Stanton College Preparatory School is an academically renowned public high school in Jacksonville, Florida. The school's history dates to the 1860s when it was begun as an elementary school serving the African-American population under the then-segregated education system. It now serves secondary students (grades 9-12) within the Duval County Public Schools of Duval County, Florida. The school offers special curricula which include Honors courses, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate courses. In 2005, the Advanced Placement Report to the Nation officially recognized Stanton College Preparatory School as the best large size high school for Advanced Placement European History and Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition in the world.
From 2000 to 2003, Stanton College Prep was ranked first in Newsweek magazine's list of the top 1,000 public schools in the United States, and is the only school in the nation to have been in the top 5 every year from 2000-2011. US News and World Report ranked Stanton at ninth place on its 2008 list of America's Best High Schools. It has frequently ranked first in the US in the number of International Baccalaureate diplomas awarded. Stanton perennially leads the Jacksonville metropolitan area in the number of National Merit Scholarship recipients, and consistently ranks in the top three in the state. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. As of August 2014, Stanton is rated number 12 of the top high schools in the nation by US News and number 10 by Newsweek.
Stanton was called "one of the premier IB and AP public schools in the country" by Jay Mathews in his 2005 book Supertest: How the International Baccalaureate Can Strengthen Our Schools. To many students, Stanton is known for its challenging academics and rigorous standards. Most Stanton students attend some form of college after graduation, whether four-year or two-year institutions, local, national, or international. In 2014, the Washington Post ranked the school as the 4th most challenging high school in the Southern United States.
History
Shortly after Emancipation, a group of African Americans from Jacksonville organized the Education Society, and, in 1868, purchased the property on which the Old Stanton school now resides. It was their intent to erect a school building to be known as the Florida Institute. Financial problems, however, delayed progress on the building until December of that year when the first school was built and incorporated through the aid of the Freedman's Bureau. This wooden structure was named in honor of Edwin McMasters Stanton, President Abraham Lincoln's second Secretary of War. He was an ardent champion of human rights and an advocate of free formal education for Negro boys and girls. It was the first school of education for black children in Jacksonville and its surrounding counties, and the first school for black children in the state of Florida.
For a number of years, the Freedman's Bureau conducted the school. Northern white teachers were employed until the county leased the property for the purpose of opening a public school. The first building was destroyed by fire in 1882. Another building constructed the same year was also destroyed by fire on May 3, 1901, a fire that destroyed much of Jacksonville. A new school was constructed in 1902 and remained in operation until 1917.
Originally the school mascot had been the Blue Devil. Because the school had burned and been rebuilt twice, the Phoenix rising from ashes would eventually be adopted as a second mascot. Today both mascots are used, with the Blue Devil used as the mascot for sports and other activities, and the Phoenix used as a symbol of the school itself, along with the most current logo, a royal blue Superman "S" symbol.
On May 23, 1914, the Circuit Court of Duval County appointed nine trustees to manage the school and its property. They were Robert B. Archibald, S. H. Hart, A. L. Lewis, J. W. Floyd, W. L. Girardeau, I. L. Purcell, B. C. Vanderhorst, J. E. Spearing, and W.H. H. Styles. Archibaid and Hart resigned and were replaced by J. M. Baker and L. H. Myers.
The deteriorating and unsafe condition of the poorly constructed school building prompted the Board of Public Instruction, the Stanton School trustees, and interested citizens of Jacksonville, to jointly agree to replace the wooden structure with a good fire-proof building. In 1917, the building, which stands at Ashley, Broad, Beaver, and Clay Streets, was completed. Stanton became the main focus for the education of black children in Duval County and the surrounding areas. The Edwin M. Stanton School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
An equally impressive record of academic expansion has accomplished the physical growth of Stanton. Beginning as an elementary school with six grades under the administration of J. C. Waters as the first principal and D. W. Gulp who followed as principal, Stanton gradually became known throughout the state for the high educational standards which it still maintains today. The eighth grade was added under the leadership of Principal W. M. Artrell. Principal James Weldon Johnson started the move toward a high school department. The addition of the twelfth grade made Stanton an elementary, junior, and senior high school.
Stanton continued as a school for all grades through the administrations of I. A. Blocker, G. M. Sampson and J. N. Wilson. In 1938, with F. J. Anderson as principal, Stanton became a senior high school exclusively. J. L. Terry served as the last principal of Stanton Senior High School, #101.
In 1953, the Stanton Senior School name was transferred to a new facility on 13th Street and was renamed New Stanton Senior High School. Charles D. Brooks was the first principal of the new school. Under his leadership, Stanton continued to foster the same traditionally high standards which befit its rich heritage, and flourished as the oldest and most important high school for blacks in Jacksonville.
