John A. Ferguson Senior High School is a magnet and academy high school located at 15900 S.W. 56th Street in Miami, Florida, United States. This Miami-Dade County public school mainly serves the outer portion of Miami's West Kendall suburb. The 2015-2016 principal is Rafael Villalobos, supported by an administration team including Mindy Acosta Leon, Kathryn Guerra, and Stanley Thompkins. The school's purpose is to promote a culture of academic excellence by providing equitable, effective, appropriate, and engaging instructional strategies and by using data to drive instruction.
Construction began on Ferguson in March 2002. It was built to alleviate overcrowding at G. Holmes Braddock High School and Felix Varela High School, which had reached populations of over 5,000 students. The school began in Summer 2003, with only ninth graders. For the first three nine-week periods, the students were housed at G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School, in the back portables. John A. Ferguson High School now has one of the highest student populations in Florida, at over 4,500.
Ferguson is a certified Magnet Program School in Florida, and has six academy programs: International Baccalaureate (IB), Information Technology (IT), International Business & Finance, Medical & Biomedical Skills, Design & Architecture, and Hospitality and Tourism. These academies are small learning communities that offer students career-related curricula in their subjects of choice.
The school is organized by a A/B block schedule which allows students to take eight courses every school year, attending four classes every other day. This gives students the opportunity to take more courses and experience a larger variety of curriculum.
Along with exceptional academic opportunities, John A. Ferguson provides students a wide variety of athletic and extracurricular activities. Fall sports are bowling, cross-country, football, golf, swimming and volleyball. Winter sports are basketball, soccer and wrestling. Spring sports are badminton, baseball, softball, tennis, track, and volleyball. The school's activities include Fusion Dance Troupe, Ferguson's Broadcasting Network, cheerleading, The Talon school newspaper, SOAR school yearbook, Future Business Leaders of America, Model United Nations, National Honor Society, Music, and Drama.
Many Ferguson graduates have continued their education at prestigious universities such as Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Barnard College/Columbia University, Amherst College, Boston College, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, NYU, UChicago, Brown, MIT, Dartmouth, University of Michigan, UC Berkeley, and UBoston.
For underclassmen in the IB program, the courseload includes Pre-IB classes. Students going into their junior year start the regular IB diploma courses.
The school is named after a local reverend who graduated from Carver Senior High School in 1941 and served with the United States Navy for twenty-one years during World War II and the Korean War.
Along the backstretch of the school is 162nd Avenue, which has been renamed Falcons Avenue.
Demographics
Ferguson High is 88% hispanic, 8% White, 2% black and 2% Asian.
School uniforms
Students are required to wear a school uniform, which consists of black, grey, or khaki pants with a black, grey, or white polo or button-down dress shirt.
Sports
Ferguson competes in an array of sports.
Fall sports are bowling, cross country, football, golf, swimming & diving, and volleyball (girls').
Winter sports are basketball (boys' and girls'), soccer (boys' and girls'), and wrestling.
Spring sports are badminton, baseball, football, softball, tennis, track & field, Volleyball (boys'), and flag football (girls').
Clubs
Ferguson is home to many clubs and honor societies, such as Key Club, Mu Alpha Theta, HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America), FCCLA( Family, Career and Community Leaders of America),FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), National Honor Society, Fusion Dance Troupe, Ferguson's Broadcasting Network, Cheerleading, The Talon school newspaper, SOAR school yearbook, Model United Nations, Student Government Association, and History Honor Society.
Music
The Mighty Falcon Marching Band has qualified for FMBC States for the past several years and continues to be one of the top marching bands in Florida. The Ferguson Wind Ensemble and Jazz Bands have received Superior rankings at district, state and national levels. The band performs all over the country, including in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Atlanta.
The director of bands is Lowell Thomas and the director of the jazz band and choirs is Ryan Ellis, who is well known for his political involvement regarding music education.
Originally, the Falcon Choir was scheduled to perform in the 2012 London Olympics, representing the United States, but could not go due to insufficient funds. Instead, they went to the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.
References
External links
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools
- John A. Ferguson Senior High School Homepage
- Ferguson Broadcast Network Website