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My name is Rashad Woods. I am the principal of the Medical Academy at D.W. Waters, which opened its doors for its inaugural class in August of 2023. We are housed in a historically registered building, originally constructed in 1911 as Hillsborough County High School. From 1939-1967, the building served as Jefferson High School. From 1967-1979, it served as George Washington Junior High School. The building was closed for education from 1979-2001 when the building reopened as D.W. Waters Career Center. D.W. Waters served as a career center from 2001-2022. In the spring of 2022, the building was closed for construction and upgrades to house the Medical Academy. The Medical Academy welcomed its first class of incoming freshmen in August 2023.
At the Medical Academy, students experience a rigorous curriculum taught by industry professionals and highly qualified instructors. We offer Certified Nursing Assistant, Biomedical Sciences (Allied Health), Electrocardiogram (EKG) Technician, Emergency Medical Responder, and Certified Medical Administrative Assistant pathways. Our students learn valuable health service skills utilizing the latest medical technology. Each of our programs lead to certification, but we also offer a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. This curriculum is highlighted by dual enrollment and Advanced Placement opportunities. Upon graduation, Medical Academy students will have the option of entering the workforce in their chosen field or continuing their journey to earn an Associate's or Bachelor's degree.
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The Medical Academy at D.W. Waters is housed in the first high school built in Hillsborough County back in 1911. The building earned an award for outstanding preservation from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation in 2003. It is a three-story masonry block building accented by a rusticated masonry water table. The structure occupies an entire city block.
D.W. Waters is highly significant as an early twentieth-century example of a purposefully constructed urban high school, demonstrating an ordered assemblage of spaces in an educational facility. Originally designed by William Potter, an addition was done in 1920 by noted Tampa architect M. Leo Elliott, who laid one of his signature bricks where the addition meets the original.
In April 1994, the school was renamed the D.W. Waters Memorial Center thanks to the efforts of the Thomas Jefferson High School Alumni Association. The group has since worked to have the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It serves today as a memorial to Mr. Waters and is a symbol of the county's early dedication to education.
The school reopened its doors to educate high school students in August 2002 as D.W. Waters Career Center, the first career center in Hillsborough County. After serving as a career center for 11 years, it was renamed and chosen as the site for one of two high school workforce academies in August 2023. The Medical Academy at D.W. Waters is now home to students interested in learning more about and potentially working in the medical field.
