Pinellas Park High School is a public secondary school in Largo, Florida, United States. It opened in the fall of 1976 and is part of the Pinellas County Schools system. The school mascot is the Patriot, and the school colors are red, white and blue. The school newspaper is called the Powder Horn Press and the yearbook is Occurrences. The school is home to the Criminal Justice Academy magnet program, as well as the First Responders magnet program.
Pinellas Park High School, located in Largo, Florida, opened its doors in August 1976. Because of the United States Bicentennial occurring that year, it adopted the name "The Patriots" and chose red, white, and blue as its school colors. In 2001, the school received a $500,000 grant to develop smaller learning communities. Five SLCs comprising the entire school population exist today: Freshman Forum (for incoming freshmen); Arts & Humanities; Environmental, Medical and Biological Alliance; Sophomore Seminar, and Business Design Technologies. The ESOL program helps foreign-language speakers and GOALS acts as a drop-out prevention program. As a result of the Pinellas county introduction of Choice schools, 80% of the school's students come from throughout the county.
Student demographicsedit
The total student population of approximately 2,300 students comprises 70.3% Caucasians, 12.7% African-Americans, 9.5% Hispanics, 5.9% Asians, 0.2% American Indian, and 1.4% Other. The student attendance rate is 92.7%. Pinellas Park High School is one of the most ethnically diverse schools of the country, comprising a large number of students from Latin and Asian countries. ESOL students form 6% of the total school population, and special education students make up 17% of the student body. PPHS is one of the district centers for special education students.
Programsedit
Criminal Justice Academyedit
The Criminal Justice Academy is a four-year magnet program at Pinellas Park High School that teaches students about the American legal system and the careers found in that system. Students must apply for the Criminal Justice Academy. Eighth grade applicants must have stanines of 5 or higher on standardized tests, GPA of 2.5 or higher for all work in sixth and seventh grades, 2 positive academic teacher recommendations, and good discipline and attendance records.[2] Mainstream sophomores may join if they didn't have the opportunity the year before.
First Respondersedit
The school's First Responders program was founded in 2009. The program teaches students emergency planning and response along with first aid, CPR, and gives students chances for certifications with FEMA and the basic HAZMAT training. The senior classes have a chance to take a college EMR class and participate in Pinellas Park High's "Disaster Day," where the underclassmen act as if a natural disaster has occurred and depend on the seniors to assist, take control of, and isolate the situation. The students who join the First Responder program are required to volunteer with the community to illustrate the program's involvement and dedication to the community
Buildingedit
The main building has over 40,000 square feet (3,716 m2) of space and was built in 1976. The building includes a gymnasium and auditorium, a media center and library, several computer labs, a well-furnished weight room, a complete autobody shop, and a complete printing shop.
The CJA building was built between 1996 and 1998 and opened to students in the fall of 1998. The building has 8,496 square feet (789 m2) of space, including several classrooms, administration offices, a mock courtroom, and an apartment used as a mock crime scene.
Notable incidentsedit
School shootingedit
The school made news on February 11, 1988, when two 15-year-old male students, Jason Harless and Jason McCoy, brought guns which they stole from a sheriff's home to the school cafeteria, where they showed the guns off to friends. Other students reported this to the school administrators. One assistant principal asked for the guns to be turned in, but Harless aimed the gun at the assistant principal. Richard Allen, another Assistant Principal, approached Harless from behind and attempted to dislodge the gun from Harless' hand. Harless reached back and shot Allen in the temple, point blank. This situation escalated and resulted in the shooting of Assistant Principal Nancy Blackwelder, and intern Joseph Bloznalis. Blackwelder was shot by a bullet that traveled through her body from hip to shoulder. Bloznalis received a shattering shot to the knee.[3] Allen was killed. Blackwelder and Bloznalis, an assistant physical education teacher who was interning from the University of South Florida, were injured. Harless was taken down by a bullet that grazed his shoulder during a shootout with the police outside the front entrance as he attempted to flee. McCoy was captured later at a residence.
