St. Thomas Aquinas High School is a private, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. The school was founded in 1936 as part of St. Anthony School. In 1952, the high school separated and moved to its current location under the name Central Catholic High School. Finally, in 1961, the school was named in honor of Thomas Aquinas, the patron saint of Catholic education. Sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the school currently enrolls 2,136 students on its 25-acre (100,000 m2) campus in southwest Fort Lauderdale.
On May 29, 1996, President Bill Clinton presented St. Thomas Aquinas High School with the Department of Education Blue Ribbon Award for excellence in education. This was the second time St. Thomas Aquinas received recognition by the U.S. Department of Education. During the 1984-1985 school year, the school was first recognized as a "School of Excellence".
St. Thomas Aquinas High School has been named to the Catholic High School Honor Roll five times (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010). It is the only Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Miami to have been listed as one of the Top 50 Catholic high schools in the United States for five years.
St. Thomas Aquinas accepts students from 105 feeder schools, 46 Catholic parishes, and three counties. An Entrance Exam is required for all incoming Freshmen. Prospective students must also submit their first semester 8th grade report card and two letters of recommendation from their current school. Prospective transfer students must submit an application along with a copy of their current high school transcript and two academic letters of recommendation from current school officials.
Faculty and curriculum
The St. Thomas Aquinas faculty consists of three religious and 127 laypersons, with 74 teachers holding advanced degrees. The ratio of students to teaching faculty stands at 17 to 1. The faculty averages 20 years of teaching experience and 12 years of experience at the school.
The school offers 195 different courses in 9 subjects: English, Mathematics, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language, Fine Arts, Computer/Graphic Arts, and Theology. Students are grouped by ability with course offerings at Advance Placement, Honors and College-Preparatory levels.
In 2005, St. Thomas Aquinas was recognized by Sports Illustrated as the third best high school athletic program in the nation. The criteria emphasized all-around excellence during the last 10 years and included state championships won and the number of college athletes produced.
In 2011, St. Thomas Aquinas was named the nation's top athletic program by Maxpreps.
The Raiders have won 105 FHSAA state championships and have graduated such student athletes as Chris Evert, Michael Irvin and Sanya Richards-Ross. The school has been awarded the Broward County all-sports trophy by the Sun-Sentinel for 35 consecutive years. The athletic department has also won the FHSAA's Dodge Sunshine Cup every year since the awards inception in 1995.
Baseball - 1995, 2003
Basketball - 2001
Cross Country - 2013, 2015, 2016
Football - 1992, 1997, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016
Lacrosse - 2016
Soccer - 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2011
Swimming - 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
Tennis - 1989, 1994, 2009
Track and Field - 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
Water Polo - 2013
Wrestling - 1985
Cross Country - 2012, 2013
Golf - 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2001
Soccer - 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017
Softball - 2002, 2003, 2013, 2014
Swimming - 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004
Tennis - 1972, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008
Track and Field - 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013, 2014, 2015
Volleyball - 1995, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2016
Foluke Akinradewo, professional volleyball player and member of the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics
Bradley Ally, Olympian and bronze medalist in 200m Individual Medley at 2007 Pan American Games
Carlos Asuaje, professional baseball player for the San Diego Padres
Geno Atkins, professional football player and 4-time Pro Bowler for the Cincinnati Bengals
Alejandro Bedoya, professional soccer player and member of the U.S. Men's National Team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup
Giovani Bernard, professional football player for the Cincinnati Bengals
Joey Bosa, professional football player for the San Diego Chargers and 2016 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
Bobby Brown, former professional football player
Curt Brown, former professional baseball player
Joe Castiglione, athletic director at the University of Oklahoma
Jeremy Cain, former professional football player
Stephen Cardullo, professional baseball player for the Colorado Rockies
Audra Cohen, former professional tennis player and 2007 NCAA Women's Singles Champion
John Congemi, former professional football player and college football analyst for ESPN
Marco Dawson, professional golfer and winner of the 2015 Senior British Open
Phillip Dorsett, professional football player for the Indianapolis Colts
Jason Dufner, professional golfer and winner of the 2013 PGA Championship
Eric Eichmann, former professional soccer player and member of the U.S. Men's National Team at the 1990 FIFA World Cup
Chris Evert, former professional tennis player and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame
Jeanne Evert, former professional tennis player
Sean Gallagher, former professional baseball player
Marcus Gilbert, professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Rashad Greene, professional football player for the Jacksonville Jaguars
Tyler Greene, former professional baseball player
Tavares Gooden, former professional football player
Richard Goodman, former professional football player
Arman Hall, Olympian and gold medalist in the 4x400m relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Leonard Hankerson, former professional football player
Stefan Humphries, former professional football player and Super Bowl Champion
Michael Irvin, former professional football player and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Lamarcus Joyner, professional football player for the Los Angeles Rams
Sarah Lihan, Olympian who placed 9th in women's sailing 470 at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London
Brandon Linder, professional football player for the Jacksonville Jaguars
Mark Merklein, former professional tennis player and 1993 NCAA Men's Singles Champion
Chad Mottola, former professional baseball player
Gene Monahan, former head athletic trainer for the New York Yankees
Ed Nelson, former professional basketball player
Kirsten Nieuwendam, Olympian who competed in the 400m Hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics
Kirk Olivadotti, assistant coach for the Washington Redskins
Michael Palardy, professional football player for the Carolina Panthers
Sterling Palmer, former professional football player
Brian Piccolo, former professional football player and the inspiration for the film Brian's Song
Vladislav Polyakov, Olympian and gold medalist in 200m Breaststroke at 2006 FINA World Championships
Daryl Porter, former professional football player
Sanya Richards-Ross, Olympian and gold medalist in Women's 400m at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Cody Riggs, professional football player for the Tennessee Titans
Shawn Riggans, former professional baseball player
Twan Russell, former professional football player and Director of Youth and Community Programs for the Miami Dolphins
Khalifa St. Fort, Olympian and gold medalist in the 4x100m relay at the 2015 World Championships
Nate Salley, former professional football player
Dezmen Southward, former professional football player
Mike Stanley, former professional baseball player and 1995 American League All-Star
Seilala Sua, Olympian who placed 10th in the Discus at the 2000 Summer Olympics
India Trotter, former professional soccer player and member of the U.S. Women's National Team
Major Wright, former professional football player
James White, professional football player for the New England Patriots and 2-time Super Bowl Champion
Ed Yarnall, former professional baseball player
Sam Young, professional football player for the Miami Dolphins
Arts, entertainment, and civil service
Steven Conrad, screenwriter and producer of The Weather Man, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and The Pursuit of Happyness
Michael Connelly, author of The Lincoln Lawyer and former President of Mystery Writers of America
Billy Crudup, actor who appeared in Watchmen, Without Limits, Almost Famous, Jackie and Big Fish
Courtney Marsh, filmmaker of Oscar® Nominated Chau, Beyond the Lines
Katie Edwards, member of the Florida House of Representatives
Parris Glendening, former Governor of Maryland
Charles Liteky, former Army chaplain and Medal of Honor recipient
Gerard John Schaefer Police officer and serial killer
C. Dale Young, poet and recipient of the 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship
William J. Zloch, U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida
In 2006, a summer forensics class was on a field trip where they discovered what they assumed was a fake body planted by their instructor testing their analytic ability, but the body turned out to be an actual corpse.
