Nova High School

For the former school in California, see Nova High School (Redding, California). For the alternative high school in Seattle, see the Nova Project.

Not to be confused with Novi High School.

Nova High School
Aerial view, October 2023
Address
3600 College Avenue Davie , Florida 33314 United States
Information
School type	Public high school Public Secondary
Motto	We do the right thing
Established	1960
Founder	Ford
School board	BCPS
School district	Broward County Public Schools
Superintendent	Dr. Peter B. Licata
School number	1281
School code	1281
Principal	Olayemi Awofadeju
Head of school	Olayemi Awofadeju
Staff	approx. 110
Faculty	largest number of National Board certified teachers in the district
Teaching staff	86.00 (FTE) [1]
Grades	9-12
Age range	14–19
Enrollment	2,279 (2021-22) [2]
Classes	block schedule classes #1-4 on green day and classes #5-8 on gold day
Average class size	23
Student to teacher ratio	25.86 [1]
Classes offered	All Advanced Placement classes plus elective and core classes
Language	English
Campus size	Current holding of 5,000 students daily
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Green & gold
Slogan	At Nova, we do the right thing.
Athletics	Pat McQuaid
Athletics conference	Broward County Athletic Association (District 5A)
Sports	All FHSAA Sports
Mascot	Titan & NT
Team name	Titans
Rival	St. Thomas Aquinas High School Western High School
National ranking	527
Newspaper	Titan Times
Yearbook	Olympian
Feeder schools	Nova Middle School
Affiliation	FHSAA
Debate Coach	Courtney Chipman
Student Government Association Sponsor (SGA)	Taha Malik free_label2 = Cybersecurity Department
Athletic Director	Pat McQuaid
Drama Thespians	Troupe 4611
Director of Bands	Joshua P. Bishop
Website	NHS Official Site

Nova High School is a public high school located in Davie, Florida and is part of the Broward County Public Schools district. It is one of four schools that comprise the Nova Center for Applied Research and Professional Development, the others being Nova Eisenhower Elementary School, Nova Blanche Forman Elementary School, and Nova Middle School. Nova Eisenhower Elementary, the newest of the three lower schools, began in downtown Fort Lauderdale, in the old Fort Lauderdale High School building, while the current facility was being built in Davie.

The Nova campus is located within the South Florida Education Center, a consortium of area institutions which include the main campuses of Nova Southeastern University, Broward College, and the McFatter Technical Center, as well as regional campuses of the University of Florida and Florida Atlantic University. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, ^[3] and has earned a FCAT school grade of "A" every year since 1999, with only one "B" grade in the 2002–2003 year. ^[4]

History

Nova High School was established in 1960, and opened in September 1963, as a joint project between the Broward County Public Schools and Ford Foundation. Known as the Nova Educational Experiment, the project aimed to create a community of schools spanning elementary to university level education in one location. Forman Field, the 545-acre site of a vacated naval aviation facility and located in the then rural areas of Broward County was chosen as the site for the project. ^[5]

The Nova schools were originally jointly funded by the Ford Foundation and local sources, and were known for their progressive curricula and use of experimental teaching methods. Students were required to pass an entrance exam for acceptance and a lengthy waiting list often existed for potential students. The school year consisted of eleven months of instruction, with a one-month summer break.

Nova was the beta testing site for "Propaganda" and a number of other academic games. The earliest national academic games tournaments were held on the Nova campus during the late 1960s.

After the Nova Educational Experiment ended in the 1970s, the Ford Foundation departed and total control of the Nova schools reverted to the Broward County Public Schools. Entrance requirements were relaxed, however, as of 1985, placement on a waiting list for entry into the schools was still required.

During the 1980s, the schools' special status had begun to chafe within the workings of the school board. School board movements to close or consolidate the schools resulted in heated contention between parents, students and the board, often accompanied by noisy public meetings.

The Nova schools have consistently ranked at the very top of schools in the state. Nova High School was ranked as the 237th best public high school in the United States, 36th best in Florida, by Newsweek Magazine in 2007 and is listed as a Silver Medal School by the U.S. News & World Report in 2008, placing it within the top 3% of all high schools in the country. ^{[6] [7]}

Nova High School is also well known for its extensive course offerings, including 22 Advanced Placement courses. Nova graduates consistently matriculate to some of the finest colleges and universities in Florida and throughout the country.

