McFatter Technical Center

William T. McFatter Technical Center is an adult technical center that also includes a magnet high school located in Davie, Florida. The center is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district.

Adults at the center number close to 1000. The magnet high school tries to maintain an average of 600 pupils in the school at one time, about 150 students per grade. These students are picked out of a lottery after they have met the requirements to get in to the school. Certain requirements include a GPA of at least 2.5 and an FCAT score of a Level 3 or higher. McFatter has an FCAT school grade of "A" for the 2009-2010 academic year.^[1]

History

The school began as a Vocational center for adults, later expanding to combine a full school high school magnet program focusing on college preparation and vocational training. In 2002 the school was honored as Florida's model high school. It was also named a New Millennium High School, being only one of twenty in the state of Florida. The School Board of Broward County has rated the school as an "A" for the last six years. The whole high school program has been running in a total of 14 years, and is located near Broward College and Alvin T. Sherman Library. Recently the school has won the Blue Ribbon Award. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private schools based on one of two criteria: 1) Schools whose students, regardless of background, achieve in the top 10 percent of their state on state tests or in the case of private schools in the top 10 percent of the nation on nationally-normed tests; and 2) Schools with at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that demonstrate dramatic improvement of student performance to high levels on state tests or nationally-normed tests.

Operation

Adults take either a 5 or 6 hour hands-on technical program which gives them training to enter the workforce. They are taught by professionals in their respective fields. In the high school, for their freshman and sophomore years, students are required to take a "Tech Studies" course, in which they explore the aspects of all the technical programs that the center has to offer. With the end of their sophomore year, students are required to choose their technical program for the rest of their high school years. All students take honor classes or classes on higher levels, and some takes Advanced Placement courses. The school operates from 9:15 AM to 4:10 P.M. Students that use school buses as transportation home must take a shuttle bus to Nova High School, where they then get on their buses. There are clubs and organizations for students to participate in, including...

• Anime Club
• Art Club
• Brain Bowl
• Building Futures
• Class of 2014 (Class color - Blue)
• Class of 2015 (Class color - Red)
• Class of 2016 (Class color - Green)
• Class of 2017 (Class color - Orange)
• Dance Club
• Debate Club
• First Priority
• Future Educators of America (FEA)
• Gay Straight Alliance
• Glee Club
• Human Relation Council
• ICC
• Key Club
• Music Club
• National Honor Society
• Science & Reason Club
• SGA
• SHAPE
• Spanish Club
• Step Team
• Thespian Club
• Fashion Club

*The McFatter Messenger

• Women of Tomorrow
• Yearbook

High school

There is currently only one high school building. Because the campus does not have any sports teams, Physical Education and Health Management classes are required to be taken as a freshman and sophomore. The school symbol is the Fusion, represented by an atom. The first class to graduate from McFatter was in 2002. The class of 2008 had $1.6 million in scholarships.

Mission Statement

The mission of McFatter Technical Center is to continuously seek and provide excellent academic, technical, and career development that is responsive to our community and students’ needs.^[2]

High School Demographics

As of September 2012, the total high school student enrollment was 620. The ethnic makeup of the school was 32% White, 17% Black, 43% Hispanic, 5% Asian or Pacific Islander, 2% Multiracial, and 0% Native American or Native Alaskan.^[3]

Technical Courses Offered

Automotive Services Technology ^[4]
Boat and Yacht Repair
Drafting
Welding
Marine Services Technology
Culinary Arts ^[5]
Commercial Photography
Graphic Arts & Printing
New Media Technology
Television Production
Network Support Services ^[6]
Computer Programming
Medical Assisting
Practical Nursing
Dental Laboratory Technology
Optometric Assisting
Pharmacy Technology

References