The new school in Wimauma set to welcome high school students in August has been named in memory of Aquilla J. Morgan, who taught at Wimauma Elementary School for more than four decades.
Morgan, who died on September 21, 2022, at age 80, taught Head Start, kindergarten, second grade and fifth grade, and she was the first African American teacher hired at Wimauma Elementary School after the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 made employment discrimination illegal. The historic school, at 5709 Hickman St., opened in 1926 for students in grades one through 12. It became an elementary school in 1939, and today enrolls children in pre-kindergarten through grade five.
“With Miss Morgan, being a teacher was more than a job; it was her calling,” said Annette Dozier, Morgan’s niece, at the September 5 school board meeting, where the vote was taken to name the school previously known as High School UUU. “She encouraged, she led, she taught and she guided, leaving lasting marks with every student that she taught, no matter where that student came from.”
When it opens, Aquilla J. Morgan High School will become the district’s 29th traditional high school, including the nine schools that bear geographic names (Bloomingdale, Brandon, Durant, East Bay, Hillsborough, Plant, Plant City, Riverview and Tampa Bay Tech). One school, Freedom, is named for a concept, having opened shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the rest are named for people who have been recognized for outstanding service. The list includes Jule F. Sumner High, in Balm/Riverview; Earl J. Lennard High, in Ruskin; Blanche Armwood High, in Seffner; Richard C. Spoto High, in Riverview; and Joe E. Newsome High, in Lithia.
Morgan’s family was steadfast in their mission to convince school board members to honor her with a school’s naming, as it was the third time her name was advanced for such a purpose. As one of her granddaughters noted at the September 5 meeting, “We have been in front of you twice while she was here on earth, we are here the third time and she’s departed. … Honor the school Aquilla J. Morgan.”
The vote was split, with Morgan receiving the decisive four votes from school board members Stacy Hahn, Patti Rendon, Jessica Vaughn and Henry ‘Shake’ Washington. The remaining votes gave a nod to West Tampa native, lawyer and historian Emiliano Jose ‘E.J.’ Salcines, a former state attorney and retired district court judge.
More than 50 people in public comments at the September 5 meeting lobbied for their top choices, which came from a list of more than 300 names recommended over the years. Receiving the most comments were Morgan; Salcines; educator and Wimauma activist Margaret Claritt; Master Deputy Robert ‘Bobby’ Howard of Ruskin, who died in an off-duty motorcycle crash in June 2023, after more than 17 years with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office; and Sylvia Cantrell Albritton, a former teacher, principal and school district official.
Before casting his vote, Washington called Morgan “the queen of Wimauma” and made it a point to say he wasn’t “taking anything away from Miss Albritton, because we were principals together and she did a great job.”
For her part, Albritton, who attended the September 5 board meeting, posted a comment on the Hillsborough County Public Schools Facebook page, in a post that announced the new school’s naming.
“I enjoyed hearing so many stories about Mrs. Morgan and the positive difference she made in the Wimauma community as an educator and humanitarian,” Albritton said. “She was the perfect choice for the naming of this new school. Congratulations to her family and supporters.”
Morgan High sits on an 87-acre site at 1712 W. Lake Dr. in Wimauma, built to accommodate some 3,500 students. Both an elementary and middle school are set to be built on the tract as well. For more, visit www.hillsboroughschools.org.
