Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was named after the Everglades environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas. The school opened in 1990, the year of her centennial with students in grades 9 through 11, most of whom transferred from nearby schools Coral Springs High School and J. P. Taravella High School. The first senior class graduated in 1992.
Shooting
On February 14, 2018, the school gained national attention when a shooting occurred at the campus, leaving 17 dead and 17 more wounded. The alleged gunman, who was a former student at the school, was apprehended hours later. Authorities have charged the gunman with first-degree murder in response to the shooting, and legal proceedings were ongoing as of January 2019. Students from Stoneman Douglas were instrumental in changing Florida law, on March 4, 2018, to raise the legal rifle-owner age from 18 to 21, with a three-day wait, after they had helped to organize nationwide student protests, following the shooting.
Athletics
The MSD athletics department operates programs in football, volleyball, lacrosse, softball, tennis, track, water polo, basketball, cheerleading, soccer, wrestling, swimming, cross country, and golf. The cheerleading squad at the school received international attention in 2012 when its coach was fired in response to complaints from parents. Parents complained about being charged thousands of dollars for their children to participate in the program, and alleged that the coach mishandled the team's finances and encouraged bullying.
Academics
Newsweek's 2009 national ranking of high schools rated Douglas as No. 208 in the U.S., and No. 38 in Florida, which was the highest ranking of any school in Broward County. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had a Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test school grade of "A" for the 2011–2012 academic school year.
Several students in the Stoneman Douglas Drama Club wrote "Shine", a song which is a memorial to the victims of the school shooting in 2018 and to "anyone who has ever experienced gun violence." It has been performed at various venues, including a nationally broadcast CNNtown hall, and at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C. on March 24, 2018. It has also been performed by other musical groups, such as the Badiene Magaziner Vocal Studio at the March for Our Lives rally in New York City on the same day. The drama club performed at the 2018 Tony Awards.
Demographics
As of the 2017-2018 school year, the total student enrollment was 3,330. The ethnic makeup of the school was 57% White, 11% Black, 22% Hispanic, 7% Asian and 3% multiracial. 27% of the students were eligible for free or reduced cost lunch.
