West Shore Junior – Senior High School

West Shore Junior – Senior High School, more often called West Shore, is a secondary school located at 250 Wildcat Alley in Melbourne, Florida. West Shore enrolls students from grades seven through twelve. It is part of the Brevard Public Schools System. It was the first "School of Choice" in Brevard County, Florida.[2] In 2013, U.S. News & World Report ranked West Shore the 6th Best High School in the State of Florida. On a nationwide basis it was ranked #48 out of the 21,035 public high schools reviewed.[3]
Name

West Shore Junior – Senior High School

Address

250 Wildcat Alley, Melbourne FL 32935

Established

1998

Type

Public

Ratio

18.54[1]

Staff

51.40 (FTE)[1]

Students

953 (2018–19)[1]

Grades

7 to 12

Principal

Rick Fleming

Nickname

West Shore High School, West Shore, WS, The Shore

Mascot

Wildcat

Colors

Navy, Gray, and White

Motto"Excellence Achieved."
PublicationsThe Roar (Newspaper)
Alter Ego (Literary Magazine)
YearbookArcadia
Website

http://westshore.hs.brevard.k12.fl.us

Rick Fleming is the Principal.

History

In 2008 U.S. News & World Report named it in the "Best" category among the nations high schools, one of two in Brevard County. The school was ranked 68 out of 21,069 in the country. For 2009, the school was rated as the 50th best high school in the country by U.S. News & World Report.[4]

Student body

As a public school, West Shore accepts any student who has met minimum academic and social expectations set by the school, provided there is space available. If there are more students interested in the school than is space available, a lottery is held to determine acceptance.

The Maximum school enrollment for all grades is capped at 950 students, in an effort to keep class sizes small.

Students are accepted from across the county. However, most students enrolled reside in southern Brevard county, mainly Melbourne, Palm Bay, Rockledge, West Melbourne and the Melbourne barrier island beachside.

Academics

West Shore is unique in several areas:

  • Additional recognition of advanced graduation accomplishments have been increased from the minimum set by the county, but not necessarily required to graduate. These include the addition of two extra credits, leadership in one or more areas or projects, two completed areas of accelerated study with either Advanced Placement classes or dual enrollment at Eastern Florida State College or Florida Institute of Technology, eligibility for at least one post secondary scholarship, and completion of a senior project (similar to a senior thesis).
  • There is a homeroom period once weekly during power hour. (except for special events where homeroom may be held on a different day and/or time).
  • Senior Pranks are endorsed by school staff at the end of the year, although they require prior approval.

Activities

Athletics

The Athletic Director is Tony Riopelle, who also is an assistant coach with the varsity basketball team. The boys soccer program has won two state championships, in 2012 and 2017. The school competes in the following sports:

Recognition

Blue Ribbon School, U.S Department of Education, 2004-5[2]

The school scored the highest in the county on the 2007 state writing test.[5]

The school was ranked 58 out of 21,069 in the country. Criteria were scoring high in state exams for both majority and minority students, and Advanced Placement testing including wide participation.[4]

In 2008, the school, using state criteria, was tied with one other school in the county for having a 100% graduation rate.[6]

Eighth grade students performed the highest in the county on the 2009 FCAT essay test, at 4.80 tying with one other school. Sophomores scored the highest in the county on the essay test with a 4.90.[7]

In 2010, the school had nine National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists out of 30 for the county.[8]

In 2012, the school had 11 National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists out of 33 for the county.[9]

In 2014, Newsweek ranked the school the best in Florida and 81st in the nation.[10]

Footnotes
  1. "WESTSHORE JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  2. "West Shore Jr./Sr. High School". Westshore.hs.brevard.k12.fl.us. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  3. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/florida/districts/brevard-public-schools/west-shore-juniorsenior-high-school-4710?int=c0b4c1
  4. US News and World Report, December 5, 2008 Archived December 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Downs, Megan & Brennan, Kate (April 26, 2007). All but 11 meet the standard, but some show drop from -06. Florida Today.
  6. Downs, Megan (March 15, 2009). 2008 grad rates. Florida Today.
  7. "FCAT writing scores for Brevard County". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. 1 May 2009. pp. 9A.
  9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2012-11-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Barchenger, Stacey (September 12, 2014). "West Shorte is ranked best high school in Florida". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 1A. Retrieved October 11, 2014.

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