Hillsborough County School Board Unanimously Votes To Name Soon-To-Be School Dorothy York

›››APOLLO BEACH, FL — A new school in Apollo Beach will be named after a black teacher who dedicated her life to Hillsborough County School students until the day she died in 2012, a school news release said.

The Hillsborough County School Board voted unanimously to name the district's new school, Dorothy C. York Pre-kindergarten - 8 Magnet School after recently receiving 1,500 school name submissions.

Dorothy C. York is remembered as a dedicated teacher who taught for 45 years within the county. York taught English at Blake High School, and later transferred to Hillsborough High. She also worked with University of South Florida’s Project Upward Bound and as an adjunct professor at Hillsborough Community College.

The school is scheduled to open in Fall 2022, in a fast-growing area of southeastern Hillsborough County. It's located in the Waterset community off U.S. Highway 301. This new school will engage students with an internationally minded focus while also offering art, dance, and other opportunities to explore their creative side, school officials said.

York's daughter, Liz York-Cohen, was overcome with emotion after Superintendent Davis announced the school’s new name in her mother’s honor. “My mom would be speechless today," York-Cohen told school staff. "She wouldn't believe it. She was a teacher. Schools in this district are named after big shots. She was a teacher. She would be stunned and honored that the district would recognize a teacher for all teachers do.”

Dorothy C. York PreK-8 Magnet School will provide relief to schools that are already at or near capacity, staff members said in a news release.