Suffolk Public Schools

Class of 2005 - Lataisia Jones

Lataisia Jones became the first black recipient of a Doctor of Philosophy degree at the Florida State University   College  of Medicine in August of 2017. During her five   years at FSU, she worked under Professor Pradeep Bhide,   the Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair of   Developmental Neuroscience in the Department of   Biomedical Sciences. She successfully defended her   dissertation on dystonia, a disease causing involuntary   muscle contractions, and was awarded her degree in   neuroscience. Jones’ path to FSU began at Virginia State   University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in   biology.

Class of 2007 - Jaleesha Carter

Jaleesha was a member of the King’s Fork Volleyball team and received her B.S. in Chemistry from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2012, and received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the Howard University School of Medicine in 2016. Jaleesha is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.




Class of 2007 - Shaka Miller

All Southeastern District in   Football   and Basketball at King’s   Fork High   School.
Received a football scholarship to Morgan State University, where he   played and lettered for four years.
After graduating from college, he returned to teach (CTE) at King’s Fork  High School, where he also coached.  Dr. Miller has returned to THE FORK as an assistant principal. His jersey hangs in the Hall of Champions at King’s Fork High School.  

Class of 2009 - Keith Ricks

At King’s Fork High School,  Keith was an AAU national champion in the 4x400-meter relay, running 3:10.42 ; three-time AAU All-American, twice in the 4x100-meter relay and once in the 200-meter dash. As a senior, he was ranked No. 3 in the nation in the 55-meter dash, and recorded the sixth-fastest time in the event in state meet history . He ranked No. 1 in Virginia in the 55 and 200-meter dashes , earned No. 2 ranking in Virginia in the 300-meter and 400-meter dashes, and also ranked third in the nation in the 300-meter. He finished runner-up at the 2008 VHSL AAA state meet in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. He was also part of King’s Fork High School’s first 4X100 Relay State Championship team.

Class of 2009 - Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers



Ta’Shauna was the King’s Fork Women’s Basketball MVP all four years, Southeastern District Player of the Year three times, 1st Team All-State as well as a McDonald's All-American.   She graduated with King’s Fork's records in career points, assists, rebounds and blocks.
Ta’Shauna was the 2010 Big East Rookie of the Year, as well as First Team All-Big East, a feat she repeated all four years. That year she led the team to new heights, propelling them into the national rankings for the first time in fifteen years, and helping the team to just its second NCAA Tournament invitation. In her sophomore year, she led the team to the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen with an upset win over rival Maryland, before losing to Uconn. In her four years, she amassed 2,518 points to become the leading scorer all-time at Georgetown on either the men’s or women’s team. She was a three-time AP Honorable Mention All-American, and majored in English. Sugar was selected 2nd in the 2nd round of the 2013 WNBA Draft as the 14th overall pick by the Minnesota Lynx. During the WNBA off season, Rodgers joined the Arras team in France. She was traded to the New York Liberty where she is currently having an outstanding career. In 2016 Sugar won the WNBA’s Most Improved Player Award. Sugar is also a published author. Sugar was most recently named to the 2017 WNBA All-Star Team representing the East and finished second in the All-Star Three Point Shooting Contest.

In June 2021, Sugar completed her Masters degree from Georgetown University in Sports Industry Management.  She has retired from the WNBA and is an Assistant Coach with the Las Vegas Aces.

Class of 2009 - JaQuan Parker

Class of 2009 - Nathan LeGrand

 

Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan LeGrand is an aviation ordnanceman with the Gladiators of VFA-106, which operates of of Naval Air Station Oceana.  He is responsible for the loading and handling of missiles and bombs.  He has received three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.  His service carries on a family tradition of service, following his father and older brother into military service.

Class of 2009 - Anthonette Ward-Dickens

Anthonette Ward is the Community Engagement Officer for Suffolk Public Schools. As a graduate of King's Fork High School and a long-standing resident of Suffolk, she is committed to helping expand community  support for students. She serves the division's outreach efforts through publications, special events, media relations, website outreach, video presentations, social media, and more. Before coming to Suffolk Public Schools, Anthonette worked in the non-profit sector of sports marketing and public relations as an Account Coordinator with the Kinetic Brand Development Group in Norfolk, Virginia. Her communication methods  proved to be successful in events with Habitat for Humanity, such as Habitat Day at the Tides, a partnership with the Norfolk Tides Baseball Team, the Day of Caring collaboration with United Way, a Back to School Drive with Kam Chancellor, former player of the NFL Seattle Seahawks, and a community recycling initiative with dignitaries including Angela Williams-Graves, former Vice Mayor of the City of Norfolk. She later went on to manage internal communication methods for GEICO's Virginia Beach Regional Office. Anthonette received her Bachelors of Science in Mass Communications from Virginia Commonwealth University and her Masters of Arts in Strategic Communication from American University in Washington, D.C.

