Sandalwood High School
Encyclopedia
Sandalwood High School is a public high school in the Duval County Public School
district of Jacksonville, Florida
. It is currently has the largest school population in the district.
for inclusion in the EXCELerator
School Improvement Model program beginning the 2006-2007 school year. The project was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
.
in the Final round.
and Lincoln High School (Tallahassee, Florida)
. Lake City olumbia High School (Lake City, Florida)|. In an attempt to create equal competition amongst top tier schools, the FHSAA replaced Tallahassee Leon with St. Augustine High School in 1997. They also realigned teams in district 2-6A by looping Jacksonville's 6A schools into a district with Orlando schools in 2000. Yet these realignments were met with complaints from coaches of both Jacksonville and Orlando Schools about the continued long travel distances for district games. After further discussions, the FHSAA in 2003 realigned Sandalwood into a two-team district (1-6A) with Orange Park High School
. This again created much controversy throughout the state due to the current playoff format granting post season berths to district champions and runners-ups. With this format Sandalwood was granted playoff berths regardless of their record in 2003 and 2004. Finally, to silence the decade long controversy amongst North Florida 6A High School teams, the 1-6A district was formed in 2005 possessing four Jacksonville area schools to compete for two playoff spots.In 2011 Sandalwood will enter the newly created 1-8A district,the largest in Florida.It means a return to the crowded six team districts which the school competed in throughout the 1990s. Regardless of district alignment, Sandalwood has proven its ability to adapt and remain one of the top football programs in Florida. The new era of Sandalwood football features a spread offense, one much different than the Wing-T of days past. But this hasn't stopped the recipe for winning as Sandalwood possesses a winning record in 14 of the last 16 seasons. They currently have 23 FHSAA playoff appearances with 12 wins and 11 losses.
Updated (07/2011)
Noteworthy season:
In 1995, The Sandalwood Saints varsity football team went 14-1, losing in the Class 6A Championship Game to Miami Northwestern High School
12-7. The Saints were led by a tenacious defense and the "USA Today Florida Player of the Year" and "Florida's Mr. Football" running back Frankie Franklin. Franklin was injured in the regional semifinals playoff game and was limited in playoff action. The Saints were ranked #4 in the National USA Today Prep rankings that year before losing in the state championship game.
Other notable accomplishments include:
1981 - Class 4A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs/
1986 - Class 5A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs/
1987 - Class 5A Regional Semifinals Playoffs/
1994 - Class 6A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs/
1995 - Class 6A State Championship Runner-Up/
2000- Class 6A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs/
2003- Class 6A Regional Finals Playoffs/
2004- Class 6A Regional Semifinals Playoffs/
2006- Class 6A Regional Finals Playoffs/
2009- Class 6A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs/
2010- Class 6A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs
Coaches:
Duval County Public Schools
Duval County Public Schools is the public school district for Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida. As of 2011, the district had an enrollment of over 123,000 students, making it the 15th largest school district in the United States, and 6th largest school district in Florida...
district of Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. It is currently has the largest school population in the district.
History
Sandalwood High was built in the Sandalwood corridor of the southside of Jacksonville. It is well known school for its AFJROTC unit, FL-939, Sandalwood Marching Saints Band, AVID, and Early College programs and many different athletics, particularly football. In 1989, the 9th grade was moved from Junior High Schools to Senior High Schools, countywide. Sixth grade was moved from Elementary Schools to Junior High Schools, which were renamed, Middle Schools.Electives
Sandalwood High offers an array of extracurriculars and electives. The new Sandalwood Academy of INformation Technology (S.A.IN.T.), AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), Baseball, Swimming, The Sandalwood Marching Saints Band, Lacrosse, Track and Field, Junior Civitan, AFJROTC, Woodshop, Computer Science, Football, Soccer, and Drama are only some of the elective courses that are open to the students.Improvement
Sandalwood was one of 11 schools nation-wide selected by the College BoardCollege Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
for inclusion in the EXCELerator
EXCELerator
' is a school improvement model developed with the College Board. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation agreed to fund a five-year pilot project with a $16 million grant...
School Improvement Model program beginning the 2006-2007 school year. The project was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. It is "driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family"...
.
Notable Awards/Recognition
Sandalwood's AFJROTC FL-939 Silver Eagle Drill Team has won the titles of Air Force National Drill Champions twice,(2005–2006 and 2006–2007) State Champions four years in a row, (2004–2005, 2005–2006, 2006–2007, and 2007–2008)and again (2010–2011) and just recently the Southeast Regional Champions of Florida (2006–2007),(2009–2010), and (2010–2011). The FL-939 Color Guard placed 5th and 2nd, respectively, in the National's JROTC Championships in 1998 and 1999 held in Daytona, Florida. March 20, 2010 Fl-939 had won the Florida State trophy in Tampa, making it their sixth year owning the trophy, along with the Overall Drill team and Overall Unit trophies. In 2005 Sandalwood's award winning marching band won Grand Champion at both the Kingdom of the Sun Festival and the Ancient City Presentation of the Bands and placed during Semi-Finals at State Competition. Sandalwood also won the Superintendent's Academic Challenge, also known as Brain Brawl, in 2003, defeating Stanton College Preparatory SchoolStanton College Preparatory School
Stanton College Preparatory School is an academically renowned American high school located in Jacksonville, Florida, whose history dates to the 1860s, when it was begun as an elementary school serving the African-American population under the then-segregated education system. It now serves...
in the Final round.
