Clearwater High School

Public secondary school in Clearwater, Florida, United States

NicknameTornadoesWebsitewww.pcsb.org/clearwater-hs

Clearwater High School (CHS) is a four-year public high school located in Clearwater, Florida, United States. It is part of the Pinellas County School System. The school mascot is a tornado, therefore students and faculty are known as the Tornadoes. Their colors are crimson and gray, which is also the name of their fight song.

History

Clearwater High School traces its lineage to 1906, when three 9th-graders were enrolled at a small schoolhouse built that year on Ft. Harrison Avenue. In 1924, Clearwater High School was built on Greenwood Avenue, where it remained until the current campus on Hercules Avenue was completed in 1954.^[2] In 1999, a $12-million renovation of the facilities was completed.^[3]

Academics

Clearwater High has various academic programs, also known as Academies, centering on different aspects of life beyond high school, as well as an optional University of Cambridge AICE Diploma program alongside them. In 2017, The Washington Post ranked it as the "most challenging high school" in Pinellas County, based on the number of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate students as a percentage of graduating seniors. The school offered 18 AP courses that year, while attaining an 88% graduation rate, with 73% of graduates going on to attend a four-year college.^[4]

Athletics

Clearwater High School's Jack White Stadium

The school's 4,200-seat football stadium was built in 1950 and dedicated in 1951 as Central Pinellas Stadium. It 1963, it was renamed to honor Jack White, a judge on the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, who was a leading figure in the effort beginning in 1949 to build the stadium.^[5]

In addition to football, other boys' sports include baseball, swimming, and wrestling. The Clearwater Tornadoes compete in a variety of sports for both boys and girls, including basketball, soccer, golf, track and field, lacrosse, and tennis.^[6] Under head coach Jack Wilson, the Tornadoes won the boys' basketball state championship in 1981.^[7] The school's Jack L. Wilson Gymnasium is named in his memory.

The school has also won state championships in the following sports:^[8]^{[better source needed]}

Boys Golf (1968)
Girls Cross Country (1976)
Girls Track (1977)
Swimming (1978)
Volleyball (1997 and 2000)
Boys Soccer, Class 3A (2001)^[9]

Notable alumni

Sara Blakely (class of 1989), founder and part owner of Spanx, minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks, guest judge on Shark Tank^[10]
Mike Brittain (class of 1981), NBA center for the San Antonio Spurs
Gene Chizik (class of 1980), head football coach at Auburn University^[11]
Jeremiah George (class of 2010), NFL linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts
Howard Johnson (class of 1978), MLB third baseman for the New York Mets
Hassan Jones (class of 1982), NFL wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings
Luke Loucks (class of 2008), assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors^[12]
Robert Margalis (class of 1999), Olympic team trials swimmer and Pan American Games gold medalist^[13]
Bruce Melnick (class of 1967), NASA astronaut^[14]
Scott Nicolas (class of 1978), NFL linebacker for the Cleveland Browns
Joel Parker (class of 1970), NFL wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints
Nicole Passonno Stott (class of 1980), NASA astronaut^[15]
Okaro White (class of 2010), NBA power forward for the Miami Heat^[12]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Clearwater High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
^ White, D'Ann Lawrence (June 14, 2019). "Old South Ward School To Reopen As Clearwater History Museum". Patch. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
^ "Clearwater High School Information". Pinellas County Public Schools. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
^ Mathews, Jay (May 5, 2017). "America's Most Challenging High Schools". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
^ "Stadium named for Jack White". St. Petersburg Times. October 31, 1963. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
^ "Clearwater Tornadoes". MaxPreps. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
^ Mike Flanagan (March 16, 1981). "Day to Remember - The Tornadoes Made History They'll Never Forget". Evening Independent. p. 40.
^ "Athletic information". Clearwater High School. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
^ "2000-01 Boys Soccer Stats". Florida High School Athletic Association. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
^ "Sara Blakely". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 28, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
^ John, Romano (January 9, 2011). "Auburn Tigers coach Gene Chizik achieves thanks to the gifts of his father". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Putnam, Bob (May 31, 2018). "Former Clearwater teammates on opposing sidelines for NBA Finals". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
^ "Robert Margalis". USA Swimmig. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021.
^ Kamm, Grayson (August 14, 2009). "Clearwater High grad is headed for space -- and she's not the first". 10 Tampa Bay. TEGNA Inc. Retrieved June 23, 2024. That's because Clearwater High has produced not one -- but two astronauts. Bruce Melnick flew on two shuttles in the early '90's.
^ Houck, Jeff (August 18, 2009). "Clearwater High grad to join space station". NBC News. NBC Universal. Retrieved June 23, 2024. After graduating from Clearwater High School, Stott studied aviation administration at the Clearwater and Tarpon Springs campuses of what later became St. Petersburg College.