The school's history dates to the 1860s, serving as the first school for Black students in the state of Florida. It was begun as an elementary school serving the African-American population under the then-segregated education system. It now serves secondary students (grades 9–12) within the Duval County Public Schools of Duval County, Florida. The school offers special curricula including Honors courses, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate courses. In 2005, the Advanced Placement Report to the Nation[2] recognized Stanton College Preparatory School as the best large size high school for Advanced Placement in the world.
Stanton was called "one of the premier IB and AP public schools in the country" by Jay Mathews in his 2005 book Supertest: How the International Baccalaureate Can Strengthen Our Schools. Most Stanton students attend some form of college after graduation, whether four-year or two-year institutions, local, national, or international.[3] In 2014, the Washington Post ranked the school as the 4th most challenging high school in the Southern United States.[4]
Shortly after the end of the Civil War, a group of African Americans from Jacksonville organized the Education Society, and, in 1868, purchased the property on which the Old Stanton School was built. It was their intent to erect a school to be called the Florida Institute. Financial problems, however, delayed progress on the building until December of that year, when the school was built and incorporated through the aid of the Freedmen's Bureau. This wooden structure was named in honor of Edwin McMasters Stanton, President Abraham Lincoln's second Secretary of War. He was an ardent champion of human rights and an advocate of free school education for Negro boys and girls. It was the second school for black children in the state of Florida (the first, from 1866, was the predecessor of Edward Waters College).
Freedmen's Bureau ran the school. Northern white teachers were employed until the county leased the property for the purpose of opening a public school. The first building was destroyed by fire in 1882. Another building constructed the same year was also destroyed by fire on May 3, 1901, a fire that destroyed much of Jacksonville. A new school was constructed in 1902 and remained in operation until 1917.
Originally the school mascot was the Blue Devil. After the school burned and was rebuilt twice, "the Phoenix rising from ashes" was adopted as a second mascot. Today both mascots are used, with the Blue Devil used as the mascot for sports and other activities, and the Phoenix used as a symbol of the school itself, along with the most current logo, a royal blue Superman "S" symbol.
On May 23, 1914, the Circuit Court of Duval County appointed nine trustees to manage the school and its property. They were Robert B. Archibald, S. H. Hart, A. L. Lewis, J. W. Floyd, W. L. Girardeau, I. L. Purcell, B. C. Vanderhorst, J. E. Spearing, and W. H. H. Styles. Archibaid and Hart resigned and were replaced by J. M. Baker and L. H. Myers.
The deteriorating and unsafe condition of the poorly-constructed school building prompted the Board of Public Instruction, the Stanton School trustees, and interested citizens of Jacksonville to jointly agree to replace the wooden structure with a fire-proof building. In 1917 the building, which still stands at Ashley, Broad, Beaver, and Clay Streets, was completed. Stanton became the main focus for the education of black children in Duval County and surrounding areas. The Edwin M. Stanton School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[5]
An equally impressive record of academic expansion has accomplished the physical growth of Stanton. Beginning as an elementary school with six grades, under the administration of J. C. Waters as the first principal and D. W. Gulp who followed as principal, Stanton gradually became known throughout the state for the high educational standards which it still maintains today. The eighth grade was added under the leadership of Principal W. M. Artrell. Principal James Weldon Johnson, an alumnus, started the move toward a high school department.
The addition of the twelfth grade[when?] made Stanton a comprehensive school. Stanton continued as a school for all grades through the administrations of I. A. Blocker, G. M. Sampson, and J. N. Wilson. In 1938, with F. J. Anderson as principal, Stanton became a senior high school exclusively. J. L. Terry served as the last principal of Stanton Senior High School.
In 1953, the Stanton Senior School name was transferred to a new facility on 13th Street and was renamed New Stanton Senior High School. Charles D. Brooks was the first principal of the new school. Under his leadership, Stanton continued to foster the same traditionally high standards which befit its rich heritage, and flourished as the oldest and most important high school for blacks in Jacksonville.
Beginning in 1953, the Broad and Ashley Street facility became known as the "Old" Stanton. The building was used as a junior high school in 1953–1954. In August 1954, it was converted into the Stanton Vocational High School and functioned as a vocational training center, adjusting its curriculum to train and graduate African-American students in technical skills. At night, it became a center for the Adult and Veterans Education Program.
