Pinellas Park High School

Public school in Florida, United States

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

Address

6305 118th Ave

Largo

Florida 33773

United States

Information
Type| Public
Established| 1976
Principal| Brett Patterson
Teaching staff| 91.00 FTE[1]
Grades| 9-12
Enrollment| 1,890 (2019-20)[1]
Student to teacher ratio| 20.77[1]
Color(s)| Red, White, and Blue
Mascot| Patriot
Rival| Dixie M. Hollins High School
Yearbook| Occurrences
Website| http://www.pp-hs.pinellas.k12.fl.us/

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.

## History[edit]

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 demographics[edit]

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.

## Programs[edit]

### Criminal 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 community

## Building[edit]

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 incidents[edit]

### School 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[edit]

* Browning Nagle \- Former New York Jets quarterback [5]
* Pamela Stein \- Playboy Playmate[6]
* Fez Whatley \- Radio Personality from the Ron & Fez show on terrestrial radio and Sirius XM.
* Kyle Sokol \- Bass Player for Nocturnus, Nasty Savage, Rude Squad, and Crimson Glory (Astronomica) with Wade Black

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c "PINELLAS PARK HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
2. ^ "Criminal Justice Academy at Pinellas Park High School". Archived from the original on 2006-10-11. Retrieved 2007-01-20.
3. ^ a b Winchester, Donna (February 11, 2008). "Sad day to pass unnoted at school". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
4. ^ "Man from 1988 Pinellas Park High School shooting: 'There are no preventable measures'".
5. ^ "St. Petersburg Times". 1989-09-21. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
6. ^ "St. Petersburg Times". 1989-09-21. Retrieved 2007-01-31.

## External links[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

School shootings in the United States

Prior to 2000
(full list)|

| 1760s|

* Enoch Brown school massacre (1764)

|

1960s|

* University of Texas (1966)
* Rose-Mar College of Beauty (1966)

1970s|

* Kent State University (1970)
* Jackson State University (1970)
* Olean High School (1974)
* Computer Learning Center (1976)
* California State University, Fullerton (1976)
* Cleveland Elementary School (1979)

1980s|

* 49th Street Elementary School (1984)
* Cokeville Elementary School (1986)
* Hubbard Woods Elementary School (1988)
* Oakland Elementary School (1988)
* Cleveland Elementary School (1989)

1990s|

* University of Iowa (1991)
* Lindhurst High School (1992)
* Bard College at Simon's Rock (1992)
* East Carter High School (1993)
* Wickliffe Middle School (1994)
* Blackville–Hilda High School (1995)
* Richland High School (1995)
* Frontier Middle School (1996)
* San Diego State University (1996)
* Bethel Regional High School (1997)
* Pearl High School (1997)
* Heath High School (1997)
* Westside Middle School (1998)
* Parker Middle School (1998)
* Thurston High School (1998)
* Columbine High School (1999)

2000 to present
(full list)|

| 2000s|

* Buell Elementary School (2000)
* University of Arkansas (2000)
* Santana High School (2001)
* Appalachian School of Law (2002)
* John McDonogh High School (2003)
* Case Western Reserve University (2003)
* Rocori High School (2003)
* Red Lake Senior High School (2005)
* Campbell County High School (2005)
* Pine Middle School (2006)
* Platte Canyon High School (2006)
* Weston High School (2006)
* West Nickel Mines School (2006)
* Virginia Tech (2007)
* Delaware State University (2007)
* SuccessTech Academy (2007)
* Northern Illinois University (2008)
* E.O. Junior High School (2008)
* University of Central Arkansas (2008)

|

2010s|

* University of Alabama in Huntsville (2010)
* Chardon High School (2012)
* Oikos University (2012)
* Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012)
* Santa Monica College (2013)
* Sparks Middle School (2013)
* Marysville Pilchuck High School (2014)
* Umpqua Community College (2015)
* Northern Arizona University (2015)
* University of California, Los Angeles (2016)
* El Centro College (2016)
* Townville Elementary School (2016)
* North Park Elementary School (2017)
* Rancho Tehama Elementary School (2017)
* Aztec High School (2017)
* Marshall County High School (2018)
* Stoneman Douglas High School (2018)
* Santa Fe High School (2018)
* Noblesville West Middle School (2018)
* University of North Carolina at Charlotte (2019)
* STEM School Highlands Ranch (2019)
* Saugus High School (2019)

2020s|

* Oxford High School (2021)
* Liberty Point International Middle School (2022)
* East High School (2022)
* Robb Elementary School (2022)
* Rusdale High School (2022)
* Central Visual and Performing Arts High School (2022)
* University of Virginia (2022)
* Richneck Elementary School (2023)
* Michigan State University (2023)
* Covenant School (2023)
* Virginia Commonwealth University (2023)
* University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2023)
* University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2023)
* Perry High School (2024)

In media|

| Film and
television|

* Detention: The Siege at Johnson High (1997)
* Duck! The Carbine High Massacre (1999)
* Bang Bang You're Dead (2002)
* Bowling for Columbine (2002)
* Heart of America (2002)
* Home Room (2002)
* "Jimmy" (2002)
* Elephant (2003)
* Zero Day (2003)
* American Yearbook (2004)
* "Time Stands Still" (2004)
* The Only Way (2004)
* Dawn Anna (2005)
* All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
* American Gun (2006)
* State's Evidence (2006)
* The Life Before Her Eyes (2007)
* April Showers (2009)
* Beautiful Boy (2010)
* We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
* Hello Herman (2012)
* Rudderless (2014)
* Sins of Our Youth (2014)
* The Cokeville Miracle (2015)
* I'm Not Ashamed (2016)
* "Dead Kids" (2018)
* Vox Lux (2018)
* Safety (2019)
* If Anything Happens I Love You (2020)
* Run Hide Fight (2020)
* The Fallout (2021)
* Mass (2021)
* Eric Larue (2023)
* The Graduates (upcoming)

|

Literature|

* Give a Boy a Gun (2000)
* Nobody Left to Hate (2001)
* No Easy Answers (2002)
* After (2003)
* Columbine (2009)
* Hate List (2009)
* "'No Way to Prevent This', Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens" (2014—)
* A Mother's Reckoning (2016)

Other|

* Pico's School (1999)
* Lullaby for Columbine (1999)
* Shoot (Hellblazer) (1999/2010)
* "The Nobodies" (2000)
* columbinus (2005)
* Super Columbine Massacre RPG! (2005)
* "Valentine's Day" (2013)
* The Library (2014)

Related terms
and topics|

* Active shooter
* Columbine effect
* Gun violence in the United States
* List of school shootings in the United States by death toll
* Mass shootings in the United States
* Thoughts and prayers
* School shooting
* School violence

27°52′51″N 82°43′27″W﻿ / ﻿27.8808567°N 82.7242671°W﻿ / 27.8808567; -82.7242671

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI

Geographic|

* NCES

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template