South Miami Senior High School

Public secondary school in Miami, Florida, United States

South Miami Senior High School

Address

6856 Southwest 53 Street

Miami

Florida

33155

United States

Coordinates| 25°43′16″N 80°18′20″W﻿ / ﻿25.72107°N 80.30558°W﻿ / 25.72107; -80.30558
Information
Type| Public secondary
Motto| Our Hope and Pride
Established| November 10, 1971; 53 years ago (November 10, 1971)
School district| Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Principal| Mr. Hebert Penton
Staff| 77.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades| 9–12
Enrollment| 1,576 (2023–2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio| 20.47[1]
Campus| Suburban
Color(s)| Orange and brown
Nickname| Cobras
Newspaper| The Serpent's Tale
Yearbook| DeCapello
Website| southmiamiseniorhigh.org

South Miami Senior High School is a high school located at 6856 SW 53rd Street in Glenvar Heights,[2][3] unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, in the United States; located about a mile and a half west of the University of Miami. Its current principal is Mr. Hebert Penton.

## History

[edit]

South Miami Senior opened its doors to students on November 10, 1971. It was built to relieve the overcrowding at Southwest Miami High, Coral Park Senior High and Coral Gables High School. The student body selected the Cobra as its mascot. The school's first principal, Warren Burchell, was originally from Ohio and chose the school colors, orange and brown, for the team colors of the NFL Cleveland Browns.

Since opening, South Miami has had eight principals: Dr. Warren G. Burchell, Judy Weiner, Thomas L. Shaw, Eugene Butler, Craig Speziale, Gilberto Bonce, Dr. Cadian Collman-Perez, and Hebert Penton. Dr. Burchell's term was the longest, at 22 years.

## Demographics

[edit]

The school is 84% Hispanic, 8% Black, 7% White non-Hispanic, and 1% Asian.[4]

## Notable alumni

[edit]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

* Jose Barrios – former MLB player
* Ed Beckman – former NFL tight end[5]
* Fernanza Burgess – former NFL quarterback[6]
* Wayne Capers – former NFL wide receiver
* Phil Clarke – former NFL linebacker
* John Corker – former NFL linebacker
* Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio – former Miami Dolphins cheerleader and wife of Marco Rubio
* Margie Goldstein-Engle – equestrian show horse champion
* Albert Gonzalez – hacker, convicted of computer fraud[7]
* Damian Harrell – Former Arena Football League wide receiver/defensive back
* Paul Hazel – former NFL linebacker[8]
* Fred Jones – former NFL player
* Dennis McKinnon – former NFL wide receiver
* Mia Michaels – choreographer, judge on So You Think You can Dance
* Raúl De Molina – host of El Gordo y la Flaca
* Pitbull \- rapper and singer
* Carlos Ponce – singer, songwriter, actor[9]
* Julio Robaina – politician
* Marco Rubio – politician, 72nd United States Secretary of State
* Dennis Sherrill – former MLB player
* Derrick Thomas – former NFL linebacker, Pro Football and College Football Hall of Famer

## See also

[edit]

* Silver Knight Awards
* Miami-Dade County Public Schools
* Education in the United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "SOUTH MIAMI SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
2. ^ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Glenvar Heights CDP, FL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 6, 2020. \- Compare this map against the address of the school.
3. ^ "Home". South Miami High School. Retrieved May 6, 2020. "6856 SW 53 St., Miami, FL 33155" \- Compare the address against the map.
4. ^ "South Miami Senior High School". publicschoolreview.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
5. ^ "Ed Beckman". pro-football-reference.com.
6. ^ "Fernanza Burgess". National Football League. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
7. ^ 'Soupnazi' hacker Albert Gonzalez went from nerdy past to life of sex, guns and drugs – New York Daily News – August 19, 2009
8. ^ "Paul Hazel - Unsigned Free Agent - 2016 Player Profile". rotoworld.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
9. ^ "Alumni Interview: Carlos Ponce (Class of 1990)". South Miami Senior High School. Retrieved May 10, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* South Miami Senior High School's official website
* South Miami Senior High School's (smsh.dadeschools.net) at the Wayback Machine (archive index)

* v
* t
* e

Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Institutions

| High schools|

| Neighborhood/zoned|

* American
* J.C. Bermudez Doral
* Braddock
* Carol City
* Central
* Coral Gables
* Coral Park
* Cutler Bay
* Edison
* Ferguson
* Goleman
* Hialeah
* Hialeah Gardens
* Hialeah-Miami Lakes
* Homestead
* Jackson
* Killian
* Krop
* Miami
* Miami Beach
* Miami Springs
* Mourning
* Norland
* North Miami
* North Miami Beach
* Northwestern
* Palmetto
* Reagan/Doral
* South Dade
* South Miami
* Southridge
* Southwest Miami
* Sunset
* Varela
* Westland
* Washington

|

Magnets|

* Coral Reef
* DASH
* Martí MAST
* MAST Academy
* MAST @ FIU
* MAST @ Homestead
* Miami Lakes Ed Ctr
* New World
* Robert Morgan
* School for Advanced Studies
* Turner Tech
* TERRA ERI
* Young Men's Prep
* Young Women's Prep

Charters|

* Doctors Miami Shores
* Doral Academy Preparatory School
* EA
* Mater
* Don Soffer Aventura HS
* SLAM

Alternative|

* MacArthur South

Defunct|

* North Dade (1957-66)

Middle &
elem. schools|

| Public middles|

* Arvida
* Carver
* Edison
* Miami Springs
* Southwood

|

Magnet middles|

* Ammons
* Martí MAST

Magnet elementaries|

* Bryan
* North Dade Center
* Scott Lake
* Southside
* West Laboratory

K-8 centers|

* Air Base
* Coral Gables
* Coral Way Bilingual
* Edelcup/Sunny Isles
* Milam

Charters|

* ASPIRA RAM
* Doctors Miami Shores
* Doral Academy
* Mater

Related

| People|

| Superintendents|

* Petruzielo (prior to 1991)
* Crew (2004–2008)
* Carvalho (2008–2022)

|

Board members|

* Bendross-Mindingall
* Curbelo
* Hantman

Other|

| Broadcast|

* WLRN-FM
* WLRN-TV

|

Articles|

* Middle schools
* Killian Nine

Authority control databases: Geographic |

* NCES

|

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