Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSDH or MSD) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Parkland, Florida Parkland is a suburban city, 42 miles northwest of Miami, in northern Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Parkland was 34,670. Parkland is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166 ...

, United States. It was established in 1990 and is part of the

Broward County Public Schools Broward County Public Schools is a public school district serving Broward County, Florida, is the sixth largest public school system in the nation. During the 2016–2017 school year, Broward County Public Schools served 271,517 students enroll ...

district. It is named after the writer

Marjory Stoneman Douglas Marjory Stoneman Douglas (April 7, 1890 – May 14, 1998) was an American journalist, author, women's suffrage advocate, and conservationist known for her staunch defense of the Everglades against efforts to drain it and reclaim land for d ...

and is the only public high school in Parkland, serving almost all of the limits of that city as well as a section of

Coral Springs Coral Springs, officially the City of Coral Springs, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 134,394. It is a ...

.Zoning Map
" City of Parkland. Retrieved on September 22, 2018. On February 14, 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School became the scene of a deadly mass shooting perpetrated by a 19-year-old former student of the school.

History

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was named after the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissim ...

environmentalist,

. Despite its namesake, it is located just under two miles from the Everglades National Park, on part of the historical Everglades which Marjory Stoneman Douglas advocated for. The school opened in 1990, the year of her centennial, with students in grades 9 through 11, most of whom transferred from nearby schools Coral Springs High School and

J. P. Taravella High School J. P. Taravella High School is a secondary school located in Coral Springs, Florida which teaches grades 9–12. The school is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district. The school was named after Joseph Phillip Taravella (1919–1978), ...

. The first senior class graduated in 1992.

Shooting

On February 14, 2018, a mass shooting at the campus left 17 dead and 17 more wounded. The gunman, who was a 19-year-old former student of the school, was apprehended hours later. Authorities charged the gunman with first-degree murder in response to the shooting, and the case went to trial in September 2021 along with the case of an attack against a jail officer. On October 20, 2021, The gunman pleaded guilty to all charges, including murder and attempted murder. On November 2, 2022, The gunman was sentenced to 34 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, one life sentence for each of the victims murdered and wounded by the gunman. Students from Stoneman Douglas were instrumental, by helping to organize nationwide student protests following the shooting, in spurring the revision of Florida law, on March 4, 2018, to raise the legal rifle-owner age from 18 to 21, with a three-day wait.

Athletics

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Athletics Department operates programs in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, cross country, and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. The cheerleading squad at the school received international attention in 2012 when its coach was fired in response to complaints from parents. Parents complained about being charged thousands of dollars for their children to participate in the program, and alleged that the coach mishandled the team's finances and encouraged bullying.

Academics

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

s 2009 national ranking of high schools rated Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as No. 208 in the U.S., and No. 38 in Florida, which was the highest ranking of any school in Broward County. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had a Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test ( FCAT) school grade of "A" for the 2011–2012 academic school year.

Extracurricular activities

There are numerous clubs at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School including DECA, speech and debate,

Key Club Key Club International, also called Key Club, is an international service organization for high school students. As a student-led organization, Key Club's goal is to encourage leadership through serving others. Key Club International is the hig ...

, and cultural clubs including ISA (Indian Student Associations), Black Student Union Club, French Club, and Spanish club.

Drama Club

Several students in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Drama Club wrote "Shine", a song memorializing the victims of the school shooting in 2018 and others who have experienced gun violence. It has been performed at various venues, including a nationally-broadcast CNN town hall, and at the

March for Our Lives March for Our Lives (MFOL) was a student-led demonstration in support of gun control legislation. It took place in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018, with over 880 sibling events throughout the United States and around the world, and wa ...

rally in Washington, D.C. on March 24, 2018. It has also been performed by other musical groups, such as the Badiene Magaziner Vocal Studio at the March for Our Lives rally in New York City on the same day. The drama club performed at the 2018 Tony Awards.

