Mendenhall Elementary School opened in 1949. The School is named after Aaron Mendenhall.  He was born in Missouri on September 14, 1872.  When he was 22 years old, he moved with a colony of Missourians to the Lake Magdalene section of Tampa.  In 1899, he married Etta Victoria Bearss and moved to the Oak Park section of Tampa and built a home.  The Mendenhalls budded their own citrus trees and had one of the highest rated citrus nurseries in the state.  He was elected one of the first trustees of the Oak Grove School and served for 20 years.

Many of the teachers that came to this area were boarded in the Mendenhall home, and Mr. Mendenhall was instrumental in organizing the first P.T.A. in Hillsborough County.  He was president of trustees of the First United Brethren Church for many years, and superintendent of the Oak Grove Sunday School.   

The contract for construction of Mendenhall Elementary was awarded on November 13, 1947 and the school was completed on August 26, 1948, with only 6 classrooms.  Air conditioning for the classrooms wasn't installed until the 1960s with proceeds from a school candy sale.

Aaron Mendenhall died on October 23, 1940. His wife died two years later, on May 13, 1942.  The two were buried together at Oak Grove United Methodist Cemetery, Tampa, Florida.

Anne Horrell, 1949 - 1965

Pearl Hojnacki, 1965 - 1967

Jean Leone, 1967 - 1982

Lamar Hammer, 1982 - 1984

Glenda Midilli, 1984 - 1990

Stephen Kittner, 1990 - 2001

Ara Cauvel, 2001 - 2005

Patricia Orta, 2005 - 2010

Ire Carolina, 2010 - 2014

Cristina Fernandez, 2014 - 2023

Skylaar Guyer, 2023 - present