Pompano Beach High School

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Pompano Beach High School (formerly Pompano High School and Pompano Beach High School Institute of International Studies) is a magnet high school located in Pompano Beach, Florida, encompassing grades 9 through 12. Founded in the 1920s, it is the second oldest high school in the Broward School District. [1] Since 1958, the school's sports teams have been named the Golden Tornadoes.

1 Overview
2 History
- 2.1 Early years (1928-1985)
- 2.2 Return (1997-present)
3 Sports
4 Activities and clubs
5 Notable alumni
6 External links

[edit] Overview

Pompano Beach High School has an enrollment of 1,183 students. [2] As of the 2006-2007 school year, the principal is David Gordon, [3] formerly of Miramar High School.

In recent years, Pompano Beach High School has been one of the highest achieving in the area. In 2006, the FCAT scores of the PBHS's students earned the school an "A" rating, the highest possible, for the fifth year in a row. [4] [5] Also that year, Pompano Beach High School was ranked the 13th best public high school in the state of Florida. [6]

Due to the continued high academic performance of its students, there are no classes on Fridays. Since nearby Blanche Ely High School's FCAT scores fell several years ago, Pompano has been the only school in Broward County to enjoy this privilege. Furthermore, the school follows block scheduling.

[edit] History

[edit] Early years (1928-1985)

Pompano High School was founded in the 1920s, in what was then known as Pompano, Florida, to address the growing need for secondary education in northeastern Broward County. Twelve students comprised the first graduating class in 1928. The school's sports teams were called the Beanpickers after the part-time job that many of the school's students had in the rural area. The Beanpicker was also the name of the school's yearbook, 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 a new campus located several blocks away from the original site. To commemorate the impending move, the student body changed the name of the school's teams from the Beanpickers to the Golden Tornadoes in 1958. The school moved to its new facility in 1960, during the 1959-1960 school year. After the move, the school's current gymnasium was built. A second, smaller gym was added in the early 1980s.

In the 1980s, changing population trends led to lower attendance, and in 1985, Pompano Beach High School closed. Its campus was then used as a center for adult education, a preschool, and various other community purposes. [7]

[edit] Return (1997-present)

In 1997, the school was resurrected as a satellite campus of Blanche Ely High School 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, [8] specializing in "International Affairs 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 been used in the intervening years by the City of Pompano Beach and by the Broward School District. In 2001, the first class graduated from Pompano since the school's closure in 1985. [9]

In February 2004, the school's name was shortened to Pompano Beach High School. On April 13 of that year, a new campus, constructed adjacent to the existing one, opened. On this new campus, the school's cafeteria, library, offices, and classrooms are contained in a single, large building. An auditorium was completed in 2005. The two gyms are still in use. Those buildings that had been used by the school since its 1997 reopening were demolished to make room for a parking lot.

Despite having been closed for 12 years in recent history, the school maintains some connections with its long past. For example, the yearbook has been known as the Beanpicker since its inception in 1943. Alumni from the school's earlier days continue to meet for reunions.