Legacy Schools Project Establishes Plaques at District Campuses to Highlight Unique History of Namesake Schools

These plaques recognize each school’s namesake by memorializing the remarkable individuals and highlighting the unique history of District schools. Below are the campuses that received plaques as part of the Legacy Schools Project:
 

ELEMENTARY / K-8 SCHOOLS

Addison Mizner	Jerry Thomas
Clifford O. Taylor/Kirklane	K.E. Cunningham/Canal Point
Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune	Pierce Hammock
Dwight D. Eisenhower	S.D. Spady
Elbridge Gale	U.B. Kinsey/Palmview
H.L. Johnson	Village Academy on the Art & Sara Jo Kobacker Campus
J.C. Mitchell

MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Bak Middle School of the Arts	Jeaga
Christa McAuliffe	John F. Kennedy
Don Estridge	L.C. Swain
Howell L. Watkins	Watson B. Duncan

HIGH SCHOOLS

Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts	John I. Leonard
Dr. Joaquin Garcia	William T. Dwyer

Information from each school’s legacy plaque is below:

• Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts – Established August 1990. Alexander W. Dreyfoos was an Academy Award winner, inventor, cultural catalyst, and philanthropist. Born in New York in 1932, he was the driving force behind the creation of Palm Beach County’s cultural jewel, the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. In 1997, Mr. Dreyfoos made the most significant private contribution to a public school in Florida when he pledged $1,000,000 to support Palm Beach County’s public arts magnet high school.

• Addison Mizner School – Established 1966. Addison Mizner, a California native born in 1872, was Florida's leading architect in the 1920s. He established his own Spanish and Mediterranean Revival style that became the architectural signature of Florida. Mizner designed the famous Everglades Club in Palm Beach, the Boca Raton Resort and Club, and the historic Via Mizner and Via Parigi. Boca Raton soon saw the rise of Old Floresta, a subdivision that featured 29 Mizner-designed, Spanish-style homes that still are well-preserved today.

• Bak Middle School of the Arts – In October 2002, Mrs. Dora Bak, an impressionist-style painter, donated a generous $1.5 million gift to the Middle School of the Arts as a lasting memory of her late husband, Dr. Richard Bak. The school was later renamed Bak Middle School of the Arts in his honor. Dr. Richard Bak was born in 1884 in Vienna, Austria. He was a renowned economist and statistician specializing in international markets, finance, and economics. Dr. Bak also served as an advisor to many governments for which he received distinguished honors, including the French Legion of Honor and Rosette.

• Christa McAuliffe – Established 1986. Sharon Christa McAuliffe, born in 1948 in Boston, made history when she became the first American civilian selected to go into space in 1985. She was an extraordinary teacher who dreamed of being a space shuttle passenger. On January 28, 1986, McAuliffe boarded the Challenger space shuttle in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The shuttle exploded shortly after lift-off, killing everyone on board. After her death, this courageous educator received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

• Clifford O. Taylor/Kirklane – Established 1970. Clifford Otis Taylor was born in Fort Pierce, Florida, on January 4, 1926. He was a U.S. Navy Veteran of World War II. He devoted 42 years to education in Florida, serving as the principal at Kirklane Elementary in Palm Springs. After Mr. Taylor's retirement in 1991, the School Board approved renaming Kirklane Elementary to Clifford O. Taylor/Kirklane Elementary. Mr. Taylor supported an educational environment where students and staff were encouraged to excel.

• Don Estridge – Established 2004. Philip Donald Estridge, a Florida native and a graduate of the University of Florida, was born in 1937. He led the development of the original IBM Personal Computer. He was responsible for designing software and hardware that made upgrading and adding functions to a computer system easy. His decisions dramatically changed the computer industry, resulting in a vast increase in personal computers sold and bought. He was also known as the "father of the IBM PC."

