Booker T. Washington High School is a secondary school located at 1200 NW 6th Avenue in Miami, Florida, United States. It is located in the Overtown neighborhood, and serves families in the Overtown, Downtown, Park West, and Omni neighborhoods. Its principal is William Aristide.
History
Booker T. Washington Senior High School opened its doors in 1926. It is the second oldest public high school built for the black residents of Dade County, after the George Washington Carver Sr. High was the started by the St. Paul A.M.E. Church of Coconut Grove. Students from as far as Palm Beach County came to this school.
It was converted to a middle school in 1967, to help desegregate the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Construction for the current Booker T. Washington Senior High began in 1996 and the school was converted back to a high school as an overcrowding reliever facility for Miami High School and Miami Edison Senior High School in 1999.
In 2006, 11% of its students scored at or above proficiency in reading on the FCAT state examination, and 39% scored at or above proficiency in math. Booker T. Washington was included in the district's School Improvement Zone up until the end of the 2007-2008 school year, which includes an extended day and lower class size.
The school has a 40-ft. diameter teaching planetarium.
Demographics
Booker T. Washington is 54% black, 44% Hispanic (of any race), and 2% white non-Hispanic.
Athletics
The Booker T. Washington Tornadoes' athletic rival within the city of Miami is Miami Northwestern High School.
In May 2007 the Tornadoes were crowned Florida's FHSAA 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.
With Tim Harris as head coach, the team was also selected as the 2013 winner of the High School Football National Championship, an honor awarded on rankings from USA 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 ranked Blue Devils of Norcross, Georgia, followed with a win over the then-national #2 ranked (and Miami-Dade county rival) Miami Central Rockets, 28-17 on September 6, 2013.
After the year that went gold for the tornadoes which resulted in a national title, Booker T. Washington has created a dynasty football program which has continued on its winning legacy by having and maintaining the longest winning streak in Miami Dade county football history with 43 wins and 0 loses with renowned head coach's Tim "Ice" Harris's son Tim Harris Jr. In 2015, with overwhelming adversity and doubt, the tornadoes had followed up one of the greatest football seasons in recent history with a consecutive undefeated team (15-0) which resulted in them being ranked number 2 in the country and another state title. Which also included the defeat of multiple top 10 ranked schools in the country like Bingahm Utah who was ranked 4th when they were defeated on national television as well as number 3 ranked Miami Central Rockets, another exceptional football program competing for bragging rights as "Top Dog" in miami and the number 7 Ranked team which was defeated by the tornadoes an the semifinals of the playoffs. Though the tornadoes were undefeated for three consecutive seasons with a resume of completely decapitating other championship title holders across the country like powerhouse Trinity TX who was also a national title contender but was blown out at home by the tornadoes (45-3), they were ranked number 2 to a team which they had bullied and dominated on the field with the a three score differential in 2014 (40-20 Bishop Gorman, LV). A record that also followed with the most consecutive state title appearances as well as well as most consecutive state titles (currently 4 and counting as of 2016). Now I know what your thinking, why wouldn't a team with this kind of resume not be the first back to back national title holders in history?
Even though the winning streak at Booker T. Washington was abruptly ended by another local power house, the loss to that team was an obvious situation of an opportunist who clearly had noticed a small lack of explosiveness in the Tornadoes 2015-2016 roster. Which lead to the St. Thomas Aquinas finally facing the tornadoes after years of avoiding the tornadoes while both schools athletic programs were/are considered in there prime. Even though the tornadoes had loose the winning streak, they've struck an oil well in founding of a young Quarterback star who as a ninth grader lead the team to another state title(2016). A lot can be said about the Tornadoes, But one things for sure, when your talking football, your talking the team who created the Fast is Faster slogan which Nike so heraldry paraded around, your also talking a team that has placed countless of poverty stricken students in prestigious universities with full academic scholarships ad continues to do so. And if you ask the local community about the team, they'll tell you, "Its Gone Happen Fast, and its Gone Hurt!"
References
External links
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools
- Booker T. Washington's website
