Bartram Trail High School
Bartram Trail High School crest
Address
7399 Longleaf Pine Parkway. St. Johns , Florida 32259 United States
Coordinates	30°02′42″N81°36′36″W / 30.04500°N 81.61000°W /30.04500; -81.61000
Information
Type	Public[1]
Established	2000[7]
Status	Open
School district	St. Johns County School District[1]
Superintendent	Tim Forson[3]
School number	411[2]
Principal	Chris Phelps
Teaching staff	101.40 (FTE)[4]
Grades	9–12[1]
Enrollment	2,146 (2023–2024)[4]
Student to teacher ratio	21.16[4]
Campus size	120 acres (0.49 km2)[5]
Campus type	Rural[6]
Colour(s)	Blue, Silver & Black
Nickname	Bears[7]
Website	http://www-bths.stjohns.k12.fl.us/

Bartram Trail High School (BTHS) is apublichigh school in theSt. Johns County School District, located in northwestunincorporatedSt. Johns County,Florida (U.S.) that opened in 2000.^[7] More than a decade ago, the school was ranked number 327 byNewsweek magazine in the top 1,300 high schools in the United States.^[8]

The attendance boundary includes a portion ofFruit Cove.^[9][10]

Bartram Trail's curriculum includes:art classes,English studies andliterature,mathematics,performing arts,physical education classes, variousscience andsocial studies classes,vocational classes,world and foreign language classes,televisionproduction,band,chorus andturf management.^[11]

Bartram Trail offers theAir Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) Academy which teaches various academic studies along with character and life skills education based around the heritage and traditions of theUnited States Air Force.^[12] The Bartram Trail High School Academy of Design and Building Construction is available to teachcarpentry and in other fields such asinterior design,drafting andfashion design.^[13] In 2007, Bartram Trail teamed withVyStar Credit Union to form the Bartram Trail High School VyStar Academy of Business and Finance. The course teaches career opportunities withfinancial services andbusiness management industries.^[14][15] For students with disabilities, the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) program is available.^[3][11] One of the school's newest additions is theInformation Technology Academy (IT). The IT academy provides students with foundational technological skills and knowledge that will prepare them for future careers in Information Technology.^[16]

The Advanced Scholars Program at Bartram Trail gives advanced students the opportunity to participate inadvanced placement,dual enrollment andhonors courses in preparation for college.^[17] For the 2019-2020 school year, Bartram Trail High School offered 28 Advanced Placement (AP) courses.^[18]

Bartram Trail can give the graduating seniors a choice ofscholarships they can apply for, through the school, to get started withcollege.^[19] In 2006, seven Bartram Trail students earned scholarships when they became finalists in theNational Merit Scholarship Program.^[20] The 2020-2021 school year graduation rate was 97%.^[21]

Bartram Trail High School was founded in 2000 and was named after the William Bartram Scenic Highway andBartram Trail exploration route in the NorthernSt. Johns County area, and not afterWilliam Bartram himself.^[7][22] Bartram Trail andPedro Menendez High School were constructed to relieveovercrowding atAllen D. Nease Senior High School andSt. Augustine High School.^[7] Bartram Trail and Pedro Menendez were the first new high schools built in theSt. Johns County School District in twenty years, since Nease was opened in 1981.^[23] However, as the second school year at Bartram Trail began, the original capacity of 1,500^[24] was exceeded with an enrollment of 1,529.^[25] By the 2002 school year, enrollment was at 1,840, more than 300 students above capacity.^[6] In 2004, the school district projected Bartram Trail's 2007-2008 enrollment at over 3,000.^[26]

To reduce overcrowding at Bartram Trail andNease High School, two new high schools,Ponte Vedra High School andCreekside High School, were constructed and opened for the 2008–2009 school year.^[27]

From 2002 to 2006, the Florida Department of Education graded Bartram Trail as an "A" school, but in 2007, it was changed to a "B" school.^[28] Bartram Trail is also named inNewsweek's annual list of the top 1,300 high schools in the United States. In 2005, Bartram Trail ranked 894,^[29] in 2006 it was ranked 579,^[30] in 2007 it was ranked 474,^[31] and in 2008 it was ranked 327.^[8]US News ranks Bartram Trail #1,459 in the national rankings and #86 in Florida High Schools for 2021.^[32]

For the school year 2019-2020 the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate was 98%^[33]

Following theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks, the Young Republicans Club^[34] at Bartram Trail wanted to get a piece of the destroyedWorld Trade Center for a memorial to those who died in the attacks.^[35] Students sent letters to the Office of Emergency Management inNew York, forwarded by the former principal, Jim Springfield.^[35] The office replied in May 2002 and agreed to let them own a piece of the World Trade Center debris as long as Springfield came toNew York City and got it himself. He received the debris on May 21, 2002; the piece was a six-foot-long piece ofI-beamsteel that weighed seven hundredpounds.^[34][35]

