St. Peter Claver Catholic School opened more than 100 years ago and is pivoting toward the recent education trend.

By Colbi Edmonds / Tampa Bay Times staff

The brick school building has stood as a beacon on the northern edge of downtown Tampa for all of Evelyn Wilson’s 95 years.

St. Peter Claver Catholic School, which Wilson attended from 1935 until 1947, was built in 1894, long before the nearby interstates plowed through a bustling center of Black life in Tampa. It has educated more than 2,500 students, mostly Black, who came from a nearby public housing complex and beyond.