St. Petersburg High School
Encyclopedia
St. Petersburg High School, founded in 1898, is a secondary school located in St. Petersburg, Florida
. The school's current building, a historic landmark, was built in 1926 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1984. The school was billed as the nation's first million dollar high school. The school previously occupied several other historic locations around St. Petersburg, including a location at Mirror Lake (1919–1926). It is sometimes referred to as St. Petersburg Central High School.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme
located at St. Petersburg High School, the oldest of its kind in Florida.
The principal, as of August 8, 2006, is Al Bennett (a 1980 alumnus). The school currently has 2,255 students enrolled.
Senior prank
s are also a tradition at the school. In 2009, seniors laid sod and soccer goals to make a miniature soccer field in an outdoor passageway. In December 2009, a group of seniors covertly constructed an elaborate holiday-themed decorative spectacle, complete with Christmas lights, a Christmas tree, and inflatable snowmen that covered the stage in the Senior Courtyard and the overlooking rooftop. Seniors once made the mistake of stopping all of the door locks on the main building with a hardening filling leaving teachers scratching their heads when they came in for work. The students were not aware of the hardening properties of the filler when they performed the prank.In 2010, five seniors performed a less destructive, yet equally disruptive prank by stacking approximately three hundred cinder blocks and balancing a telephone pole on top of it to block the entrance to the parking lot, forcing the faculty and students to park in the surrounding neighborhoods and walk onto campus.
St. Petersburg High School's major longstanding rival is Northeast High School
. Pranks are exchanged between the schools during football season such as Northeast painting St. Pete's devil head red and St. Pete painting a shark green and depositing it in Northeast's swimming pool. Sometimes students dye Northeast High School's swimming pool green, as another spirited prank. Varsity football games are large social events at the school and students are encouraged to show school spirit by wearing the school colours (green and white, though black has become an unofficial complement) to school Fridays as well as on football game days as well as cover themselves in paint on game nights.
St. Petersburg High School has an elite acapella singing group called the Pitchforks. They perform at football games, Valentines day, Christmas, Graduation and other various events. They are also available for private party performances. They sing SATB under the direction of David Lawhead.
St. Petersburg High School also has a heavy focus on community service created by students. Students have started Interact, Junior Civitan International, Rojans, Key Club International, Excel Club, Leo, and Beta club chapters in the school. Each of these clubs are referred to as "Service Clubs" for their extensive focus on community service. To maintain fairness, each year there is an application period where students are interviewed to join one service club. Clubs compete for members during the weeks close to when the Information Session and the interviews are held through flier advertising, choreographed groups in hallways, and showing club spirit by wearing club shirts. Students may join only one club starting in their sophomore year to give each club an opportunity to make its presence known and attempt to recruit new members by the end of freshman year, though a student may interview during any year after their freshman year.
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. The school's current building, a historic landmark, was built in 1926 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1984. The school was billed as the nation's first million dollar high school. The school previously occupied several other historic locations around St. Petersburg, including a location at Mirror Lake (1919–1926). It is sometimes referred to as St. Petersburg Central High School.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...
located at St. Petersburg High School, the oldest of its kind in Florida.
The principal, as of August 8, 2006, is Al Bennett (a 1980 alumnus). The school currently has 2,255 students enrolled.
Academics
- IB diploma graduates automatically qualify for the Florida Bright Futures scholarship.
- The class of 2006 had nine National Merit Finalists.
- The class of 2010 had ten National Merit Finalists.
- The IB graduation class of 2006 had a passing rate of 97%.
- A 2003 NewsweekNewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine survey of the top 100 high schools in the United States placed St. Pete High as #25. In 2005 (based on 2004 numbers), the survey ranked the school as #35. In 2006 (based on 2005 numbers), the Newsweek survey ranked the school as #63. The ranking is based on the number of IB or Advanced Placement (AP) exams given at a school divided by the number of graduating seniors.
Traditions and Spirit
St. Petersburg High School is known for its traditions and school spirit. It's considered a faux pas to step on the head of the school's mascot, a green devil, in the front hall of the school. Supposedly, if you step on the head you're supposed to scrub it with a toothbrush. Seniors as well as service clubs take it upon themselves to enforce this rule to a degree. There are also two main courtyards in the school; one courtyard is called the “Junior Courtyard” and is the designated courtyard for freshmen (9th grade) and sophomores (10th grade), though any student may choose to spend time there. The Other courtyard, the "Senior Courtyard", is where juniors (11th grade) and seniors (12th grade) only are allowed to spend time. This unspoken rule where only juniors and seniors may spend time during school hours in the Senior Courtyard is usually regulated simply by way of respecting tradition. Students typically will make and effort to maintain this tradition regardless of grade.Senior prank
Senior prank
A senior prank is a type of organized prank pulled by the senior class of a school, college, or university to cause chaos throughout the institution. The pranks are usually carried out at the end of the senior school year as a going away mark on the school, and in some cases have become something...