• Dr. Joaquin Garcia – Established August 2023. Born in Cuba in 1956, Dr. García spent his early years in Spain and Puerto Rico. Dr. García served as a founding member of the Hispanic Education Coalition of Palm Beach County and was the organization's chairman for 12 years. He received the Orden del Mérito Civil, an award established in 1926 by the King of Spain to recognize civic virtues and service to the community.

• Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune – Established 2000. Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was born in South Carolina on July 10, 1875. She became one of the most important Black educators, civil and women's rights leaders, and government officials of the twentieth century. Her role as an advisor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave African Americans an advocate in government. Bethune founded many organizations and led voter registration drives after women gained the right to vote in 1920. On July 13, 2022, Bethune became the first African American to be represented with a state statue at the U.S. Capitol.

• Dwight D. Eisenhower – Established 1970. Dwight D. Eisenhower was born in Texas in 1890. He attended the United States Military Academy West Point. Before running for president in 1952, he commanded the Allied and NATO Forces. As the president, Eisenhower continued most of the New Deal and Fair Deal programs, emphasizing a balanced budget. As the desegregation of schools began, he sent troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, to ensure compliance with federal court orders. He also ordered the complete desegregation of the armed forces.

• Elbridge Gale – Established 2006. Reverend Elbridge Gale was born in Vermont on December 25, 1824. He served as chairman of the Horticulture Department at Kansas State Agricultural College and the superintendent of Dade County schools. Gale moved to West Palm Beach's north end, now known as Northwood, in the 1880s. Reverend Gale was a pioneer for the thriving mango industry in South Florida. He successfully planted the country's first grafted West Indian mango tree.

• H.L. Johnson – Established 1984. Howard L. Johnson was a longtime principal in the School District of Palm Beach County. Mr. Johnson was a devoted principal who cared about the well-being of all his students. He was concerned that some of his students had to travel more than 10 miles to get to school in the western part of the county. His vision was for the community of Royal Palm Beach to have an elementary school. H.L. Johnson Elementary School was opened in 1984, cutting travel time for nearby families. Mr. Johnson died before the school was opened in his honor.

• Howell L. Watkins – Established 1962. Howell L. Watkins, born in 1894, was a World War I Veteran. He moved his family to West Palm Beach in the 1930s, where he served as principal of Palm Beach High School and later as the superintendent of Palm Beach County Schools. He co-founded Palm Beach Junior College, now Palm Beach State College, and served as an unpaid dean and teacher during the Great Depression.

• J.C. Mitchell – Established 1958. Jones Cleveland Mitchell (J.C. Mitchell) was born on July 28, 1890. He was a real estate developer and the mayor and city commissioner of Boca Raton, Florida. He moved to Boca Raton in 1922, where he founded the Boca Raton Community Church, the First Bank of Boca Raton, the local chapters of the American Legion, and the Lions Club.

• Jeaga – Established 2003. The Jeaga tribe occupied an area that fits almost perfectly within the boundaries of present-day Palm Beach County, from the Boca Raton Inlet to just north of the Jupiter Inlet. The Jeaga were experts at carving canoes from cypress trees, and they navigated Florida’s interior to Lake Okeechobee and throughout south Florida to trade with other tribes. They traded with the Ais to the north, the Tekesta to the south, and the powerful Calusa tribe that ruled southwest Florida.

• Jerry Thomas – Established 1980. Jerry Thomas was born on April 30, 1929, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Thomas was a United States Marine Corps Veteran and served as undersecretary of Treasury in President Ford's administration. In 1964, Thomas founded the First Marine Bank, Inc., now a Florida-based bank holding company, where he served as its chairman and chief executive. Thomas also served in the Florida House of Representatives and was a member of the state Senate.

• John F. Kennedy – Established 1963. John F. Kennedy, a Massachusetts native, Navy Veteran, and Harvard graduate, was born in 1917. He was the 35th President of the United States (1961-1963) and the youngest man elected to the office. His inaugural address offered the memorable injunction: “Ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.” On November 22, 1963, JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, becoming the youngest president to die.

