South Florida

NBC 6 Brag About Your School – Miramar High School

Miramar High School is mostly known for two highly unrelated things: powerhouse football teams and for being the alma mater of Johnny Depp. Oh, but there’s so much more going on at this south Broward County institution. The home of the Patriots has two magnet programs and, basically, something for every interest.

"We have over 60 clubs and organizations, it’s actually hard to think of something Miramar doesn’t offer," said Maria Formoso, the school’s principal.

Got school spirit and an overwhelming desire to let it show? Miramar High’s cheerleading squad just finished among the nation’s top ten teams at major competition in Orlando.

One could argue the signature program at the school is the aviation magnet, in which students learn all facets of flying and the aviation industry. It’s a partnership with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. When students in the program graduate, they leave high school with 24 college credits from Embry-Riddle.

"It really prepares them, not only for college but also beyond," said Formoso, who points out the program also exposes kids to contacts in all areas of the aviation world.

"The aviation program, of course, has a strong stem connection and it allows the students to explore areas, everything from flight to air traffic control to engineering, meteorology," said John Lamb, who is the school’s magnet program coordinator.

Miramar High has an award-winning speech and debate team. It also has a unique partnership with the Miramar Police Department, which sponsors the criminal justice course. The City hopes the new, extremely popular program will funnel new recruits into law enforcement careers.

Several high schools have the International Baccalaureate Program. Miramar’s is the largest in Broward County. The academically rigorous magnet program sends graduates to the best universities in the country, from MIT to Stanford, in part because it teaches students to connect the dots between subjects.

"They are gonna be able to be better readers, better thinkers, and they’re gonna be able to see things as a whole and not just a narrow field of view,” explained Jermaine White, who teaches IB biology.

Next time you drive by that big school on the north side of the Turnpike Extension just west of University Drive, think about all the learning going on behind those walls.

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