Cooper City High School

Cooper City High School
File:Cowboy rider.jpg "Home of the Cowboys"
Address
9401 Stirling Road Cooper City, Florida United States
Information
Type	Public
Established	September 1971
School district	Broward County Public Schools
Principal	Wendy Doll
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	2,281 (2011–2012)
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Red      Black      White
Mascot	Pistol Pete (formerly Lasso Larry)
Website	http://www.coopercityhigh.net/

Cooper City High School is a high school located in Cooper City, Florida which teaches grades 9-12. The school includes standard high school curriculum plus specialized classes devoted to career development including auto tech and computer programming. It has an average enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. Since the 2004–2005 school year the school principal is Ms. Wendy Doll. The school colors are red, black, and white and the mascot is a cowboy named "Pistol Pete." Pistol Pete was once deemed inappropriate because he wields two handguns and was replaced with Lasso Larry, but was brought back in the 2014–2015 school year. The school has been awarded the Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award. Cooper City has an FCAT school grade of "A" for the 2013–2014 academic year. The school was also ranked #382 in the High School Challenge Index (conducted annually by Newsweek and The Washington Post) of 2011 out of approximately 30,000 schools, marking it as one of the top high schools in the entire nation. It is also #46 school in the state of Florida.

Facilities

Classes were first held in 1971 behind city hall on SW 90th Avenue. The original buildings on Stirling Road were completed in time for the 1972 school year. Over time, Building 1, the main academic building, started to deteriorate with roof leaks, inefficient air conditioning units and water intrusion. A new 36-classroom building opened during the 2007–2008 school year. This building was followed by a new cafeteria which opened in May during the 2009–2010 school year. An entirely new building to replace Building 1 started construction during the 2012-2013 school year and opened in November of the 2013-2014 school year, complete with new general purpose classrooms, a science wing, a new childcare building, business labs, an automotive facility, and new offices. Building 1 was demolished and is now two grass fields, one of which is used for student parking. The back part of the original school (the media center, the music wing, the early childcare wing, the auditorium, the gym and locker rooms) have either been remodeled, left as is, or repurposed (for example, the NJROTC uses what used to be the early childcare center now that a new center has been built).

Academics

Prior to the 2012-2013 school year, the school operated on a semester block schedule. In the 2016-2017 school year, the school will operate on a 4x4 A/B block, meaning students will get seven classes and a study hall "personalization" period at 90 minutes each, but split up between "A" days and "B" days.

As of the 2012-2013 school year, the school functions on a seven class period system due to county budget cuts. All the classes are year long with 50 minutes per period, and courses such as auto-tech and childcare take up two class periods.

Cooper City offers a wide variety of honors courses. Each honors class awards five points for an A, four points for a B, three points for a C, one point for a D, or zero points for an F to the student's weighted GPA per quarter. Students often opt to take honors courses for their core classes (English, math, science, and social studies), which typically include biology, chemistry, algebra, geometry, and history courses. Also, many higher-leveled elective courses give students the opportunity to earn honors credit, which encourages students to continue with specific electives throughout their high school career. There are also many stand-alone honors elective courses available, including anatomy, marine science, debate, and personal finance courses.

The AP participation rate is 50 percent. Each AP class awards six points for an A, five points for a B, four points for a C, one point for a D, or zero points for an F to the student's weighted GPA per quarter.

Cooper City High School offers the following AP courses as of the 2013-2014 school year. Courses marked with an asterisk after their names typically require doubling-up, with students getting honors credit during the first semester and AP credit during the second semester.

