Felix Varela Senior High School is a public high school located at 15255 SW 96th St. in The Hammocks,

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States. Past principals include Millie Fornell (2000–2005) and Connie Navarro (2005–2011). The current principal is Nery Fins (2011–present). The school was named after Father

Félix Varela Félix Varela y Morales (November 20, 1788 – February 18, 1853) was a Cuban Catholic priest and independence leader who is regarded as a notable figure in the Catholic Church in both his native Cuba and the United States, where he also served. ...

(1788–1853), a Cuban

Roman Catholic Priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

advocate, teacher, and an admired figure throughout the

Cuban American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...

exile community. The school opened its doors to approximately 2,000 9th and 10th graders (classes of 2003–2004) on August 28, 2000. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

History

Varela was built as an overcrowding relief school for G. Holmes Braddock High School and

Miami Sunset High School Miami Sunset Senior High School is a secondary school of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. The principal is John C. Lux. It is located in the Kendale Lakes census-designated place in unincorporated Miami-Dade County. - Compare t ...

. Construction began in 1998 but due to delays during construction (mainly on concerning funding and local area politics), the school's opening date was delayed and pushed back several times. Varela opened its doors to students on August 28, 2000. In 2010, the school enrolled 51 survivors of the

2010 Haiti earthquake A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's c ...

, the second highest number of any Miami-Dade school. Principal Connie Navarro had installed extra counselors to assist the students in case they had any trauma. The students mostly came from the middle and upper classes, and many had previously attended the

Lycée Alexandre Dumas The Lycée Alexandre Dumas (LAD, ht, Lise Alexandre-Dumas) is a French international school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It has ''primaire'' (primary school) and ''collège-lycée'' (junior and senior high school) levels.Union School, both private schools. Varela High installed extra Advanced Placement (AP) classes, including AP French, to cater to them. Michael Winerip of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' interviewed 10 survivors at Varela. They all spoke Haitian Creole, French, and English, and their English did not have any accent. They all indicated that the academic work at Varela was less rigorous than the work at their private Haitian schools.Winerip, Michael.
New Influx of Haitians, but Not Who Was Expected

. ''

''. January 15, 2011. Retrieved on February 24, 2016. In print as: "New Influx Of Haitians, But Not Who Was Expected" – January 16, 2011, p. A17.

Demographics

Felix Varela is 89% Hispanic, 7% White non-Hispanic, 3% Black, and 1% Asian. As of 2019 the school had 2,595 students.

Academics

The school offers Advanced Placement (AP), university preparatory, and dual enrollment programs. The school has a barn with livestock used for its veterinary training course. Students in the program often arrive at school early to perform their duties.Odzer, Ari.
Felix Varela High School Offers Variety of Unique Programs
(). NBC 6 South Florida. Monday October 19, 2015. Retrieved on February 24, 2016. There are several professional programs offered at Varela including some magnet programs. One of the newest is the iPrep program that focuses on the use of technology to enhance learning.

Athletics and extracurricular activities

The varsity sports program began with the 2001–2002 school year alongside its first junior class. Felix Varela High's athletic rivals include G. Holmes Braddock High School,

and John A. Ferguson High School, as well as the new Kendall school, TERRA Environmental Research Institute. Around 2010–2011 the Varela tennis team reached its first ever regional playoff. Three of its new players, Zahry Edmond, Nicolas Etienne, and Hans Hillel Rousseau, were highly ranked tennis players in Haiti who had been displaced by the 2010 earthquake. The current Athletic Director is Coach Lisa Spinosa (2009–present). Past Athletic Directors include Coach Ron Balazs (2000–2005) and Coach Andy Chiles (2005–2009). The Varela High School Band is known as the "Band of Mystery." Varela also has an Alethic Training program students can join to actively learn about the field of sports medicine. Thanks to the myriad of sports offered, student will get an extensive look into sports medicine and its role in athletics.

Championships

Boys' Varsity soccer team: * 2008 National Champions * 2008

FHSAA The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is an organization whose purpose is to organize sports competition for high schools in Florida. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Florida uses ...

Class 6A State Champions by defeating Weston Cypress Bay 1-1 (4-1 PK). (back-to-back State Champions) * 2007

Class 6A State Champions by defeating Wellington High School 2-1 (the school's first state championship throughout its six-year history in varsity sports)

Notable alumni

Blake Jenner Blake Alexander Jenner (born August 27, 1992) is an American actor. Jenner won the second season of Oxygen's ''The Glee Project'' and, as a result, portrayed Ryder Lynn on the Fox musical comedy-drama series '' Glee''. He has since had starrin ...

– actor on the television musical show ''Glee'' *

Johnny Barbato John Edward Barbato ( ; born July 11, 1992) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, and Detroit Tigers, and also played in Nippon Professional ...

– Pitcher for the Detroit Tigers * Zakk Sandler – Former

Black Tide Black Tide was an American heavy metal band from Kendall, Florida. Formed in 2004, the band last consisted of Gabriel Garcia (lead guitar, lead vocals), Austin Diaz (rhythm guitar) and Cody Paige (drums). They released their debut album, ''Lig ...

and current

Falling In Reverse Falling in Reverse is an American rock band based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that formed in 2008 by lead vocalist Ronnie Radke while he was incarcerated. The band's original name was "From Behind These Walls", but it was quickly renamed to Falling ...

bass player

References

External links

Felix Varela High School
*
Varela NJROTC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varela Educational institutions established in 2000 Miami-Dade County Public Schools high schools 2000 establishments in Florida