From 1969 to 1971, the focus of New Stanton Senior High School began to change from academic to vocational under the leadership of Principal Ben Durham, the former principal of Stanton Vocational High School. In 1971, the Old Stanton High School building was again placed under control of the trustees of Stanton and the student body was transferred to New Stanton Senior High School where the revised curriculum now provided for both the academic and the vocational interests of the students
In 1981, Stanton College Preparatory School became the Duval County School System's first magnet school. Beginning with grades 7–10, and adding one grade level each succeeding year, the first senior class of 54 students graduated in 1984. Stanton College Preparatory School now serves secondary students living within the 841 square miles (2,180km2) of the Duval County school district and leads the Duval County Public Schools in academic achievement.[when?][6]
In March 2017, the school received international criticism for verbiage on flyers hung around campus presenting both acceptable and unacceptable attire for the school prom. Students found the use of "good girl" to praise those with attire deemed appropriate to be demeaning, and took to social media with the hashtag #scpgoodgirl. The principal quickly issued an apology.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
School programs
Athletics
Stanton competes in the Gateway Conference,[15] a collaboration between most public high schools in Duval County. As of the 2022–2023 school year, Stanton's athletic director is Christopher Crider.[16] Stanton's campus has a limited number of athletic facilities due to its urban environment, but includes a football field, a rubber track, a softball field, and three hard surface tennis courts. Because Stanton doesn't have a baseball field, the baseball team practices at J. P. Small Memorial Stadium. Similarly, Stanton's cross country and track & field teams used to practice at Mallison Park before Stanton's rubber track was built. Its completion in 2019 made Stanton the last public high school in Duval County to upgrade to a rubber track. Stanton's sports include cross country, basketball, football, wrestling, weightlifting, flag football, soccer, track and field, swimming and diving, lacrosse, bowling, volleyball, tennis, baseball, softball, golf, and competitive cheerleading.
Extracurricular Activities
Stanton offers over 80 school clubs and organizations for students to join. Some of which include Multicultural Club, the widely-recognized Devil's Advocate (the school newspaper), and Quiz Bowl. Stanton's Quiz Bowl team has a reputation of being one of the best teams in the nation. In 2021, one of Stanton's teams placed 8th at the NAQT National Championship Tournament. The team also consistently wins the annual Duval County Quiz Bowl tournament.[17] Stanton also offers numerous Honor Societies including Mu Alpha Theta and Psychology National Honor Society.[18]
Rankings
From 2000 to 2003, Stanton College Prep was ranked first in Newsweek magazine's list of the top 1,000 public schools in the United States, and is the only school in the nation to have been in the top 5 every year from 2000 to 2011.[19][20][21][22][23]U.S. News & World Report ranked Stanton at ninth place on its 2008 list of America's Best High Schools.[24] It has frequently ranked first in the US in the number of International Baccalaureate diplomas awarded. Stanton perennially leads the Jacksonville metropolitan area in the number of National Merit Scholarship recipients, and consistently ranks in the top three in the state. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.[25] As of August 2014, Stanton is rated number 12 of the top high schools in the nation by US News[26] and number 10 by Newsweek.[27]
Alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(December 2022)
Pensacola High School is a secondary school located near downtown Pensacola, Florida, United States.
Kellenberg Memorial High School is a Roman Catholic college-preparatory school in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island, United States. Kellenberg Memorial is a Marianist school on Long Island, alongside St. Martin de Porres Marianist School in Uniondale and Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York.
Riverside High School is a four-year secondary institution in Jacksonville, Florida. It was originally named after Confederate States of America general Robert E. Lee. Located in the Riverside and Avondale neighborhood, it is the second oldest high school in Jacksonville operating at its original location, after its traditional rival, Andrew Jackson High School. The name was changed to Riverside High School in 2021.
Paxon School for Advanced Studies (PSAS) is one of four International Baccalaureate senior high schools in Duval County, Florida. According to the College Board's Advanced Placement Report, Paxon has one of the strongest math and science Advanced Placement programs in the state of Florida. Because of this accomplishment, Paxon is one of a select group of Florida schools invited to apply for the Siemens Advanced Placement High School Award. Only ten to fifteen schools per state are invited to apply. Some valedictorians have been accepted to the United States Naval Academy and different Ivy League schools.