• Biology*
• Calculus (AB* & BC)
• Chemistry*
• English Language & Composition
• English Literature & Composition
• Environmental Science
• European History
• Human Geography
• Microeconomics/U.S Government & Politics
• Music Theory
• Physics B
• Psychology
• Spanish Language
• Spanish Literature
• Statistics
• Studio Art (2-D* and Drawing*)
• U.S. History*
• World History*

In addition, students are eligible to dual-enroll in courses at Broward College. Dual-enrollment courses can be taken over the summer break or during the school year. Sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible to use dual-enrollment courses to replace the sixth and/or seventh period slots in their class schedules, however sophomores are not allowed to leave campus early. Dual-enrollment courses give students the opportunity to experience taking a class in a college setting before they even leave high school, which helps to prepare them for when they head off to various colleges after graduating from high school. These courses also provide a GPA boost, with each class awarding the same amount of weighted GPA credit that's given to an AP class taken on the Cooper City High School campus.

Cooper City currently boasts a graduation rate of 97.4%, the highest in the district.

Athletics

Cooper City has earned distinctions in its Cheerleading, Baseball, Volleyball, Tennis, Water Polo and Wrestling programs. The softball team has won Districts, Regionals, and in 2009, States. In the 2010 football season, Cooper City won districts for the first time in the school's history. Cooper City Football won districts for a second time in 2011, beating the former national champion, St. Thomas Aquinas, for the first time since 1972 in a 21-16 victory. The Boy's Tennis Team was a 3-time FHSAA State Qualifier (1986, 1987 and 1988) winning the overall FHSAA 4A State Tennis Team Championships in 1988 and with it, the school's first ever state team championship. The sports currently offered at the school (as of the 2013-2014 school year) include the following:

• Baseball (JV and Varsity)
• Basketball (Boys JV and Varsity, Girls Varsity)
• Cheerleading (JV Football and Varsity Football)
• Color Guard and Winter Guard
• Cross Country
• Flag Football (Girls)
• Football (JV and Varsity)
• Golf (Boys and Girls)
• Lacrosse (Boys and Girls)
• Marching Band
• Soccer (Boys Varsity, Girls JV and Varsity)
• Softball (JV and Varsity)
• Swimming/Diving (Boys and Girls)
• Tennis (Boys and Girls) FHSAA 4A Boy's Team Champions - 1988
• Track (Boys and Girls)
• Volleyball (Boys and Girls)
• Water Polo (Boys and Girls)
• Wrestling

List of clubs and organizations

• Amnesty International
• Anime/Art Club
• Band
• Best Buddies
• CCHS Thespians
• Chess Club
• Chorus
• Cowboys Against Cancer
• Cowboy Television (CTV)
• DECA – for more info go to http://www.cchsdeca.org
• Debate Club
• DFYIT (Drug Free Youth In Town)
• Dodgeball Club
• FJAS (Florida Junior Academy of Sciences)
• FMPA (Future Medical Professionals of America)
• Infinite Club club.infinite.googlepages.com/
• Kickball Club
• Human Relations Council
• Key Club
• LGBTQ+ Cub
• NJROTC Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
• Math Club/Tutoring
• Multicultural club
• Musicians' Forum
• NHS (National Honor Society) – Chapter website: http://www.cchsnhs.com
• RSDA (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Awareness)
• Science Club
• SGA (Student Government Association)
• SITE (Students Improving The Environment)
• Spanish Club
• Spanish National Honor Society
• Tech Club
• Florida State Thespians
• The Adventurers Guild
• JSU (Jewish Student Union)
• Junior State of America (JSA)
• Philosophical Discourse Society
• PAW (Promoting Animal Welfare)
• PRES Club (Promoting Reading in the Elementary Setting)
• VAFA (Voice Against Family Abuse)
• Venture Club

CCHS Thespians

The award-winning CCHS Thespians, (formally known as the drama club) celebrate and produce quality high school theatre. In 2015, the Thespians won awards in six categories at their District 13 competition.

CTV News

Cowboy Television, (typically shortened to CTV) is the school's news magazine and variety show. It was developed in 1997 by the school's very own television and mass media class. At that time, the show aired on a monthly schedule. The show now airs every Friday via an internal broadcasting system. Considered to be "America's #1 High School Weekly News Program" by the Student Television Network, the CTV program has been the recipient of various awards.

