Fort Lauderdale High School - History

History

On October 2, 1899, Fort Lauderdale’s first school would open in what was then Dade County. Ivy Cromartie (later to become Ivy Stranahan) welcomed nine students into a wood-framed schoolhouse located on South Andrews Avenue, south of the New River. By 1901, there were 18 students enrolled at Fort Lauderdale with only 997 enrolled in all of Dade County. It was also during 1902 that the School Board began offering transportation to students living in Hallandale who needed to attend school; each day, students would climb aboard wagons for the ride.

By 1910, Fort Lauderdale’s population had grown enough to require the building of a new school so, the old two-room schoolhouse was moved slightly northward to make room. The “modern” two-story concrete school was constructed for a total cost of $7,000. At the time, Fort Lauderdale was the only high school in the 68-mile stretch between Miami and West Palm Beach. By 1914, enrollment reached 325 with only 47 being high school students; this was the first year with a full nine-month term.

In 1915, a 46 to 16 vote led the way for construction of a new Fort Lauderdale High School in the newly designated Broward County. The new school was located three blocks east of Andrews Avenue adjacent to Stranahan Park and was constructed for $55,000. The school was also referred to as Central High School because of the large area it served. The first graduating class in 1915 consisted of five boys. By 1916, it could boast that all nine of its teachers had college degrees. In 1923, Fort Lauderdale established its first Honor Society. 1962 saw the opening of the new Fort Lauderdale High School at its present location on NE Fourth Avenue, with its first graduating class celebrating commencement in June, 1963.

The past few years have seen tremendous changes to the FLHS campus, most notably the opening of a new three-story classroom building, a modern library, and a two-story cafeteria.

2007 also saw the renaming of NE 4 Ave between the city divider and NE 13 St as “Flying L Drive” in honor of the school's commitment to education and community service. The project was completed by a group of four students in John Pellegrino's Public Affairs class.