Colonial High School

Colonial High School
It's Great to be a Grenadier!
Address
6100 Oleander Drive Orlando, Florida 32807 United States
Information
Type	Public/Magnet School
Established	1958
School district	Orange County Public Schools
Principal	Mr. Jose Martinez
Number of students	3,484[1]
Color(s)	Red and Black
Mascot	Grenadier
Website	www.colonialhigh.ocps.net

Colonial High School is a public high school located in Orlando, Florida.

Colonial serves grades 9-12 within the neighborhoods of Azalea Park, Engelwood Park, Rio Pinar, Lake Fredrica, Ventura, Pershing, Vista East, Vista Park and parts of unincorporated Orange County^[2]

History

Colonial High school was originally built in 1958 as "Colonial Senior High", being named after the nearby SR 50 and served as one of the very first high schools in Orange County serving only grades 10-12. In 1988 Colonial Senior High became Colonial High and began serving grades 9-12 after legislation was passed, later in 1990 University High School was built as a relief school which formed a rivalry with Colonial as well. The main campus underwent total reconstruction in 2000, at a cost of $49 million with completion in 2004.^[3] In 2009 Colonial celebrated their 50th anniversary with the class of 2009 becoming its 50th graduating class. During 2014 the school was ranked 90 out of 100 in the nation for its enrollment size,^[4] but as of 2016 that number has now fallen to 114.

Ninth grade center

After the transition from junior high schools to middle school in 1988, Colonial high school was assigned an added grade to serve. In response to the new enrollment size, a separate 9th grade center was built as a relief campus originally in what is now known as Waterford Lakes Elementary School. But during the early 1990s, the 9th grade campus was moved closer to the original main campus, now being currently located at 7775 Valencia College Ln, Orlando, FL 32807; approximately 3 miles apart from the main campus. In 2005 the 9th grade center underwent total reconstruction with completion in 2006.

Athletics

The school's athletic teams are known as the Grenadiers,^[5][6] They have one of the state's best athletic traditions, having won numerous Metro Championships over their more than 50-year history.

In November 2011, Head Coach Rene Plasencia and Assistant Coach Casey Calhoun led the boys' cross country team to a sweep of team titles culminating with the first State title of any sport in Colonial High School history.^[7] The team was led by junior standout Andres Arroyo who also won the individual title of 4A state champion

Each year, Colonial High School and its rival, University High School, vie for possession of a stylized leather boot, the eponymous symbol of the much-hyped annual football game known as "The Boot Game". The winning school gets to display the boot in a trophy case until the following year, when the next Boot Game is played.^[8]

Notable alumni

• Larry E. Smedley (1967), Medal of Honor recipient during the Vietnam War, posthumously awarded an honorary high school diploma in 2008 by the school board.^[9]
• Delta Burke (1974), Film and television actress
• Steve Christmas (1976), Former professional baseball player (Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs)
• Dot Richardson (1979), Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist in Softball at the 1996 & 2000 Summer Olympics
• Mike Metcalfe (1991), Former professional baseball player (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Joel Piñeiro (1996), Former MLB Pitcher, plays for minor league^[10]
• Kevin Elliott (2007), Former NFL Wide Receiver (Buffalo Bills)^[11]
• Andrés Arroyo (2013), Middle-distance track athlete and competitor in the 2016 Summer Olympics

Notable faculty

• Rene Plasencia (Politician), Social Science teacher and track & field coach

References

External links

• Colonial High School
• School profile

Coordinates: 28°33′13″N 81°18′17″W / 28.553511°N 81.304604°W / 28.553511; -81.304604