The concept behind the sculpture, created by art teacher Robert Kirk,^[34] was that the piece of World Trade Center debris was to be one-half of the letter "V" while the other half was to be made of pristinestainless steel.^[35] The "V" was to stand for "Victory", and was tosymbolize the "somber tragedy and the unity ofAmerican resolve."^[35] The sculpture was unveiled in Bartram Trail's courtyard on September 11, 2002, one year after the attacks, withFlorida GovernorJeb Bush attending the ceremony.^[34] Only seventy-three pieces of World Trade Center debris were donated, and it is believed that this was the only piece in Florida^[34] and the only piece in an American high school.^[35]

On September 11, 2014,Florida GovernorRick Scott gave a commemorative speech in front of the "V" to the student body.^[36]

ForSuper Bowl XXXIX, in 2005, Bartram Trail High School was selected by theNational Football League as the practice facility forAFC championNew England Patriots.^[37][38] Bartram Trail was selected by the NFL because theWorld Golf Village was chosen as the New England Patriots lodging and the practice field had to be within twenty minutes of their hotel. Bartram Trail was also selected because the school's location was remote with little traffic and interference and because the walk from the lockers to the field was short enough.^[38] Bartram Trail was the first high school ever that was chosen to be the practice facility for aSuper Bowl team.^[39]

The NFL made modifications to Bartram Trail, installing new lockers, making a new practice field and modifying their game field to professional standards.^[37] The field modifications, however, were delayed byHurricane Frances and caused them to start over several times.^[38] Bartram Trail's field was considered one of the top five high school fields in Florida, but the problem was that the field was supported by dirt, instead of sand.^[40] To fix this, the NFL modified Bartram Trail's football field by building the fields up with two hundred loads of sand, adding a drainage system and building the slope, crown and type of grass to the same specifications asJacksonville Municipal Stadium.^[40] Students from the Bartram Trailturf management classes worked withGeorge Toma, who had built all thirty-nine fields for the Super Bowl games,^[40] in building and maintaining the field.^[39]

After the two weeks of practice in Bartram Trail, a few of the New England Patriots and ownerRobert Kraft came in on the last day to talk with the students and thank them for their hospitality, as New England head coachBill Belichick had done earlier in a morning press conference.^[41]

In February 2007, Project Alaska Turf was started by Cathy Parker, a Bartram Trail High School parent and wife of a Bartram Trail football offensive coordinator.^[42][43][44] Project Alaska Turf was inspired by anEmmy Award winningESPN documentary by Wayne Drehs on a community inUtqiagvik, Alaska. The documentary focused on a football program that was implemented in order to reverse highteenage suicide rates, accelerateddrop out rates and increased teendrug abuse.^[42] Project Alaska Turf was funded by Bartram Trail, theJacksonville Jaguars, ProGrass and the Grimes Companies.^[45] The project was aimed at raising money to provide a football team, the Barrow Whalers, an artificial turf field to replace their gravel-covered field.^[42] Since Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow), Alaska is above theArctic Circle, grass doesn't grow there, resulting in their football field being made of dirt and gravel and causing injury to the players.^[45]

The original goal was to raise $500,000 to make the field,^[46] but the ending target was eventually set to $800,000.^[47] The money covered the cost of buying, shipping and installing all one hundred and sixty tons of turf.^[46]

The Barrow Whalers were invited to Florida on May 17 through the May 19^[45] but the Whalers didn't arrive until June.^[47] Restaurateurs and other business owners provided them free room and board upon their arrival.^[46] During their visit to Jacksonville, they scrimmaged against another local team^[48] and touredJacksonville Municipal Stadium, where the Jacksonville Jaguars play.^[47]

The field was completed with $700,000 generated from the donation; $100,000 short of the goal.^[44] The Bartram Trail community worked for a long period of time and managed to move the field from Florida to Alaska by trucks, boats, trains, and on airplanes with help from ten different companies.^[49] The field was opened in time for the Barrow Whalers first game on August 17, 2007, which they won, 18–16, after being down by twotouchdowns with three minutes left in the game.^[42] The game was the first live internet broadcast of a sporting event in the United States from north of the Arctic Circle^[50] and hadNBC,ABC,ESPN, and most of Alaska's media there to cover the event.^[47]

Over Bartram Trail's brief history, there have been multiplebomb threats and a threat of aschool shooting. On October 16, 2001, at about 2:20 p.m.,^[51] the school was under "code green" as a dark bag with the word "bomb" was found in the hallways on the second floor.^[52] Authoritiesevacuated the school and kept everyone at least five hundred feet away. Near 5 p.m., the bomb squad had removed the bag out of the school with a long rope and drove away with it.^[52] The bag only contained stuffed recycled paper and a two-liter bottle with more recycled paper sticking out of it.^[51] Seven students were arrested in connection to the incident. Four had their charges dismissed while one boypleadedguilty to writing the note and wassentenced toprobation andcommunity service.^[51]

On November 6, 2002, three female students of Bartram Trail were arrested and charged for "a false report of bombing orarson against state-owned property", a second-degreefelony.^[51][53] The threat was written on the partition between bathroom stalls,^[51] reported as saying something akin to "This school will be blown to bits at noon".^[54] The threat was specific for noon on November 5, 2002.

