St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

St. Thomas Aquinas High School
Vita ∙ Deo ∙ Veritas (Latin: Life ∙ God ∙ Truth)
Address
2801 SW 12th Street Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33312-2953 United States
Coordinates	26°6′28″N 80°10′49″W
Information
Type	Private
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Established	1936
Oversight	Archdiocese of Miami
Dean	Robert Biasotti
Principal	Tina Jones
Supervising Principal	Monsignor Vincent T. Kelly
Faculty	123
Gender	Coeducational
Enrollment	2,191  (2010)
Student to teacher ratio	18:1
Campus size	25 acres
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Blue and Gold
Nickname	Raiders
Accreditation(s)	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Average SAT scores	574 Critical Reading 570 Mathematics 581 Writing
Average ACT scores	24.1 (mean composite score)
Publication	Spectrum (Literary Magazine)
Newspaper	'Raider Review'
Yearbook	'Veritas'
Tuition	$9,500 $7,600 for students and families participating and contributing in a Catholic Parish
Website	www.aquinas-sta.org

St. Thomas Aquinas High School (also known as STA) is a private, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, that educates young men and women in the Catholic tradition of youth formation. The school was founded in 1936 as part of St. Anthony School. In 1952, the high school separated and moved to its current location under the name Central Catholic High School. Finally, in 1961, the school was named in honor of Thomas Aquinas, the patron saint of Catholic education. Sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the school currently enrolls 2,191 students on its 25-acre (100,000 m²) campus in southwest Fort Lauderdale.

Academics

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. The Blue Ribbon Award, the Department of Education's most prestigious honor, recognizes schools for excellence in leadership, vision, teaching curriculum, student achievement, parental involvement and community support.

It was the second time in two decades that St. Thomas Aquinas had received recognition by the U.S. Department of Education. The school was first recognized as a "School of Excellence" during the 1984-1985 school year.

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 102 feeder schools, 59 Catholic parishes, and three counties. An Entrance Exam is required for all incoming Freshmen. Prospective students must also submit their first semester 8th grade report card and two letters of recommendation from their current school. Final acceptance and enrollment is contingent upon successful completion of 8th grade. Prospective transfer students must submit an application along with a copy of their current high school transcript. Two academic letters of recommendation from current school officials must also be submitted to complete the application requirements.

Faculty and curriculum

The St. Thomas Aquinas faculty consists of three religious and 120 laypersons, with 71 teachers holding advanced degrees. The ratio of students to teaching faculty stands at 18 to 1. The faculty averages 19 years of teaching experience and 12 years of experience at the school.

National Merit achievements

Class Year	Finalists	Commended	National Ranking
2011	24	17
2010	23	25
2009	16	32
2008	33	30
2007	22	34
2005	16	23
2004	27	29
2003	36		13th
2002	21	35
2001	25
2000	16
1999	21

Athletics

In 2005, St. Thomas Aquinas was recognized by Sports Illustrated as the third best high school athletic program in the nation. Of the more than 38,000 high schools in the U.S., fewer than one in a thousand made Sports Illustrated's list honoring schools with the nation's top athletic programs. 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 82 FHSAA state championships and have produced such athletes as tennis great Chris Evert, NFL star Michael Irvin and U.S. Olympian Sanya Richards. The school has been awarded the Broward County all-sports trophy by the Sun-Sentinel for 30 consecutive years. The athletic department has also won the FHSAA's Dodge Sunshine Cup every year since the awards inception in 1995.

State Championships

Men

• Football - 1992, 1997, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2010
• Baseball - 1995, 2003
• Basketball - 2001
• 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
• Wrestling - 1985

Women

• Golf - 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2001
• Soccer - 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2011
• Softball - 1986, 1993, 2002, 2003
• Swimming - 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004
• Tennis - 1972, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008
• Track and Field - 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
• Volleyball - 1995, 2004

Notable alumni

Athletics

• Foluke Akinradewo, member of the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team and 2007 NCAA Player of the Year
• Bradley Ally, Olympian and bronze medalist in 200m Individual Medley at 2007 Pan American Games
• Geno Atkins, professional football player
• Alejandro Bedoya, professional soccer player and member of the U.S. Men's National Team
• Wes Byrum, former collegiate football player at Auburn University
• Joe Castiglione, athletic director at the University of Oklahoma
• Jeremy Cain, professional football player
• Audra Cohen, professional tennis player and 2007 NCAA Women's Singles Champion
• Andrew Datko, collegiate football player at Florida State University
• Jason Dufner, professional golfer and member of the PGA Tour
• Eric Eichmann, former professional soccer player and member of the U.S. Men's National Team at the 1990 FIFA World Cup
• Chris Evert, former professional tennis player and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Sean Gallagher, professional baseball player
• Marcus Gilbert, professional football player
• Tyler Greene, professional baseball player
• Tavares Gooden, professional football player
• Arman Hall, gold medalist in the 400m at the 2011 World Youth Championships
• Leonard Hankerson, professional football player
• Stefan Humphries, former professional football player
• Michael Irvin, former professional football player and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Lamarcus Joyner, collegiate football player at Florida State University
• Mark Merklein, former professional tennis player and 1993 NCAA Men's Singles Champion
• Chad Mottola, former professional baseball player
• Gene Monahan, former head athletic trainer for the New York Yankees
• Kirk Olivadotti, assistant football coach at the University of Georgia
• Sterling Palmer, former professional football player
• Brian Piccolo, former professional football player and the inspiration for the film Brian's Song
• Vladislav Polyakov, Olympian and gold medalist in 200m Breaststroke at 2006 FINA World Championships
• Daryl Porter, former professional football player
• Sanya Richards, Olympian and gold medalist in Women's 400m at 2009 IAAF World Championships
• Shawn Riggans, professional baseball player
• Twan Russell, former professional football player
• Nate Salley, former professional football player
• Mike Stanley, former professional baseball player and 1995 American League All-Star
• Seilala Sua, former Olympian who placed 10th in the Discus at the 2000 Summer Olympics
• India Trotter, former professional soccer player and member of the U.S. Women's National Team
• Major Wright, professional football player
• James White, collegiate football player at the University of Wisconsin
• Sam Young, professional football player
• Wesley Carroll, former collegiate football player at Florida International University

Arts, Entertainment, and Civil Service

• Steven Conrad, screenwriter and producer of The Weather Man and The Pursuit of Happyness
• Chris Conrad, actor who appeared in The Next Karate Kid and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
• Michael Connelly, author who wrote The Lincoln Lawyer and Blood Work
• Billy Crudup, actor who appeared in Without Limits, Almost Famous and Big Fish
• Parris Glendening, former Governor of Maryland
• C. Dale Young, poet and author and the recipient of a 2009 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts
• William J. Zloch, former U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida

History

In 2006, a summer forensics class was on a field trip where they discovered what they assumed was a fake body planted by their instructor testing their analytic ability. It turned out to be a real one, thereby making international news.

External links

• Official School Website