Vero Beach High School

{{Infobox school

| name = Vero Beach High School

| motto = VBHS... Together We Achieve Success

| slogan = It's Great to be a Fighting Indian

| address = 1707 16th Street

| city = Vero Beach

| state = Florida

| zipcode = 32960-3626

| country = United States

| coordinates = {{Coord|27.62954|-80.403857|type:edu_region:US-FL|display=inline,title|format=dms}}

| type = Public high school

| established = {{ubl

| {{start date and age|1905}} (unofficially)

| {{start date and age|1925}} (officially)

| {{Start date and age|1963}} (Main Campus Location)

}}

| district = Indian River County School District

| principal = Shawn O'Keefe

| grades = 9–12

| gender = Co-educational

| campuses = FLC/Main Campus

| conference = FHSAA Class 7A Region 3 District 11

| mascot = Fighting Indians

| rival = Sebastian River High School

| ratio = 23.00 (2022–23)

| teaching_staff = 123.80 (FTE) (2022–23)

| colors = Red, White, Black {{Color box|Red}}{{Color box|White}}{{Color box|Black}}

| enrollment = 2,847 (2022–23){{NCES School ID|120093001052|school_name=Vero Beach High School|do_not_render=y|access_date=July 21, 2024|ref_name="NCES"}}

| campus_type =

| campus_size = {{Convert|77|acre|m2}}

| website = {{URL|vbhs.indianriverschools.org}}

}}

Vero Beach High School (VBHS) is a 9–12 public high school in Vero Beach, Florida, United States that was established in 1925. The school is operated by the Indian River County School District, and it's similar to Keyport High School in design.

The campus of VBHS encompasses approximately {{Convert|77|acre|m2}}, which includes the Freshman Learning Center and main campus areas. The combination of school enrollment and the size of the physical plant makes VBHS the largest high school in Indian River County. The Freshman Learning Center serves about 750 9th grade students.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

History

File:Fighting Indian Statue.jpg

Vero Beach High School can trace its timeline back to the class of 1905, where students learned in a one-room schoolhouse. In 1925, the first official Vero Beach High School opened. It was located about a half-mile north of the current location, where Vero Beach High School's Freshman Learning Center stands today.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

After Vero Beach High School moved to its present-day location in 1963, the old high school became Vero Beach Junior High School, and VBHS took on a new official name, Vero Beach Senior High School.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

In 1977, the junior high school was becoming insufficient for housing all of the county's junior high schoolers, and was torn down to make way for a new, smaller school, Indian River Middle 8 - the present-day home of the Freshman Learning Center, and soon to become a middle school again, once all the renovations at Vero Beach High School are complete. Prior to the completion of Sebastian River High School in 1994, Vero Beach High School was the only public high school in Indian River County.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Vero Beach High School completed a three-year, $51 million remodeling project in 2009.{{Cite web |url=http://sites.indianriverschools.org/VBHS/files/2008-2009%20Florida%20School%20Improvement%20Plan%20(Print-View).mht |title=2008-2009 = Florida School Improvement Plan (Print-View) |access-date=June 19, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726174606/http://sites.indianriverschools.org/VBHS/files/2008-2009%20Florida%20School%20Improvement%20Plan%20(Print-View).mht |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |url-status=live }}

Shawn O'Keefe took over for the 2012–2013 school year.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Academics

Vero Beach High School has an AP Program, a Dual Enrollment program with Indian River State College, an Honors program, and regular level classes.

The Dual Enrollment Program is offered with Indian River State College to give students the opportunity to take college-level classes at the college, online, or during the summer. The school also offers career and technical classes.

Athletics

On January 1, 2019, the Vero Beach High School Fighting Indians Band performed in the 2019 London New Year's Day Parade in London. This was the first time the band, in its 90 years existence as of June 2019, had gone overseas to Europe and Internationally traveled. This had also brought some attention to the high school and the city of Vero Beach due to the number of viewers at the parade and on TV.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcpalm.com/picture-gallery/news/local/indian-river-county/2019/01/01/vero-beach-high-school-marching-band-london-new-years-day-parade/2458310002/|title=Vero Beach High School marching band at London New Year's Day Parade|website=www.tcpalm.com|language=en|access-date=2020-01-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124064009/https://www.tcpalm.com/picture-gallery/news/local/indian-river-county/2019/01/01/vero-beach-high-school-marching-band-london-new-years-day-parade/2458310002/|archive-date=2019-01-24|url-status=live}}

