Southwood Middle School

Southwood Middle School Center for the Arts, more commonly known as Southwood Middle School, is a public secondary school located on 16301 Southwest 80th Avenue in Palmetto Bay, Florida. Its principal is Raul Garcia.

Southwood Middle School Center for the Arts
Address
16301 SW 80th Ave

Palmetto Bay
,
Florida 33157

United States
Information
TypePublic middle
Established1975
School districtMiami-Dade County Public Schools
PrincipalRaul Garcia
Teaching staff66.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades6-8
Enrollment1,425 (2017–18)[1]
Student to teacher ratio21.59[1]
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Blue and Gold
MascotSuperStar
School hours9:10 am - 3:50 pm
Websitesouthwoodmiddleschool.org

The mascot for the school is the SuperStar, a cartoonish star who wears a top hat and carries a cane.

History

The school was formerly located in the census-designated place of Cutler until the incorporation of Palmetto Bay on September 10, 2002.[2][3]

Southwood received national attention when, on February 3, 2004, 14-year-old Jaime Rodrigo Gough, an eighth-grader was stabbed to death on campus by 14-year-old Michael Hernandez.[4][5][6] Hernandez was tried as an adult, and sentenced to life in prison without parole and his sentence was upheld in a 2018 resentencing hearing.[7] In April 2021, Hernandez collapsed at the Columbia Correctional Institution and died at the age of 31.[8] Southwood now celebrates "Peace Week" during the first week of February as a memorial for the murder.[9]

Academics

During the 1984-85 school year, Southwood Jr. High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[10] the highest award an American school can receive.[11][12]

Southwood contains five magnet programs, for which students must audition and be accepted in order to take: Music (which contains the orchestra, band, and chorus strands), Photography, Theatre, Art, and Dance. Southwood takes in non-magnet students as well, who live within the designated area, but those students take regular electives instead of magnet classes. Magnet students do not have to live within this district in order to attend.

Notable alumni

References
  1. "SOUTHWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  2. "About our village Archived 2010-01-28 at the Wayback Machine." Village of Palmetto Bay. Retrieved on October 2, 2009.
  3. "Cutler CDP, Florida Archived 2011-11-21 at the Wayback Machine." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on October 2, 2009.
  4. "Inmate Population Information Detail".
  5. "Teen charged with first-degree murder in killing of classmate in Miami", USA Today, February 4, 2004. Accessed August 8, 2007. "Jaime Rodrigo Gough, 14, was found early Tuesday at Southwood Middle School, a magnet school specializing in visual and performing arts, authorities said. His neck had been slashed."
  6. "Killer's Plan on Paper", The Sunday Territorian, March 21, 2004. Accessed August 8, 2007.
  7. "Southwood school killer Michael Hernandez's sentence upheld | Miami Herald". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2018-05-16.
  8. "Michael Hernandez: Florida middle school killer dies in prison aged 31". The Independent. May 2, 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  9. "Today Marks Anniversary Of Middle School Killing" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, WPLG, February 3, 2005. Accessed August 8, 2007. "Students at a South Florida middle school that was the scene of a grisly killing a year ago, wore white shirts, held hands and celebrated peace today.... Gough's mother, father and sister ended the rally by releasing a basket full of butterflies."
  10. Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF) Archived 2009-03-26 at the Wayback Machine, United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
  11. CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department Archived 2007-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
  12. Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
  13. Cohen, Howard. "TV COMPETITOR HAS BECOME A 'MIAMI IDOL'", The Miami Herald, March 22, 2005. Accessed August 8, 2007. "The two have known each other since they were 11, attending R.R. Mo"ton Elementary, Southwood Middle School and Palmetto Senior High."

25.619455°N 80.322074°W / 25.619455; -80.322074

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