• John I. Leonard – Established 1965. John Ireson Leonard was born in Joliet, Illinois, in 1886. He was an osteopathic doctor until a World War I hand injury steered him to education. He moved to Palm Beach County in 1925 and was elected superintendent in 1936, where he led Palm Beach County Schools for 12 years.

• K.E. Cunningham/Canal Point – Established 1988. Kathryn E. Cunningham, "a born teacher," started her teaching career in Palm Beach County in 1962 and later became the principal of Canal Point Elementary School in 1968. Mrs. Cunningham was instrumental in building Canal Point Elementary School and supporting the children's education. When the school was in danger of being closed, she pushed to keep it open and helped to get a modernized building. Ms. Cunningham retired after serving 50 years in education.

• L.C. Swain – Established 2005. Lawrence Carter Swain, a Massachusetts native born in 1864, founded the City of Greenacres, Florida. During the 1920s, the Town of Palm Beach and other coast resort areas were booming. The wealthy were well provided for in terms of housing and community services. However, few homes were built or available for the middle class. Motivated to provide a community for the middle class, he began accumulating property in this area, ending up with approximately 1,000 acres, which became the City of Greenacres.

• Pierce Hammock – Established 2004. Charles William "Charlie" Pierce was born on July 16, 1864. He was a community leader in banking, seamanship, and the postal service. Pierce led many expeditions through the Everglades and was among the first to explore what would become Everglades National Park. In 1888, he became one of the famed "Barefoot Mailman" who walked the beaches and crossed the rivers between Hypoluxo and Miami, a trek of over 60 miles. Charles Pierce received the Great Floridians plaque to acknowledge his significant contributions to the state's history and culture.

• S.D. Spady – Established 1922. Solomon D. Spady was born on January 17, 1887, in Virginia. He moved to Delray Beach in 1922 and was the third African-American public school principal/teacher assigned to Delray County Training School. His tenure lasted 35 years, and he became one of the most influential African Americans in Delray Beach. In 1937, Delray County Training School was renamed George Washington Carver High School. Later, Carver High School was relocated to a new site, and the old school building was named S. D. Spady Elementary School in his honor. 

• U.B. Kinsey/Palmview – Established 1917. Ulysses Bradshaw Kinsey was born in Fort White, Florida, in 1918. U.B. Kinsey graduated in 1941 from Florida A&M University and started his teaching career at his alma mater, Industrial High School. He later became the principal of Palmview Elementary School in 1950. Kinsey was one of the area's leading black educators and a pillar in his community. He was a stickler for respect and insisted on being called "Mr. Kinsey." During his tenure at Palmview Elementary, approximately 30,000 children passed through the school's doors. Upon his retirement in 1989, the school was renamed U.B. Kinsey/Palmview Elementary.

• Village Academy on the Art & Sara Jo Kobacker Campus – Established 2000. Sara Jo Borisky, born in 1928, was a proud Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority member. Arthur J. Kobacker, born in 1924, served as a Lt. JG in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was active in the economic issues of African communities and worked to help implement programs to assist individuals in achieving prosperity and health. One of Sara and Arthur's proudest accomplishments was their involvement in creating the first public school in Delray Beach, Florida, in 30 years. The school is now called the Village Academy.

• Watson B. Duncan – Established 1990. Watson B. Duncan, a native of South Carolina, was born in 1915. He was an English professor who taught at Palm Beach State College for over three decades until he died in 1991. His teaching style was flamboyant, rendering his material unforgettable. He was also a gifted Shakespearean actor and performed frequently in the Shakespeare Festivals. Duncan was named Distinguished Floridian of the Year in 1985, given the National Faculty Award, and, in 1987, the Exchange Club of Lake Worth's Golden Deeds Award.

• William T. Dwyer – Established 1991. William T. Dwyer, born in 1927, worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 10 years. He was a dynamic civic leader, a visionary organizer, and the founding president of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, Inc., a charity that supports public education for kindergarten through grade 12 students.