In their own words: Students, colleagues, friends share life-changing encounters with late Raines principal Vincent Hall

A mentor, a dedicated educator, an advocate, a respected leader, a champion for students.These are just a handful of the heartfelt tributes that have poured in from students, colleagues, alumni and friends of Raines High School Principal Vincent Hall.He passed away Monday, leaving the community he served faithfully for decades mourning his loss.RELATED | ‘Champion for our students’: Raines High School principal passes away after nearly 30 years working with DCPSA product of Duval County Public Schools himself, Hall served in multiple levels with DCPS over nearly 30 years. That included a stint as principal of First Coast High School before he took the helm of his alma mater, Raines High School, in 2013.The 1990 Raines grad was eventually named the 2025 DCPS Principal of the Year after leading Raines to achieve its first-ever “B” school grade in 2024.One News4JAX Insider shared that Hall was the second-longest-serving principal of Raines High, behind another legend, Jimmie A. Johnson, w