Cocoa High School

Cocoa High School
Location
Cocoa, Florida United States
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	June 15, 1917
School district	Brevard Public Schools
Principal	Dr.Stephanie Soliven
Staff	78
Grades	9–12
Number of students	1272
Color(s)	Orange and Black
Mascot	Tiger
Website	Cocoa high school homepage

Coordinates: 28°22′57.28″N 80°46′7.97″W / 28.3825778°N 80.7688806°W / 28.3825778; -80.7688806

Cocoa High School is located in Cocoa, Florida and is part of the Brevard Public Schools District. 1272 students attend.^[1] There are 78 faculty members, giving a student/teacher ratio of 17.8.^[2] The principal is Dr. Stephanie Soliven.^[3]

History

Cocoa High School's first building was dedicated June 15, 1917.^[4][5]

On September 14, 1925, Cocoa High School officially opened in a newly constructed four-story building on Forrest Avenue in Rockledge,^{[citation needed]} Florida.^[6] These buildings were later used by Brevard Community College in 1960 when they first started.^{[citation needed]}.^[7] The buildings later became the home and permanent location for Rockledge High School.^{[citation needed]}

That part of Rosetine Street bordering the Cocoa High campus, was renamed "Tiger Trail" in honor of the school's mascot. Renaming streets after bordering high school school's mascots is traditional in Brevard County.

In 2010, the football team played three out-of-state games in an effort to be nationally ranked.^[8] In September 2010, the school was ranked 12th in the nation.^[9] It also set a county record for number of consecutive football victories, 31.^[10]

Campus

The school campus contains 18 single-story buildings located on Tiger Trail, in Cocoa, Florida. ^{[11] [12]} A 1,000 seat auditorium was built in 2010.^[13]

Sports

• Football State Champion. Class 3A 2008,^[14] Class 2A 2009^[15] Class 2A 2010
• Basketball State Champion. 1960.^[16]Class 4A 2009^[17]

Activities

The school offers students the following activities:

Student Government Association Robotics National Honor Society Drama Club Mu Alpha Theta Guitar Club J. Kyle Braid Leadership Club Yearbook Key Club Best Buddies International National Beta Club Fellowship of Christian Athletes Academic Team

Spanish Club Future Business Leaders of America Literary Magazine Science Engineering Communications Mathematics Enrichment Music Organizations Marching Band Orchestra Chorus Jazz Band Science Research JROTC

Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) problems

At the end of the 2005-2006 school year, Brevard Public School District conducted an internal investigation of Cocoa High which resulted in the removal of four of the school's principals. The administration at the school inaccurately reported its FCAT information. The District found that the school's principal, and three assistant principals, were involved in the scandal. All four administrators were removed from their positions.^[18]

In 2007, the school scored a "D" based on the standardized testing for the year, the lowest score in the district.^[19] This was raised to an "A", using different criteria in 2010, after state officials decided the old standards were too high. It is one of five high schools in Brevard to have this grade.^[20]

Notable alumni

• Emory L. Bennett (Class of 1948), Korean War Medal of Honor recipient.
• Michael C. Blake, first African American mayor of Cocoa and first African American President of the Space Coast League of Cities.^[21]
• Michael Brown (Class of 1983), renaissance man, visited Disney World its opening week, built various NASA computer applications, worked on the Star Wars Brilliant Pebbles project, wrote automated email feedback system for Cisco networking equipment, web pioneer who created powerbuilderjobs.com, cplusplusjobs.com, and several other <programming language>jobs.com websites in the mid 1990s.^[22]
• James Folston (Class of 1989), professional American football player.^[23]
• Jesse Lee Kercheval (Class of 1974, graduated 1973), author, poet, and professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.^[24]
• Scott Thompson alias Carrot Top (Class of 1983), comedian.^[25]

Footnotes

1. ^ Cocoa High School - Cocoa, Florida - FL - school overview
2. ^ Cocoa High School, Cocoa Florida / FL school information
3. ^ "Administration of CHS". http://www.cocoa.brevard.k12.fl.us/faculty%20page/faculty.htm. 
4. ^ http://www.flahistory.net/June.htm
5. ^ A black plaque is displayed on the front of the main office building commemorating the original opening of the school
6. ^ Dates in Cocoa History | Cocoa Village
7. ^ Spitzer, Michelle (7 November 2010). "BCC looks beyond half-century". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 1A. http://m.floridatoday.com/news.jsp?key=359095&rc=lo. 
8. ^ Florida Today retrieved 5 August 2010^{[dead link]}
9. ^ [1]
10. ^ McCallum, Brian (15 October 2010). "Cocoa rolls sets record for victories". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 1C. 
11. ^ Aerial view
12. ^ Cocoa High School
13. ^ "Veterans Day Events:Cocoa Beach High School". The Intercom 34 (1): 12. January 2011. http://moaacc.org/Intercomjan11.pdf. 
14. ^ [2] retrieved January 25, 2009,2010^{[dead link]}
15. ^ [3] retrieved December 13, 2009^{[dead link]}
16. ^ Karasotis, Peter (27 February 2011). "BLACK or WHITE". Florida Today (Melbourne, Florida): pp. 1C. http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110227/COLUMNISTS0306/102270334/Back-60s-still-matter-black-white?odyssey=mod. 
17. ^ [4] retrieved March 0, 2009
18. ^ Tampa Bay 10
19. ^ Downs, Megan (March 16, 2008). School aims to succeed. Florida Today. 
20. ^ Spitzer, Michelle (8 December 2010). "With new rules, Cocoa High revels in first-ever A grade". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 1A. http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101208/NEWS01/12080345/1006/rss01. 
21. ^ Black History: Michael C. Blake - Central Florida News 13
22. ^ Cocoa High School - Brown, Michael (1983) Profile
23. ^ http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=FOLSTJAM01
24. ^ Kenyon Review
25. ^ Cocoa High School - Thompson, Scott (1983) Profile