Harless was sentenced to 17 years in adult prison and was later released after eight years imprisonment after serving his sentence in the Sumter Correctional Institution. McCoy was sentenced to six years in adult prison, but served 14 months in a “youthful offenders” facility.[3] Neither has been known to attend any of the annual homecoming events at the school each fall. As of 2012, records indicate that McCoy was living in Tennessee, and Harless in an interview said he was living in Holiday, Florida.[4]
pinellas, park, high, school, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jsto. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Pinellas Park High School news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Pinellas Park High School is a public secondary school in Largo Florida United States It opened in the fall of 1976 and is part of the Pinellas County Schools system The school mascot is the Patriot and the school colors are red white and blue The school newspaper is called the Powder Horn Press and the yearbook is Occurrences The school is home to the Criminal Justice Academy magnet program as well as the First Responders magnet program Pinellas Park High SchoolAddress6305 118th AveLargo Florida 33773United StatesInformationTypePublicEstablished1976PrincipalBrett PattersonTeaching staff91 00 FTE 1 Grades9 12Enrollment1 890 2019 20 1 Student to teacher ratio20 77 1 Color s Red White and Blue MascotPatriotRivalDixie M Hollins High SchoolYearbookOccurrencesWebsitehttp www pp hs pinellas k12 fl us Contents 1 History 2 Student demographics 3 Programs 3 1 Criminal Justice Academy 3 2 First Responders 4 Building 5 Notable incidents 5 1 School shooting 6 Notable alumni 7 References 8 External linksHistory editPinellas Park High School located in Largo Florida opened its doors in August 1976 Because of the United States Bicentennial occurring that year it adopted the name The Patriots and chose red white and blue as its school colors In 2001 the school received a 500 000 grant to develop smaller learning communities Five SLCs comprising the entire school population exist today Freshman Forum for incoming freshmen Arts amp Humanities Environmental Medical and Biological Alliance Sophomore Seminar and Business Design Technologies The ESOL program helps foreign language speakers and GOALS acts as a drop out prevention program As a result of the Pinellas county introduction of Choice schools 80 of the school s students come from throughout the county Student demographics editThe total student population of approximately 2 300 students comprises 70 3 Caucasians 12 7 African Americans 9 5 Hispanics 5 9 Asians 0 2 American Indian and 1 4 Other The student attendance rate is 92 7 Pinellas Park High School is one of the most ethnically diverse schools of the country comprising a large number of students from Latin and Asian countries ESOL students form 6 of the total school population and special education students make up 17 of the student body PPHS is one of the district centers for special education students Programs editCriminal Justice Academy edit The Criminal Justice Academy is a four year magnet program at Pinellas Park High School that teaches students about the American legal system and the careers found in that system Students must apply for the Criminal Justice Academy Eighth grade applicants must have stanines of 5 or higher on standardized tests GPA of 2 5 or higher for all work in sixth and seventh grades 2 positive academic teacher recommendations and good discipline and attendance records 2 Mainstream sophomores may join if they didn t have the opportunity the year before First Responders edit The school s First Responders program was founded in 2009 The program teaches students emergency planning and response along with first aid CPR and gives students chances for certifications with FEMA and the basic HAZMAT training The senior classes have a chance to take a college EMR class and participate in Pinellas Park High s Disaster Day where the underclassmen act as if a natural disaster has occurred and depend on the seniors to assist take control of and isolate the situation The students who join the First Responder program are required to volunteer with the community to illustrate the program s involvement and dedication to the communityBuilding editThe main building has over 40 000 square feet 3 716 m2 of space and was built in 1976 The building includes a gymnasium and auditorium a media center and library several computer labs a well furnished weight room a complete autobody shop and a complete printing shop The CJA building was built between 1996 and 1998 and opened to students in the fall of 1998 The building has 8 496 square feet 789 m2 of space including several classrooms administration offices a mock courtroom and an apartment used as a mock crime scene Notable incidents editSchool shooting edit The school made news on February 11 1988 when two 15 year old male students Jason Harless and Jason McCoy brought guns which they stole from a sheriff s home to the school cafeteria where they showed the guns off to friends Other students reported this to the school administrators One assistant principal asked for the guns to be turned in but Harless aimed the gun at the assistant principal Richard Allen another Assistant Principal approached Harless from behind and attempted to dislodge the gun from Harless hand Harless reached back and shot Allen in the temple point blank This situation escalated and resulted in the shooting of Assistant Principal Nancy Blackwelder and intern Joseph Bloznalis Blackwelder was shot by a bullet that traveled through her body from hip to shoulder Bloznalis received a shattering shot to the knee 3 Allen was killed Blackwelder and Bloznalis an assistant physical education teacher who was interning from the University of South Florida were injured Harless was taken down by a bullet that grazed his shoulder during a shootout with the police outside the front entrance as he attempted to flee McCoy was captured later at a residence Harless was sentenced to 17 years in adult prison and was later released after eight years imprisonment after serving his sentence in the Sumter Correctional Institution McCoy was sentenced to six years in adult prison but served 14 months in a youthful offenders facility 3 Neither has been known to attend any of the annual homecoming events at the school each fall As of 2012 records indicate that McCoy was living in Tennessee and Harless in an interview said he was living in Holiday Florida 4 Notable alumni editBrowning Nagle Former New York Jets quarterback 5 Pamela Stein Playboy Playmate 6 Fez Whatley Radio Personality from the Ron amp Fez show on terrestrial radio and Sirius XM Kyle Sokol Bass Player for Nocturnus Rude Squad and Crimson Glory Astronomica with Wade BlackReferences edit a b c PINELLAS PARK HIGH SCHOOL National Center for Education Statistics Retrieved June 2 2021 Criminal Justice Academy at Pinellas Park High School Archived from the original on 2006 10 11 Retrieved 2007 01 20 a b Winchester Donna February 11 2008 Sad day to pass unnoted at school St Petersburg Times Retrieved 2009 12 09 Man from 1988 Pinellas Park High School shooting There are no preventable measures St Petersburg Times 1989 09 21 Retrieved 2007 01 31 St Petersburg Times 1989 09 21 Retrieved 2007 01 31 External links editOfficial website Pinellas County Schools Home Page Pinellas Park High School Criminal Justice Academy 27 52 51 N 82 43 27 W 27 8808567 N 82 7242671 W 27 8808567 82 7242671 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pinellas Park High School amp oldid 1181894963, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
