Monsignor Edward Pace High School is a Catholic secondary school in the
Opa-locka North neighborhood of
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is located north of Downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th and Northwest 57th Avenues to its west ...
. It was named a
Blue Ribbon School
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...
in 2002 and one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the country in 2004 and 2005 by the Catholic High School Honor Roll. Pace is a member of the
National Catholic Educational Association
The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) is a private, professional educational membership association of over 150,000 educators in Catholic schools, universities, and religious education programs. It is the largest such organization ...
(NCEA). This school is part of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami
The Archdiocese of Miami ( la, Archidioecesis Miamiensis, es, Arquidiócesis de Miami, ht, Achidyosèz Miami) is a particular church of the Catholic Church in the United States of America. Its ecclesiastical territory consists of Broward, Miami ...
.
History
Named for Monsignor Pace the first native-born Floridian to become a diocesan priest, the first all-male, freshmen and sophomore classes commenced in September 1961 in the old parish hall of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on NW 28th Avenue in Opa-Locka under the direction of
Marist Brothers
The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brother ...
from Cuba and New York. Classes moved to buildings at the school's present site in October 1961. All-female classes were added the next year under the direction of the women of the Teresian Association. The original mascot was the Lion, and the colors were green and white, but students voted in the third school year to change the mascot to the Spartan, and the colors to scarlet and gold. The first class of 32 graduated in 1964 at the present day Jackie Gleason Auditorium. Pace's first graduating class created the first newspaper, called the Kerygma ("The Proclamation") as well as the first Torch yearbook, which acquired its name from president
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
's inauguration speech, in which he referred to passing the "torch" to the next generation. Pace's school seal was also designed that year to be engraved on the class rings, and the school's motto was chosen as well. It was in the 1964–1965 school year that the tradition of "Freshmen Orientation," began in which seniors welcome freshmen, in a tradition that continues to this day, but in a milder form. The first co-institutional class graduated in 1966, the same year in which the school's alma mater, Gratia et Veritas, was composed. Just one year later, the first football team was formed and the school celebrated its first football Homecoming Week, after having had several Spirit Weeks for the basketball team. By 1969, the school already had seven buildings, including five academic buildings, a field house, and an on-campus residence for the Teresian Association, which switch homes with the Marist brothers just three years later for a home they felt better suited their lifestyle. The first state championship was won in 1971 by the Cross Country team, in time for a banner to be hung in the new gymnasium, constructed in that school year, along with the adjoining cafeteria. By the 1974-1975 year, after several years of gender-mixing in classes such as math and science, the school became officially co-educational. The first senior trip to Canada took place four years later in February 1979, becoming a tradition for every senior class after it. In Homecoming of 1979, the first King was chosen by the student body, and the Powderpuff game in which boys cheered and girls played flag football, was introduced five years later. Pace celebrated its 25th anniversary in the 1985–1986 school year, and the 25th senior class graduated in 1988. Tons of Love, an annual fall food drive, began in 1987, the first year of the L.I.F.E. (Living In Faith Experience) youth group, a key component of the Campus Ministry Program. In the early 1990s, Pace underwent several facility improvements, such as outdoor lockers, school-wide air conditioning, and renovated science labs. The gym was renovated in 1997 and renamed for Brother Felix Anthony, a Marist brother who served as a teacher and basketball coach from 1965 to 1988. Pace's cafetorium, the Spartan Center, was completed in that same year after three years of construction, and the newest classroom building (500) was finished in 1999. In 2002, the school was named a
Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...
at the end of its 40th Anniversary year, and the 40th class graduated just a year later in 2003. The school was a named one of the Top 50 Catholic High Schools in this period as well and received an award for Catholic Identity in 2004. After far outgrowing the "old chapel" found in the school's first building, a new building, the Dantee Navarro Religious Education Center, was completed in 2008 and can hold 500 people, although masses are still held in the gymnasium. It was in that same year that Pace was named the first official "green school" in South Florida by instituting a recycling program and initiating changes across campus, from lighting to landscaping. Pace celebrated its 50th anniversary in the 2011–2012 school year, and its 50th class graduated in 2013.
Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School
Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School was a private, Roman Catholic high school in the Buena Vista neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. It was located in and operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.
On September 27, 2016, ...
merged into Edward Pace at the start of the 2017–2018 academic year.
Area
It was in the
Opa-locka North census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
before Miami Gardens incorporated as a city.
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Extracurricular activities
Athletics
Monsignor Pace belongs to the Florida High School Athletic Association
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 ...
and fields teams in baseball, basketball, cross country, flag football, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, wrestling, and cheerleading. Recent state championships include the 2006 class 4A baseball and 2007, and 2008 class 4A boys' basketball titles. Pace has a long-standing athletic rivalry with Belen Jesuit
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, all-male, preparatory school run by the Antilles Province of the Society of Jesus in Tamiami, Page 1anPage 2/ref> unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, operated by the Society of Je ...
and Key West High School.
FHSAA State Championships
Baseball:
1978, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1988, 2006, 2018
Boys Basketball:
1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2008
Girls Basketball:
2002, 2003, 2005
Wrestling:
2000, 2016
Football:
2003
Girls Volleyball:
1974
Boys Cross Country:
1971
Boys Track and Field:
2009
Activities
Notable alumni
*Rakeem Buckles
Rakeem Buckles (born November 15, 1990) is a professional basketball player, and plays the forward position. He plays for Hapoel Haifa in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
Personal life
Buckles was born in Miami, Florida. His parents are ...
(born 1990), professional basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...
* Adrian Cardenas, former Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
* Alex Fernandez, former Major League Baseball pitcher
*Gio González
Giovany Aramis González (born September 19, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox. A two-ti ...
, Major League Baseball pitcher
*Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...
, Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
nominated actress
*DeMarcus Van Dyke
DeMarcus Van Dyke (born January 17, 1989) is a former American football cornerback who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Van Dyke is currently the cornerbacks coach for the Miami Hurricanes football team. He was drafted b ...
, Cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
*Chris Marrero
Christopher Marrero (born July 2, 1988) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played for the Washington Nationals and the San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball (MLB) and for the Orix Buffaloes of ...
, NPB player for the Orix Buffaloes
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...
* Stephen Morris, former NFL Quarterback
*Don Newhauser
Donald Louis Newhauser (born November 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 1972 to 1974. Listed at and , he threw and batted right-handed.
Biography
Ne ...
, former Major League Pitcher for Boston Red Sox (1972–74)
* Brad Perez, race car driver
* Dereck Rodriguez, Major League Baseball player for the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
*Jorge Sedano
Jorge Sedano is an American sports broadcaster and talk show host. He began his career in 1999 and is currently a radio and television personality at ESPN.
Background
Jorge was born in New York and raised in Miami, Florida. He attended Monsigno ...
, Co-host of 'Sedano & Stink' on ESPN Radio
* Steve Tello, Emmy Award Winning television producer
* Anthony Walker Jr., Linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
* Kayvon Webster, Cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
* Christian Marrero, Hitting Coach Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
Gregory Shaw Jr. (American football)
former NFL Linemen
Notable faculty
* Bill O'Reilly, broadcaster and political commentator, former History teacher at MEPHSMarvin Kitman
Marvin Kitman (born November 24, 1929) is an American television critic, humorist, and author. He was a columnist for '' Newsday'' for 35 years and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1982. He is the author of nine books ...
, ''The Man Who Would Not Shut Up: The Rise of Bill O'Reilly'' (St Martins Press, 2007), p. 65.
References
External links
Monsignor Edward Pace High School
official website
The Home of Old Spartans
unofficial alumni site
Monsignor Edward Pace High School
on Private School Review
{{authority control
Marist Brothers schools
Catholic secondary schools in Florida
Educational institutions established in 1961
Private high schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami Gardens, Florida
1961 establishments in Florida