South Miami High School

South Miami Senior High School is a high school located at 6856 SW 53rd Street in Miami, Florida, in the United States. Its principal is Gilberto Bonce.

The school is located about a mile and a half west of the University of Miami. It contains a magnet program, the Celia Cruz School of the Arts, which offers programs in seven strands: media production (with emphasis on television and film), computer graphics, music, photography, commercial arts (with emphasis on illustration), dance, and drama.

South Miami's athletic rivals are Coral Gables High School and Southwest Miami High School.

History

South Miami Senior opened its doors to students on November 10, 1971. It was built to relieve the overcrowding at Southwest Miami High, Coral Park Senior High and Coral Gables High School. The student body selected the Cobra as its mascot. The school's first principal, Warren Burchell, was originally from Ohio and chose the school colors, orange and brown, for the team colors of the NFL Cleveland Browns.

Since opening, South Miami has had five principals: Dr. Warren G. Burchell, Judy Weiner, Thomas L. Shaw, Eugene Butler, Craig Speziale, and Gilberto Bonce. Dr. Burchell's term was the longest, at 22 years.

Demographics

The school is 84% Hispanic, 8% Black, 7% White non-Hispanic, and 1% Asian.^[2]

SMSH as it appeared in the school's yearbook in 1978

Notable alumni

Athletics

Baseball

• Jose Barrios - Class of 1975; former MLB player (San Francisco Giants)
• Dennis Sherrill – Class of 1974; played Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees in 1978 and 1980

Equestrian

• Margie Goldstein-Engle - equestrian show horse champion

Football

• Fernanza Burgess - Class of 1978; quarterback, played for the Miami Dolphins and The New York Jets^[3]
• Wayne Capers - Class of 1979; wide receiver, played for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1983–1984) and Indianapolis Colts (1985–1986); played collegiately at the University of Kansas
• Phil Clarke - Class of 1995; linebacker for the New Orleans Saints (1999–2003); played collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh
• John Corker - Class of 1976; linebacker who played four seasons in the National Football League, mainly for the Houston Oilers
• Damian Harrell - Arena Football League wide receiver/defensive back; played collegiately at Florida State University
• Paul Hazel - Class of 2009; linebacker for the Cleveland Browns; played collegiately at Western Michigan University.^[4]
• Fred Jones - NFL player
• Dennis McKinnon - Class of 1979; wide receiver, played for the Chicago Bears (1983–1989, including the 1985 Super Bowl champions) and the Dallas Cowboys (1990); played collegiately at Florida State University
• Derrick Thomas - Class of 1985; linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs (1989–1999); played collegiately at the University of Alabama

Others

• Marco Rubio - Class of 1989; Speaker of the House of Representatives for Florida; U.S. Senator from Florida
• Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio - former Miami Dolphins cheerleader
• Ivette Corredero - runner-up in Big Brother 6^[5]
• Raúl De Molina - multiple Emmy-winning co-host of Univision Network's #1 rated entertainment news show, El Gordo y la Flaca
• Albert Gonzalez - charged with hacking more than 170 million credit card numbers, the biggest computer fraud in history^[6]
• Mia Michaels - Class of 84; choreographer known for judging reality television show So You Think You can Dance
• Carlos Ponce - singer, songwriter, actor
• Julio Robaina - former mayor and commissioner city of South Miami, currently serving in the Florida House of Representatives
• Rick Rodriguez - President and GM of Qubo children's network

See also

• Silver Knight Awards
• Miami-Dade County Public Schools
• Education in the United States

References

External links

• South Miami Senior High School's official website
• Miami-Dade County Public Schools
• GreatSchools.net webpage for South Miami High School