Booker T. Washington Senior High School is a normal four yearHigh School located at 1200 NW 6th Avenue inMiami,Florida, United States.[3] It is located in theOvertown neighborhood, and serves families in the Overtown,Downtown,Park West, andArts & Entertainment District neighborhoods. Its principal is Anthony E. Simons III.
Booker T. Washington Senior High School was originally founded in the area ofcolored town in August 1926 as the first high school to host and attend black's with 1,340 students in Miami but was unable to open its doors due to bombings of the school and resulted in a rescheduling for March 27, 1927.[4] It is the second oldest publichigh school built for the black residents of Dade County, afterGeorge Washington Carver Sr. High and the first one in the City of Miami. The school was started by the St. Paul A.M.E. Church of Coconut Grove. Students from as far asPalm Beach County came to this school. The school thrived from opening in 1927 as an all-black school up until 1966.[5]
It was converted to a middle school in 1967, to help desegregate theMiami-Dade County Public Schools. A $12 million expansion resulted in construction renovation for the current Booker T. Washington Senior High which began in 2002 and the school was converted back to a high school as an overcrowding reliever facility forMiami High School andMiami Edison Senior High School in 2002.[6]
As of 2010, theFCAT was terminated from mainstream use and has since been alternated for the Florida End Of course Exam along with English Language Arts and Mathematical assessments.[7]
The school has a 40-ft. diameter teaching planetarium.
In May 2007 the Tornadoes were Florida'sFHSAA Class 3A State Champions in track and field.
After finishing as runner-up in the 2011 championship game, the Tornadoes won consecutive FHSAA Class 4A Football State Championships in 2012 and 2013.[9][10][11]
The coach at the time was head coach Tim Harris. The team was also selected as the 2013 winner of theHigh School Football National Championship, an honor awarded on rankings fromUSA Today's National Prep Poll. The Tornadoes' national championship selection was supported by a 14–0 season that included a 55–0 defeat of the then-national #6 rankedBlue Devils of Norcross, Georgia, followed with a win over the then-national #2 ranked (andMiami-Dade county rival)Miami Central Rockets, 28–17 on September 6, 2013.[12][13]
In 2014, Tim Harris Jr. assumed the head coaching role. With a 41-0 winning streak the team was awarded a national ranking of #2 in the nation byUSA Today's Super25 Rankings.[14] This was supported by a 15–0 season that included a 55–27 defeat of then state championOscar F. Smith Tigers of Chesapeake, Virginia andTucker Knights out of Atlanta, Georgia.[15][16] Also includes a wins over rivalMiami Central Rockets who were ranked #6 in the nation and a O.T thriller with theBingham Miners of Utah ranked #8 in a state champion bowl series matchup and becoming recognized as the first four time state champion in Dade County.[17][18]
The school in total has 7 football titles, including 1 National(2013), and 6 State Championships(2007,2012,2013,2014,2015,2019) and 16 consecutive district 8-4A titles.[19]