Newspaper

The ''Eagle Eye'' is the student-run news publication of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. They made international press for their reporting of the 2018 shooting and its aftermath. Two issues of the student newspaper were submitted for the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

for their work covering student obituaries.

Winterguard

The Stoneman Douglas World Guard has made finals at WGI World Championships 9 times.

Demographics

As of the 2017–2018 school year, the total student enrollment was 3,330. The ethnic makeup of the school was 57%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 11%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, 22%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

, 7% Asian and 3% multiracial. 27% of the students were eligible for free or reduced cost lunch.

Notable alumni

* Dave Aizer, television host, writer and producer *

Nick Bilton Nick Bilton is a British-American journalist, author, and filmmaker. He is currently a special correspondent at ''Vanity Fair''. Life and career Bilton was born in Darlington, UK, and grew up in Leeds. He attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas H ...

, journalist and author *

Vail Bloom Vail Bloom is an American actress and producer. She portrayed the character Heather Stevens on ''The Young and the Restless,'' for which she received a Daytime Emmy nomination. Bloom has also appeared in television guest roles, independent films, ...

, actress * Karamo Brown, television host, reality television personality, author, and activist * Alfonso Calderon, anti gun violence activist,

co-founder, school shooting survivor * Mike Caruso, MLB player * Jaclyn Corin, anti gun violence activist,

co-founder, school shooting survivor * Matt Deitsch, writer, film director, political advisor and freelance photographer * Ryan Deitsch, anti gun violence activist,

co-founder, school shooting survivor * Aalayah Eastmond, activist * Matt Fox, MLB player * X González, anti gun violence activist,

co-founder, school shooting survivor *

Shayne Gostisbehere Shayne Gostisbehere ( ; born April 20, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey defenceman for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Between 2014 and 2021, he played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers. Gostisbehere is ...

, NHL player *

Ian Grushka Ian Ryan Grushka (born September 4, 1977) is an American musician and songwriter. He is a founding member and the bassist of Florida rock band New Found Glory. He was also the bassist in the band's now defunct side-project, the International S ...

, musician and songwriter * David Hogg, anti gun violence activist,

co-founder, school shooting survivor *

Lauren Hogg Lauren Hogg (born June 10, 2003) is an American author and activist against gun violence. She survived the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018 and after became a co-founder of March for Our Lives and advocates against gun violence. She ...

, anti gun violence activist,

co-founder, school shooting survivor *

Kyle Kashuv Kyle Kashuv (born May 20, 2001) is an American conservative activist. He survived the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and subsequently advocated for gun rights, notably in opposition to his fellow survivors' March for Our Lives movem ...

, conservative activist, school shooting survivor * Cameron Kasky, anti gun violence activist,

co-founder, school shooting survivor * Steve Klein, musician *

Jesús Luzardo Jesús Guillermo Luzardo (born September 30, 1997) is a Venezuelan-Peruvian professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics. He plays for the Venezuela national b ...

, MLB Player * Jared Moskowitz, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management * Jordan Pundik, musician and songwriter *

Anthony Rizzo Anthony Vincent Rizzo (born August 8, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs. He is a three-time ...

, MLB player *

Jackie Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of whi ...

, actress *

Cassie Scerbo Cassandra Lynn Scerbo (born March 30, 1990) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She was one of the members of the all-girl pop band Slumber Party Girls in the CBS children's music variety series '' Dance Revolution''. In acting, she s ...

, actress, singer and dancer * Nicholas Thompson, professional golfer * Alex Wind, anti gun violence activist,

co-founder, school shooting survivor * Mark Zupan,

Wheelchair Rugby Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport. The US na ...

player

References

External links

* * *
Student newspaper
{{Authority control Broward County Public Schools High schools in Broward County, Florida Public high schools in Florida Stoneman Douglas High School shooting Educational institutions established in 1990 1990 establishments in Florida