Charlotte High School is a historic public high school in Punta Gorda, Florida, United States serving ninth through twelfth grade students. The school is part of the Charlotte County Public Schools district, with admission based primarily on the locations of students' homes. Established in 1926, Charlotte High is located at 1250 Cooper Street. The school carries the slogan of "Charlotte County's First and Finest" since it remained the only high school in Charlotte County, Florida for many years until its top rival schools, Port Charlotte High School and Lemon Bay High School, respectively, were built. With 1,850 students, Charlotte High School is the largest high school in Charlotte County by student population. On December 12, 1990, its main three-story building was added to the United States' National Register of Historic Places. The second phase of the school's rebuild opened in August 2009, housing all 9th and 10th graders in their academies. In January 2010, the 11th and 12th grade students moved into their academy in the existing renovated 2-story building. In August 2010, the remaining elective classes found their home on the fully complete Charlotte High School campus.
History
Punta Gorda Grammar and High School had an enrollment of 150 students when it opened in 1928. Construction of a new school on Taylor Street began in 1911 due to overcrowding issues. However, by 1926, after the construction of the first bridge to cross Charlotte Harbor, busing increased Punta Gorda's enrollment to 1,000, which in turn led to the construction of Charlotte High School. Its distinctive mascot, the fighting tarpon wearing its boxing gloves, was designed in 1959. The class of 1959 claim to have introduced the fighting tarpon emblem.
Hurricane Charley and its aftermath
hit the Punta Gorda area at the beginning of the school year on August 13, 2004 as a Category 4 hurricane, causing major damage to the school. After seventeen days of hiatus, the students attended Port Charlotte High School during the 12:45 - 6 p.m. afternoon shift for most of the 2004–2005 school year. Afterward, students were moved back on campus to portable classrooms. Charlotte High made up one of six schools in the county destroyed or heavily damaged; however, Champ's Cafe, one of the gyms and the auditorium, the Charlotte Performing Arts Center, remained intact. Despite its sustaining severe damage, it was decided to try to save the three-story main building, a historic landmark. The plan incorporated this building to have its entire interior to be redone, but its facade will remain and the rest of the campus will be built around its neoclassical style. A ceremony took place in late May 2007 for the groundbreaking of the aforementioned building and the new facility that will group up to 1,800 students by class and provide a courtyard inside the linked structures. Harvard Jolly is the architectural firm working on the project. The History Channel's inaugural Save Our History Grant was awarded in 2005 to the Charlotte County Historical Society, in partnership with high school students from Charlotte High School and Port Charlotte High School. Putting aside academic and athletic rivalry, the students collaborated to preserve their community's experience through oral history.
The school's curriculum is greatly based on the Sunshine State Standards. CHS received an "A" rating from the Florida Department of Education for the 2009–2010 school year. The school received a "D" rating from the FloridaDepartment of Education for the 2003-2004 and 2008-2009 school years. The school has received ratings ranging from "A" to "D" from 1999 to the present. This rating is based on the school's overall performance on the FCAT.
