Gaither High School

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Gaither High School
"Reach for the stars..."[citation needed]
Location
16200 N Dale Mabry Hwy
Tampa, Florida 33618, USA
Information
Type Public
Established 1984
Principal George Fekete
Faculty includes assistant principals Donna Cason (Curriculum), Henry Strapp (Administration), Matthew Smith, John Olewski, Lauren Otero (Student Affairs)
Enrollment 2,350
Information (813) 975-7340
Colors Silver, White, and Blue
Website Gaither High Official Website

Vivian Gaither High School opened in 1984 and is located on 16200 North Dale Mabry Highway in the Greater Northdale area of Hillsborough County, Florida. For 13 years it only housed 10th-12th grades and 9th grade was added in 1997. It serves the communities of Northdale, Cheval, Country Place, North Lakes, Lutz, and other parts of northern Hillsborough County. On January 31st, 2009, Gaither High School hosted the 7th annual Snoop Bowl, a youth football game which puts a Snoop Dogg coached team up against a youth team coached by an NFL player. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback Mike Alstott was selected to coach the 2009 team made up of all-star little leaguers from the Tampa Bay area. Snoop Dogg improved his record in Snoop Bowl games to 6-1 by defeating the Alsott led "Gators" 22-6 in front of a record 3,000 spectators at Cowboy Stadium. [1]

Gaither High School is named for the late Hillsborough High School administrator, Principal Vivian Gaither. He served over 40 years in the Hillsborough County School System.

Contents

[edit] Administration

Gaither High has had four principals in its history.

  • Ron Allen[2] 1984 - 1993
  • Ken Adum 1993 - 2003
  • Brenda Grasso 2003 - 2009
  • George Fekete 2009 - present

[edit] Information

The enrollment is 2,300 students. Most of these students have attended one of two middle schools; James Buchanan Middle School and Ben H. Hill Middle School.

During the design of the school, Hillsborough County Public Schools purchased one architectural design for use on two new high schools (Gaither High, and Bloomingdale High School which is located across county in Valrico, Florida). Gaither is painted white and Bloomingdale is painted a reddish-brown colour. In 2000, several classrooms were added to the southern part of campus[3]. Twelve more will be needed to comply with a state mandated class size limit [4] The only serious damage to the school occurred in April 2004, when a wall above the auditorium collapsed due to heavy wind and rains[5].

[edit] Academic achievements

Gaither has "Teacher of the Year" nominations regularly bestowed onto faculty. Gaither offers several advanced placement courses including math, languages, social sciences and literature. According to the most recent grades, Gaither is an "A' school. In 2003, the school adopted the vision, "Gaither will be among the top 5% of high schools in the state," and mission, "Gaither will provide all students with the opportunity and skills needed to maximize their potential as life–long learners and productive citizens."

In 2008 Gaither was ranked in the top 100 high schools in Florida as designated by Newsweek [6]

Gaither also hosts the Special Olympics Stampede [7] which is sponsored by the Civettes and FFA clubs.

[edit] In the news

In 2005, the marching band participated in the Inaugural Parade for George W. Bush.

In 2006, the vocal chorus traveled to New York City and performed at St Patrick's Cathedral.

In January 2007, Gaither was named the demonstration high school for best practices for inclusive education (BPIE) by the state of Florida for Hillsborough County.

[edit] Demographics

As of September 1, 2006, Gaither High School demographics are:[8]

  • 57.74% - White/Caucasian, non-Hispanic (1,357 students)
  • 28.34% - Hispanic, of any race (666 students)
  • 7.32% - Black/African-American, non-Hispanic (172 students)
  • 3.15% - Multiracial/ethnic (74 students)
  • 2.85% - Asian/Pacific Islander (67 students)
  • 0.60% - American Indian/Alaskan Native (14 students)
  • 25.57% of students are economically disadvantaged (601 students)
  • 4.3% of students have limited proficiency in the English language (101 students)
  • 11.87% of students have disabilities (279 students)

[edit] Athletics

Gaither's closest sports rival is Sickles High School, located in Citrus Park and opened in 1997. Before 1997 the main rivalry existed between Chamberlain High School, and A. P. Leto Comprehensive High School in Town 'n Country. Other closely located high schools include Freedom High School in New Tampa, and Plant High School located closer to Hyde Park.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ Boundary Map
  2. ^ From principal to fruit stand vendor
  3. ^ Gaither Expands
  4. ^ Adding_classroom_wing.shtml Adding New Wings
  5. ^ Cold front damages school.
  6. ^ America's Top High Schools
  7. ^ Gaither Hosts Special Olympics Stampede
  8. ^ Hillsborough County Public Schools>

[edit] External links


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