Suncoast Community High School
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! Established
| 1955
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| Public (magnet) secondary
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! Location
| Riviera Beach, United States
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Suncoast Community High School (SCHS) is a public, magnethigh school in Riviera Beach, Florida in the School Distict of Palm Beach County, whose academic excellence, especially in the areas of Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, and Computers is often compared to that of Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, and Brooklyn Tech High Schools.
All students at the school belong to one or two of the school's four magnet programs: International Baccalaureate (IB); Math, Science, and Engineering (MSE), Computer Science (CS), Interdisciplinary Program (IDP). Suncoast was not listed in the 2005 Newsweek list of the "100 Best High Schools in America" due to its status as magnet but was included as #7 in the 2006 Newsweek "Top 100" list. Jay Mathews, the compiler of the Newsweek list and education columnist for the Washington Post, included Suncoast in an unranked list of the nation's 38 best magnet schools in 2006. [link]
Suncoast's campus was built in 1955 as Riviera Beach High School. It was renamed in 1970 when it desegregated. In 1989 Suncoast became a magnet school under principal Kay A. Carnes, who remained Suncoast's principal for 15 years before stepping down at the end of the 2004 school year.
Academics
Students applying to Suncoast do so using the Palm Beach County School District's Magnet and Choice School Application Form. Applicants apply for a specific program or programs and are admitted into the school by a selective lottery, with the top 10 percent of applicants–based upon Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores, teacher recommendations, and grades) admitted before the lottery is conducted.
All students belong to one or more of the school's four magnet programs:
Math, Science, and Engineering (MSE), which concentrates on mathematics, physics, and engineering research.
Interdisciplinary Program (IDP)–general college preparatory program.
The College Board named Suncoast the "Exemplary AP Comparative Government and Politics" program among schools with 1000 students or more, with the largest percentage of mastery scores in the world for that AP exam.
[link]
Sonja Kelly, a former English teacher, was named 2005 Teacher of the Year in Palm Beach County.
Suncoast is home of the Kay A. Karnes theatre, one of the few professionally designed theatres in a public school in Palm Beach County. The theatre contains over 300 stadium seats, an orchestra pit, backstage props cage, professional flyreel system, sound booth, two working spotlights, male and female dressing rooms, prop closet, and various other things of such nature. The theatre is often rented out by various groups for purposes such as Sunday services, body0building shows, and independent dance troupes. These groups are not affliated with Suncoast itself, however.
The theatre is also used to host several dramatic performances put on by Suncoast students and staff. In the spring of 2005, Suncoast held a performace of [The Wiz], using the original script, set design, and score. Suncoast's own Chargersonic Sound performed the music live, each show. The performace was so critically acclaimed that the group was asked to perform an encore.
In the spring of 2006, the same performers as well as newcomers put on a production of [Dreamgirls]. Once again, they used the original cast script, score, set design, and live music. Due to faulty sound equipment, the production did not receive as much success as the Wiz.
Suncoast also boasts a superior-rated Choir and Marching/Symphonic band. Every year, the groups attend MPAs (Music Performance Assesments) held by the Florida's Bandmaster Association. They have continuously returned with a plethora of surperiors, the highest rating possible. Recently, the band has been invited to play in London's 2007 New Year's Day Parade.
Athletics
In 2006, the girls' varsity volleyball team won the State 4A Championship. In 1981, the football team reached the state finals, losing there to Palatka 42-2. The football team was also district champions in 1984 and 2002. The boys' cross-country team qualified for the state meet for five consecutive years from 1998-2002. The girls track team were state champions for four years in a row from 1999-2002. The boys' basketball team won state championships in 1984, 1985, and 1990. The 1990 team, led by future NBApoint guardAnthony Goldwire, went 36-0. Former professional wide receiverAnthony Carter played football for the Chargers in the 1970s.