Biotechnology High School (BTHS), or commonly referred to as Biotech, is a four-year comprehensive vocational public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Freehold Township, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, as part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District (MCVSD). Its curriculum includes a science program, consisting of eight different science classes spread over four years, designed to prepare students to pursue further education in biotechnology and the natural sciences. Emphasis is placed on research, laboratory skills, critical thinking, problem solving, technology, and teamwork. Over 90% of the 2009 graduates selected college majors in the life sciences. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 2005.
Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School is a public junior/senior high school that is a part of the Brevard County Public School System with students in grades seven through twelfth located in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Founded in 1964 it is one of two high schools in Brevard county to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. The school's mascot is the Minuteman and current principal is Tim Powers.
Lincoln Park Academy is a public magnet school located in Fort Pierce, Florida. Commonly referred to as simply "LPA", the school is academically geared, offering Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, dual-enrollment, and pre-engineering course schedules. It was ranked 178th in the "Challenge Index" of United States high schools in The Washington Post in 2014.
Allen D. Nease High School is a high school in the St. Johns County School District, located in the Nocatee census-designated place, in St. Johns County, Florida. It is a part of the St. Johns County School District.
Sandalwood High School is a comprehensive public high school in Jacksonville, Florida. The school is one of 47 high schools in the Duval County School District. Like all Duval County schools, it is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It currently has the largest school population in the district.
North Pocono High School is a public, four-year high school located in Covington Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. The school building was built in 2009. It is the only high school in the North Pocono School District, which covers a vast territory in northeastern Pennsylvania, including parts of Wayne County and all of southern and east-central Lackawanna County.
Palm Harbor University High School, also known as PHUHS, is a Pinellas County public high school in Palm Harbor, Florida for grades 9–12. The school's mascot is the Hurricane and the school's colors are navy and maroon. The campus was built in 1996 and was originally to be known as the University High School at Palm Harbor. The word University emphasized the intended cooperation with the University of South Florida, but this did not materialize. In the 2014–2015 school year, the school added a biomedical focus to the existing CWMP program. Students at PHUHS belong to either the traditional program, which is called the University Program, or one of two magnet programs:
Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) is the public school district that serves the families and children residing in the urban, suburban, and rural areas of the City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida. As of 2015, the district had an enrollment of over 130,000 students, making it the 20th largest school district in the United States, and the 6th largest school district in Florida. The district's 196 schools are traditional neighborhood and magnet schools, charter schools, and alternative schools, all of which serve students of various needs.
Bartram Trail High School (BTHS) is a public high school in the St. Johns County School District, located in northwest unincorporated St. Johns County, Florida (U.S.) that opened in 2000. More than a decade ago, the school was ranked number 327 by Newsweek magazine in the top 1,300 high schools in the United States.
Samuel W. Wolfson High School is a magnet high school located in the Duval County Public School district. As an academic magnet and college preparatory school, Wolfson specializes in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses. In addition to its academic focus, Samuel Wolfson School for Advanced Studies has a athletics program, a program for visual and performing arts, and a JROTC program. Its name is derived from Samuel W. Wolfson, a local businessman whose family was prominent in Jacksonville, Wolfson houses the Finance, Law, and Business magnet program. A VyStar Credit Union branch is located inside the school, and is available for students and faculty to use. Wolfson is a member of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. The school's main rival is the Englewood Rams.
Duncan U. Fletcher High School, commonly referred to as Fletcher High, is a comprehensive public high school in Neptune Beach, Florida, United States. The school is one of 47 high schools in the Duval County School District. Like all Duval County schools, it is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Edward H. White High School is a public high school operated by the Duval County Public Schools. It is located on the Westside of Jacksonville, Florida. It is almost exclusively referred to as "Ed White High School," not "White High School".
Jensen Beach High School (JBHS) is a public high school in Jensen Beach, Florida.
Port St. Lucie High School (PSLHS) is a high school in the U.S. city of Port St. Lucie, Florida. It is located in the southeast area of St. Lucie County.
Education in Jacksonville, Florida is available through both public and private sources.
Atlantic Coast High School (ACHS) is a public high school in the Duval County Public Schools district, located in southeast Jacksonville, Florida, United States.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
