Fort Pierce Central High School opened its doors in 1970 as the first comprehensive high school to serve all students in St. Lucie County.[2] Prior to 1970, high schools in St. Lucie County were segregated, with white students attending Dan McCarty High School and black students attending Lincoln Park Academy.[3] Students were initially unhappy with the forced integration, and the first years of Fort Pierce Central's existence were marred by race riots that occasionally required police intervention.[4]
Campus
The school's original campus was located at 1101 Edwards Road, approximately 1.5 miles northeast of its present located on South 25th Street. The original campus was in use from the school's founding in 1970 until 2008, when the new campus was moved into. The new campus was built in order to both increase student capacity and regain facilities lost during the 2004 hurricanes[5]
The new campus is modeled after that of Treasure Coast High School, and consists of a large central courtyard entirely surrounded by four buildings.[6] There are four main areas containing classrooms in buildings one, two, and four. Classrooms within these areas were created in a modular "pod" format, with classrooms separated by retractable partitions so that areas can be combined if necessary. Building three is the largest of the four and contains the auditorium, cafeteria, gymnasium, automotive shop, and other elective classrooms.[7][8]
Academics
The school provides multiple career academies to its students:[9]
Students have the opportunity to enroll in free traditional college courses through Indian River State College, as well as engineering-focused college courses through the on-campus Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Gaetz Aerospace Institute.[11] Students in the aerospace program are enrolled as Embry-Riddle students and their coursework will appear on an official college transcript.[12]
Athletics
Athletes from Fort Pierce Central compete as the Cobras and their colors are purple and gold. The school fields teams in 11 boys sports and 11 girls sports including Football, Basketball, Baseball, Cross Country, and Volleyball.[13]
The Cobras play their football games at Lawnwood Stadium approximately 2.5 miles from campus.
Rivalry with Westwood
Each year, the Cobras football team competes against their crosstown rival Fort Pierce Westwood Academy Panthers in a game known as the Showdown, first competed in 1978.[14] The most recent edition of the rivalry was Showdown 42, in which the Cobras defeated the Panthers 29-28 on October 11, 2021.[15] As of the 2021 season, the Cobras lead the rivalry 22-20.[16]
