J. W. Mitchell High School (also called Mitchell or JWMHS), is a

public high school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

New Port Richey, Florida New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was counted at 16,728 in the 2020 census. History By ...

, located next to

Seven Springs Middle School Pasco County Schools (also known as District School Board of Pasco County) is a school district that serves Pasco County in the U.S. state of Florida. It is headquartered in Land o' Lakes. The district includes the entire county. History Schoo ...

. Its current principal is Jessica Schultz. It is one of the largest schools in the

Pasco County Schools Pasco County Schools (also known as District School Board of Pasco County) is a school district that serves Pasco County in the U.S. state of Florida. It is headquartered in Land o' Lakes. The district includes the entire county. History Sch ...

district. The school opened on August 14, 2000.

History

J. W. Mitchell High School opened at the start of the 2000–01 school year, designed to relieve overcrowding at River Ridge and

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

High Schools. Its first graduating class was in 2002. The school is named for James Mitchell, a rancher, community leader and businessman. His wife Dorothy served on the school board for about 20 years. The school gained nationwide publicity in 2019 when its science lab classes were the first in the US to use synthetic frogs for

dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...

, instead of preserved real frogs. The move eliminates student exposure to

formaldehyde Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section F ...

and overcomes ethical objections raised in recent years to the widespread killing and dissection of the amphibians.

State championships

The Mustangs were the state boys soccer champions for the 2009–10 school year. Mitchell's hockey team was also the state champion for the 2011–12 school year.

Notable alumni

Tyler Clippard Tyler Lee Clippard (born February 14, 1985) is an American professional baseball free agent pitcher. He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Nationals, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, ...

– professional baseball player *

Ryan Garton Ryan Patrick Garton (born December 5, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016 and 2017 and the Seattle Mariners in 2017 and 2019. Career Tampa Bay Rays Ga ...

– professional baseball player *

Patrick Schuster Patrick James Schuster (born October 30, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies. Before beginning his professional career, ...

– professional baseball player •Nathan Smith- professional NHL player for the Arizona Coyotes https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Smith_(ice_hockey,_born_1998)

References

External links

J. W. Mitchell High School website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 2000 High schools in Pasco County, Florida Public high schools in Florida New Port Richey, Florida 2000 establishments in Florida