Miami Carol City Senior High School

Miami Carol City Senior High School (MCCSH) is a public high school located at 3301 Miami Gardens Drive in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It was established in 1963. The school is part of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. The school serves students from the area of Miami Gardens,[2] a community south of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, north of downtown Miami, Florida and home to the Miami Dolphins, in what is currently known as Hard Rock Stadium.

Miami Carol City Senior High School
Address
Map
3301 Miami Gardens Dr.

,
Florida 33056

United States
Information
TypePublic
Established1963
School districtMiami-Dade County Public Schools
PrincipalDr. Bridget Washington-Mckinney
Teaching staff47.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades912
Enrollment804 (2022–23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio17.11[1]
CampusUrban
Color(s)  Orange
  Black
  White
School hours7:20 AM to 2:20 PM
Average class size25
Websitewww.miamicarolcityshs.org

History

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The school opened in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County in 1963. At the time, farms were in the surrounding area. Several years later integration busing brought African Americans from areas such as Bunche Park to Carol City. The school was racially integrated in 1967.[3]

In 1986, ten faculty members, including three teachers, were found to have engaged in crimes; each person was found to have committed recreational drug use or property theft.[2]

The school was formerly located within the census-designated place of Carol City.[4] Miami Gardens incorporated as a city on May 13, 2003.[5]

Garcia said that, in 2006, "a familial closeness still defined the school. And Carol City High students — until they graduated or dropped out, at least — seemed safe from the violence that had gripped the surrounding area."[2] In spring 2006, three students from the class of 2006 were murdered; none of them were members of gangs, nor were they involved in the recreational drug trade. After Miami Carol City held its graduation ceremony, three graduates were killed. People in the Miami area referred to the class as the "cursed class of 2006."[2] Garcia said "If there is a curse, it seems it has a much wider breadth than one class" and "Carol City bloodshed has only gained speed" after the class of 2006 graduated, since students from subsequent classes died in violent crimes. On Tuesday November 6, 2007, a robber shot 43 year old Sergio Miranda a teacher, who had been smoking a cigarette outside of the campus building. The 18-year-old robber Patrick Lively stole the teacher's wallet and was later arrested. The teacher survived the shooting.[2][6] In 2011, Lively received a life sentence.[7] In November 2014, Two teens were shot during a fight at Miami Carol City High School. One of the boys died.[8]

Demographics

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Miami Carol City is 86% black, 13% Hispanic, and 1% white non-Hispanic.[2]

Academics

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Gus Garcia-Roberts of the Miami New Times said that in the 1970s, the school was considered in the area to be a good school academically and athletically; according to Garcia, "in years before academic performance was distilled as statistic, glowing student testimonials and national contest winners told the story." Between 1974 and 1980, Miami Carol City students received four National Merit Scholarships; of them, three were National Achievement Scholarships for African-American students. Garcia said that the State of Florida "liked to herald the diverse school."

Bob Graham, former Governor of the State of Florida and former US Senator, began his "Workdays" in 1974 at Miami Carol City Senior High. It was a program where he worked eight-hour days at various jobs held by his constituents. Starting in September 1974, Graham taught a semester of civics while serving in the Florida Senate.[9]

The school's academic reputation declined by 1981, when fewer than 70% of the students passed a basic achievement test, resulting in a "deficient" ranking for the school. The school received straight "D" rankings from 1998 to 2006.

According to the Florida Department of Education, Miami Carol City Senior High received the grade of "D" on the School Accountability Reports for the school years 2001-02, 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004-05.[10]

MCCHS was labeled a "dropout factory" in a Johns Hopkins University study of US Department of Education data. The study looked at the retention rates of students from their freshman to senior year. MCCHS had a retention rate of just 53%, meaning that only 53 out of every 100 students who entered the school as a freshman made it through their senior year and obtained a high school diploma.[11]

Athletics

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In the period after the school opened, according to Gus Garcia-Roberts of the Miami New Times, the top sports at Miami Carol were football, basketball and wrestling.[2]

The marching band has been referred to as the "soul" of the school. Garcia said that it no longer "gyrates to Jefferson Airplane." After the demographic shift at the school, according to Garcia, the school still had "its fame for diligent coaching and talented kids."[2]

American football, as of 2009, is the strongest sport at the school. The Chiefs won the Football State Championship in 1977 with a 14-0 season record. In the previous year 1976 the football team were the State Runners Up in football. The school won three American football state championships in a period between 1996 and 2003.[2]

The Chiefs were runner ups for the state basketball championship in 1970, and won the state basketball championship in 1972. The gymnastics team also had state champions in individual events during that period.

School uniforms

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The school has for the most part maintained a dress code, with students being required to wear school uniforms in the last few decades.[12]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "MIAMI CAROL CITY SENIOR HIGH". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Gus Garcia Roberts (10 February 2009). "The Curse". Miami New Times.
  3. ^ Bea Hines (6 August 2015). "'A time for us': Carol City High Class of 1970 celebrates reunion of white, black alumni". Miami Herald.
  4. ^ "Carol City CDP, Florida". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  5. ^ "City of Miami Gardens: Demographics". 2009. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015.
  6. ^ "Teacher Shot At South Florida High School". WIBW-TV (Topeka, Kansas). November 6, 2007. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016.
  7. ^ Hamacher, Brian (October 26, 2011). "Family Emotional As Teacher Shooter Sentenced to Life Behind Bars". WTVJ (Miami, Florida). Archived from the original on April 24, 2016.
  8. ^ "Teen dies, 1 charged in Miami Carol City High School shooting". WPLG. November 25, 2014.
  9. ^ "University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries; object number 37199".
  10. ^ "School Accountability Reports". Florida Department of Education. Archived from the original on 2012-08-15.
  11. ^ "Dropout Factories". Johns Hopkins School of Education. Associated Press.
  12. ^ "Student Information". Miami Carol City Senior High School. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  13. ^ Wyche, Steve (1998-09-30). "Addition by subtraction". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2022-09-22. Barber, 24, went to Carol City High
  14. ^ McPherson, Jordan. "The Florida State Seminoles win big at Carol City by signing two top defenders". Miami Herald. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Miami Carol City Chiefs QB Stephen Buckshot Calvert Throws 4 First Half TD's Against Lakeland in Big 44-34 Win". hspnsports.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Ricky Jean Francois - strongside defensive end". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  17. ^ Christopher, Andre (1994-09-25). "Gators' WR Hill just nice by nature". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2022-09-22. He is a 1990 graduate of Carol City High
  18. ^ "Allen Hurns Profile". Miami Hurricanes Athletics. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  19. ^ a b Garcia-Roberts, Gus (September 22, 2009). "Carol City Senior High Has Bred the Second Most NFL Players of Any U.S. School". Miami New Times. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  20. ^ Fitzgerald, Toni (June 16, 2019). "Who Is Nika King? Zendaya's Mom On 'Euphoria' Talks About New Show". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  21. ^ "Miguel Machado - Offensive tackle". n.rivals.com.
  22. ^ Audra D.S. Burch; Carol Isensee (22 March 2012). "Trayvon Martin: a typical teen who loved video games, looked forward to prom". Miami Herald.
  23. ^ "Godfrey Myles knows what the Gators need". Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  24. ^ "Frederick Lenar Nixon". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23.
  25. ^ Payton, JoMarie. "Information". Facebook. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  26. ^ "Simeon Thomas - 2017 Football Roster - Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns". www.ragincajuns.com.
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25°53′52″N 80°12′26″W / 25.8977490°N 80.2073259°W / 25.8977490; -80.2073259