William M. Raines High School
Encyclopedia
William Marion Raines Senior High School is a historically black high school in Jacksonville, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. The school is located off Moncrief Road in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

's northside. Located at the corner Raines Avenue in northwest Jacksonville, Raines serves approximately 1000 students. The school is 97 percent African-American, 1 percent Hispanic, 1 percent Mixed & 1 percent Caucasian. The campus was improved in 1990 & 2002 to include a new science wing, field house and administrative wing.

The historic institution was named for Professor William Marion Raines, a prominent educator in Jacksonville.

History

In 1964, with an increase in Jacksonville's African American population, Duval County School Board decided to send African American students to Jean Ribault High School, but the all-white faculty and students rejected the idea. The school board then decided to build a new facility, costing 2 million dollars. School No. 165 opened its doors at 3663 Clarkson Avenue on January 25, 1965. At the end of the 1965 spring semester the school was renamed William Marion Raines Senior High School. Raines remained an all-African American school until the Mims vs The Duval County Schools decision in 1971.

Raines was originally accredited in 1968, the first school in Duval County to achieve accreditation.

Raines has been under the leadership of 10 principals: Dr. Andrew A. Robinson (1965–1969), Dr. Ezekial W. Bryant (1969–1972), Kernaa McFarlin (1972–1978), Ike James (1978–1979), Jimmie Johnson (longest serving principal 1979-1995), Dr. Milton H. Threadcraft (1995–1997), Dr. Roy I. Mitchell (1997–2002), Carol H. Daniels (2002–2006) and Nongongoma Majova-Seane (2006–2009). George E. Maxey is the 10th and current principal, since 2009.

Raines became the county’s Science, Math and Engineering Magnet School in 1990. This new focus supported by the addition of the Andrew A. Robinson Science wing in that same year. Raines received its first ninth grade students as a part of the magnet program and additional personnel and programs have been added to help these students make the adjustment to high school.

Improvement

Raines was one of 11 schools nation-wide selected by the College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...

 for inclusion in the EXCELerator
EXCELerator
' is a school improvement model developed with the College Board. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation agreed to fund a five-year pilot project with a $16 million grant...

 School Improvement Model program beginning the 2006–2007 school year. The project was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. It is "driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family"...

. Principal George E. Maxey implemented several initiatives in the 2009-2010 school year to improve the school: after school tutoring, Saturday school, gender based courses & strict dress code policies. The result of those additions saw the schools grade improve. William M. Raines High School's grade improved to a "D" when the state released the school grades in October 2010. Alumnus Brian Dawkins
Brian Dawkins
Brian Patrick Dawkins is an American football safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft...

donated $100,000 to refurbish the weight room and other areas of the schools field house, which afterward was named for him.

External links

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