| Bartram Trail High School | |
|---|---|
| Bartram Trail High School crest | |
| Address | |
| 7399 Longleaf Pine Parkway. St. Johns, Florida, 32259 United States[1] |
|
| Coordinates | 30°2′42.93″N 81°36′35.51″W / 30.0452583°N 81.6098639°WCoordinates: 30°2′42.93″N 81°36′35.51″W / 30.0452583°N 81.6098639°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public school[1] |
| Established | 2000[2] |
| Status | Open |
| School district | St. Johns County School District[1] |
| Superintendent | Dr. Joseph G. Joyner[3] |
| School number | 411[4] |
| Dean | Trevor Abbs and Pete Peaver[5] |
| Principal | Dawn Sapp[6] |
| Vice principal | Chris Phelps, and Dr. Craig Davis[7] |
| Grades | 9 - 12[1] |
| Enrollment | 2,627[8] (2007-2008) |
| Hours in school day | 9:15 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.[9] |
| Campus size | 120 acres (0.49 km2)[12] |
| Campus type | Rural[10] |
| School Colour(s) | Blue █, Silver █ & Black █ [2] |
| Nickname | Bears[2] |
| Rival | Allen D. Nease Senior High School[11] |
| Website | http://www-bths.stjohns.k12.fl.us/ |
Bartram Trail High School (BTHS) is a public high school in the St. Johns County School District, located in northwest St. Johns County, Florida (U.S.) that opened in 2000.[2] The school is ranked number 327 by Newsweek magazine in the top 1,300 high schools in the United States in 2008.[13]
|
Contents
|
Bartram Trail's curriculum offers many departments in education in order to receive a high school diploma. It includes: art classes, English studies and literature, mathematics, performing arts, physical education classes, various science and social studies classes, vocational classes, world and foreign language classes, television production, band, chorus and turf management.[14]
Bartram Trail offers the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) class which teaches various academic studies along with character and life skills education based around the heritage and traditions of the United States Air Force.[15] The Bartram Trail High School Academy of Design and Building Construction is available to teach carpentry and in other fields such as interior design, drafting and fashion design.[16] In 2007, Bartram Trail got together with VyStar Credit Union to form the Bartram Trail High School VyStar Academy of Business and Finance. The course teaches career opportunities with financial services and business management industries.[17][18] For students with disabilities, the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) program is available.[3][14]
The Advanced Scholars Program at Bartram Trail gives advanced students the opportunity to participate in advanced placement, dual enrollment and honors courses in preparation for college.[19] In May 2007, over 1,450 advanced placement exams were given with a passing rate of 54%.[3]
The 2006-2007 school year saw 64% of the students who took the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) score the necessary 3 or above in the reading portion of the test and 89% score above the mark on the mathematics section. The FCAT Writing scores saw 92% of the students scoring a 3.5 or above.[3]
Bartram Trail can give the graduating seniors a choice of scholarships they can apply for, through the school, to get started with college.[20] In 2006, seven Bartram Trail students earned scholarships when they became finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program.[21] The 2006-2007 school year graduation rate was 87.1%☭ with only a 1.0% drop out rate.[3]
Bartram Trail High School was founded in the year 2000 and was named after the William Bartram Scenic Highway and Bartram Trail exploration route in the Northern St. Johns County area, and not after William Bartram himself.[2][22] Bartram Trail and Pedro Menendez High School were constructed to relieve overcrowding at Allen D. Nease Senior High School and St. Augustine High School.[2] Bartram Trail and Pedro Menendez were the first new high schools built in the St. Johns County School District in twenty years, since Nease was opened in 1981.[23] However, as the second school year at Bartram Trail began, the original capacity of 1,500[24] was exceeded with an enrollment of 1,529.[25] By the 2002 school year, enrollment was at 1,840, more than 300 students above capacity.[10] In 2004, the school district projected Bartram Trail's 2007-2008 enrollment at over 3,000.[26]
To reduce overcrowding at Bartram Trail and Nease High School, two new high schools, Ponte Vedra High School and Creekside High School, were constructed and opened for the 2008-2009 school year.[27]
From 2002 to 2006, the Florida Department of Education graded Bartram Trail as an "A" school, but in 2007, it was changed to a "B" school.[28] Bartram Trail is also named in Newsweek's annual list of the top 1,300 high schools in the United States. In 2005, Bartram Trail ranked 894,[29] in 2006 it was ranked 579,[30] in 2007 it was ranked 474,[31] and in 2008 it was ranked 327.[13]
