Miami Northwestern Senior High School

Miami Northwestern Senior High School
Address
1100 Northwest 71st Street Miami, Florida, 33150 United States
Information
Type	Public
Established	1955
School district	Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Principal	Wallace Aristide
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,578
Average class size	30
Hours in school day	7:20 AM to 2:20 PM
Campus	Urban
Color(s)	Old Gold      Royal Blue
Nickname	Bulls
Website	northwestern.dadeschools.net

Miami Northwestern Senior High School is a public high school located in Miami, Florida, United States, serving students in grades 9-12 from the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami. The school colors are old gold and royal blue. The average annual enrollment is approximately 1,800 students.

Miami Northwestern was founded in 1955 to serve the increasing population of northern Miami. Shortly after the school's inception, the Bull was chosen as the official school mascot from the former Dorsey High School. Miami Northwestern originally served as an all-black high school. Beginning in 1966, Dade County high schools stopped being segregated, and most students from Booker T. Washington transferred to Northwestern (and Miami Jackson Senior High School) in 1967-1968.

Miami Northwestern is a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association and offers a variety of sports programs. Athletic teams compete in the 6A division and are known as the "Bulls". The school's football program has experienced significant success throughout its history, including winning a High School Football National Championship in 2007. Extracurricular activities are offered, including the performing arts, school publications, and clubs.

Notable alumni of the school include Barrington Irving, the first black pilot to fly solo around the world, and Lavonte David, a starting linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In 2011, the school received a "B" grade on the FCAT report card, the first time an inner-city Miami school had achieved such a high mark.^[1]

History

The original school construction as seen here in 1960. Initial construction started in 1954 and was completed in 1955. Pictured is the main entrance located on 12th Avenue, just south of 71st Street.

Miami Northwestern Senior High School formally opened in September 1955 and was located off 12th Avenue and 71st Street.

The mascot "Bull" comes from the former Dorsey High School. Once the new school opened, former Dorsey graduates called it the "New Bull." Several Dorsey graduates are still living today.

With the explosion of the "baby boom" children needing higher education in the second largest school district in the US, Florida’s state officials deemed Miami as a major problem in secondary schools as early as 1953. Miami Northwestern was one of the schools in Dade County built to accommodate more students.

When Miami Northwestern opened, it served only the black residents of Dade County, along with some schools that had been turned into middle schools. George Washington Carver, Mays and North Dade Middle Schools were all high schools for the black residents of Dade County, FL. The class of 1966 all over Dade County stopped having segregated schools, and most of the students from Booker T. Washington came to Northwestern (and Miami Jackson Senior High School) in 1967-1968.

The original school boundaries were 71st Street on the north, 69th Street on the south, 12th Avenue on the west, and 10th Avenue on the east, roughly where the new track and field area is today. Part of the new construction of Northwestern is located where some units of a public housing area (commonly called "The Village") used to be years ago.

The late Mr. John H. Peavy, assistant principal (1955–1988), was well-loved by Miami Northwestern students for his dedication and firmness to education. The street on the west side of the school (12th Ave.) was renamed to John H. Peavy Boulevard in his honor.

Mrs. Ida Ratcliffe was appointed the first principal in August 1955.

In 1960, the real student crunch hit Dade County. Dade Junior College (later changed its name to Miami Dade Community College North, known today as Miami Dade College) was one of the higher learning two-year institution experiencing an overload of college-bound high school graduates. Miami Northwestern was chosen to relieve that demand with the formulation of Dade Junior College Northwest branch. This branch was moved back to the main campus in 1962.

Besides academic studies, a comprehensive trade division was also installed in 1955, in which students could learn a trade to start work immediately after graduation, making Miami Northwestern a full-service community school.

Academics

Northwestern has long been known for its academic challenges; however, the school has shown an unprecedented turn-around over the last several years.

