Charlotte High School
The main building
Address
1250 Cooper Street

Punta Gorda
,
Florida

United States
Information
TypeFree public secondary
Established1926 (1926)
PrincipalCathy Corsaletti[1]
Faculty75.16 (FTE)[2]
Grades9–12
Number of students1,596 (2020-21)[2]
Student to teacher ratio21.23[2]
Campus size325,000 square feet (30,200 m2)[3]
Color(s)Blue and gold
  
MascotFighting Tarpon
Websitechs.yourcharlotteschools.net
Charlotte High School
Charlotte High School (Punta Gorda, Florida) is located in Florida
Charlotte High School (Punta Gorda, Florida)
Charlotte High School (Punta Gorda, Florida) is located in the United States
Charlotte High School (Punta Gorda, Florida)
Coordinates26°55′39.77″N 82°2′22.02″W / 26.9277139°N 82.0394500°W / 26.9277139; -82.0394500
Architectural styleMasonry Vernacular with Neo-Classical elements[4]
MPSPunta Gorda MPS
NRHP reference No.90001796[4]
Added to NRHPDecember 12, 1990[5]

Charlotte High School is a historic public high school in Punta Gorda, Florida, United States serving ninth to twelfth grade students. The school is part of the Charlotte County Public Schools district, with admission based primarily on the locations of students' homes.[6] 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[7] until its top rival schools, Port Charlotte High School 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.[8]

On December 12, 1990, its main three-story building was added to the United States' National Register of Historic Places.[4] The main building was destroyed in 2004 by Hurricane Charley, 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.[9]

Its distinctive mascot, the fighting tarpon wearing its boxing gloves, was designed in 1959. The class of 1959 claims to have introduced the fighting tarpon emblem.[10]

Hurricane Charley and its aftermath

Hurricane Charley 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 Port Charlotte High School during the 12:45 - 6 p.m. afternoon shift[11] for most of the 2004–2005 school year. Afterward, students were moved back on campus to portable classrooms.[12] Charlotte High made up one of six schools in the county destroyed or heavily damaged;[13] 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.[12]

The History Channel'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 Port Charlotte High School. Putting aside academic and athletic rivalry, the students collaborated to preserve their community's experience through oral history.[14]

Athletics

Lady Tarpon cheerleaders waving at the crowd at an away game hosted at Fort Myers High School

The school has a cheerleading team (varsity, junior varsity), cross country team (boys and girls separated), football team (varsity and junior varsity), golf team (boys and girls separated), swimming/diving team, basketball team (varsity, junior varsity; boys and girls separated), soccer team (varsity; boys and girls separated), weightlifting team (boys and girls separated), wrestling team (varsity and junior varsity), baseball team (varsity and junior varsity), softball team (varsity and junior varsity), tennis team (boys and girls separated), and track team (boys and girls separated).[15]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Charlotte High School's Official Homepage". CHS.YourCharlotteSchools.net. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "CHARLOTTE HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  3. ↑ Dale, Kevin (May 24, 2007). "A new day for Charlotte High". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Charlotte High School". National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  5. ↑ "National Register Information System – Charlotte High School (#90001796)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  6. ↑ "School Locator". Charlotte County Public Schools. Archived from the original on April 10, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  7. ↑ "About Charlotte High School". TarponAlumni.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  8. ↑ "School Demographics". YourCharlotteSchools.net. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Our History". YourCharlotteSchools.net. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  10. ↑ See 1959 Charlotte High School Year Book, cheerleaders section; art teacher Patadams designed the tarpon flag and drew the fighting tarpon on it.
  11. ↑ Tierney, Dan (August 25, 2004). "School times set". Charlotte Sun-Herald. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2007.
  12. 1 2 Quinn, Carolyn (May 24, 2007). "Charlotte High begins rebuilding". Charlotte Sun-Herald. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
  13. ↑ Jehlen, Alain; Winans, Dave (November 2004). "NEA Today Storm Season". NEA. Archived from the original on August 15, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2007. In Charlotte County, where 6 of 21 schools were destroyed or heavily damaged, students were forced to attend the remaining safe schools in shifts. Some started as early as 6 a.m.: others ended as late as 7:10 p.m.
  14. ↑ "Historical Society Receives Save Our History Grant" (PDF). Florida Preservation News. Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources. 2005. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
  15. ↑ "CHS Athletics". CHS.YourCharlotteSchools.net. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  16. ↑ "NCAA Football News, Scores & Videos | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Profiling the future of American cycling: Amanda Carr". USA Cycling. May 27, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  18. ↑ Staff Report; Herald-Tribune (July 26, 2016). "Hardison gives back to youth in Punta Gorda". HT Preps. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  19. ↑ Maffezzoli, Dennis (May 25, 2007). "Corsaletti gets taste of majors with Rocket". Sarasota Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
    - "Jeff Corsaletti Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Two Aeros named Olympians". AkronAeros. July 16, 2008. Archived from the original on April 27, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  21. ↑ "5 SFWL players named to State All-Time Prep Football Top 100". MSNBC. Archived from the original on December 6, 2007. Retrieved December 7, 2007.
  22. ↑ Fineran, John. "Baseball's return tops 2006 stories". Charlotte Sun Herald. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
  23. ↑ "Jake Noll, once a college walk-on, is having a great spring with the Nationals". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  24. ↑ Brian Olmo (April 30, 2022). "BREAKING: Former FIU RB D'Vonte Price signs with Indianapolis Colts". Panther Now. Florida International University. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Nate Spears Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Dagoberto Pena - Basketball Recruiting - Player Profiles - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  27. ↑ Alexander, Jonathan M. (August 2, 2020). "From receiver to cornerback. How Stantley Thomas-Oliver made it to the Panthers". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 23, 2020.

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