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Young Republicans Club[32] at Bartram Trail wanted to get a piece of the destroyed World Trade Center for a memorial to those who died in the attacks.[33] Students sent letters to the Office of Emergency Management in New York, forwarded by the former principal, Jim Springfield.[33] The office replied in May 2002 and agreed to let them own a piece of the World Trade Center debris as long as Springfield came to New York City and got it himself. He received the debris on May 21, 2002; the piece was a six-foot-long piece of I-beam steel that weighed seven hundred pounds.[32][33]
The concept behind the sculpture, created by art teacher Robert Kirk,[32] was that the piece of World Trade Center debris was to be one-half of the letter "V" while the other half was to be made of pristine stainless steel.[33] The "V" was to stand for "Victory", and was to symbolize the "somber tragedy and the unity of American resolve."[33] The sculpture was unveiled in Bartram Trail's courtyard on September 11, 2002, one year after the attacks, with Florida Governor Jeb Bush attending the ceremony.[32] Only seventy-three pieces of World Trade Center debris were donated, and it is believed that this was the only piece in Florida[32] and the only piece in an American high school.[33]
For Super Bowl XXXIX, in 2005, Bartram Trail High School was selected by the National Football League as the practice facility for AFC champion New England Patriots.[34][35] Bartram Trail was selected by the NFL because the World Golf Village was chosen as the New England Patriots lodging and the practice field had to be within twenty minutes of their hotel. Bartram Trail was also selected because the school's location was remote with little traffic and interference and because the walk from the lockers to the field was short enough.[35] Bartram Trail was the first high school ever that was chosen to be the practice facility for a Super Bowl team.[36]
The NFL made modifications to Bartram Trail, installing new lockers, making a new practice field and modifying their game field to professional standards.[34] The field modifications, however, were delayed by Hurricane Frances and caused them to start over several times.[35] Bartram Trail's field was considered one of the top five high school fields in Florida, but the problem was that the field was supported by dirt, instead of sand.[37] To fix this, the NFL modified Bartram Trail's football field by building the fields up with two hundred loads of sand, adding a drainage system and building the slope, crown and type of grass to the same specifications as Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.[37] Students from the Bartram Trail turf management classes worked with George Toma, who had built all thirty-nine fields for the Super Bowl games,[37] in building and maintaining the field.[36]
After the two weeks of practice in Bartram Trail, a few of the New England Patriots and owner Robert Kraft came in on the last day to talk with the students and thank them for their hospitality, as New England head coach Bill Belichick had done earlier in a morning press conference.[38]
In February 2007, Project Alaska Turf was started by Cathy Parker, a Bartram Trail High School parent and wife of a Bartram Trail football offensive coordinator.[39][40][41] Project Alaska Turf was inspired by an Emmy Award winning ESPN documentary by Wayne Drehs on a community in Barrow, Alaska. The documentary focused on a football program that was implemented in order to reverse high teenage suicide rates, accelerated drop out rates and increased teen drug abuse.[39] Project Alaska Turf was funded by Bartram Trail, the Jacksonville Jaguars, ProGrass and the Grimes Companies.[42] The project was aimed at raising money to provide a football team, the Barrow Whalers, an artificial turf field to replace their gravel-covered field.[39] Since Barrow, Alaska is above the Arctic Circle, grass doesn't grow there, resulting in their football field being made of dirt and gravel and causing injury to the players.[42]
The original goal was to raise $500,000 to make the field,[43] but the ending target was eventually set to $800,000.[44] The money covered the cost of buying, shipping and installing all one hundred and sixty tons of turf.[43]
The Barrow Whalers were invited to Florida on May 17 through the May 19[42] but the Whalers didn't arrive until June.[44] Restaurateurs and other business owners provided them free room and board upon their arrival.[43] During their visit to Jacksonville, they scrimmaged against another local team[45] and toured Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, where the Jacksonville Jaguars play.[44]
The field was completed with $700,000 generated from the donation; $100,000 short of the goal.[41] The Bartram Trail community worked for a long period of time and managed to move the field from Florida to Alaska by trucks, boats, trains, and on airplanes with help from ten different companies.[46] The field was opened in time for the Barrow Whalers first game on August 17, 2007, which they won, 18-16, after being down by two touchdowns with three minutes left in the game.[39] The game was the first live internet broadcast of a sporting event in the United States from north of the Arctic Circle[41] and had NBC, ABC, ESPN, and most of Alaska's media there to cover the event.[44]
Over Bartram Trail's brief history, there have been multiple bomb threats and a threat of a school shooting.
