Atlantic Community High School, originally named Seacrest High School, was built in 1949 as a racially segregated school for white students in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, Florida. African-American students living in the area attended Carver High School, which later became Carver Middle School and is now the Delray Beach Full Service Center. In 1971, the school began the process of desegregation and changed its name to Atlantic High School. The school adopted the colors of Seacrest High School and the mascot of Carver High School. It kept Seacrest High's old location along Seacrest Boulevard. In 1989, the school became an International Baccalaureate World School. In 2005, the school moved to its current location on Atlantic Avenue. In 2011, Kathleen Weigel was promoted from principal of the school to the new district position of Assistant Superintendent of Professional Growth. Weigel, who was principal for more than 10 years was replaced by Bear Lakes Middle School principal Anthony Lockhart.
Student demographics
There were 2324 students enrolled in Atlantic Community High School in the 2015-2016 school year. Fifty-three percent of the students were female. The student body was 56% African-American, 21% white, 13% Hispanic, 6% Asian-American, 3% multiracial, and less than 1% each Native American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
Atlantic is home to one of the five International Baccalaureate high school programs of Palm Beach County and caters to students living in the southern parts of the district.
Construction Academy
Atlantic's construction academy was added to the school beginning in fall 2005. The students of the academy designed and built a house called the "Eagle's Nest" for charity in collaboration with the city of Delray Beach. The groundbreaking ceremony for the project kick-off was held in December 2005. It is a three bedroom, two bath house,. On October 25, 2010, the Construction Academy broke ground on a new house called "Eagle's Nest 2". The house is to be a "green" house and the design incorporates aspects of a green building, using green construction material design principles. It too is being done in collaboration with the city of Delray Beach.
Extracurricular activities
Athletics
Atlantic participates in the 8A athletic division of the FHSAA. The school fields teams in 43 sports including football, basketball, baseball, swimming, soccer, softball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, volleyball, cross country, track and field, weightlifting, and flag football among others. The Atlantic Boys' Baseball Team won the 13-7A District Championship against Dwyer on April 24, 2014. The Atlantic Boys' soccer team made it into the 4A state final four in the 2013-14 season. In 2015, Atlantic added a lacrosse team, both Boys and Girls. They ended up playing their inaugural season that year. In the 2015-16 season, the undefeated Eagles football team won the 10-8A District Championship against the undefeated Boca Raton Bobcats on October 30, 2015 in a rivalry matchup, and in 2017 they competed in the state championships.