Since the implementation of the Florida School Accountability Report, Northwestern had received a "D" or "F" for the 12 consecutive years between 1998 and 2010, with four "F" grades in the 2001-02, 2002–03, 2006–07, and 2008-09 school years.^[2] During that time, Miami Northwestern was labeled one of the 163 "dropout factories" in the state of Florida by a Johns Hopkins University study of retention rates of students from their freshman to senior years. Using data from the 2004, 2005, and 2006 school years, the study found that 59% of entering freshman had dropped out or transferred before their senior year. Only 41% of the entering class had progressed to earn diplomas.^[3] As of the 2010-11 school year, the graduation rate had doubled to 81%.^[2]

In 2010-11, Miami Northwestern received a "B" on the School Accountability Report, the highest grade ever received by an inner-city school in Miami-Dade County.^[1][4] This improvement has been attributed in part to a major overhaul in school staff, and to an increased focus on college readiness and college-level courses.^[1] To further these efforts, Florida International University has partnered with Northwestern to help foster a successful community school. The initiative, funded by $1 million from JPMorgan Chase, will focus on increased dual-enrollment offerings, financial literacy, service learning, and the construction of an aquaponics laboratory at the school.^[5]

Demographics

Miami Northwestern is 90% Black, 9% Hispanic, and 1% White.^[6]

Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC) magnet program

The Performing and Visual Arts magnet program at Miami Northwestern was started in 1975 by Marcy Sarmiento. In 1982, the program was the starting point for PAVAC, the influential dual-enrollment joint program with Miami-Dade Community College,^[7][8] which later became the New World School of the Arts. The Visual and Performing Arts magnets within the Miami-Dade county school system are competitive entry programs requiring a portfolio or audition, and are open to all students across the school system.

In January 2007, twenty students from Miami Northwestern High School’s Performing and Visual Arts Center drama class were awarded "Best Florida Film" at the 2006 Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival: High School Film Competition for their short film, directed by Jabari Payne, A New Love. Marcus Isaac, the film's producer and editor, was awarded the 2006 Miami Dade Mayor’s Office of Film & Entertainment: Student Filmmaker Award.

The students, members of the in-school CINEMA program of the Florida Film Institute, a non-profit organization mentoring more than 4,200 aspiring young filmmakers throughout Miami-Dade and Broward counties, screened their film at the Romance in a Can Film Festival in February 2007 at the Byron Carlyle Theatre on Miami Beach.^[9]

Athletics

The extracurricular activities offered at Miami Northwestern High School are numerous and varied, due to the school's large size. The Bulls compete in the Greater Miami Athletic Conference and are classified as a 6A school, the largest classification in Florida, according to the Florida High School Athletic Association. Miami Northwestern has won several state championships in various sports, as well as a National Championship in football in 2007. Many graduates have gone on to participate in Division I, Division II, and Division III athletics. Miami Northwestern's athletic rival is Miami Central High School.

Football

Prior to the 2007 season, the Miami Northwestern Bulls had won five class 6A state championships.^[10] In its third game of the 2007 football season, the Bulls, ranked No. 1 by USA Today, traveled to Dallas, Texas to take on the #2 nationally ranked Southlake Dragons.^[11] A crowd of 31,896 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium watched as Miami Northwestern won the contest 29-21, thereby ending Southlake's 49-game winning streak (tied Abilene for the longest in Texas high school football history). The Bulls then completed an undefeated season capping it off with a 41-0 win in the Florida 6A state championship game and being declared the mythical national champions by ESPN and USA Today.^[12] The Bulls went to the 6A State Championship again in 2008, but were defeated by Seminole High School of Sanford.

2007 season

Track and field

Miami Northwestern High School State Champions, 1962-63

The Bulls have also excelled in track and field, with the boys finishing in the top of the Florida state 4A track and field championships for the past 10 years.^[13] In 2001, 2005, 2006, and 2007, the girls won the Florida High School Athletic Association's 4A track and field championship.^[14] In 2007-2008, in the 400 meter event, the girls swept 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with two freshman sprinters.^[15] The boys' team came in second to Miami Central.

