Seacrest High School was built in 1949 as a school for white students in Delray Beach, Florida. (African-American students attended Carver High School, which later became Carver Middle School.) In 1961, the school began the process of desegregation and changed its name to Atlantic Community High School. In 1989, the school became an International Baccalaureate World School. After a contentious process including disagreement from many alumni and city residents, the school moved from the Seacrest campus to a new location on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Congress Avenue. Classes began in the new facilities in August2005.
Faculty
In addition to the principal Dr. Weigel, several faculty members also possess doctoral degrees. Furthermore, published teachers include Francis Ierace, author of America and the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
Atlantic is home to the International Baccalaureate program for the southern portion of Palm Beach County. It is regarded as a model school for this program due to its consistently high testing scores until 2006. The IB program is also known for its size. However in 2006 23/91 (25.2 percent) of the IB program did not get the diploma, giving it the largest failure rate in Atlantic's history
Construction Academy
Atlantic's construction academy was added to the school beginning in fall 2005. The students of the academy are designing and building a house, called the "Eagles' Nest," in collaboration with the city of Delray Beach. The groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held in December2005.
Other Programs
Other notable academic programs at Atlantic include the ninth grade (freshman) academy, and the criminal justice program, which is taught with the support of the Delray BeachPolice.