During the time of the threat, the school was evacuated and searched by deputies andexplosives detection dogs, but nothing was found.^[51] Two of the students were arrested at Bartram Trail on November 6, and the third was arrested at their home.^[51] The Youth Resource Deputy had received anonymous tips and learned that they talked about the threat, wrote about it on the bathroom wall and got rid of the marker they had used.^[51] The students were sentenced to twenty-one days at ayouth detention center while evaluations took place and after they were released they had to remain undercurfew and other restrictions until the case was finished.^[53] It concluded with the students having to "reimburse the county and the sheriff's office for the expense of the deployment."^[54]

On April 18, 2007, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office arrested a fourteen-year-old student of Bartram Trail after he had posted ane-mail to a friend stating he wanted to conduct a massschool shooting.^[55][56][57] The e-mail stated that he planned to top theVirginia Tech massacre of thirty-three deaths by killing a hundred students.^[55][57] The threat wasn't directed at Bartram Trail or any other school specifically nor was he in possession of any weapons.^[57] The friend's parent saw the e-mail and reported it.^[55][56] Authorities checked around the school and didn't find anything suspicious. The student was charged with the "threat to throw, project, place or discharge any destructive device", a second degree felony.^[55][57] The same student had also made threats that were never reported.^[55][56]

In May 2021,WJXT reported on the alteration of multipleyearbook photos by a local administrator, in accordance withdress code andmodesty standards, by photoshopping the pictures of female students without their consent before publication. The school also had been found to have issued 78% of its most recent dress code violations to female students.^[58] In the opening monologue on his late night TV show, comedianJimmy Kimmel jokingly said that "it's like they put the Taliban in charge of the yearbook committee" and "that's it's nice to know there are still heroes out there protecting our kids from all this sinful V-neckery".^[59] The incident made international news, with articles critical of the move appearing in theBBC,^[60]The New York Times,^[61]The Calgary Sun,^[62] and news sources in Europe^[63] and Australasia.^[64] Andrea K. McDaniels, deputy editor ofThe Baltimore Sun, wrote of the incident that: "Their photos were altered in the high school yearbook to cover up cleavage in a ridiculous display of body shaming. Girls were made to feel embarrassed and unproud of their natural bodies in aHandmaid's Tale kind of way."^[65]

This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2021)

The land for Bartram Trail High School was purchased in January 1999.^[66] The school was constructed by Arcadis.^[5] The Bartram Trail High School campus takes up one hundred and twentyacres of land and the school building takes up 190,000 square feet (18,000 m²).^[5] The school building is a two-story octagon with an open-aircourtyard in the center. Thecafeteria andmedia center are located within the main building, while thegymnasium andauditorium with astage are attached on the south and north sides, respectively.^[66] The campus has walkways, student, faculty and visitor parking, a parent drop-off section, a bus loop, a football and trackstadium, a baseball and softball field, tennis courts, general-use play fields, a stormwater treatment facility, water and sewer utilities and a wetland mitigation area.^[5]

The Bartram Trail school building was originally designed to hold 1,500 students, but enrollment for the 2005–2006 school year exceeded 2,500.^[24] To provide classrooms needed immediately,portable buildings were set up on the east side of the campus. The number of portable buildings used by year is, as follows:^{[67][68][69][70]}

For the 2007–2008 school year, a new permanent structure was built and opened at the northeast corner of the school to house the Ninth Grade Center.^[24][71] With the opening ofCreekside High School for the 2008–2009 school year, enrollment fell below capacity. The portables were no longer needed and were removed at the end of the 2007–2008 school year.

The school'sathletic director is Ben Windle.^[72] Athletics offered at Bartram Trail include:

• Boys and girlsVolleyball
• Boys and girlsweightlifting

Bartram Trail High School has had fiveprincipals in its fifteen-year history. July 1, 2015 Chris Phelps became the principal at BTHS. Phelps had been vice principal of the school since its opening in 2000.

This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2021)

Bartram Trail'senrollment trends show enrollment increases with each year.

Theethnicity of Bartram Trail's students is as follows (last updated for the 2006–2007 school year):

This article's list of alumnimay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Pleaseimprove this article by removing names that do not have independentreliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriatecitations.(May 2025)

• Xavier Brewer – formerClemson Tigers football cornerback
• Xavier Hutchinson –NFL wide receiver for theHouston Texans
• Patrick Leonard –Chicago White Soxfirst baseman.
• Kyle Parker –Clemson Tigers football quarterback andbaseball outfielder, drafted by theColorado Rockies.
• Nathan Peterman –Tennessee Volunteers andPittsburgh Panthers quarterback, drafted by theBuffalo Bills in the2017 NFL draft, and also played for theLas Vegas Raiders,Chicago Bears and now theNew Orleans Saints as a backup.

• List of high schools in St. Johns County

• Media related toBartram Trail High School at Wikimedia Commons
• Official Bartram Trail High School website
• Bartram Trail High School alumni website
• St. Johns County School District website

• Educational institutions established in 2000
• High schools in Jacksonville, Florida
• High schools in St. Johns County, Florida
• Public high schools in Florida
• 2000 establishments in Florida

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