Gadsden County High School, known as East Gadsden High School (EGHS) until 2016, was a public high school in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Gadsden County, Florida Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its county seat is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ga ...

, operated by

Gadsden County School District Gadsden County School District (GCPS), or Gadsden County Schools (GCS), or Gadsden County Public Schools (GCPS), is a school district headquartered in the Max D. Walker School Administration Building in Quincy, Florida. It serves Gadsden County as ...

. It is between

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

and Quincy, and it has a "Havana, Florida" postal address. Starting in fall 2017 it is the zoned high school of all of Gadsden County. It closed in 2018 and was succeeded by Gadsden County High School with a student body 70 percent African American and about 25 percent Hispanic. it has approximately 961 students.About the School
" East Gadsden High School. Retrieved on April 5, 2017. The school colors are: North Carolina blue, navy blue, maroon, black, and silver. The school mascot is the Jaguar.

History

It was formed from the combination of Havana Northside High School in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

and James A. Shanks High School in Quincy. Both schools were formerly athletic rivals and represented their respective towns. Gerald Ensley of the ''

Tallahassee Democrat The ''Tallahassee Democrat'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper. It covers the area centered on Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida, as well as adjacent Gadsden County, Jefferson County, and Wakulla County. The newspaper is owned by Gannett Co., ...

'' wrote that "It is also a symbolic merger of he two communities which is eliciting concern as well as optimism."Ensley, Gerald. ''

''. "NEW SCHOOL IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN: EAST GADSDEN HIGH TO DEBUT NEXT MONTH." July 24, 2003: p. A1. Retrieved on August 15, 2017.

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...

document ID 1002686756. Upon its opening it was to serve Midway in addition to Quincy and Havana.Smith, Aetna. "'THEY'RE ALL JAGUARS' NOW: RIVAL SCHOOLS SHANKS, NORTHSIDE COMBINE." ''

''. September 15, 2003. p. B1.

document ID 1002667386. A committee of 26 students nominated proposals for various details, including the school's official mascot, emblem, colors, and flower, as well as the contents of the student handbook, that were voted upon by students at two middle schools and the two high schools that merged into East Gadsden High. A

Florida Department of Education The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) is the state education agency of Florida. It governs public education and manages funding and testing for local educational agencies (school boards). It is headquartered in the Turlington Building (na ...

program for rural schools funded the construction, which began in March 2002. The total cost was $29.6 million. Ajax Building Corporation built the school. The school was established on July 30, 2003, and opened on August 11 of that year, with at least 130 employees and 1,200 students. The mascot of East Gadsden High was the jaguar, the flower was the ''Rosa'' 'American Beauty' rose, and a lighted torch was the school emblem. There were three school colors: Carolina blue, silver, and light. The motto was "Lighting the path to excellence." The opening ceremony featured

Al Lawson Alfred James Lawson Jr. (born September 23, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who was the U.S. representative for Florida's 5th congressional district from 2017 to 2023. The district, which was eliminated following redistricting du ...

, a member of the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

from Tallahassee. Immediately after the school's opening the administration made efforts to improve FCAT scores, including partnerships among teachers of separate subject areas and intensive mathematics classes; its two predecessor schools had previously scored poorly on the FCAT. Joey Striplin, previously the head American football coach at

West Gadsden High School West Gadsden High School was a public secondary school in unincorporated Gadsden County, Florida, operated by Gadsden County School District. It is adjacent to the city of Greensboro,West Gadsden High School West Gadsden High School was a public secondary school in unincorporated Gadsden County, Florida, operated by Gadsden County School District. It is adjacent to the city of Greensboro,Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

and east of Quincy, along

U.S. Highway 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-lived ...

. One ''Tallahassee Democrat'' article stated the complex was on a plot of land, and another stated it was . Its capacity is for 1,200 students. The complex houses eight academic buildings, all blue-trimmed and in brick. It also has a gymnasium with a 2,500 seats for spectators, and a grassed area. The academic complex has a hallway the length of a football field. The gymnasium houses a dance studio, a wrestling room, a weight room, and a treatment clinic. Food is served in a combined cafeteria and performance stage; there are five serving lines. The ROTC complex includes a firing range. There is also a television studio.

Athletics

Brian Miller of the ''

'' stated that the 2000s high school mergers damaged the school athletic spirit in the county as the former school identities were discarded. A school football coach quoted in a ''

'' article, Abdual Howard, stated that at East Gadsden the school colors and sports regalia had a lack of history and needed time to get more spirit behind them.

References

External links

Gadsden County High School
{{authority control 2003 establishments in Florida Educational institutions established in 2003 Public high schools in Gadsden County, Florida