Class of 2010 - Davante Gardner

Davante concluded his three-year varsity career at King's Fork High School with 1,431 points and 992 rebounds. Davante is just the third player in school history to collect more than 1,000 points .  Davante was an All-Eastern Region selection in  2009-10 after helping the Bulldogs to their second-straight district championship and third-straight district tournament title. Davante was voted the city's player of the year and was tabbed to the all-city team ,  tabbed to the Virginia High School Coaches Association Group AAA All-State Team and all-district squad (second-straight year) as a senior.  He averaged 22.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game and collected 21 double-doubles in 27 outings .  As a junior in 2008-09, he was a second team all-state honoree and helped King's Fork to the Group AAA state championship  team claiming a 49-47 win over William Fleming HS in the title match-up . He averaged 15.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest that season for the Bulldogs, who finished the season 31-1 overall. Davante received a Basketball Scholarship to Marquette University, where he was the recipient of the Most Valuable Performer Award, earning the  BIG EAST Sixth Man of the Year award for the two straight years ... All-BIG EAST Second Team ... Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team selection. Davante is currently playing professional basketball overseas in Japan for the Nishinomiya Storks. He is averaging 25.4 points and 9.1 rebounds and was named the Most Valuable Player in the National Basketball League All-Star game in Japan.

Class of 2013 - Charles "Chuck"  Clark



Chuck was listed as the No. 29 prospect in Virginia by Rivals,  a second-team Group AAA   All-state selection by Virginia Preps and first-team All-Eastern Region selection.   At defensive back, Chuck was the Southeastern District Defensive Player of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons. Chuck was a first-team All-Tidewater selection by The Virginian Pilot as a senior after picking off four passes, returning three of them for touchdowns. He was a two-time All-Tidewater first-team selection, a first-team  All-District defensive back and second-team running back and First-team All-757 … Chuck also played basketball and ran track for the Bulldogs. Chuck received a Football Scholarship to Virginia Tech, where he was a member of the 2014  All-ACC Academic Football Team. Chuck earned ALL-ACC Honorable Mention for his performance during the 2016 Season. Chuck was the first Hokie off the board in the 2017 NFL Draft, selected in the sixth round by the Baltimore Ravens at the safety position.

Class of 2013 - Davon Grayson

Class of 2012 - Kristie Hashigami



While at King’s Fork High School Kristi participated in Field Hockey and Track. She received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Kristi graduated and received her commission from the United States Naval Academy on May 27, 2016.  She has a degree in Political Science.
She is currently an Ensign serving on board the USS Leyte Gulf as a Surface Warfare Officer (SWO).

Class of 2015 - Caleb Parsons

While at King’s Fork High School, Caleb Parsons was named a 2015 Military Child of the Year by Operation Homefront. Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit that provides emergency assistance to military families, bestows the nationwide, annual award on one military child each from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and — new for 2015 — the National Guard. Caleb was a member the Men’s Swim and Cross-Country teams at King’s Fork High School, where he won the Co-Captain Varsity Award, Junior Varsity Award and Sportsmanship Award. Caleb is currently in his second year at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Frank Bane

Frank Bane was the first executive director of the Social Security Board and the official who drew up the nation's Social Security program.  Mr. Bane was one of the most influential yet least known men in the federal government from 1930 through the 1950s. He helped develop the concept of public welfare into a major governmental function. During World War II, he organized national rationing of tires, cars, gasoline, sugar, coffee, meat and other commodities. He was Regents' professor at the University of California in Berkeley in 1964 and lectured at universities here and abroad until 1976. Mr. Bane was born in Smithfield, Va. He earned a bachelor's degree at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., and did graduate work at Columbia University. He taught in Virginia, served as the principal of King’s Fork High School and Superintendent of Nansemond County Schools. Mr. Bane later went to Tennessee as director of the state's public welfare program.