C. Leon King High School

C. Leon King High School is a public high school named in Tampa, Florida.

King High School, a part of Hillsborough County Public Schools, is a traditional/hybrid magnet school. It has one of five International Baccalaureate programs in Hillsborough County, Florida. The IB program of King began in July 1994. 98% percent of IB seniors earned the IB Diploma in 2014—one of the highest rates in the United States. For the 2010–2011 school year, King High School received an A grade in education overall. , King High has been rated a "B."

Its student population was 1,889 in 2014–15, and the attendance rate was 92% in 2005.

History

The school was built on the site of Ridgewood Cemetery, a municipal cemetery for poor African-Americans established in 1942. Hillsborough County Public Schools acquired of land for the school from a private company in 1959, and that company bought the site from the City of Tampa in 1957; the cemetery is in that plot and became used for agricultural classes. In 2019, officials discovered graves of 145 people.

Academics

King High School hosts an International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, which began in 1994. King High also offers Advanced Placement courses (KAPS).

Sports

Fall:

Football
Boys Golf
Girls Golf
Boys Cross Country
Girls Cross Country
Swimming
Volleyball

Winter:

Boys Basketball
Girls Basketball
Wrestling
Boys Soccer
Girls Soccer

Spring:

Baseball
Softball
Flag Football
Track
Tennis

Notable alumni

Musa Abdul-Aleem, professional basketball player
Mike Awesome, 1984, former WWF Champion
Addison Barger, professional baseball player
Derek Bell, former professional baseball player
Tim Crews, former professional baseball player
Reena Ninan, 1997, television journalist
Henry Paul, musician formerly with the Outlaws
George Peoples, 1978, former professional football player
Calvin Pickering, 1995, former professional baseball player