Cocoa High School

Cocoa High School is high school located in Cocoa, Florida, and is part of the Brevard Public Schools District. The principal is Ms. C. Denise Stewart .

History

Cocoa High was constructed in 1917. It was a two-story reinforced concrete building on Willard Street, next to Forrest Park Complex. It contained grades 7-12. Seven years later, in 1925, a new three-story building was built on Forrest Avenue.

On September 2, 1952, Cocoa High School opened its new school building for grades 7-12 on Rockledge Avenue, the present site of Rockledge High. The building on Forrest Avenue became the Junior High for grades 7-8th grades. In 1959 grades 7-8 were moved to a middle school. The Forrest Avenue building was used by the then-new Brevard Jr. College, founded in 1959, for two years. In 1966 the school hired its first Black staff member Dr. Joe Lee Smith as Assistant Principal.

In 1970 a school was built at the present site on Rosetine Street (Tiger Trail). There were 18 separate buildings housing grades 9-12. The part of Rosetine Street bordering the Cocoa High campus was renamed "Tiger Trail" in honor of the school's mascot. In the 1974-75 school year, the School Board appointed its first woman to a high school principalship: Ruth Anderson to Cocoa High. In the 1978-79 school year the School Board appointed its first Black person to a Principalship: Richard "Dick" Blake to Cocoa High.

In 2010, the football team played three out-of-state games in an effort to be nationally ranked. In September 2010, the school was ranked 12th in the nation. It also set a county record for number of consecutive football victories: 31.

In October 2008, the football team lost a game to another Brevard County team. It would be another nine years before Rockledge High School beat Cocoa in the local BBQ Bowl District Champions football game in October 2017. Cocoa High has maintained possession of the BBQ Bowl trophy since 2020, a four year streak to date. They have also seen District 2 State Championship back to back wins in 2022 and 2023, bringing the total number of state championship titles to six.

Campus

The school campus contains 25 single-story buildings located on Tiger Trail, in Cocoa, Florida.

A 1,000-seat auditorium was built in 2010.

Sports

Cocoa High was the first High School in the County to win an FHSAA State Championship in any sport, winning the Class "A" State Boys Basketball Championship in 1960. The team finished #1 in the State and had a 29-1 record. The school was also the County's first High School to win a Girl's FHSAA State Championship in any sport winning the Class "AAA" Girls State Basketball Championship in 1978. Coach James Rowe's 2009 Boys Basketball Team won the school's second Basketball Championship winning the Class "AAA" Championship in 2009.

Its primary athletic rival is Rockledge High School.

Activities

The school offers students the following activities:

*Student Government Association
*Robotics
*National Honor Society
*Drama Club
*Mu Alpha Theta
*Guitar Club
*J. Kyle Braid Leadership Club
*Yearbook
*Key Club
*Best Buddies International
*National Beta Club
*Fellowship of Christian Athletes
*Academic Team

*Spanish Club
*Future Business Leaders of America
*Literary Magazine
*Science Engineering Communications
*Mathematics Enrichment
*Music Organizations
**Marching Band
**Orchestra
**Chorus
**Gospel Choir
*Science Research
*JROTC

Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) controversy

At the end of the 2005-2006 school year, Brevard Public School District conducted an internal investigation of Cocoa High which resulted in the removal of four of the school's principals. The administration at the school inaccurately reported its FCAT information. The District found that the school's principal, and three assistant principals, were involved in the scandal. All four administrators were removed from their positions.

In 2007, the school scored a "D" based on the standardized testing for the year, the lowest score in the district. This was raised to an "A", using different criteria in 2010, after state officials decided the old standards were too high. It is one of five high schools in Brevard to have this grade.

Suspension of Robert Marucci

The school made headlines in national media after the suspension of senior Robert Marucci, who had starred in gay adult films to financially support his family. The incident sparked outrage on social media, and several students of the school spoke out in Robert's support.

His mother alleged that the principal, Dr. Stephanie Soliven, had expelled him because of his explicit lifestyle career. She also claimed that her son was bullied after his schoolmates found his videos online. Brevard County School District spokeswoman Michelle Irwin, however, disputed that he was suspended because of his job. She said the suspension was because of an ongoing investigation about the "possible threats" he made, which Robert denied. She also said that he never filed any formal bullying complaints.

Robert was allowed to return to school after four days of suspension. Marucci said the principal "apologized to me and said the threats were made up (by other students)." Irwin confirmed that the investigation was complete and he was cleared of suspicion, but refused to disclose the exact reason behind the suspension, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Notable alumni

* Bob Anderson (1956), All-State American football, basketball, baseball, track; school, county first All-American in football. Two-time All-American at West Point; Heisman Trophy finalist twice. Former professional football New York Giants.
* Emory L. Bennett (Class of 1948), Korean War Medal of Honor recipient.
* Vassar Carlton (1932), 18 varsity letters for football, basketball, baseball; U-Fla. letterman in football, baseball. Retired as Chief Justice Florida Supreme Court.
* Rodney Chester (Class of 1983), actor, dancer, choreographer
* Jamel Dean, NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers football player
* James Folston (Class of 1989), former NFL player. Was named to four All American teams as a College Senior. Associated Press, Football Gazette, NFL Draft Report and the Walter Camp Foundation. 1994-2nd Round Draft Pick of the Los Angeles Raiders.
* Tarean Folston, former professional football player
* Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (2016), professional football player for the Houston Texans; NFL Interceptions co-leader (2022)
* Javian Hawkins, University of Louisville and NFL running back
* Jesse Lee Kercheval (Class of 1974, graduated 1973), author, poet, and professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
* Carrot Top (Scott Thompson; Class of 1983), comedian.
* Ronald Patrick (Class of 2009), former professional NFL football player
* Chip Skowron, (Class of 1987) hedge fund portfolio manager convicted of insider trading
* John Tanner, former NFL player
* Jawaan Taylor (2016), professional football player for the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars.
*Zach Thomas, former NFL player

Footnotes

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Brevard Public Schools
Cocoa, Florida
Educational institutions established in 1917
High schools in Brevard County, Florida
Public high schools in Florida
1917 establishments in Florida