Hillsborough High, 5000 N. Central Ave.: grades 9 to 12, 1,565 students in 2026-27, a B in Florida's 2026 grades.
Last checked Oct. 11, 2026. Sources: the school’s website, Hillsborough County Public Schools’ 2026-27 school zones, 40th-day enrollment count, the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades file, the federal NCES school directory and the FHSAA’s 2026-27 football assignments.
Hillsborough High is the Hillsborough County Public Schools high school for grades 9 to 12 at 5000 N. Central Ave., inside Tampa city limits.
The school’s red brick Gothic Revival building on North Central Avenue was designed by Tampa architect Francis Kennard; the cornerstone was laid Jan. 28, 1927, and the building was finished in September 1928, according to the school’s history page.
Who to call
- Front office: 813-276-5620, 5000 N. Central Ave., Tampa, FL 33603
- School website: hillsboroughschools.org/o/hillsborough
- Enrolling a new student: the district’s enrollment checklist; district office 813-272-4000
- Buses: the district’s Transportation Call Center, 813-982-5500, 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays
- Which school is my address zoned for? the district’s Find Your Neighborhood School lookup
- Magnet and choice applications: the district’s School Choice office, 813-272-4692
| Address | 5000 N. Central Ave., Tampa, FL 33603 |
| Phone | 813-276-5620 |
| Grades | 9 to 12 |
| District | Hillsborough County Public Schools |
| State school number | 29-1881 |
Principal
Principal Kevin Gordon, according to the school’s staff directory.
Enrollment and teachers
- District count: 1,565 students on the district’s 40th-day enrollment count for 2026-27, as of Oct. 5, 2026. The same sheet gives the campus a capacity of 2,081 students, so it is 75% full by the district’s measure.
- Federal count: 1,679 students in the 2024-25 school year, with 72 full-time-equivalent classroom teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 23 students per teacher.
State report card
Florida grades every public school A to F on the share of possible points it earns on the measures in the state’s 2026 school grades file: test scores, learning gains and, for middle and high schools, acceleration and graduation. The file sets an A for high and combination schools at 65% or more.
| School year | Grade |
|---|---|
| 2025-26 | B (60% of possible points) |
| 2024-25 | B |
| 2023-24 | B |
From the same file, the share of students scoring on grade level on the state tests in 2025-26:
- English language arts: 56%
- Math: 45%
- Science: 65%
- Social studies: 77%
The file gives a graduation rate of 94% for 2024-25, and 67% on college and career acceleration (students earning credit through programs such as AP, IB, AICE, dual enrollment or industry certifications).
It lists 88.9% of the school’s students as economically disadvantaged.
The full report card is on the state’s Florida school report cards site. It is an interactive dashboard; the figures above come from the downloadable file.
Attendance zone and feeder schools
Check any address with the district’s Find Your Neighborhood School lookup, or see the district’s 2026-27 high school zone map. Zones do not follow city limits.
Of Tampa’s 212,263 address points in the City of Tampa’s address layer, 23,490 (11.1%) fall inside Hillsborough High’s 2026-27 zone. An address point can be a house, an apartment or a business.
Comparing the district’s 2026-27 zone maps with 2020 Census population (shares are of the zone’s residents):
- Middle school zones inside this zone: Memorial Middle (51%), Pierce Middle (19%), Stewart Middle Magnet (19%) and Sligh Middle Magnet (11%).
- Elementary zones inside this zone: Mendenhall Elementary (21%), Oak Grove Elementary (21%), Graham Elementary (17%), Broward Elementary (11%), Egypt Lake Elementary (11%), Seminole Heights Elementary (8%) and Foster Elementary (7%).
Sports and activities
For football in 2026-27, Hillsborough High plays in Class 4A, Region 3, District 9 with Blake, East Bay (Gibsonton), Freedom, Jesuit and Middleton, according to the FHSAA’s assignments.
Scores and schedules: our Friday night football page and the scoreboard.
Programs: The district’s magnet list gives Hillsborough High’s magnet program as International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, a program within the school, with entry by merit-based application (prerequisite: Algebra I). Students from outside the zone apply through the School Choice office.
Calendar and bell times
Classes run 8:30 a.m. to 3:25 p.m., according to the school’s About page. Students are released early every Monday, according to the district’s calendar.
From the district’s 2026-27 student calendar:
- Monday, Oct. 12: no school for students
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day, no school
- Nov. 23-27: fall break (Thanksgiving week)
- Dec. 21 to Jan. 1, 2027: winter break; Monday, Jan. 4 is also off, and students return Tuesday, Jan. 5
- Monday, Jan. 18, 2027: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, no school
- Friday, Feb. 12, 2027: Florida State Fair day, no school
- Monday, Feb. 15, 2027: Presidents Day, no school
- March 22-26, 2027: spring break; Monday, March 29 is also off, and students return Tuesday, March 30
- Friday, May 28, 2027: last day of school, a 2.5-hour early release
More on Tampa schools
- The school’s page on the district website
- Every public school in Tampa
- Our Tampa schools guide for enrolling, the School Board and the full calendar
Frequently asked questions
What grades does Hillsborough High serve?
Grades 9 to 12. It is a Hillsborough County Public Schools high school at 5000 N. Central Ave. in Tampa.
What is Hillsborough High’s school grade?
Hillsborough High earned a B in Florida’s 2026 school grades, with 60% of possible points. It earned a B in 2025.
What time does Hillsborough High start?
Classes run 8:30 a.m. to 3:25 p.m., according to the school’s website. Students are released early every Monday, according to the district’s calendar.
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