Football
The Sandalwood Saints compete in the Gateway Conference in Jacksonville, Florida. They also compete in District 1-8A of The Florida High School Athletic Association(FHSAA). Class 8A is the largest of the FHSAA divisions and regarded as one of the toughest in the nation. One of the first major high schools on Jacksonville's rapidly growing south side, Sandalwood experienced tremendous growth throughout the 70's and 80's.They were the first Jacksonville area team to compete in the State's largest high school football district, moving up from class 4A to 6A in just under a decade. From 1989-1999, Sandalwood competed in the 2-6A district which consisted of six teams(Tallahassee Lincoln, Lake City Columbia, Mandarin, Orange Park,Tallahassee Leon). This district alignment was the largest in Florida at the time, and highly regarded as one of the toughest high school divisions in Florida. The Saints were known for their stingy 4-4 defense and ball control Wing-T offense. While structured within this district format, Sandalwood teams had to travel three hours for some district games including contests against Tallahassee Leon High SchoolLeon High School
Leon High School is a public high school in Tallahassee, Florida. For the 2007-2008 school year, the Florida Department of Education gave the school an "A" rating after its students scored well above the state average on standardized tests in reading and in math...
and Lincoln High School (Tallahassee, Florida)
Lincoln High School (Tallahassee, Florida)
Lincoln High School is a public high school located in Tallahassee, Florida. It offers an accelerated Advanced Placement program that has been recognized for its excellence...
. Lake City olumbia High School (Lake City, Florida)|. In an attempt to create equal competition amongst top tier schools, the FHSAA replaced Tallahassee Leon with St. Augustine High School in 1997. They also realigned teams in district 2-6A by looping Jacksonville's 6A schools into a district with Orlando schools in 2000. Yet these realignments were met with complaints from coaches of both Jacksonville and Orlando Schools about the continued long travel distances for district games. After further discussions, the FHSAA in 2003 realigned Sandalwood into a two-team district (1-6A) with Orange Park High School
Orange Park High School
Orange Park High School is a high school located in Orange Park, Florida. The athletic teams are known as the Raiders. In the 2008–2009 school year the school had nearly 3,000 students, increasing by 700 in just three years. However nearly 1000 students moved to the new Oakleaf High School for the...
. This again created much controversy throughout the state due to the current playoff format granting post season berths to district champions and runners-ups. With this format Sandalwood was granted playoff berths regardless of their record in 2003 and 2004. Finally, to silence the decade long controversy amongst North Florida 6A High School teams, the 1-6A district was formed in 2005 possessing four Jacksonville area schools to compete for two playoff spots.In 2011 Sandalwood will enter the newly created 1-8A district,the largest in Florida.It means a return to the crowded six team districts which the school competed in throughout the 1990s. Regardless of district alignment, Sandalwood has proven its ability to adapt and remain one of the top football programs in Florida. The new era of Sandalwood football features a spread offense, one much different than the Wing-T of days past. But this hasn't stopped the recipe for winning as Sandalwood possesses a winning record in 14 of the last 16 seasons. They currently have 23 FHSAA playoff appearances with 12 wins and 11 losses.
Updated (07/2011)
Noteworthy season:
In 1995, The Sandalwood Saints varsity football team went 14-1, losing in the Class 6A Championship Game to Miami Northwestern High School
Miami Northwestern High School
Miami Northwestern Senior High School is a public high school located in Miami, Florida, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. It serves the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami. The school colors are Old Gold and Royal Blue...
12-7. The Saints were led by a tenacious defense and the "USA Today Florida Player of the Year" and "Florida's Mr. Football" running back Frankie Franklin. Franklin was injured in the regional semifinals playoff game and was limited in playoff action. The Saints were ranked #4 in the National USA Today Prep rankings that year before losing in the state championship game.
Other notable accomplishments include:
1981 - Class 4A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs/
1986 - Class 5A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs/
1987 - Class 5A Regional Semifinals Playoffs/
1994 - Class 6A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs/
1995 - Class 6A State Championship Runner-Up/
2000- Class 6A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs/
2003- Class 6A Regional Finals Playoffs/
2004- Class 6A Regional Semifinals Playoffs/
2006- Class 6A Regional Finals Playoffs/
2009- Class 6A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs/
2010- Class 6A Regional Quarterfinals Playoffs
Coaches:
- Bob Withrow
- Terry Gilliam
- Adam Geis