Notable alumni

Law, politics, and public service

• Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall - member of the Florida House of Representatives
• Wilkie D. Ferguson - first Florida African-American Federal Judge; the United States Courthouse located in Miami was named in his honor
• John Marks, Class of 1965 - Mayor of Tallahassee
• Alisha Thomas Morgan - state representative, Atlanta, Georgia
• Cynthia Stafford - member of the Florida House of Representatives
• Cornelius Thompson - member of the Department of Justice, BOP
• Frederica Wilson - member of U.S. House of Representatives

Music and film

• DJ Uncle Al - DJ
• Jacki-O - rapper
• Judge Karen - television judge
• Trick Daddy
• Trina - rapper

Athletics

Olympics

• Tiffany Ross-Williams - US Olympic hurdler

Football

• Melvin Bratton, Class of 1984 - running back, Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos, played collegiately at the University of Miami
• Teddy Bridgewater, Class of 2011 - quarterback, Minnesota Vikings, played collegiately at the University of Louisville
• Antonio Bryant, Class of 1999 - wide receiver, Cincinnati Bengals, played collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh
• Vernon Carey, Class of 1999 - offensive tackle, Miami Dolphins, played collegiately at the University of Miami
• Amari Cooper, Class of 2012 - wide receiver, Oakland Raiders, played collegiately at the University of Alabama
• Torrie Cox, Class of 1999 - cornerback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, played collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh
• Lavonte David, Class of 2008 - linebacker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, played collegiately at the University of Nebraska
• Onzy Elam - linebacker, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys, played collegiately at Tennessee State University
• Trevor Ford, Class of 2004 - defensive back, Green Bay Packers
• Marcus Forston, Class of 2008 - defensive tackle, New England Patriots, played collegiately at the University of Miami
• Anthony Gaitor - Tampa Bay Buccaneers, played collegiately at Florida International University
• Jacory Harris, Class of 2008 - quarterback, played collegiately at the University of Miami
• Marvin Jones, Class of 1990 - linebacker, New York Jets, played collegiately at Florida State University
• Tony Martin - San Diego Chargers and Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins
• Dave McDaniels, Class of 1963 - wide receiver, Dallas Cowboys, played collegiately at Mississippi Valley State University
• Marvin "Snoop" Minnis, Class of 1996 - wide receiver, Kansas City Chiefs, played collegiately at Florida State University
• Vernand Morency, Class of 1998 - running back, Green Bay Packers, played collegiately at Oklahoma State University
• Brett Perriman, Class of 1984 - wide receiver, New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins, played collegiately at the University of Miami
• Buster Rhymes, Class of 1980 - wide receiver, Minnesota Vikings, Oklahoma Sooners
• Sean Spence, Class of 2008 - linebacker, Pittsburgh Steelers, played collegiately at the University of Miami
• Tommy Streeter, Class of 2008 - wide receiver, Baltimore Ravens, played collegiately at the University of Miami
• Darwin Thompson, Class of 2013 - running back, played collegiately at the University of Utah
• Tray Walker, Class of 2011 - defensive back, played collegiately at Texas Southern University
• Nate Webster, Class of 1996 - linebacker, Denver Broncos, played collegiately at the University of Miami

Basketball

• Tim James - Miami Heat, played collegiately at the University of Miami
• Stan McKenzie - played in the National Basketball Association from 1967-1974 with the Baltimore Bullets, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, played collegiately at New York University

Other

• Les Brown - motivational speaker
• Barrington Irving - first black pilot to fly solo around the world

See also

• Miami-Dade County Public Schools

References

External links

• Miami Northwestern High School's official website
• Miami-Dade County Public Schools
• Miami Northwestern's greatschools.net page

Coordinates: 25°50′15″N 80°12′58″W / 25.8375968°N 80.2161594°W / 25.8375968; -80.2161594