On October 16, 2001, at about 2:20 p.m.,[47] the school was under "code green" as a dark bag with the word "bomb" was found in the hallways on the second floor.[48] Authorities evacuated the school and kept everyone at least five hundred feet away. Near 5 p.m., the bomb squad had removed the bag out of the school with a long rope and drove away with it.[48] The bag only contained stuffed recycled paper and a two-liter bottle with more recycled paper sticking out of it.[47] Seven students were arrested in connection to the incident. Four had their charges dismissed while one boy pleaded guilty to writing the note and was sentenced to probation and community service.[47]
On November 6, 2002, three female students of Bartram Trail were arrested and charged for "a false report of bombing or arson against state-owned property", a second-degree felony.[47][49] The threat was written on the partition between bathroom stalls,[47] reported as saying something like "This school will be blown to bits at noon".[50] The threat was specific for noon on November 5, 2002.
During the time of the threat, the school was evacuated and searched by deputies and explosives detection dogs, but nothing was found.[47] Two of the students were arrested at Bartram Trail on November 6, and the third was arrested at their home.[47] The Youth Resource Deputy had received anonymous tips and learned that they talked about the threat, wrote about it on the bathroom wall and got rid of the marker they had used.[47] The students were sentenced to twenty-one days at a youth detention center while evaluations took place and after they were released they had to remain under curfew and other restrictions until the case was finished.[49] It concluded with the students having to reimburse the county and the sheriff's office for the expense of the deployment.[50]
On April 18, 2007, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office arrested a 14-year-old Bartram Trail High School student after he had posted an e-mail to a friend stating he may conduct a mass school shooting.[51][52][53] The e-mail stated that he planned to top the Virginia Tech massacre of thirty-three deaths by killing a hundred students.[51][53] The threat wasn't directed at Bartram Trail or any other school specifically nor was he in possession of any weapons.[53] The friends parent intercepted the e-mail and reported it to the police.[51][52] Authorities checked around the school and inside the lockers and found nothing suspicious. The student was charged with the "threat to throw, project, place or discharge any destructive device", a second degree felony.[51][53] He had apparently made similar threats during the week that had gone unreported.[51][52]
The land for Bartram Trail High School was purchased in January 1999[11] and was constructed by Arcadis.[12] The Bartram Trail High School campus takes up one hundred and twenty acres of land and the school building takes up 190,000 square feet (18,000 m2).[12] The school building is a two-story octagon with an open-air courtyard in the center. The cafeteria and media center are located within the main building, while the gymnasium and auditorium with a stage are attached on the south and north sides, respectively.[11] The outside of the campus has walkways, student, faculty and visitor parking, a parent drop-off section, a bus loop, a football and track stadium, a baseball and softball field, tennis courts, general-use play fields, a stormwater treatment facility, water and sewer utilities and a wetland mitigation area.[12]
The Bartram Trail school building was originally designed to hold 1,500 students, but enrollment for the 2005-2006 school year exceeded 2,500.[24] To provide classrooms needed immediately, portable buildings were set up on the east side of the campus. The number of portable buildings used by year is, as follows:[8][54] [55][56]
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007–2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additionally, for the 2007-2008 school year, a new permanent structure was built and opened at the northeast corner of the school to house the Ninth Grade Center.[24][57] With the opening of Creekside High School for the 2008-2009 school year, enrollment fell below capacity. The portables were no longer needed and were removed at the end of the 2007-2008 school year.
