Edward H. White High School
| Edward H. White Military Academy of Leadership | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | |
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Jacksonville, Florida USA |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Motto | "To Boldy Go Where Ed White Has Never Gone Before." |
| Established | 1971 |
| Principal | Mr. Jason Bloom |
| Campus | Urban |
| Color(s) | Green & Gold |
| Mascot | Commanders |
| Rivals |
Robert E. Lee High School Nathan Bedford Forrest High School |
| Website | edwhite.duvalschools.org |
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. 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.
Upon 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.
When first built, there was no bell rung between classes; instead, music was played for 5 minutes between classes. All students had to be in their next class when the music ended. The music itself came from an 8-Track player that was hooked into the school intercom system in the front office. The school had classrooms that were opened out to each other consisting of four mods containing 8 classrooms called pods. There was a divider but the pods were opened out to each other. The scheduling was modular as well - 20 minutes segments called "mods" 16 a day allowing for a different schedule each day, so that a student didn't have each subject the same time each day. The modular scheduling system ended in 1985. The cafeteria was called the "Satellite Café" and was next to a courtyard. Students could use the cafeteria as an area to hang out with their friends or study even when lunch wasn't being served. The library called the Media Center ( a new concept in those heady days of the early 70s) was opened and you could walk through it on your way to class. The "Senior Class" held weekly surveys to decide what music would be played. Some of the bathrooms were fully carpeted. The gymnasium had a state-of-the-art "rubber" floor for basketball, and the cafeteria served milkshakes. All of these features were later changed or removed.
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