John Locke High School was a public high school in Jacksonville, Florida operated by Duval County Public Schools. The school opened in 1978 and was closed in 2005 after a new school was constructed to replace it. Its mascot was a panther, and its motto was "second to none". The school served students grades 9-12.
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History
John Locke High School, named after John Locke, opened in 1978 with 1,000 students and Dr. Jimmy Ross as principal. The original school was a brick building with two stories. Later, a second two-story classroom building was constructed, and a gymnasium building was later added to the campus. The school had a football field, a baseball/softball field, and a swimming pool. In its early years, the school was well respected for its athletic successes. Despite this, none of its alumni ever went on to become professional athletes after graduation. At the time of closing, Dr. Ross was still the school's principal, though retired when the school was closed.
Closing of the school and current use of the facility
Due to overcrowding, the Duval County School Board made plans in 2003 to construct a new, larger high school in the area to replace John Locke High School. The new school was finished in 2005 in time for the new school year, so John Locke High School's doors were never reopened to students following the 2004-2005 school year. The campus was placed on the real estate market in late 2005, and the school board received many bids for the property, including the winning bid from HCA Inc., who purchased the school and converted the existing structure into a hospital. HCA added a third floor to the main building and converted the gymnasium into a medical plaza with several doctors' offices. The interiors of the main building and second classroom building were completely transformed, except for the cafeteria (which retained the name "Panther Cafe"in memory of the building's former use) and the front office (which was kept intact but redecorated to become the hospital's main lobby). The school's football field was replaced with a heliport. The new hospital was opened in 2007. Alumni of John Locke High School have high school reunions in the hospital/former school cafeteria.
Athletics at John Locke High School
In its early years, John Locke High School was well known for its athletics. The school's football team made it to the state championships three years in a row when the school first opened. The school also dominated other schools in basketball, swimming, cross-country running, and competitive cheerleading.