St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida)

St. Thomas Aquinas High School is a private, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The school was founded in 1936 as part of St. Anthony School and moved to its current location in southwest Fort Lauderdale in 1952. It is sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school currently enrolls 2,420 students on its 25-acre (100,000 m²) campus.

The Raiders athletic teams have won over 100 state championships and have achieved a national profile. Graduates of St. Thomas Aquinas include numerous professional athletes, thirteen Olympians, prominent state politicians, and award-winning authors and actors.

History

St. Anthony High School was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan in 1926. The upper school was added in 1936 and grew to a student body of 42 in four years, boasting nine graduates who comprised the Class of 1940.

The upper school was renamed Central Catholic High School and moved to its present location in 1952. The original Central Catholic campus consisted of the main office wing, library, 15 classrooms, patio, cafeteria, kitchen, coaches’ office, and locker room facilities. The school erected a statue of Mary in 1957 that still graces the campus today.

In September 1961, due to the opening of Cardinal Gibbons High School, a second Catholic school in Fort Lauderdale, the school chose St. Thomas Aquinas as its patron and official name.

Academics

On October 3rd, 2022, for the third time in its history, Broward’s oldest Catholic high school was designated a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. This 2022 award — as an Exemplary High Performing School — adds to the ones St. Thomas won in 1984 and 1996. Winning schools must wait five years before applying for another award.

On May 29, 1996, President Bill Clinton presented St. Thomas Aquinas High School with the Department of Education Blue Ribbon Award for excellence in education. This was the second time where St. Thomas Aquinas received recognition by the U.S. Department of Education. During the 1984-1985 school year, the school was first recognized as a "School of Excellence".

St. Thomas Aquinas High School has been named to the Catholic High School Honor Roll five times (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010). It is the only Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Miami to have been listed as one of the Top 50 Catholic high schools in the United States for five years.

Admissions

St. Thomas Aquinas accepts students from 105 feeder schools, 46 Catholic parishes, and three counties. An entrance exam is required for all incoming Freshmen. Prospective students must submit their first semester 8th grade report card and two letters of recommendation from their current school. Prospective transfer students must submit an application along with a copy of their current high school transcript and two academic letters of recommendation from current school officials.

Faculty and curriculum

The St. Thomas Aquinas faculty consists of three religious and 127 laypersons, with 74 teachers holding advanced degrees. The ratio of students to teaching faculty stands at 17 to 1. The faculty averages 20 years of teaching experience and 12 years of experience at the school.

The school offers 195 different courses in 9 subjects: English, Mathematics, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language, Fine Arts, Computer/Graphic Arts, and Theology. Students are grouped by ability with course offerings at Advanced Placement, Honors and College-Preparatory levels.

Athletics

In 2005, St. Thomas Aquinas was recognized by Sports Illustrated as the third best high school athletic program in the nation. The criteria emphasized all-around excellence during the last 10 years and included state championships won and the number of college athletes produced.

In 2011, St. Thomas Aquinas was named the nation's top athletic program by Maxpreps.

The Raiders have won 115 FHSAA state championships and have graduated such student athletes as Chris Evert, Michael Irvin and Sanya Richards-Ross. The school has been awarded the Broward County all-sports trophy by the Sun-Sentinel for 35 consecutive years. The athletic department has also won the FHSAA Dodge Sunshine Cup every year since the awards inception in 1995.

State championships

Boys

• Baseball - 1995, 2003, 2018
• Basketball - 2001
• Cross Country - 2013, 2015, 2016
• Football - 1992, 1997, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
• Lacrosse - 2016, 2017, 2022
• Soccer - 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2011
• Swimming - 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
• Tennis - 1989, 1994, 2009
• Track and Field - 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
• Water Polo - 2013, 2023
• Wrestling - 1985

Girls

• Basketball - 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
• Cross Country - 2012, 2013
• Golf - 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2001
• Lacrosse - 2021
• Soccer - 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017
• Softball - 1986, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2013, 2014
• Swimming - 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004
• Tennis - 1972, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2022
• Track and Field - 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021
• Volleyball - 1995, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2023

Notable alumni

Athletics

Arts, entertainment, and civil service

• Michael Connelly, author of The Lincoln Lawyer and former President of Mystery Writers of America
• Steven Conrad, screenwriter and producer of The Weather Man, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and The Pursuit of Happyness
• Billy Crudup, actor Tony Award and Emmy Award winner
• Alex Andrade, member of Florida House of Representatives
• Katie Edwards, former member of Florida House of Representatives
• Parris Glendening, former Governor of Maryland
• Charles Liteky, former Army chaplain and Medal of Honor recipient
• Courtney Marsh, filmmaker of Academy Award-nominated documentary Chau, Beyond the Lines
• Alberto Rosende, actor and singer who appeared in the Freeform supernatural drama Shadowhunters
• C. Dale Young, poet and recipient of 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship
• William J. Zloch, U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida

Other

• Gerard John Schaefer, murderer and suspected serial killer, known as "the Killer Cop"

References

External links

• Official School Website