On October 25, 2019, the Vero Beach High School Fighting Indians Football team in a 28-3 win over Fort Pierce Central set the state record for most consecutive regular-season wins with 61 straight.{{cite web |last1=Whitehead |first1=Bill |title=Vero Beach football: QB Ryan Jankowski's career night paces state-record 61st straight win |url=https://www.tcpalm.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2019/10/26/vero-beach-high-school-football-61-straight-wins-record/4081179002/ |website=TCPalm.com |publisher=TCPalm |access-date=20 February 2024}}

In October 2022, The football team was featured on NBC's Today show.{{cite news |last1=Cooney |first1=Bryan |title='Nice to be recognized': NBC's 'Today' show spotlights Vero Beach High School football team |url=https://www.tcpalm.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2022/10/07/today-show-vero-beach-high-football-team-friday-night-lights/8205698001/ |access-date=15 October 2022 |work=TC Palm |date=7 October 2022}}

=Lacrosse Championships=

Spanning the period of 2006-2015, the VBHS Girls Lacrosse team won the statewide Lacrosse Championship every consecutive season.{{cite web|last=Thomas|first=Milt|title=There IS a 'secret sauce' to the success of Vero Beach High School Girls' Lacrosse!|url=https://indianriverguardian.com/2014/05/05/is-there-asecret-sauce-to-the-success-of-vero-beach-high-school-girls-lacrosse/|work=The Indian River Guardian|publisher=The Indian River Guardian/Inside Vero|access-date=May 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514171922/https://indianriverguardian.com/2014/05/05/is-there-asecret-sauce-to-the-success-of-vero-beach-high-school-girls-lacrosse/ |archive-date=May 14, 2021 |url-status=live}} This nine year dynasty was unprecedented in the sport and extremely rare when compared across all Floridian high school teams in any sport.{{cite web|last=Jacob|first=Dennis|title=Vero Beach girls lacrosse dynasty is one of Florida's greatest|url=https://archive.tcpalm.com/news/dennis-jacob-vero-beach-girls-lacrosse-dynasty-is-one-of-floridas-greatest-ep-456096621-341803811.html/|work=TCPalm|publisher=TCPalm|access-date=May 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514174323if_/https://archive.tcpalm.com/news/dennis-jacob-vero-beach-girls-lacrosse-dynasty-is-one-of-floridas-greatest-ep-456096621-341803811.html/ |archive-date=May 14, 2021 |url-status=live}} The city honored this dynasty by erecting two signs noting the achievement.

Notable alumni

Jade Cargill, professional wrestler
Alex Cobb, MLB player
Dale Dawkins, NFL player
Scotty Emerick, country music singer
Barry Fanaro, Emmy Award-winning writer
Mardy Fish, Olympic silver medal-winning tennis player
David Alan Gore, Serial Killer
Kenny Holmes, NFL player
Muni Long, Grammy-winning R&B artist{{cite news |last1=Nam |first1=Sooji |title='We’re proud of her': Grammy-winning R&B artist Muni Long from Vero Beach |url=https://www.wpbf.com/article/florida-vero-beach-muni-long-grammys/42864729 |access-date=16 February 2023 |work=WPBF |date=13 February 2023 |language=en}}
YNW Melly, rapper
Riley Minix, basketball player{{cite web |title=Riley Minix - 2022-23 - Men's Basketball |url=https://fire.seu.edu/sports/mens-basketball/roster/riley-minix/4839 |website=Southeastern University Athletics |language=en}}
Alison Mosshart, singer and songwriter, bands The Kills and Dead Weather
Zeke Motta, NFL player
Jake Owen, country music singer
Gary Parris, NFL player
Albert Reed, model and Dancing With the Stars contestant
Stephen Root, actor
Eric Smith, NFL player
Daleroy Stewart, NFL player
James Stewart, NFL player
Bryan Stork, NFL player
Terry Taylor, professional wrestler
John Terry, actor

References

External links

{{Official|https://vbhs.indianriverschools.org/}}

Category:Buildings and structures in Vero Beach, Florida

Category:Educational institutions established in 1925

Category:1925 establishments in Florida

Category:High schools in Indian River County, Florida

Category:Indian River County School District

Category:Public high schools in Florida