Newest Hillsborough County high school honors teacher, helps with population growth
by: Alessandra Young
The newest high school in Hillsborough County is getting ready for the school year to begin.
The school is located in Wimauma off West Lake Drive.
Aquilla Jackson Morgan High School is the newest and largest high school in the county.
Not only is the school a place for students to learn and grow, but it also continues a legacy.
“I wanted to make sure she was honored for her commitment in Wimauma being the first black employee and a dedicated 40-year educator to the children and families of Wimauma,” said Latoya Lovett, the granddaughter of Aquilla Morgan.
“To be able to celebrate the life that was Aquilla Jackson Morgan and the family members that are still around and supportive of this community is just something truly amazing,” said Brittney Wilhelm, principal.
Aquilla J. Morgan’s family describes her as a transformative teacher and someone who saw the potential in every child who sat in her classroom.
“My grandmother was a woman of faith, so she would say she would want our community to think about what heaven will look like with all races. Everybody will be there, all denominations. She would say, look at the beautiful Wimauma community,” said Lovett. “It’s almost like a bag of M&M’s flavorful, colorful. It does not matter about where we are, but where we’re going and we do get further together.”
The more than 350,000 square foot school has everything you could imagine, from a state-of-the-art kitchen, featuring stainless steel appliances, to a media center with a library filled with a variety of genres, a brand-new football field ready for the season, and a large gymnasium painted orange and blue that includes an indoor track wrapped around it.
According to educators, this massive school will help relieve the stress of a growing population in the county.
“It’s so needed to relieve that population growth that’s happening in South County and our high school Sumner and Lennard have just been, you know, they’re excited, as well, because they have just been extremely crowded over there the last couple of years,” said Van Ayres, Superintendent.
The energy in the air is filled with excitement as people said there are no students and staff, only family that comes through the doors.
“So, our family is just growing beautifully every day. So, we are excited,” Lovett said.
“I don’t think there’s anything quite like the first day of school. Doesn’t matter what school you’re at. However, opening a brand-new building and watching students come in and just be in awe of something that they’ve never seen before is a feeling like no other,” Wilheim said.
The high school will open its doors for the first day of school on August 11. For this year, they are expecting around 1,500 students, but there is capacity for 3,500.