Forest High School is a school in Ocala, Florida, United States. It has an EMIT (engineering) program. The school's colors are green and gold and the school mascot is the Wildcat. As of 2014, it had an enrollment of some 2,058.
Forest High School moved to its current location on Maricamp Road, southeast of the city limits of Ocala, in 2005. The school was originally on Fort King Street in Ocala, at the 1959 campus of Ocala High School. Ocala High was renamed Forest High in 1969 with the opening of Vanguard High School. According to tradition, the Marion County School Board wanted the city's second high school to start on equal footing with the first by putting to rest the name Ocala High School.
Forest High School belongs to the Marion County School District.
Programs
Florida high school shooting suspect transferred to county jail - Daily Mail - Sky Bouche 19, (left and right) has been named as the suspect gunman who opened fire Friday morning at Forest High School (inset) in Ocala, Florida.
Athletics
Forest High School won the Class 3A State Championship in Football in 1974 and 1975.
Band program
The FHS band program has a rich and long tradition of excellence as Florida's oldest high school Band. Founded in 1922 by Mrs. Browne' Greaton Cole, she has the distinction of being both the first school band director in the state and the first female director, earning her the title "Mother of School Bands". In 1928, the Ocala High School Band participated in the first State Band Competition held in Lakeland, Florida, taking first place at the competition. The next year it was held in Ocala with 10 bands attending (doubling the number of bands from the previous year) taking second place at this competition. In 1933, the Band was invite to perform at the Gasparilla Parade (now a part of the Gasparilla Pirate Festival), the first time a band had ever been invited to participate. The Band returned home with the First Prize Trophy.In 1936, The Florida Bandmasters Association was formed with Cole as a charter member. The band participated with Cole at all FBA state events (except for two years during the war) through her retirement in 1944. Since then, the Forest High/Ocala High School Band has maintained a high standard of excellence laid out by our "First Director". In November 2016, Mrs. Cole was posthumously inducted into the Florida Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame. The band she started celebrated its 94th season in 2016.
The Forest High School Band is under the direction of David Jones. The program offers Marching Band, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Guitar Ensemble, and the Emerald WAVE (Wildcat Artistic and Visual Ensemble), and Percussion Ensemble. The Marching Wildcats have received many Superior Ratings over the years at FBA and have receive Superior and Distinguished Rating at FMBC regional and state events. The Concert and Jazz Bands also have consistently received Superior and Excellent Ratings since their inception. In 2017, the Jazz Ensemble received an overall superior rating at the FBA State Jazz Assessment in 2017 and the Jazz Combo received Superior at State in 2018. The Emerald WAVE Colorguard has consistently received Superior ratings and began competing in FFCC in 2016.
Engineering and Manufacturing Institute of Technology (EMIT)
EMIT is a four-year magnet engineering program at Forest High School. EMIT aims to teach its students engineering fundamentals to prepare them for postsecondary colleges or universities in engineering. The curriculum is heavily project-based that often includes problem-solving tasks which must be built and later presented to teachers. These projects typically cover the basics of many engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, aerospace engineering, and more.
EMIT was created from a $1.2 million Florida Department of Education grant in 1994. An application is required to be considered for admission.
2018 shooting
On April 20, 2018, 19-year-old Sky Bouche took a sawed-off shotgun and shot and injured one student before a school walkout for gun control was to take place. Bouche was taken into custody by the school resource officer. Bouche later admitted he did that to scare the school and he wanted to go to jail. The school's walkout, and all other walkouts across the district, were cancelled.
Notable alumni
- Tony Beckham â€" football cornerback
- Scot Brantley â€" linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Buccaneers of the NFL
- C. Farris Bryant â€" Governor of Florida from 1961 to 1965
- Judd Davis â€" football place-kicker
- Jonathan Johnson â€" Major League baseball pitcher
- Mike Sullivan â€" professional golfer on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and the Champions Tour
- Mava Lee Thomas â€" All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
- Rick Tuten â€" punter in the National Football League
- Tyrone Young â€" wide receiver in the National Football League
- Alex Shelnutt - drummer of American rock band A Day To Remember
- Reid Nichols - outfielder Boston Red Sox
- Erin Jackson - American Olympic speedskater
References
External links
- Forest High School Website
- greatschools.net profile