Demographics and statistics

As of the 2021-22 school year, the total student enrollment was 2,279. The ethnic makeup of the school was 31.6% White, 59% Black, 21.6% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 3.2% Multiracial, 0.9% Native American or Native Alaskan, and 0.3% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. ^[2]

Nova High School was awarded a grade of "A" by the Florida Department of Education in 2002–2003, 2004–2013. On the 2007 norm-referenced Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), Nova students performed nationally at the 75th percentile in reading and 82nd percentile in math. Nova faculty have, on average, 12 years of teaching experience and 49% hold advanced degrees. Average class size is 25 and the student stability rate is 97%. ^[8]

County-sanctioned athletic programs

• Basketball (Boys' and Girls')
• Baseball (Boys')
• Bowling
• Cross Country (Boys' and Girls')
• Diving (Boys' and Girls')
• American football (Boys')
• Flag football (Girls')
• Soccer (Boys' and Girls')
• Swimming (sport) (Boys' and Girls')
• Diving (sport) (Boys' and Girls')
• Track and Field (Boys' and Girls')
• Tennis (Boys' and Girls')
• Softball (Girls')
• Volleyball (Boys' and Girls')
• Wrestling (Boys')
• Water Polo (Boys' and Girls')
• Golf Team (Boys' and Girls')
• Step Team (Boys' and Girls')
• Cheerleading

Debate team

Members of the Nova High School speech and debate team have won nine National Championships since the year 2000: Jeff Hannan in Student Congress (2000), ^[9] Scott Jacobson in Student Congress (2002), ^[10] Matt Futch in Student Congress (2004), ^[11] Allison Pena in Extemp Commentary (2007), ^[12] Jared Odessky in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking and Jamaque Newberry in Dramatic Interpretation (2011), ^[13] Gregory Bernstein in Congressional Debate (2013), ^[14] Craig Heyne in Prose Reading (2016), ^[15] and the team of Cornelia Fraser and Rafey Khan in Public Forum Debate (2017). ^[16]

Baseball team

Coach Pat McQuaid has led the Nova Titans baseball team for 42 years.^{[ citation needed ]} To honor the coach's service to the school, the baseball field was named Pat McQuaid Field. Recent accomplishments include state championships in 2004 and 2005. In each of those years, the Titans were ranked #1 in the nation by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. In April 2010, Coach McQuaid was inducted into the F.H.S.A.A. (Florida High School Athletic Association) Hall of Fame for his lifelong contribution to coaching high school baseball in the State of Florida.^{[ citation needed ]}

Former Nova High School players to see game time with a Major League Baseball team include Doug Johns (Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics), Harry Chappas (Chicago White Sox), Michael Morse (San Francisco Giants), Jeff Fiorentino (Baltimore Orioles), Anthony Swarzak (Minnesota Twins), and Tyler Kinley (Colorado Rockies).

Swim, dive, and water polo teams

Since 1968, Nova High School's Swim, Dive, and Water Polo Teams have earned 1 National Record, 1 National Champion, 183 All-Americans, 8 National Scholar Team Awards, 7 Team State Championships (12-Time Runner-up), and 58 Individual State Titles. From 2006 to 2015.^{[ citation needed ]}

Drama club

Nova High School's Drama Club has participated in the Florida State Thespian Festival and received Excellents, Superiors, honorable mentions, and critics choice.^{[ citation needed ]} The Weight of Words is an anti-bullying show written by Nova High students and the Lovewell Institute, and performed throughout Florida by current students enrolled in the acting class. This play is a "call for action" for all audience members that will transform any audience into agents of change. The Weight of Words is becoming widely known and is now being performed in other states and schools.^{[ citation needed ]}

Notable alumni

Entertainment

• Jeff Garlin, Class of 1980, comedian and actor/producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm , star of The Goldbergs
• Paige O'Hara, voice of Belle from Disney's Beauty and the Beast
• Scott Storch, Grammy Award–winning music producer
• Uffie (Anna-Catherine Hartley), Electro music artist
• Justin D. Jacobson, Class of 1988, award-winning game designer and publisher
• David Bianculli, Class of 1971, television critic for National Public Radio
• Corinne Kaplan, Survivor contestant on Survivor: Gabon and Survivor: Caramoan

News

• Glenn Greenwald, Class of 1985, journalist and author ^[17]
• Alison Kosik, CNN business correspondent
• Marie Murray Martin, Class of 1981, founder of the Elberta Arts Center and award-winning education writer ^{[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]}
• Cary Tennis, Class of 1971, writer for Salon.com

