Strawberry Crest High School

Strawberry Crest High School
Location
4691 Gallagher Road Dover , Florida 33527 United States
Coordinates	28°01′23″N82°14′11″W / 28.023107°N 82.236446°W / 28.023107; -82.236446
Information
Type	Public high school
Opened	2009
School district	Hillsborough County Public Schools
Principal	Mark Watson [1]
Teaching staff	105.50 (FTE) [2]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	2,558 (2022–23) [2]
Student to teacher ratio	24.25 [2]
Colors	Red, Black, and Silver     [3]
Nickname	Chargers
Website	www.hillsboroughschools.org/o/strawberrycrest

Strawberry Crest High School is a public high school in East Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It opened on August 25, 2009, to relieve overcrowding at Armwood High School, Durant High School, and Plant City High School. Strawberry Crest is the fourth high school in Hillsborough County to be certified as an International Baccalaureate (IB) high school. A number of the instructors for the IB courses come from the International Baccalaureate Program at the older C. Leon King High School in Tampa.

Mark Watson is the current principal. Former principal David Brown left the school in 2019 to move to the district's newest high school in 10 years and was replaced by Christie Raburn, who herself left in 2023. ^{[4] [5]}

The school is located at the intersection of Gallagher Road and 92 in Dover, Florida, on land that was once the family farm of longtime school board member Joe E. Newsome. ^[6] Chargers are the school mascot, similar to the logo of the NFL team Denver Broncos, although dressed in the school colors which are red, black, and silver. ^[7] The school was named Strawberry Crest in order to honor the strawberry growers of the region. ^[8]

Strawberry Crest Music Program

The band and orchestra programs at Strawberry Crest were under the direction of Cheri A. Sleeper from the school's opening ^[9] until her retirement in 2025, leaving the band program under the direction of Timothy Trice and the orchestra program under Damian Johnson. The marching band has participated in many band competitions over the years and has consistently received "Superior" ratings. ^[10]

References

1. "Strawberry Crest High / Homepage".
2. "Strawberry Crest High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
3. Hooper, Ernest. "Principal preps for Strawberry Crest High's fall opening". tampabay.com. Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
4. "Strawberry Crest High / Homepage".
5. "New principal in south Hillsborough will move from Strawberry Crest". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
6. Kenney, Linda Chion (February 25, 2013). "Newsome Namesake Gears Up for 2013 Florida Strawberry Festival" . Retrieved October 12, 2017.
7. Smetana, Kevin (20 August 2009). "Strawberry Crest High in Dover glistens with newness for first students". Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
8. "New East County High School Will Be Strawberry Crest". November 7, 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
9. "Executive Committee". Florida Orchestra Association. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
10. Clifford, Douglas (October 30, 2023). "Hillsborough County schools put marching bands to the test". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 4, 2025.