recycling club, a multicultural club, a gay–straight alliance group, a debate club, an anime-cosplay club, and an academic team.

In the 2015-2016 school year, an after-school film club was formed for the purpose of watching films that may be rated PG-13 or R; this acts as a sort of extension of the film class curriculum and requires parental permission for the films with harsher ratings. Some of the films that have been viewed by the club include Back to the Future (1985), Jurassic World (2015), and Fight Club (1999).

List of principals

The following is a list of people who have served as principals of Dixie M. Hollins High School:[9]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Graphics Art Academy at Dixie Hollins High School". Dixie-hs.pinellas.k12.fl.us. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  2. ↑ "Dixie's Culinary Arts". Dixie-hs.pinellas.k12.fl.us. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  3. ↑ Duryea, Bill (September 19, 1999). "The rage of a young white rebel". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  4. ↑ "Mangin Bans Rebel Flag At Hollins". St. Petersburg Times. 1971-09-25. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  5. ↑ 10 News Staff (15 January 2015). "Two teens held in sexual attack at Dixie Hollins". 10 News. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "The Academy for Entertainment Arts". Dixie Hollins High. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "The Academy of Entertainment Arts Student Awards". Dixie Hollins High. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "Team 4769 - Nerdvana". The Blue Alliance. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  9. ↑ "Our Dixie Hollins Principals' Yearbook". Dixie M. Hollins High School. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  10. ↑ "A Few Just the Ten of Us Articles From St. Petersburg Times". Sitcomsonline.com. 2008-02-18. Retrieved 2014-03-23.

External links

Coordinates: 27°48′58″N 82°43′15″W / 27.81617°N 82.72097°W / 27.81617; -82.72097

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