s are also a tradition at the school. In 2009, seniors laid sod and soccer goals to make a miniature soccer field in an outdoor passageway. In December 2009, a group of seniors covertly constructed an elaborate holiday-themed decorative spectacle, complete with Christmas lights, a Christmas tree, and inflatable snowmen that covered the stage in the Senior Courtyard and the overlooking rooftop. Seniors once made the mistake of stopping all of the door locks on the main building with a hardening filling leaving teachers scratching their heads when they came in for work. The students were not aware of the hardening properties of the filler when they performed the prank.In 2010, five seniors performed a less destructive, yet equally disruptive prank by stacking approximately three hundred cinder blocks and balancing a telephone pole on top of it to block the entrance to the parking lot, forcing the faculty and students to park in the surrounding neighborhoods and walk onto campus.
St. Petersburg High School's major longstanding rival is Northeast High School
Northeast High School (St. Petersburg, Florida)
Northeast High School is a high school located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school is part of the Pinellas County Schools district. The school mascot is the Viking and the school colors are scarlet, cream, and black...
. Pranks are exchanged between the schools during football season such as Northeast painting St. Pete's devil head red and St. Pete painting a shark green and depositing it in Northeast's swimming pool. Sometimes students dye Northeast High School's swimming pool green, as another spirited prank. Varsity football games are large social events at the school and students are encouraged to show school spirit by wearing the school colours (green and white, though black has become an unofficial complement) to school Fridays as well as on football game days as well as cover themselves in paint on game nights.
St. Petersburg High School has an elite acapella singing group called the Pitchforks. They perform at football games, Valentines day, Christmas, Graduation and other various events. They are also available for private party performances. They sing SATB under the direction of David Lawhead.
St. Petersburg High School also has a heavy focus on community service created by students. Students have started Interact, Junior Civitan International, Rojans, Key Club International, Excel Club, Leo, and Beta club chapters in the school. Each of these clubs are referred to as "Service Clubs" for their extensive focus on community service. To maintain fairness, each year there is an application period where students are interviewed to join one service club. Clubs compete for members during the weeks close to when the Information Session and the interviews are held through flier advertising, choreographed groups in hallways, and showing club spirit by wearing club shirts. Students may join only one club starting in their sophomore year to give each club an opportunity to make its presence known and attempt to recruit new members by the end of freshman year, though a student may interview during any year after their freshman year.
Alma mater
Old St. Pete High,
how proudly we honor and praise you!
Time will not change you,
your spirit will never die...
We're here to boost you
in classroom and gridiron and field, too.
You are to us
our own wonderful St. Pete High
Notable alumni
- Charlie CristCharlie CristCharles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
(1974) – 44th governor of Florida (2007–10). Served as Florida's attorney generalState Attorney GeneralThe state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states and territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those...
from 2003–06. - Jim Haslam (1948) - founder of Pilot Corp.Pilot Corp.Pilot Corporation is a petroleum corporation in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Pilot operates the Pilot Food Mart convenience stores in Tennessee. Along with Flying J and CVC Capital Partners, Pilot is joint-owner of Pilot Flying J, the largest truck stop chain in the United States.- History...
- Milt MayMilt MayMilton Scott May is a former professional baseball player and coach who played in the Major Leagues from to for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and San Francisco Giants. May was a catcher who hit for a fairly high batting average during the era in which...
(1968) Major League baseball player. - David MendelblattDavid MendelblattDavid J. Mendelblatt is an American yachtsman and ophthalmologist.He is a former Optimist Pram National Champion. He came in second in the Sunfish World Championship in 2006, third in 2009, and second again in 2010.-Personal life:...
, yachtsman and ophthalmologist - Mark MendelblattMark MendelblattMark Mendelblatt is an American yachtsman. He primarily sails the Laser, a one-design class of small single-handed sailing dinghy...
, yachtsman, silver medalist at 1999 Pan American Games and 2004 Laser World Championships
Former principals
- Al Bennett (2006-Current)
- Dr. Julie Janssen (2003–2006)
- Linda Benware (2000–2003)
- Thomas Petit (1995–1999)
- Barbara Broughton (1991–1995)
- William Grey (1983–1991)
- Vyrle Davis (1973–1983)
- Ronald R. Hallam (?-1973)