Beginning in 1953, the Board and Ashley Street facility became known as "Old" Stanton. The Old Stanton building was used as a junior high school in 1953-1954. In August 1954, it was converted into Stanton Vocational High School and functioned as a vocational training center, adjusting its curriculum to train and graduate students in technical skills of the day. At night, it became a center for the Adult and Veterans Education Program.
From 1969-1971, the focus of New Stanton Senior High School began to change from academic to vocational under the leadership of Principal Ben Durham, the former principal of Stanton Vocational High School. In 1971, the Old Stanton High School building was again placed under control of the trustees of Stanton and the student body was transferred to New Stanton Senior High School where the revised curriculum now provided for both the academic and the vocational interests of the students
In 1981, Stanton College Preparatory School became the Duval County School System's first magnet school. Beginning with grades 7-10, and adding one grade level each succeeding year, the first senior class of 54 students graduated in 1984. Stanton College Preparatory School now serves secondary students living within the 841 square miles (2,180Â km2) of the Duval County school district and leads the Duval County Public Schools in academic achievement.
In March 2017 the school received widespread international criticism when it put up posters depicting what the school thought was appropriate attire for female students attending the school prom. “There’s a problem with this dress code that’s been outdated, stigmatizes the female body, and you need to do something about it and fix it,†Stanton Senior and Student Government President Anthony Paul said, directing his message to Duval County Public Schools.
School programs
The Phoenix
The Phoenix is Stanton's yearbook, and is designed, edited, and managed by students.
Devil's Advocate
History and Background
Founded in 1983, the Devil's Advocate, an award-winning student newspaper, serves as the official newspaper of Stanton College Preparatory School. It is produced monthly by members of the journalism class. The publication is a public forum for student expression, which encourages free exchanges of opinions concerning controversial and non-controversial community and school related issues. The journalism program provides the students enrolled in it with a rigorous training experience and fosters the belief of freedom of expression and creativity. The Devil's Advocate, prides itself on a lengthy journalistic tradition dating back to 1983, its first year of production. The founding adviser of the Devil's Advocate was Ingrid Sloth (deceased).
The journalism program at Stanton College Preparatory School provides students with training in the field of journalism. It will also give them the opportunity and experience of writing, designing, and publishing a student run newspaper. The program will help mentor students and give them the foundation needed to pursue a post secondary career in the field of journalism.
Through the school newspaper Stanton College Preparatory School community will be provided with the highest quality of news and information. There is a need for high school students to be informed about the events and issues taking place around them both on a local and national level. This program will serve as a vehicle for informing students and as a platform for their creativity, artistic self-expression.
Since Stanton is a magnet school in Jacksonville, a school that serves student who come from all over the city and county, the program would affect a wide range of people. Readers who do not attend the school will also be able to access the paper through its online presence; thereby expanding the reader base considerably.
The Devil’s Advocate celebrates diversity; the paper welcomes students reflecting a wide array of academic status and political, cultural, religious and ideological values. Students are expected to embrace this policy and demonstrate an open-minded attitude and create an open-minded culture within the staff room.
The publication maintains a website where readers may access a variety of articles, specialty features and photographs. The Devil's Advocate also maintains a digital archive of past issues where readers may access digitized copies of issues dating back to 2010.
Advisers of the Devil's Advocate
- Ingrid Sloth (deceased) (1983-1989)
- Wyne Karnath (1989-1992)
- Til Bagby (1992-1999)
- Larry Knight (1999-Present)
Editors-in-Chief (since 1999)
- 1999-2000: George Saoud
- 2000-2001: Rachel Henley
- 2001-2002: Hilary Johnson and Victoria Williams
- 2002-2003: Laney Cohen
- 2003-2004: Caroline Kermitz
- 2004-2005: Jennifer Purpura
- 2005-2006: Alyssa Rousis
- 2006-2007: Melissa Beaudry and Avital Mirsky
- 2007-2008: Morgan Henley
- 2008-2009: Shelby Greene
- 2009-2010: Lauren Kamm
- 2010-2011: Jazelle Handoush
- 2011-2012: Katie Raymond and Gregory Todaro
- 2012-2013: Alexandra Morgante
- 2013-2014: Taylor Galloway
- 2014-2015: Manya Goldstein
- 2015-2016: Zoe Reyes
- 2016-2017: Lily Tehrani
- 2017-2018: Walker Miller
Awards and Acheivements
Since its founding year, the Devil's Advocate has received numerous, local, state, and national awards. For the past 25 years, the Devil's Advocate has participated in a number of state and local journalism award competitions. One competition, in which the paper has consistently participated in is High School Journalism Awards Competition sponsored by The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville's local daily newspaper. In 2001, 2003, 2007 2008, 2016 and 2017 the school's newspaper, the Devil's Advocate, under the advisership of Larry Knight, won The Florida Times-Union Henry A. Blumenthal Memorial Trophy for the Best Overall newspaper in Jacksonville. The paper won the overall Second Place award in 2002, 2004, and 2013; it won the overall Third Place award in 2005.
