Pompano Beach High School (formerly Pompano High School, Pompano Beach Senior High School and The Pompano Beach High School Institute of International Studies) is a

college-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher educatio ...

located in

Pompano Beach, Florida Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 202 ...

, which instructs grades 9 through 12. Founded in 1928, it is the second oldest high school in the Broward School District.Pompano Beach High School » Pbhs Newsletter
Pompano Beach High received an FCAT school grade of "''A''" for the 2013–14 academic year. The school has maintained an "''A''" ranking for 11 of the 12 years since the score-based system began during the 2001–02 academic school year. Florida Department of Education, School Accountability Report Pompano Beach High School has been rated 260th best high school in the country and the 9th best in the State of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...

. Since 1958, the school's sports teams have been named the Golden Tornadoes. According to the 2014 edition of '' U.S. News & World Report'', Pompano Beach High School has been ranked the 19th Best High School in the State of Florida.

Academics and ranking

Pompano Beach High School is one of the highest achieving schools in

Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...

. The school has been awarded the Blue Ribbon School of Excellence status, which is considered the highest honor an American school can achieve and is shared by only 3.9% of schools nationwide and is also an Apple Distinguished School for its use of innovative technology and project-based learning to educated students. Both of these awards were accomplished under the guidance of principal Dave Gordon, who retired in 2010. In 2006, Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...

recognized Pompano Beach High School as one of the top fifty schools in the state of Florida. Pompano ranked 13th out of nearly 1,100 high schools in the state and was recognized as the highest ranked fully comprehensive high school in Broward County. Pompano Beach High School also ranked 6th in the state for the greatest gains in student achievement for its lowest quartile of students. Pompano Beach High School has earned an "A" rating 11 times based on FCAT scores since 2002. In 2014, Pompano Beach High School was ranked one of the ''Best High Schools'' in the nation by ''U.S. News & World Report,'' earning the Gold Medal Status. It is listed as the 19th Best High School in the State of Florida and as the 251st Best High School in the United States.

History

Early years (1928–1985)

Pompano High School was founded in 1928, in Pompano Beach, Florida, to address the growing need for secondary education in northeastern

. The first class to graduate from Pompano High was the class of 1928, which had only twelve students. The school's sports teams were called the Beanpickers after the part-time job that many of the school's students had in the formerly agricultural area of the time. The ''Beanpicker'' was also the name of the school's

yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook often ...

, which was first published in 1943. In 1947, following the merger of the towns of Pompano and Pompano Beach, the school changed its name to Pompano Beach High School. In 1957, construction began on NE 6th Street to create a new campus to facilitate the growing community. In 1958, the student body changed the name of the school's sport teams from the Beanpickers to the Golden Tornadoes. In 1960, a new football field, gymnasium, theater, classrooms and new offices were built. The school moved to its present location on March 14, 1960 and was at last developing with a full range of offered courses, sports, civic organizations and clubs. In the 1980s, however, changing population trends and westward migration led to lower attendance rates, and in 1985, Pompano Beach High School closed for 12 years amid much political controversy and community protest. Its campus was then temporarily used as a center for

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

and community programs.

Modern era (1997–present)

In 1997, the school was resurrected as a satellite campus of

Blanche Ely High School Blanche Ely High School is a high school located in Pompano Beach, Broward County, Florida. The school is named for Blanche Ely, former principal and social activist. In addition to Pompano Beach, Ely serves a portion of Deerfield Beach and ...

called the Pompano Beach High School Institute for International Studies. Later, it once again became a school in its own right. Almost always known simply as Pompano Beach High School, it was Broward County's first all-

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as schoo ...

, specializing in "

International Affairs International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

with Informational Technology." Located on the 1960 campus, the school grew to fill the buildings it had once occupied, with the exception of several buildings that had come to be used in the intervening years by the City of Pompano Beach and by the Broward County School District. In 2001, the first class graduated from Pompano since the school's closure in 1985. In February 2004, the school's name was shortened to Pompano Beach High School. On April 13, 2004, a newly built campus opened adjacent to the older campus. On this new campus, the school's current cafeteria, library, offices, and classrooms are contained in a single three-story building. The new facility boasts a totally

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

environment with high-speed connectivity, a 3:1 student to computer ratio and a

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

with multiple servers. The school transformed their classrooms into 21st century digital models to include interactive "smart" boards, ceiling-mounted

LCD projector An LCD projector is a type of video projector for displaying video, images or computer data on a screen or other flat surface. It is a modern equivalent of the slide projector or overhead projector. To display images, LCD (liquid-crystal display) ...

s, and sound and voice amplification systems to help teachers meet student needs. A new

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

was completed in 2005, which the school uses for

concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pl ...

and special guest presentations. The two original gyms are still in use and have been renovated. The buildings that had been used by the school since its 1997 reopening were demolished to make room for the school's parking lot. Despite having been closed for 12 years in recent history, the school maintains some connections with its long past. Volume 64 of the ''Beanpicker'' was published in 2007; the volume numbers for the years 1985–97 were skipped.

Alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

from the school's earlier days continue to meet for reunions.

Athletics

* During the spring 2004 Season, the Girls' Track and Field team won the Class 2A State Championship and placed 5th nationally at the Nike Indoor Championships in the 4 x 200 Meter Relay with individual first place wins in the

60 metres hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both ...

event. *

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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 ...

(boys and girls) *

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 ...

Cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

Flag football Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down. The sport has a strong amateur following ...

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 ca ...

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 w ...

(boys and girls) *

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 extensively ...

(boys and girls *

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 t ...

(boys and girls) *

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 Han ...

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 ...

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 ...

(boys and girls) *

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping even ...

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 Summe ...

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 the ...

)

Demographics

As of the 2021-22 school year, the total student enrollment was 1,226. The ethnic makeup of the school was 64.7%

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 on ...

, 22.4%

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 have of ...

, 26.5%

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 form ...

, 7.2% Asian, 4.5%

Multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

, 1% Native American or

Native Alaskan Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and enterta ...

, and 0.2%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

Notable alumni

Charlene Honeywell Charlene Vanessa Edwards Honeywell (born November 19, 1957) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Early life and education Born in Deerfield Beach, Florida, Honeywell graduat ...

, United States District Judge on the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (in case citations, M.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes - Nomination of Charlene Edwards Honeywell
''senate.gov'' (November 9, 2009). * Quintin Jones, former Professional Football Player for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

. *

Barry Krauss Richard Barry Krauss (born March 17, 1957) is a former professional American football player who played linebacker for twelve seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Early years Krauss was born and reared in Pompano Beach, Florida; he wa ...

, Professional Football Player for the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. * Pam Kruse, former

World Record Holder In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

in the 400 Meter Freestyle and 1968 Olympics Silver Medalist in the 800 Meter Freestyle. * Myron Lewis,

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

cornerback for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

* John Nelson, 1968 Olympic

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

ist in the 4×200 Meter Freestyle Relay and

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

Silver Medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

ist in the 1500 Meter Freestyle. * Dan Nugent, former

player for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

References

External links

Pompano Beach High School official web site
{{authority control Broward County Public Schools High schools in Broward County, Florida Public high schools in Florida Magnet schools in Florida Buildings and structures in Pompano Beach, Florida 1928 establishments in Florida Educational institutions established in 1928