Dillard High School is a historic public middle and high school located in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. The school was established in 1907 as Colored School 11 and was later named for black-education advocate

James H. Dillard James Hardy Dillard (October 24, 1856 – August 2, 1940), also known as J. H. Dillard, was an educator from Virginia. The son of slaveholders, Dillard was educated at Washington and Lee University and held a variety of teaching positions. In 1891 ...

. It is a part of

Broward County Public Schools Broward County Public Schools is a public school district serving Broward County, Florida, is the sixth largest public school system in the nation. During the 2016–2017 school year, Broward County Public Schools served 271,517 students enroll ...

. Dillard is available to all of Broward County. The school is a

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

for Emerging Computer Technology and

Performing Arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

. Dillard serves sections of Fort Lauderdale for middle school and sections of Fort Lauderdale and

Lauderhill Lauderhill, officially the City of Lauderhill, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census,the city's population was 74,482. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,0 ...

for high school. Dillard has an FCAT school grade of "''A''" for the 2013–2014 academic year.

Magnet programs

Performing arts

As the first public school for people of African descent in Ft. Lauderdale, Dillard High School incorporated two magnet programs in an effort to integrate and expand the educational horizons of this historic school. Dillard Center for the Arts (DCA) provides training in ''dance, music, theater, and visual arts'', as well as an academic schedule. Students must demonstrate ability and interest in one of the four artistic areas and exhibit academic potential. Such programs within the music department were keyboard, voice, band, orchestra and commercial music. The chorus, chorale, gospel choir, jazz band and rock band performs in Broward county and the Fort Lauderdale community and their students perform at the local, state, and national levels. Graduates of the magnet program go on to attend some of the top colleges and conservatory programs in the United States, including the Juilliard School of Music,

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

, and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Emerging computer technology

The Emerging computer technology offers courses in ''

digital media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...

computer programming Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as ana ...

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...

, and

electronic technology The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

hardware/network support''. In addition, Dillard High School offers many

advanced placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

and honors courses. Dillard High School also offers an award-winning robotics team sponsored by ''

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

, and

Citrix Citrix Systems, Inc. is an American multinational cloud computing and virtualization technology company that provides server, application and desktop virtualization, networking, software as a service (SaaS), and cloud computing technologi ...

''.

Demographics

As of the 2016–2017 school year, the total student enrollment was 2,078. The ethnic makeup of the school was 2.59%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 90%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, 5.63%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

, 0.52%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 1.10%

Multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

, and 0.09% Native American or

Native Alaskan Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

Awards and accolades

In 2012, The Dillard Center for the Arts Jazz Ensemble had the honor of performing with jazz great

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...

as his demonstration band at the Midwest Clinic in December 2012. In both 2011 and 2012 the Jazz Ensemble won the

Essentially Ellington The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival is an annual high school jazz festival and competition that takes place every May at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The festival is aimed at encouraging young musician ...

competition of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The band, under the direction of director Christopher Dorsey, by 2015 had made its sixth consecutive appearance in the

Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

competition. Placing among the top three in the other three years that the group made it into the finals.

History

Dillard's first principal was Joseph A. Ely. When the building, now the Old Dillard Museum, was built in 1924 it was an elementary school; by the time he left in 1937, when he moved to Crispus Attacks High School (today a middle school), he had succeeded in expanding Dillard to include high school classes. He was responsible for getting the school name changed in 1930 to honor

, a white philanthropist, educator, and promoter of education for black children. He was replaced by Clarence C. Walker Sr., who was principal until his death in 1942. Famed saxophonist Julian

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...

became the band director at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale in 1948, and worked there until 1950.Cannoball-Adderley.com
/ref> Dillard High moved to its present, newly built building in 1950. In 1967,

Fort Lauderdale High School Fort Lauderdale High School is a high school located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that serves students in grades 9 through 12. The school is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district. Founded in 1899 as a school for whites, the high sch ...

met Dillard in the season opener for both teams. This, along with another game in Broward County between Ely and

McArthur McArthur may refer to: People * McArthur (surname) Geography * McArthur, Arkansas, an unincorporated town in Desha County * McArthur, California, in Shasta County * McArthur, Modoc County, California * McArthur, Ohio * McArthur Basin, a large int ...

the same night, was the first meeting between white and black teams. Prior to the game, the FLHS team members held their own practices as the coaches refused to hold practice.

Notable alumni

;Academics *

Chester Seabury Chester Seabury was the first African-American student to graduate from a white high school in the state of Florida, in 1963. History Chester hoped to earn a scholarship to an Ivy League School, but needed a third year of Spanish, which was not of ...

- mathematician, lawyer. Attended Dillard before becoming the first African-American to graduate from a white high school in Florida. ;Performing artists *

Daniel Bernard Roumain Daniel Bernard Roumain (known by his initials, DBR; born 1970) is a classically trained composer, performer, violinist, and band-leader, whose work combines classical music with jazz, hip-hop and rock. Composer In September 2010, ''Dancers, Drea ...