Bartram Trail has a variety of athletics programs, which is supervised by athletic director, Barry Craig.[58] Athletics offered at Bartram Trail include:
|
|
| Championships | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Year | Championship | ||||
| Baseball[59] | 2007-08 | District champions | ||||
| State playoffs sub-regional champions | ||||||
| Cheerleading[60] | 2007-08 | Florida Athletic Coaches' Association State 5A title | ||||
| Boys cross country[61] | 2006-07 | District champions | ||||
| Conference champions | ||||||
| 3rd place in state championship | ||||||
| Girls cross country[62] | 2000-01 | 15th place at state championship | ||||
| 2004-05 | Conference champions | |||||
| 9th place at state championship | ||||||
| 2005-06 | Conference champions | |||||
| 10th place at state championship | ||||||
| 2006-07 | District, Conference & Regional champions | |||||
| 3rd place at state championship | ||||||
| 2007-08 | District, Conference & Regional champions | |||||
| State champions | ||||||
| 2008-09 | District, Conference & Regional champions | |||||
| State champions | ||||||
| Dance[63] | 2001-02 | National Champions | ||||
| 2007-08 | National Champions | |||||
| 2008-09 | National Champions | |||||
| Football[64] | 2005-06 | 5A District 2 champions | ||||
| 2006-07 | 5A District 2 champions | |||||
| 2007-08 | 5A District 2 champions | |||||
| Regional champions | ||||||
| Swimming[65] | 2005-06 | Conference champions | ||||
| 2006-07 | Conference champions | |||||
| 2007-08 | Conference champions | |||||
| Boys track and field[66] | 2004-05 | District champions | ||||
| 2006-07 | Conference champions | |||||
| 2007-08 | Conference champions | |||||
| Girls track and field[67] | 2001-02 | District champions | ||||
| 2002-03 | District champions | |||||
| 2004-05 | Conference champions | |||||
| 2005-06 | Conference champions | |||||
| 2006-07 | Conference, District champions | |||||
| 2007-08 | Conference, District champions | |||||
| 2008-09 | Conference champions | |||||
| Volleyball[68] | 2007-08 | District champions | ||||
| Episcopal tournament champions | ||||||
| Girls Softball[69] | 2007-08 | District & Regional champions | ||||
| 5A State champions | ||||||
| 2008-09 | Conference, District & Regional champions | |||||
| 5A State champions | ||||||
| 2009-10 | Conference, District & Regional champions | |||||
| Boys Golf | 2008-09 | District, Conference & Regional champions | ||||
| State champions | ||||||
|
|
This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page. (November 2008) |
The Bartram Trail Choir Department offers three courses: Concert choir (beginner), Women's Chorale (intermediate girl's group), and Vocal Ensemble (advanced level choir). Barbara Mattingly has been chorus director for the past seven years. The choir has many achievements over the years including numerous superior ratings at the district and state level music assessments, annual performances at Epcot Center's Candlelight Processional, and a 2009 performance on Jacksonville's First Coast News.
http://www-bths.stjohns.k12.fl.us/academics/chorus
The Spirit of Bartram is the marching band of Bartram Trail High School. Since its inception in 2000, it has been under the direction of Jason Duckett. In 2004 the school brought in a second band director, Rick Fowler, who later went on to direct the band at Creekside High School. Over the years, it has emerged into a successful high school marching band earning many accolades.[71] The marching band has received straight superiors in its Florida Bandmaster's Association District 21 marching assessments in every year of its existence. In the summer of 2008, the Spirit of Bartram saw its band split with underclassmen zoned for the new Creekside High School moving to the Power of Creekside marching band.
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen | A Southern State of Mind | Colors of Rock | Mary Poppins | Journey | Bee Gees | ABBA | Moulin Rouge! | Across the Universe | Pat Benatar | Beyoncé | Bryan Adams |
BTHS boasts a wind symphony that is also a successful music program in Northeast Florida. The Wind Symphony is a concert band that contains the most skilled music players in the school's band program. Upon completing marching season, this ensemble meets to prepare advanced music for performance at the district and state levels of the Florida Bandmaster's Association (FBA) Music Performance Assessments (MPA). In the spring of 2006, the Wind Symphony received straight superiors at the state concert FBA assessment earning them the Otto Kraushaar Award.
Bartram Trail's Theater Program is home to Troupe 6174 of the International Thespian Society(I.T.S.) in District 2. In 2003, under the direction of Carole Prior, troupe 6174 received several superiors at state level competition, the highest honor achievable. This accomplishment, in terms success for the standards of International Thespian Society, put Bartram’s theater program at par with Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, a top tier theater school in Florida. The performers in this ensemble were Joseph DiGiovanni, Meaghan McCahill, Naomi Caple, Crystal Korabek, Trey Payment, John Clavier.[72]
The current Director, Ava Fixel, is chairman of District 2. Bartram Trail is known for performing a fall musical, a night of one acts (several senior directed one-act plays), a spring play, and several other performances. This format is was established by Carole Prior and continues to this day.
Bartram Trail participates every year in the District 2 I.E. Competition and District 2 One-Act Competition. Students in the troupe can perform several things including monologues, duet acting scenes, small ensamble acting scenes, large ensamble acting scenes, solo musical pieces, duet musical pieces, small group musical pieces, large group musical pieces, pantomimes, play-writing workshop, scene design workshop, and costume design workshop. Each catergory can be broken down to different rooms and given three different judges. Each set of judges chooses a "critics choice" a performance that they favorited. At the end of the day of performances, all the critics choice get to perform in front of all the schools who participated in the festival that day.
