Jones High School is located in the Parramore/Lorna Doone neighborhood in the urban heart of

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

at 801 S. Rio Grande Avenue. It is a public school in the Orange County School District. The school mascot is the Tiger and the colors are orange and green. In May 2008, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' named Jones to its annual America's Top Public High Schools list.

History

The first public school for African Americans in Orlando was formed in 1895 and housed in a building on the corner of Garland Avenue and Church Street. The school was renamed Johnson Academy for principal Lymus Johnson and moved to a new building on the corner of Parramore Avenue and Jefferson Street. In 1921, a brick

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

building was constructed on the corner of Parramore Avenue and Washington Street at a cost of $34,000. In 1931 the school's first 12th grade class graduated. The school was renamed for the final time in honor of L. C. Jones, a longtime school principal and donor of the property. It was a member of the

Florida Interscholastic Athletic Association The Florida Interscholastic Athletics Association was, during segregation, the organization of the athletic programs black high schools in Florida. It divided schools into classes to match teams from similar schools, and set up game schedules. It ex ...

. In 1952, the school moved west of downtown to its current location on Rio Grande Avenue. In 1988, as part of a schoolwide project, Jones entered the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for creating the World's Largest Box of Popcorn. Aided by a propane-powered air popper designed by engineering students from the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

, Jones students popped of popcorn. Orville Redenbacher, whose company donated the unpopped corn, mentioned the feat during a broadcast of the now-defunct Pat Sajak Show. A new campus consisting of a two-story academic building, separate buildings for science, technology, and music, an administrative building, cafeteria, gymnasium, media center, and dedicated historical museum was constructed during the period 2001–2004. During construction, students attended classes in portables across the street from the campus. The new campus was opened for the start of the 2004–2005 school year.

Academics

Jones High School is an

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

World School, offering the Diploma Programme for juniors and seniors and the Middle Years Programme for freshmen and sophomores in articulation with Memorial Middle School. Jones High students may also enroll in its Medical Arts Magnet Program or in an advanced studies program of multiple

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...

(AP) courses. AP Courses offered include Art History, Biology, Calculus (AB), Chemistry, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, European History, French Language, Human Geography, Music Theory, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Psychology, Spanish Language, Statistics, Studio Art, United States Government and Politics, United States History, and World History. Selected students who show academic promise who are also among the first in their families to go to college are invited to participate in the Advancement Via Individual Determination ( AVID) Program.

Extracurriculars

The Marching Tiger Band is well known throughout the Central Florida area. They marched in the 1976

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

Parade in Washington, DC, 2003

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

, prior to Macy's they also marched at the 2002 Boscov's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia. The band also performed at

WrestleMania XXIV WrestleMania XXIV was a 2008 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 24th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 30, 2008, at the Camping Wo ...

, playing

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's entrance theme music "The Time Is Now". In 2016 the Marching Band performed in a parade in Washington DC, and were told that they could participate any year that they wanted to . In 2018 the Wind ensemble and the choir went to New York and performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

and received a standing ovation there told that they were welcomed back at any time.

Athletics

Jones High's varsity sports teams include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, flag football (girls), football, golf, soccer, softball, track and field, volleyball, wrestling, and weightlifting. The Jones High boys basketball team won the Florida 3A state championship in 2006 under Coach Jerry Howard. The girls basketball team has won two Florida state championships, in 2004 under Coach Jimmy Mincy, and in 1997 under Coach Kelvin Harris.

Notable alumni

Evan Anderson Evan Anderson (born February 14, 2002) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Atlantic Owls. College career During And ...

, NFL player * Sevyn Banks, former

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

and

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

cornerback * David L. Brewer III, former Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District *

Ernie Calloway Ernest Henry Calloway (January 1, 1948 – November 29, 2023) was an American professional football player who was a defensive lineman for four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footbal ...

, NFL player * Jerry Demings, Mayor, Orange County; Former Chief Of Police; City Of Orlando, Former Sheriff; Orange County, *

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, former National Muslim Chaplain for the United States Bureau of Prisons * Sylvester James Gates, PhD, noted theoretical physicist * Jaye Howard, NFL player * Benny Johnson, NFL player * Kerby Joseph, NFL player * Kevin Lewis, former

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

* Bernard Morris, former

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

quarterback * Nate Newton, former pro football player * Tim Newton, former pro football player * Ernest Page, former mayor of Orlando * Belvin Perry, Chief Judge, Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida (Orange/Osceola) * Eric Powell, NFL player *

Phillip Riley Phillip Shayon Riley (born September 24, 1972) is an American former professional football wide receiver, who played in one game for the New York Jets in 1996. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 1996 NFL draft. ...

, former NFL player * Vince Sanders, Chicago radio personality; former V.P. National Black Network; co-founder NABJ *

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. In a film career spanning more than thirty years, Snipes has appeared in a variety of genres, such as numerous thrillers, dramatic feature films, and comedies, th ...

, film actor *

Max Starks Maximillian Weisner Starks IV (born January 10, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football player who was an offensive tackle for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Flo ...

, former pro football player * Kermit Whitfield, NFL football player, Cincinnati Bengals, 2014 Florida State University national championship team * Jarvis Williams, football player *

Leroy Williams Leroy Williams (February 3, 1937 – June 1, 2022) was an American drummer, mostly known for his work in jazz. Williams first began playing drums as a teenager in the 1950s. From 1959 to the middle of the 1960s he played with singer Judy Roberts ...

, baseball player *

Shavonte Zellous Shavonte Zellous (born August 28, 1986) is an American-Croatian professional basketball player who plays for ESB Villeneuve-d'Ascq of the Ligue Féminine de Basketball. She was a standout basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh. Zello ...

, 2009 WNBA All-Rookie Team,

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. Th ...

Sources

*http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/fl/2096 *https://web.archive.org/web/20081201142545/http://www.cfhf.net/orlando/1921.htm

External links

FCAT FailureEffort to ReformMarching Tiger Band WebsiteJones High School Alumni Social Network donated by Grace Jordan.com

Notes

{{Orange County, Florida Schools Orange County Public Schools High schools in Orange County, Florida Schools in Orlando, Florida Public high schools in Florida Historically segregated African-American schools in Florida 1895 establishments in Florida Educational institutions established in 1895