American Scholastic Press Association Awards
- 1995: First Place (Outstanding Supplement Award for “The Scriptâ€)
- 1999: First Place
Florida Scholastic Press Association Awards
- 1988: First Place
- 1989: First Place
- 1998: First Place
Florida Scholastic Press Association On the Spot Contest
- 1988: First Place (Newspaper Feature)
- 1989: First Place (Newspaper Feature Double Truck)
Jacksonville Journal High School Journalism Contest
- 1984-1985: Second Place for Outstanding Journalism
- 1985-1986: Third Place for Outstanding Journalism
- 1986-1987: Third Place for Outstanding Journalism
- 1987-1988: Second Place for Outstanding Journalism
The Florida-Times Union High School Journalism Awards
- 1988-1989: Second Place
- 1990-1991: First Place
- 1993-1994: Third Place
- 1994-1995: First Place
- 1995-1996: Third Place
- 1996-1997: Second Place
- 1999-2000: Honorable Mention
- 2000-2001: First Place (Best Overall)
- 2001-2002: Second Place
- 2002-2003: First Place (Best Overall)
- 2003-2004: Second Place
- 2004-2005: Third Place
- 2005-2006: Individual Awards Only
- 2006-2007: First Place (Best Overall)
- 2007-2008: First Place (Best Overall)
- 2008-2009: Individual Awards Only
- 2009-2010: Individual Awards Only
- 2010-2011: Individual Awards Only
- 2011-2012: Individual Awards Only
- 2012-2013: Second Place
- 2013-2014: First Place Division II
- 2014-2015: First Place Division II
- 2015-2016: First Place (Best Overall)
- 2016-2017: First Place (Best Overall)
note: Best Overall denotes the receipt of the Henry A. Blumenthal Memorial Trophy
Memberships and Affliations
Members of the Devil's Advocate, the Phoenix and the Live on 5 Crew are eligible to join Stanton's chapter of Quill & Scroll, an International Journalism Honor Society. The purpose of this club is to encourage and recognize individual student achievement in journalism and scholastic publication. The goal of this chapter of Quill & Scroll is to enhance journalism qualities and techniques to help students better perform their roles as student journalists within Stanton College Preparatory School.
The Devil's Advocate is also a member of the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA).
Live on 5
Stanton has its own CCTV television station, which broadcasts a news show every morning. The news show is branded as Live on 5 and broadcasts throughout the school on channel 5. The news was formerly branded as Channel 5 News. Their studio features several sets, including the use of chroma key. Students are updated on the latest events, meetings, and other goings on at Stanton every morning during second period.
Live on 5 is produced entirely by advanced television production classes. In the beginner television production class, students are taught to use the equipment used to produce Live on 5, and are expected upon entrance into the advanced level to produce the news show independently.
Honor societies
Stanton has many honor societies that support students in multiple fields. Honor societies include:
- National Honor Society (NHS)
- National Spanish Honor Society (NSHS)
- National French Honor Society (NFHS)
- National Latin Honor Society (NLHS)
- Chinese National Honor Society (CNHS)
- National Art Honor Society (NAHS)
- National Film Honor Society (NFHS)
- International Thespian Honor Society (ITHS)
- National History Honor Society (NHHS)
- National Math Honor Society
- National English Honor Society (NEHS)
- National Society for Leadership and Success (NSLS)
- Tri-M Music Honor Society
- National Psychology Honors Society (NPHS)
- Quill & Scroll International Journalism Honor Society
Athletics
As well as being academically gifted, Stanton has a full athletics program to provide students with physical activity and morale. These sports include:
- Cross country
- Basketball
- Football
- Wrestling
- Weightlifting
- Flag football
- Soccer
- Track & field
- Swimming and diving
- Lacrosse
- Bowling
- Volleyball
- Tennis
- Baseball/softball
- Golf
- Competitive cheerleading
- Crew (club sport)
Notable alumni
- J. Dash, rapper and record producer
- Kendal Williams, sprinter
- Diana Eng, fashion designer and contestant on Season 2 of Project Runway
- Ned Fulmer, BuzzFeed "Try Guys"
- Emily Swallow, actress in the television show "Supernatural"
- Victoria Nunnery, millionaire philanthropist
- Andrew Scott, Rapper of "I'm so Smart" at Stanton Fall Fest 2007
- Tyler Ross, an American actor best known for playing Kyle Stansbury in season four of the television series "The Killing."
Notable faculty
- Joel Davis, former Major League Baseball pitcher; played professionally for the Chicago White Sox; baseball coach at Stanton College Preparatory School
References
External links
- Stanton College Preparatory School website
- Stanton College Preparatory School Rowing