The One-Act Competition is similar to the I.E. Competition. Each school instead performs one One-Act play and is critiqued by a rotation of judges. They then enter the ajudication room where the cast can hear feedback from the judges. The One-Act is under a strict set of rules including a set can not exceed a size of storage and nobody can step anywhere on stage or the timer starts which the One-Act is under a time limit. Bartram Trail has hosted the One-Act competition several times at the school. The past One-Act's Troupe 6174 has performed have been The Girl In The Mirror, Next Door and Tracks. Critics choices are chosen for the One Acts and are then performed at the I.T.S. State Festival. Awards are also given out to individuals who performed exceedingly well. Troupe 6174's Daniel "P-Rez" Perez was awarded Best Surporting Actor in Next Door in the 2008-2009 school year. In the 2009-2010 school year the One-Act Tracks made it to the state level where it received a superior. In the 2010-2011 school year Bartram's One-Act Reservations also went to the State Festival. Then in the 2011-2012, for the third year in a row, 6174 won best stage-manager as well as took a One-Act to state. 6174 performed Michael Fixel's, Salamander Stew. When performed at state Salamander Stew received straight superiors.
Bartram Trail usually performs their musical in the fall but because Troupe 6174 participated in the Mainstage competition for the 2008-2009 school year and the 2010-2011 school year, their musical was postponed. When a school performs a Mainstage, judges attend the show to adjudicate the performance, if it is performed well enough it can be showcased at the State I.T.S. festival later that school year. Bartram Trail performed Friedrich Dürrenmatt's The Visit for their Mainstage in 2008 and Sarah Ruhl's "Eurydice" in 2010. Hayley Cooper and Brandon Mayes played the famous opposites, Eurydice and Orpheus
Bartram Trail Also has a tendency to perform Rodger & Hammerstien's Musicals. For the past three years Troupe 6174 has performed Rodger & Hammerstien's Cinderella, Oklahoma! And South Pacific. However by picking a more modern play such as Jekyll and Hyde Bartram Trail saw a larger turnout at their musical than seen before.
| Type | 2002-2003 | 2003-2004 | 2004-2005 | 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play: | Bullshot Crummond | (Murder Mystery, Unknown title) | Comedy of Errors | A Midsummer's Night Dream | Pride & Prejudice | Macbeth | The Visit | Romeo & Juliet | Eurydice and Alice in Wonderland |
| Musical: | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | The Boyfriend | HMS Pinafore | Fiddler On The Roof | Cinderella | Oklahoma! | South Pacific | Jekyll & Hyde | Thoroughly Modern Millie |
In 2005, for their senior project, Daniel Austin, Nicole Johnson, and Juliet Fixel, started the Bartram Trail Performing Arts Camp (BeaTPAC) as a summer program. Children aged 6–14 are placed into age groups and learn about Theater, Musical Theater, Orff, and Dancing. Each year has a different theme; in 2010 it was "BeaTPAC Goes Green." Next year in 2011, it will be "Happiness is..." Campers choose two elective classes, which last year included Improv, American Idol, Modern Dancing, Stage Combat, Pantomime (Miming), BeaTPAC Rhythms, Singing and Hip-Hop Dancing. At the conclusion of the 2-week session, campers perform a showcase of what they've learned. The camp has grown from a camp of 25 campers the first year, to the 2010 size of over 150.
Bartram Trail High School has had four principals in its eight year history. The current principal is Dawn Sapp.[73]
| Principal | First year | Last year | Length of tenure by academic terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Springfield | 2000–2001 | 2001–2002 | 2 years |
| Tim Forson[73] | 2002–2003 | 2005–2006 | 4 years |
| Brennan Asplen[73] | 2006–2007 | 2010–2011 | 5 years |
| Dawn Sapp[6] | 2011–2012 | current | 1 year |
Other current administration at Bartram Trail include:[74]
| Name | Title | Name | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Abbs | Dean | Craig Davis | Assistant principal |
| Andrew Hurley | Guidance counselor | Barbara Campanini | Dean |
| Barry Craig | Athletic director | Aretha Graham | Registrar |
| Linda Howard | Guidance counselor | Rachel Kusher | Guidance counselor |
| Chris Phelps | Assistant principal | Pete Peaver | Dean |
Bartram Trail's enrollment trends show enrollment increases with each year.
| 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,246 [10] | 1,529 [8] | 1,840 [10] | 2,124 [10] | 2,281 [10] | 2,486 [10] | 2,615 [10] | 2,627 [25] |
The ethnicity of Bartram Trail's students is as follows (last updated for the 2006-2007 school year):
| Ethnicity: | School [3][75] Percentage: |
District [76] Percentage: |
State [76] Average: |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 87.8% | 83% | 47% |
| Hispanic | 4.5% | 9% | 24% |
| Black | 4.2% | 4% | 23% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 1.8% | 2% | 2% |
| Multiracial/Other | 1.7% | 2% | 3% |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)