– Composer, violinist, band leader * Elias Soriano – Heavy metal vocalist *

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

c/o 2005 – Singer, songwriter * Kent Jones - Singer, rapper * Black Violin – Innovative string duo * Mickey Zetts – Songwriter, playwright *

Josh Smith Joshua Smith (born December 5, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Entering the NBA straight out of high school, Smith played nine seasons with the Atlant ...

– Blues guitarist, session musician, and producer *

Urban Mystic Brandon Oneal Williams, (born November 30, 1987), better known by his stage name Urban Mystic, is an American recording artist from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. He is best known for his hit singles, "Where Were You" and "I Refuse". ...

– Singer, songwriter, recording artist * Mike Drucker- American stand-up comedian, writer and producer ;NFL *

Matthias Askew Matthias Askew (born July 1, 1982) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan State. Askew has also been a member o ...

– Defensive tackle *

James Bostic James Edward Bostic (born March 13, 1972) is a former American football running back, who played college football at Auburn University. He also played for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League (NFL) and the defunct XFL. Bostic ...

– Running back *

Isaac Bruce Isaac Isidore Bruce (born November 10, 1972) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and a member of the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round o ...

–

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

NFL wide receiver (1994-2009) for the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. *

Chris Gamble Chris Lee Gamble (born March 11, 1983) is a former American football cornerback who played nine seasons for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Ohio State. High school career and personal ...

– Cornerback (2004-2012 ) Carolina Panthers * Charlie Goodrum – Offensive lineman *

Quinn Gray Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. (born May 21, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played for four seasons in the National Football League and one season each in the United Football League and NFL Europe. He played college football at Flor ...

– Quarterback (2003-2008)

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, Houston Texans,

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 ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

and

New York Sentinels New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

of the UFL *

Jovan Haye Jovan Haye (born June 21, 1982) is the defensive ends coach for the Vanderbilt Commodores. A former American football defensive lineman, Haye was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college footb ...

– Defensive tackle (2005–present) Carolina Panthers,

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

* Louis Holmes – Defensive end (2008) San Francisco 49ers, (2009) Tampa Bay Buccaneers and

Sacramento Mountain Lions The Sacramento Mountain Lions was a professional American football team based in Sacramento, California that played in the United Football League. The franchise originated as the California Redwoods, and played its home games in San Francisco and ...

of the United Football League (2009) *

Percy Howard Percy Lenard Howard (born January 21, 1952) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He was an unlikely star for the Cowboys in Super Bowl X. He played college basketball at Austin Peay ...

– Wide receiver (1975)

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

* Calvin Jackson – Cornerback *

Tron LaFavor Trahern (Tron) LaFavor (born November 27, 1979) is an American former professional football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Florid ...

– Defensive tackle *

Stanley McClover Stanley McClover (born December 16, 1984) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Auburn. Early years Stanley McClover was a ...

– Defensive end (2006-2009)

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

* Leonard Myers – Cornerback * Jim Osborne – Defensive tackle *

Randy Ramsey Randy Jerry Ramsey (born September 7, 1995) is an American football outside linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Arkansas. College career Ramsey played in 39 games for Arkansas registering 90 tackles, 16 tackles for lo ...

- NFL

Linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

* Frank Sanders – Wide receiver (1995–2003)

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

and

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

Pat Sims Patrick Sims (born November 29, 1985) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft and has also played for the Oakland Raiders. He played college football a ...

– Defensive tackle (2008–present)

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

* Herman Smith – Defensive end *

Brian Tyms Brian Edward Tyms (born February 21, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Florida A&M. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers as undrafted free agent in 2012. He has also been a member of the Miami Do ...

– Wide receiver *

Lorenzo White Lorenzo Maurice White (born April 12, 1966) is a former professional American football player who was selected by the Houston Oilers in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1988 NFL Draft. He attended Dillard High School in Ft. Lauderdale in Fl ...

– Running back (1988–1995)

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

and Cleveland Browns *

Joshua Shaw Joshua Shaw (1776–1860) was an English American artist and inventor. Early life Joshua Shaw was born in Billingborough, Lincolnshire, England in 1776 and was orphaned at the age of 7. To survive he worked for a local farmer as a bird scare ...

– Defensive Lineman (1991–1996), (San Francisco 49er's, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins) ;NBA *

Keyon Dooling Keyon Latwae Dooling (born May 8, 1980) is an American retired professional basketball guard who is currently serving as a player development coach of the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in Fort Lauderdale, F ...

– Basketball player (2000–2013)

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, and

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

;Euro Basket * Mistoria Brown – Basketball player (2007–2009)

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

* Briana Green – Basketball player (2019–2021)

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

;Former Faculty * Julian Edwin

– Jazz alto saxophonist

References

External links

Dillard High School Class of '92
{{authority control Broward County Public Schools High schools in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Schools in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Public high schools in Florida Public middle schools in Florida Magnet schools in Florida Schools of the performing arts in the United States 1907 establishments in Florida Educational institutions established in 1907 Historically black schools Historically segregated African-American schools in Florida