ST. PETERSBURG \u2014 1926 was a banner year for the United States, which marked the country\u2019s sesquicentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Ford Motor Co. released its Model T roadster and was also one of the first companies to implement the 40-hour week for its factory workers. Norma Jeane Mortenson, better known as Marilyn Monroe, was born, and Ernest Hemingway published his debut novel, \u201cThe Sun Also Rises.\u201d<\/p>\n
The year also marked the groundbreaking of Southside Junior High School in south St. Petersburg. And 100 years and a few name changes later, the school remains a testament to the community and its dedication to educational excellence. <\/p>\n
To honor the centennial, Pinellas County Schools hosted a celebration June 4 at Midtown Academy Center for Cultural Arts, Gifted Studies, and Literacy Innovation, which now calls the former junior high facility home.<\/p>\n
On June 3, administrators, volunteers, city officials and a former teacher gathered to both reminisce about the school\u2019s storied past, and to look to the future for one of the community\u2019s brightest hidden gems. <\/p>\n
Among those attending was St. Petersburg City Council member \u2014 and a former Southside student \u2014 Corey Givens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis school is just as important today as it was a century ago,\u201d he said. \u201cThe magic that takes place here is incredible. It\u2019s more than just a school, it\u2019s a family, and I\u2019m so happy that this institutional legacy has continued for 100 years, whether it\u2019s specialized programs or it\u2019s amazing teachers and staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they\u2019re creating is a future for students, you know, and in this future is beyond anything that you could ever imagine based on the environment,\u201d Givens continued. \u201cIt is the school that makes the magic happen, and I think it\u2019s just wonderful what takes place here.\u201d<\/p>\n
How it began<\/p>\n
Construction began on what would later become Southside Junior High School at 1701 10th St. S. in the summer of 1926. Designed by noted architect Henry L. Taylor, the building boasted Romanesque Revival brick work, and integrated cutting-edge features, including a state-of-the-art science lab and a professional stage with an auditorium that could seat 600. <\/p>\n
Taylor, originally from Massachusetts, left his mark on the city, having designed some of its most notable buildings, including the Vinoy Hotel, Jungle Prada, St. Joseph\u2019s Church, St. Mary\u2019s Church, and Comfort Station No. 1 at the St. Pete Pier.<\/p>\n
Southside Junior High School opened its doors on Sept. 19, 1927, to 600 students and 15 teachers, and quickly cemented itself as an academic powerhouse. Over the next few decades, the school helped Pinellas County Schools earn a national \u201cBlue Ribbon\u201d designation, the first of its kind in the state.<\/p>\n
A school by any other name<\/p>\n
In 1973, changing enrollment needs led to the quiet shuttering of the school, only for it to later reopen as Southside Alternative School, which focused on students with behavioral challenges. <\/p>\n
The school would get yet another name in the 1980s when the district reimagined it as Southside Fundamental Middle School, where, by the early 2000s, it would cultivate a reputation as one of the best schools, not only in the county, but in the state, consistently earning an \u201cA\u201d rating. <\/p>\n
In 2008, the school board voted to yet again close the school, citing budget and enrollment concerns. The building briefly housed a charter school from 2013-2016, before it, too, closed.<\/p>\n
But, in 2018, the building saw new life and new students when it was christened Midtown Academy: Center for Cultural Arts and Gifted Studies. Three years later, the district made it the home of one of two Centers for Literacy Innovation, which helps students who struggle with dyslexia.<\/p>\n
When Keila Victor was named principal at Midtown in 2019, she already knew the ropes, having served as assistant principal at Southside Fundamental since 2008. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have a lot of pride in this school,\u201d Victor said. \u201cWe meet the needs of a lot of learners right here in one building. We are a Magnet School of Excellence, and that\u2019s why we go through a rigorous program with the Magnet Schools of America to talk about all of the wonderful attributes of the school. And so this school has rich history, and at Southside Fundamental, it was an \u201cA\u201d school. I\u2019m happy to say we\u2019ve transitioned to that same thing with Midtown Academy. We\u2019re an A school, and a Magnet School of Excellence with a lot of parental involvement. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I take great pride, but the beauty is, it\u2019s not just me,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt\u2019s really a community impact when we talk about our faculty, our students, our staff, our dynamic PTA \u2014 they make it all work together. And so, I\u2019m grateful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where the past meets the future<\/p>\n
Joe McCoy, who taught at Southside Fundamental for 16 years, said it was one of the happiest times of his career. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a special school. I think people would say it\u2019s clich\u00e9 to say we were family, but it really was a family. And we had best students in the county. I loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Volunteer Cassandra Jackson has enjoyed a long history with school. She attended Southside as a middle schooler and was later the mother of Southside students. She was then employed as a front desk clerk and community liaison for eight years before retiring in 2025. But she hasn\u2019t let retirement keep her away \u2014 she still serves an active volunteer for the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis school is a diamond that shines bright,\u201d Jackson said, adding that the students who walk through its halls always remember what they\u2019ve learned there. \u201cWhen I go back and look at some of those past students, and when I see them now in the community, and how they are now giving back to the community, that\u2019s what this work is all about, bringing us all together.\u201d<\/p>\n
And as a former student who transitioned from the hallways to City Hall, Givens said the prescience shown by school leaders 100 years ago has led to decades of success. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe school was built to last, and I think whenever the founders of this institution decided to place this school here, they didn\u2019t realize how many students would be benefactors,\u201d Given said. \u201cAnd just because it was South County should not have discredited its reputation, and I definitely think that Southside had quite the reputation, and it still does to this day, even as Midtown Academy, and I look forward to seeing that reputation continue for the next century.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. PETERSBURG \u2014 1926 was a banner year for the United States, which marked the country\u2019s sesquicentennial of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-307751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}