Charlotte High School is a historic

public high school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

Punta Gorda, Florida Punta Gorda (; ), a city located in Southwest Florida, is the county seat of Charlotte County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 19,471, up from 16,641 at the 2010 census ...

, United States, serving

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

students. The school is part of the Charlotte County Public Schools district, with admission based primarily on the locations of students' homes. Established in 1926, Charlotte High is located at 1250 Cooper Street. The school carries the slogan of "Charlotte County's First and Finest" since it remained the only high school in Charlotte County for many years until its top rival schools,

Port Charlotte High School Port Charlotte High School (PCHS) is a State school, public comprehensive U.S. high school located in Port Charlotte, Florida and is located adjacent to Charlotte Technical College. The school opened in 1981, graduated its first class in 1984, i ...

and Lemon Bay High School, were built. With 1,596 students, Charlotte High School is the largest high school in Charlotte County by student population. On December 12, 1990, its main three-story building was added to the United States'

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The main building was destroyed in 2004 by

Hurricane Charley Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the United States. It was the third named sto ...

, causing Charlotte High School to need to be rebuilt. The second phase of the school's rebuild opened in August 2009, housing all 9th and 10th graders in their academies. In January 2010, the 11th and 12th grade students moved into their academy in the existing renovated 2-story building. In August 2010, the remaining elective classes found their home on the fully complete Charlotte High School campus.

History

Punta Gorda Grammar and High School had an enrollment of 150 students when it opened in 1928. Construction of a new school on Taylor Street began in 1911 due to overcrowding issues. However, by 1926, after the construction of the first bridge to cross Charlotte Harbor, busing increased Punta Gorda's enrollment to 1,000, which in turn led to the construction of Charlotte High School. Its distinctive mascot, the fighting

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wearing its boxing gloves, was designed in 1959. The class of 1959 claims to have introduced the fighting tarpon emblem.

Hurricane Charley and its aftermath

hit the Punta Gorda area at the beginning of the school year on August 13, 2004, as a Category 4 hurricane, causing major damage to the school. After seventeen days of hiatus, the students attended

during the 12:45 - 6 p.m. afternoon shift for most of the 2004–2005 school year. Afterward, students were moved back on campus to portable classrooms. Charlotte High made up one of six schools in the county destroyed or heavily damaged; however, Champ's Cafe (the cafeteria), one of the gyms and the auditorium, the Charlotte Performing Arts Center, remained intact. Despite its sustaining severe damage, it was decided to try to save the three-story main building, a historic landmark. The plan incorporated this building to have its entire interior to be redone, but its facade will remain and the rest of the campus will be built around its neoclassical style. A ceremony took place in late May 2007 for the groundbreaking of the aforementioned building and the new facility capable of grouping up to 1,800 students by class with a courtyard inside the linked structures. Harvard Jolly is the architectural firm working on the project.

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's inaugural Save Our History Grant was awarded in 2005 to the Charlotte County Historical Society, in partnership with high school students from Charlotte High School and

. Putting aside academic and athletic rivalry, the students collaborated to preserve their community's experience through oral history.

Athletics

The school has a cheerleading team ( varsity, junior varsity), cross country team (boys and girls separated),

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

(varsity and junior varsity), golf team (boys and girls separated), swimming/diving team,

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

(varsity, junior varsity; boys and girls separated),

soccer team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

(varsity; boys and girls separated), weightlifting team (boys and girls separated), wrestling team (varsity and junior varsity),

baseball team Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play beginning when a player on the fielding team, called ...

(varsity and junior varsity), softball team (varsity and junior varsity), tennis team (boys and girls separated), and track team (boys and girls separated).

Notable alumni

Mike Bellamy Michael Sinclair Bellamy II (born June 28, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Illinois Fighting Illi ...

— professional football player * Amanda Carr —

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cycler *

Marcus Hardison Marcus Hardison (born February 14, 1992) is an American former professional football defensive tackle. He played college football at Arizona State and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft. Early life ...

— professional football player *

Jeff Corsaletti Jeffrey Arthur Corsaletti is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Early life Corsaletti grew up in Port Charlotte, Florida and attended Charlotte High School where he was a standout in baseball and football. College Corsaletti ...

— minor league baseball player * Matthew LaPorta — professional baseball player and Olympian * Burton Lawless — professional football player * Tommy Murphy — professional baseball player * Jake Noll — professional baseball player * D'Vonte Price (class of 2017) - professional football player. *

Nate Spears Nathaniel Joseph Spears (born May 3, 1985) is an American former professional baseball utility player and current Minor League Baseball, minor league coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox. Playing career Spears w ...

— professional baseball player *

Dagoberto Peña Dagoberto Miguel Peña Rincon (born 14 June 1988) is a Dominican professional basketball player. He plays for the Dominican national basketball team and CD Estela. High school Peña was a promising baseball pitcher with a 90-mph fastball before ...

— professional basketball player * Stantley Thomas-Oliver — professional football player * Brad Yeager - politician

References

External links

Charlotte HS official website

Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs - Charlotte High School
{{authority control Punta Gorda, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Charlotte County, Florida Educational institutions established in 1926 High schools in Charlotte County, Florida Public high schools in Florida Vernacular architecture in Florida 1926 establishments in Florida