Southeast High School (Florida)

Admissions

Southeast High School is a public high school that takes in students from an area determined by the Manatee County School District. However, for admission into the IB program, applications are accepted through February of a student's eighth grade year. These applications consist of a 250-word essay, all report cards from middle school and the students' most recent FCAT scores in reading and mathematics. The application process is slightly different for students applying from Johnson Middle School, a local IB middle school.

Curriculum

The tremendous diversity of Southeast High School results in a very complex curriculum, depending on whether the student is enrolled in the IB program or not. In addition, the school has a large population of students requiring special needs for mental and/or physical disabilities, with an entire wing dedicated to the education of special education students. Moreover, a 4-tiered academy system at the school allows students to graduate with specialties on their High School Diploma.

Traditional High School Students

For students that are not enrolled in the IB program, classes vary wildly depending on the credits earned in middle school. All traditional students are enrolled in Biology their freshman year, proceeding through the physical sciences and chemistry before graduation. Honors Physics classes are also available for students. Students have the option of taking Algebra I, Algebra II or Geometry as a Freshman, depending on their middle school credits, before moving on to Pre-Calculus, Trigonometry and (for a handful of students a year) AP Calculus A/B. They begin with English I and proceed through English II, III and IV for their sophomore, junior and senior years, respectively. Compared to students enrolled in the IB program, traditional students have more electives each year in high school.

International Baccalaureate Students

For students that are enrolled in the IB program, students are required to complete Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Analysis and Functions and Trigonometry or Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry before their Senior year. In addition, unlike traditional students, IB freshmen are enrolled in Chemistry, taking Biology their sophomore year. All classes taken by IB students are taught at a higher level than their non-IB peers, with the prefix "PIB" appearing after the course title in freshman and sophomore year. These are counted as "Honors" classes and are given a higher weight for high school GPA calculation.

In Junior year, students officially enter the IB curriculum, determined by the IB Organization. Due to a limited student body, the diversity of classes taught at the IB level at Southeast High School is very small, with two main "tracks" being offered to students: on the one hand, some students opt for AP Calculus A/B and IB Mathematics SL, AP Biology and IB Biology HL and IB Physics SL; this track is referred to by students as the "Trifecta" On the other hand, some students opt for Analysis of Functions, IB Design Technology HL and IB Music SL, this track is referred to by studemts as the "Boom-fecta". Very few students mix the two tracks together.

Small Learning Communities (Academies)

There are four Academies offered at Southeast High School: Agriscience, Business and Consumer Science (ABC), Vocal and Performing Arts (VPA), Center for Leadership (CL), and Electronics Communications Center (ECC). Every student is required to sign up for an academy, however, participation is voluntary in most academies with the exception of VPA, which mandates that its students fulfill certain requirements. For all academies, if certain conditions are met, a special stamp is affixed to the high school diploma signifying completion of that academy and is recognized by some colleges.

Foreign Language

Southeast High School offers two languages: French and Spanish.

Awards and Distinctions

For the school year 2010 - 2011, Southeast High School scored higher on the SAT than all other high schools in the Manatee County School District. In addition, for the same school year, it was named a 5-Star school by the Department of Education.

In 2012, the school was awarded a 'B' ranking by the Florida Department of Education, a full two grade levels above its previous ranking, 'D'.

The school has also been recognized by Newsweek magazine in its annual rankings of high schools in the United States for the year of 2007 and was ranked 330 in 2006, 497 in 2007, 356 in 2008, 277 in 2009 and 512 in 2010.

Collegiate Tradition

Every year, many Southeast High School graduates attend top-rank colleges in the United States. The school has had one student attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in each of the graduating classes of 2010, 2011 and 2012. In addition, last year a student was accepted to Brown University and the United States Air Force Academy. Students from Southeast have also attended Johns Hopkins University, the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy, Duke University, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Florida's top schools such as University of Florida, Florida State University and University of Miami.

Activities

Southeast High School has many after-school activities, which frequently earn top honors at the local, state, national and international levels.

Technology Student Association (TSA)

The Technology Student Association (TSA) at Southeast High School is one of the most respected programs in the nation. In 2010, a group of students in the Southeast TSA competed in a Formula One competition, winning first place in an international event in Singapore and subsequently won third place in 2011, setting a record for being a two-time top three finalist. The program has been awarded State and National grand champions on multiple occasions in the past several years.

SkillsUSA

The SkillsUSA program at Southeast High School is reigning national champions for the years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014 in the Broadcast New Category. This is due to the Southeast Television (SETV) program at the school.

Speech and Debate

Southeast boast the largest speech and debate team in Manatee County. It participates in both National Forensics League and Catholic Forensics League tournaments. The students do exceptionally well and have one of the highest number of awards one out of schools in the surrounding area.

Athletics

Southeast High School has a long tradition of athletic excellence and participates in varsity sports in football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, soccer, weightlifting, volleyball, track, golf, cross country, swimming and rowing/crew.

Notable alumni

NFL

MLB

NBA

Television