# Port Charlotte High School

Port Charlotte High School (PCHS) is a public comprehensive U.S. high school located in Port Charlotte, Florida and is located adjacent to Charlotte Technical College. The school opened in 1981, graduated its first class in 1984, its mascot is the pirate, and the school motto is "Yes, I am a Pirate." It is operated by Charlotte County Public Schools.
At one point in time, Port Charlotte High School was the largest high school in Charlotte County, with 2,082 students enrolled in grades Grades 9 through 12. Charlotte County Public Schools has "controlled open enrollment" in which students are generally assigned to a specific school by default based on geographic location, but families choose to enroll students at a different school if the selected school is not at capacity.
The school has grown much, and it survived Hurricane Charley in 2004 and Hurricane Ian in 2022. The school's main feeders are Murdock Middle School, Port Charlotte Middle School, and Punta Gorda Middle School. The school's top athletic rivals are Charlotte High School and Lemon Bay High School. PCHS has educated three National Football League players and two Major League Baseball player, one of whom also played in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

## History

The school was originally built in 1981, and opened its doors that year for 9th and 10th graders. For each of the next two years, a class was added, and PCHS graduated its first class in 1984. The original "G" and "B" buildings were completed in 1983. The auditorium was built in 1984. The science building, also known as A building, was built in 1987. The BB building was built in 1990. A swimming pool was added in 1991. The "C building", which houses the library and some classrooms, was built in 2001. In 2003, the new "B building", the two story academic classroom building, was finished. In 2007, the new gym was finished. The new gym did not replace the older one, but rather, was an addition.

### Hurricane Charley

On August 13, 2004, Hurricane Charley brought devastation to the Port Charlotte region. Although Port Charlotte High School suffered only minor damage from the hurricane, other regional high schools suffered significant damage. In the aftermath, Port Charlotte High School shared its facility with the students of Charlotte High School, with Port Charlotte High School students attending morning class and Charlotte High School students attending in the evening. Later in September, Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne prompted Charlotte County Schools to be closed once again. In total, the three hurricanes caused students to miss 13 days of school during the 2004–2005 school year, requiring make-up days that infringed on student and staff days-off.

### Westboro Baptist Church protest

Port Charlotte High School has a Gay-Straight Alliance club, and the first meeting of the group on campus was organized by PCHS student Asher Levine. The club had previously faced backlash on campus by the student-led organization, Teens Against Gays, and members of the group wore shirts with their club name on it on campus to show opposition to the club. On December 19, 2005, the club attracted protestors from the recognized hate group Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. Levine asked students to wear all-white to symbolize peace, and he passed out fliers about hateful language and bullying statistics in schools in spite of the administration prohibiting counter-protests.
The Westboro Baptist Church protestors were prohibited from coming onto school grounds, but were allowed to picket across the street from the school and additional officers were brought to campus in anticipation of the protest. The protestors stomped on an American flag and held signs saying that God hates gay people and American soldiers for defending a gay-friendly country. Counter-protesters met the protestors outside the school and outnumbered the protestors around fifty to twenty-five, however it was an extremely small representation of the student body of more than 2,000, and some other students were laughing at the situation and attempting to record it. Levine expressed disappointment with the incident afterward, saying that "among the student body, it was just more of a freak show" and "it wasn't the alliance I was looking forward to." The Gay-Straight Alliance ceased to exist at PCHS for several years, but was later revived.

### Hurricane Ian

On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian brought considerable wind as well as flooding and storm surge damage to the Port Charlotte region. All schools and ancillary facilities in the Charlotte County Public Schools system received considerable injury from Ian. However, Port Charlotte High School was one of the 19 schools in Charlotte County able to re-open 3 weeks after the schools had been forced to close due to the storm. The school was closed for another day due to Hurricane Nicole in early November, which passed northeast of the school and brought tropical storm conditions to the area. In total, 16 school days were missed because of the systems during the 2022–2023 school year. Ian knocked over the floodlights around the football field, ripped open the roof of the football team's weight room, damaged the scoreboard, and destroyed sporting equipment. Because of the damage, the football team had to play the last six of their games away from home and players were forced to weight lift on the school tennis court under a tent. Despite that the Pirates secured their first district title since 2013 following a win against Braden River.
A combination of private donations from individuals and businesses and funds from Charlotte County allowed the school to build a "state-of-the-art" weight room, a new scoreboard, and new LED lights which allow the school to do a light show during the halftime of football games. The school also repainted the exterior, power-washed sidewalks, deep-cleaned bathrooms, replaced carpets, and removed the old JROTC obstacle course and added new sod there and to the football field. New restrooms were added between the fields and several roofs were replaced.

## Academics
### Recognition

In 2009, Port Charlotte High School was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of America's best high schools and a "Bronze Medal School" for academic excellence. PCHS was one of 1,189 schools nationwide to receive a bronze medal.

#### Teacher recognition

In 1991, AP world history teacher and Model United Nations coach Bob Johnson was named Charlotte County teacher of the year. He would also be one of the five finalists for Florida's teacher of the year and was named Charlotte County teacher of the year in 2007. In 2003, AP literature teacher, English department chair, and former football and baseball coach Eric Bishop won the Charlotte County teacher of the year award. Music teacher Michelle Kasanofsky was named Charlotte County teacher of the year and was awarded a Shine Award by Governor Rick Scott in 2013. AP literature teacher Lisa Branno-Penwall was named Charlotte County teacher of the year in 2023.

