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, 2003Basketball - 2001Cross Country - 2013, 2015, 2016Football - 1992, 1997, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016Lacrosse - 2016Soccer - 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2011Swimming - 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004Tennis - 1989, 1994, 2009Track and Field - 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014Water Polo - 2013Wrestling - 1985Cross Country - 2012, 2013Golf - 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2001Soccer - 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017Softball - 2002, 2003, 2013, 2014Swimming - 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004Tennis - 1972, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008Track and Field - 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013, 2014, 2015Volleyball - 1995, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2016Foluke Akinradewo, professional volleyball player and member of the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer OlympicsBradley Ally, Olympian and bronze medalist in 200m Individual Medley at 2007 Pan American GamesCarlos Asuaje, professional baseball player for the San Diego PadresGeno Atkins, professional football player and 4-time Pro Bowler for the Cincinnati BengalsAlejandro Bedoya, professional soccer player and member of the U.S. Men's National Team at the 2014 FIFA World CupGiovani Bernard, professional football player for the Cincinnati BengalsJoey Bosa, professional football player for the San Diego Chargers and 2016 NFL Defensive Rookie of the YearBobby Brown, former professional football playerCurt Brown, former professional baseball playerJoe Castiglione, athletic director at the University of OklahomaJeremy Cain, former professional football playerStephen Cardullo, professional baseball player for the Colorado RockiesAudra Cohen, former professional tennis player and 2007 NCAA Women's Singles ChampionJohn Congemi, former professional football player and college football analyst for ESPNMarco Dawson, professional golfer and winner of the 2015 Senior British OpenPhillip Dorsett, professional football player for the Indianapolis ColtsJason Dufner, professional golfer and winner of the 2013 PGA ChampionshipEric Eichmann, former professional soccer player and member of the U.S. Men's National Team at the 1990 FIFA World CupChris Evert, former professional tennis player and member of the International Tennis Hall of FameJeanne Evert, former professional tennis playerSean Gallagher, former professional baseball playerMarcus Gilbert, professional football player for the Pittsburgh SteelersRashad Greene, professional football player for the Jacksonville JaguarsTyler Greene, former professional baseball playerTavares Gooden, former professional football playerRichard Goodman, former professional football playerArman Hall, Olympian and gold medalist in the 4x400m relay at the 2016 Summer OlympicsLeonard Hankerson, former professional football playerStefan Humphries, former professional football player and Super Bowl ChampionMichael Irvin, former professional football player and member of the Pro Football Hall of FameLamarcus Joyner, professional football player for the Los Angeles RamsSarah Lihan, Olympian who placed 9th in women's sailing 470 at the 2012 Summer Olympics in LondonBrandon Linder, professional football player for the Jacksonville JaguarsMark Merklein, former professional tennis player and 1993 NCAA Men's Singles ChampionChad Mottola, former professional baseball playerGene Monahan, former head athletic trainer for the New York YankeesEd Nelson, former professional basketball playerKirsten Nieuwendam, Olympian who competed in the 400m Hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer OlympicsKirk Olivadotti, assistant coach for the Washington RedskinsMichael Palardy, professional football player for the Carolina PanthersSterling Palmer, former professional football playerBrian Piccolo, former professional football player and the inspiration for the film Brian's SongVladislav Polyakov, Olympian and gold medalist in 200m Breaststroke at 2006 FINA World ChampionshipsDaryl Porter, former professional football playerSanya Richards-Ross, Olympian and gold medalist in Women's 400m at the 2012 Summer OlympicsCody Riggs, professional football player for the Tennessee TitansShawn Riggans, former professional baseball playerTwan Russell, former professional football player and Director of Youth and Community Programs for the Miami DolphinsKhalifa St. Fort, Olympian and gold medalist in the 4x100m relay at the 2015 World ChampionshipsNate Salley, former professional football playerDezmen Southward, former professional football playerMike Stanley, former professional baseball player and 1995 American League All-StarSeilala Sua, Olympian who placed 10th in the Discus at the 2000 Summer OlympicsIndia Trotter, former professional soccer player and member of the U.S. Women's National TeamMajor Wright, former professional football playerJames White, professional football player for the New England Patriots and 2-time Super Bowl ChampionEd Yarnall, former professional baseball playerSam Young, professional football player for the Miami DolphinsArts, entertainment, and civil service
Steven Conrad, screenwriter and producer of The Weather Man, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and The Pursuit of HappynessMichael Connelly, author of The Lincoln Lawyer and former President of Mystery Writers of AmericaBilly Crudup, actor who appeared in Watchmen, Without Limits, Almost Famous, Jackie and Big FishCourtney Marsh, filmmaker of Oscar® Nominated Chau, Beyond the LinesKatie Edwards, member of the Florida House of RepresentativesParris Glendening, former Governor of MarylandCharles Liteky, former Army chaplain and Medal of Honor recipientGerard John Schaefer Police officer and serial killerC. Dale Young, poet and recipient of the 2012 Guggenheim FellowshipWilliam J. Zloch, U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of FloridaIn 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.