Sound of Pride

The marching band, known as the Sound of Pride, attends various competitions, parades, and community events in the area, around the country and even around the world. In recent years, the program has prepared two field shows: one with simpler drill, more popular music, and sometimes dancing for the football game crowd (dubbed the "Cowboy Show" by the members and staff) as well as a competition or "comp" show, which has complicated drill with music that helps to create the theme being portrayed by the performers (otherwise known as a "corps-style" show). Since 2002 the program has attended FMBC-sanctioned regionals and the Florida Marching Band Championships in the Tampa Bay Area. There are three concert bands: the concert band, the symphonic band, and the wind ensemble, as well as a jazz band. There is also a winter guard that attends SFWGA contests, Winter Guard International regionals and the WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. The students are eligible to attend the Florida Bandmasters Association Solo and Ensemble festival and the concert bands attend FBA's concert festival each year at the district level and, if they achieve a superior rating, the state level. The program performs a winter concert with holiday-themed music in December, as well as an end-of-the-year show each May called Encore! Inspired by Blast!, the show features the concert bands and the winter guard as well as various acts put together by the band and guard students. Also, the marching band show from that year is staged indoors and is the closer for the night.

The winter guard was ranked 10th in Scholastic A Class in 1997, 9th in Scholastic Open Class in 1999, 14th in Scholastic A Class in 2006, 8th in Scholastic A Class in 2007, 14th in Scholastic Open Class in 2009 and 15th in Scholastic Open Class in 2013 in the Winter Guard International World Championships, and in 2010 the color guard was ranked first in Class 4A in the Florida Marching Band Championships. The percussion has also been ranked as one of the best in the state multiple times and produces many members that go on to join various drum corps and indoor percussion groups. The marching band has ranked first many times at local competitions and has earned many high brass, high woodwind, high percussion and high auxiliary awards. The program has marched in several parades, some of which include: 1991 when the band marched in the Channel 6 Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, 1992 when the band marched in the 58th annual King Orange Jamboree Parade, 1997 when the band first went to the London New Year's Day Parade, and 2015 when the band marched in the Davie Orange Blossom Parade. The band also marches in the Cooper City Founder's Day Parade every year. In 2016, the band participated in the Allstate Sugar Bowl band competition, parade, and halftime show in New Orleans. They won the competition, sweeping all captions, allowing them the honor of holding the football field-sized flag while the national anthem was being sung. The band is currently planning to once again attend the London New Year's Day Parade in 2018. The ensemble became FMBC Class 4A State Champions in 2008. In 2009 the wind ensemble attended the Music For All/Bands of America National Concert Festival. The program has received 5 Otto J. Kraushaar awards. This award is given to programs that have received superiors in marching, district concert and state concert all in one year, making it the highest honor that can be given to Florida band programs.

Notable alumni

• Bobby Estalella, Major League Baseball catcher
• Olindo Mare, American football placekicker for the Carolina Panthers
• Niki Taylor, model
• Krissy Taylor, model, younger sister of Niki Taylor
• Larry Boone Recording Artist, Musician

Scandals

On May 26, 1993 two Cooper City High school girls were arrested on prostitution charges, giving the school the nickname "Hooker High".

In 2006, the Senior Class President was charged with hacking into the grade submission site and changing grades for himself and other students.

Cooper City High School first appeared on the national stage with the 1993 murder of Bobby Kent by a group that included previous students of both Cooper City High School and South Broward High School. The murder resulted in a best selling crime book, "Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge", and a 2001 film, "Bully".

External links

• Cooper City High School website (redirects from www.broward.k12.fl.us/coopercityhigh/)
• Cooper City High School statistics provided by publicschoolreview.com
• Cooper City High School boundary map (PDF)
• Broward County Public Schools FCAT school grades (2002–2005)
• Cooper City High Freeservers
• CCHS Class of 1977
• CTV News
• Cooper City High Sound of Pride Marching Band and Color Guard