Athletics

Football

• Autry Denson, Class of 1995, running back, all-time rushing yards leader at Notre Dame; running backs coach
• Tyrus McCloud, Class of 1993 – linebacker, went to NFL
• Chris Gamble, cornerback, Carolina Panthers (2004–2012)
• Omar Smith, center, New York Giants (2002–2004)

Baseball

• Harry Chappas, MLB shortstop with Chicago White Sox (1978–1980)
• Jeff Fiorentino, MLB outfielder with Baltimore Orioles (2005–2006, 2009) and Oakland Athletics (2008)
• Doug Johns, MLB pitcher with Oakland Athletics (1995–1996) and Baltimore Orioles (1998–1999) ^[24]
• Tyler Kinley, MLB pitcher with the Minnesota Twins (2018) ^[25]
• Mike Morse, Class of 2000, MLB outfielder/first baseman with several teams
• Anthony Swarzak, MLB pitcher with several teams

Basketball

• Mickey Dillard, NBA player for Cleveland Cavaliers (1981–1982); played collegiately at Florida State University
• Jim Thomas, played in NBA for Indiana Pacers (1983–1985), Los Angeles Clippers (1985–1986) and Minnesota Timberwolves (1990–1991); played collegiately at the University of Indiana

Soccer

• Cory Gibbs, professional soccer player for several teams and the U.S. national team

Other

• Robert F. Coleman, professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley
• Nathan Connolly, Class of 1995, historian. Herbert Baxter Adams Associate Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University.
• Chesley V. Morton, Class of 1969, Georgia House of Representatives 1983–1991
• Kevyn D. Orr, Class of 1979, City of Detroit emergency financial manager ^[26]
• Brian A. Skiff, Class of 1973, noted astronomer at Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ
• Ben Stark, Class of 2001, Hall of Fame American Magic: The Gathering player.

References

1. "NOVA HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
2. "2021-22 BENCHMARK DAY ENROLLMENT REPORT" (PDF). Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
3. "Archived: Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982–1983 Through 1999–2002 (PDF)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
4. "FCAT School Grades – High". Browardschools.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2004. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
5. http://grove.ufl.edu/~turf/flrec/history.html ^{[ dead link ]}
6. "America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com". Newsweek . Archived from the original on December 1, 2007.
7. Best High Schools Search – U.S. News & World Report
8. "Nova High School – Davie, Florida – FL – school overview". Greatschools.net. September 7, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
9. "Rostrum 75.1" (PDF). National Speech and Debate Association. p. 35.
10. "Rostrum 77.1" (PDF). National Speech and Debate Association. p. 55.
11. "Rostrum 79.1" (PDF). National Speech and Debate Association. p. 74.
12. "Rostrum 82.1" (PDF). National Speech and Debate Association. p. 45.
13. "Rostrum 86.1" (PDF). National Speech and Debate Association. pp. 59–60.
14. "Rostrum 88.1" (PDF). National Speech and Debate Association. p. 65.
15. "Rostrum 91.1". National Speech and Debate Association. p. 98.
16. "Rostrum 91.5". National Speech and Debate Association. p. 17.
17. "Columnist who broke NSA leaks story grew up in Lauderdale Lakes | Miami Herald". Miami Herald . Archived from the original on November 5, 2020.
18. "Texarkana Gazette honored with 37 journalism awards". Texarkana Gazette. July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
19. "Netterstrom among APME award winners". Arkansas Press Women. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
20. "2010-2011 APME Awards" (PDF). Associated Press. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
21. "2012-Texas-APME-Awards-List". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
22. "Gazette Wins Awards North and East Texas Press Association". Texarkana Gazette. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
23. "Gazette wins 3 awards in journalist competition Society of Professional Journalist". Texarkana Gazette. September 2, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
24. Cava, Pete (October 2, 2015). Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players: A Biographical Dictionary, 1871-2014. McFarland. p. 100. ISBN   978-1-4766-2270-5 . Retrieved December 19, 2022.
25. Rodriguez, Juan C. (June 8, 2013). "Miami Marlins pick Barry University and Nova High School product Tyler Kinley in 16th round". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
26. "Brief bio of Kevyn Orr".

External links

• Nova High (official site)

26°04′33″N80°14′14″W / 26.0759°N 80.2372°W / 26.0759; -80.2372