### Academic structure and grades

Port Charlotte High School currently has 15 English teachers, 17 math teachers, 8 intensive reading teachers, 14 science teachers, 15 social studies teachers, 8 foreign language teachers, 14 vocational teachers, 5 exceptional student education (for students with disabilities) teachers, and 1 ESOL teacher. There are seven periods in a school day. The school has a student/teacher ratio of 23.39. The curriculum is based on the Sunshine State Standards. Because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the school's grade for the 2019–2020 school year was not calculated by the Florida Department of Education.
Port Charlotte High School Accountability Report :
| School Year | School Grade | School Year | School Grade |
| 1999—2000 | C | 2012—2013 | A |
| 2000—2001 | C | 2013—2014 | B |
| 2001—2002 | A | 2014—2015 | B |
| 2002—2003 | C | 2015—2016 | C |
| 2003—2004 | C | 2016—2017 | C |
| 2004—2005 | C | 2017—2018 | B |
| 2005—2006 | B | 2018—2019 | C |
| 2006—2007 | C | 2019—2020 | — |
| 2007—2008 | A | 2020—2021 | C |
| 2008—2009 | A | 2021—2022 | C |
| 2009—2010 | B | 2022—2023 | B |
| 2010—2011 | C | 2023—2024 | C |
| 2011—2012 | A | 2024—2025 | — |
* ↑ Not calculated due to the COVID-19 pandemic interrupting the school year.

## Athletics

The PCHS athletic department operates programs in football, basketball, baseball, softball, track, cheerleading, golf, wrestling, soccer, volleyball, bowling, swimming, lacrosse, diving, cross country, and weightlifting. Athletics at PCHS are regulated by the Florida High School Athletic Association under classification 4A, district 11.

## Extracurricular activities

Port Charlotte High School has many clubs and groups, including Academic Team Challenge (A-Team), Beta Club, Book Club, Creative Writing Club, Dance Team, DECA, Environmental Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), French Club, Games Club, Interact Club, Key Club, Mock Trial Team, Model United Nations, Mu Alpha Theta, National Art Honor Society, National Honor Society, Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corp (NJROTC), Pirate Crew, [Pride of Port Charlotte Marching Band, Recruitment & Educational Assistance for Careers In Health (REACH), Red Cross Club, Scholars Club, Silver Cord, Spanish Club, Student Government Association, Thespian Society, Tri-M Music Society, Water Polo, and Yearbook Team. Key Club, an organization for high school students, is operated by the Kiwanis Club.

### Model United Nations

The school's Model United Nations (MUN) is "the most successful competitive team of any kind in Charlotte County history". The team has been recognized as one of the best Model UN teams in the country for its winning performances at conferences at both the national and international levels.
Team members put on a yearly Mini-Mun conference for students from local public and private middle schools. They also present six-week-long public speaking/debate seminars at several local elementary schools. The seminars culminate in a public debate between teams from the elementary schools.

### Naval Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps

The Naval Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NJROTC) is a program allowing high school students to participate in the academic and physical training aspect of naval service, while also providing leadership opportunities to those involved in the program. It does not require a commitment to military service following high school graduation. Port Charlotte's NJROTC program was established in the early 1990s; since then, it has grown significantly. The company of cadets are overseen and instructed by two retired United States Navy personnel, who are in turn overseen by the United States Navy itself through the form of Area Managers. Port Charlotte's unit is a member of NJROTC Area Seven, and is known for service to its community.
The Pirate NJROTC unit has received many awards over the years, including, but not limited to the "Distinguished Unit Award," which it has been awarded over seven consecutive academic years - 2001–2007. The unit is a part of Area 7, which consists of units in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.
The unit has seven "teams" within its infrastructure that allow participating cadets to receive extracurricular training and experience of their choice: an armed and unarmed Drill Team, Color Guard, honor guard, academic team, orienteering team, marksmanship team and a physical training ("PT") team. The teams compete against other Area Seven units at colleges, universities, military installations, and other high schools. The teams also compete with other units across the United States.

### Pride of Port Charlotte Bands

As of 2008, Port Charlotte High School's "Pride of Port Charlotte" Bands have consistently ranked among the top bands in the state of Florida for several years. The Pride of Port Charlotte Marching Band has participated at many famous events, such as the Fiesta Bowl, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the New York City Saint Patrick's Day Parade, the New Year's Day Parade in London, England, and the Cotton Bowl Parade in Dallas, Texas among many others. The Pride Concert and Jazz Bands are also extremely successful, consistently receiving superior ratings from the Florida Bandmasters Association.

## Demographics

As of the 2023–24 school year, Port Charlotte High School hosted 1,659 students. Of the student body, 911 of the students were male and 748 were female. 410 were in ninth grade, 478 were in tenth grade, 420 were in eleventh grade, and 351 were in twelfth grade. 888 students were white, 406 were Hispanic, 197 were black, 120 were "two or more races," 35 were Asian, 12 were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 1 was American Indian or Alaska Native.

## Notable alumni

* Chris DeMakes (class of 1991) – co-founder of Less Than Jake
* Vinnie Fiorello (class of 1991) – co-founder of Less Than Jake and Fueled By Ramen
* Shaun Grief (class of 1991) – member of Less Than Jake
* John Hall (class of 1991) – professional football player in the National Football League (NFL)
* Anthony Hargrove (class of 2001) – professional football player in the NFL
* David Holmberg (class of 2009) – professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB)
* Matt LaPorta (transferred) – professional baseball player in the MLB and 2008 Olympian
* Asher Levine (class of 2006) – fashion designer and business owner
* T. J. Luther (class of 2018) – professional football player in the NFL

## Notable faculty

* Doug Dunakey – professional golfer who coached the golf team after retirement
* Mark Ivey – college football coach who previously coached the offensive and defensive line of the football team