SEBASTIAN — Two decades ago, the wide-open pasture land near the County Roads 510 and 512 sat empty, save for some heavy equipment moving dirt around. The northern portion of Indian River County would soon have a high school it could call its own and rally around.
Flash forward to today – Sebastian River High School boasts a student population of about 2,000, a renowned music program, a rigorous International Baccalaureate program, and dozens of athletic titles – including the recent Girls Basketball State Championship.
“It was the big highlight of my career,” school Superintendent Fran Adams said of being the high school’s first principal and opening the school in August 1994. She was named the principal a year before the school opened and oversaw its first four years.
“I cannot believe it has been 20 years,” she said. “It has gone by so quickly.”
Technically, the school doesn’t turn 20 until next year, but the School District is leading into the anniversary with a year-long celebration.
The school got the party started Friday with a sneak peek of the football season at Sharks Stadium. Those in the Sebastian youth football and cheer programs – the future athletes of the school – were introduced to the crowd of a few hundred.
The 2013 Sharks then took the field and were introduced and showed off their summer training with an hour’s worth of scrimmage.
“They’re all very excited,” said Heidi Putnam of the Sharks playing ball during the school’s 20th anniversary.
Sebastian River High School opened with three grades – ninth through 11th – pulling students from a very overcrowded Vero Beach High.
Among the first to graduate from Sebastian River High was current Fellsmere Mayor Susan Adams, who was co-class president her senior year – Class of 1996.
Adams made the transition from Vero Beach High to Sebastian River – “It was like going home,” she said.
Being among the first students to walk the halls at the new school, Adams said they got to make many of the decisions – from the mascot to the traditions.
“It was ours,” Adams said.
For her part, Adams said she enjoyed her time at Vero Beach High, but was glad to have the option of transferring to Sebastian River.
“We used (Vero Beach) as a guide for our own traditions,” she said.
Another benefit of having a school in north county was the elimination of hour-long bus rides to get to school, she said.
Sebastian River High School had been on the minds of district officials for years before the school became a reality.
“There was always this anticipation,” Adams said, recalling the time before the school was built.
A voter-approved $60-million bond referendum in 1990 cleared the way for the high school, as well as a new middle school – Oslo Middle. That debt has recently been paid off.
The $27.4-million school was built by Foley and Associates on the 80-acre site on County Road 510, just south of County Road 512, with an initial student capacity of 1,200.
Over the years, the school outgrew the original campus and additional class space was added, including a classroom wing and a freshman education center.
Adams, a longtime north county resident, said the school helped gel the region.
“It really does give a community an identity,” she said of having a high school.
Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Beth Mitchell shares that sentiment.
“Having the high school here has kept the community more connected,” Mitchell said, explaining the school becomes a selling point to those looking to relocate their families to Indian River County.
There’s a symbiotic relationship between the school and the community.
The students at the school often volunteer at various events, including the Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival and the Sebastian Clambake.
In turn, the community supports the school by sponsoring students and programs and attending athletic and performing arts events.
The band “is such a shining star for the community,” Mitchell said.
The school’s Jazz Band and Steel Drum Ensemble perform every year in the Chamber’s Concert in the Park series.
There have been numerous changes to the school over the years – additional buildings and wings notwithstanding.
The school started out offering five career and technical academies from which students could choose to enroll. It was a unique program that empowered teachers to craft their own class schedules and work together across departments in a student-centered atmosphere.
“They were like a family,” Adams said of the teachers and students.
The innovative approach to student education garnered Sebastian River High recognition from the Southern Regional Education Board in 1997 – three years after opening.
The board named the high school one of its 10 “High Schools That Work” and encouraged other school administrators and teachers to visit and check out the academies.
The academies, as they were first created, are no longer, given state mandates and requirements for class structure.
Athletic Director Michael Stutzke has been with the school since the first day – always pushing the athletes to be better students.
“You’re a student first,” he often says, noting that his passion is for the whole student, not just the athlete within.
Stutzke is looking forward to the first game of the football season – this Friday – where a repeat of the school’s very first game is expected.
Five thousand people turned out to watch the first Sharks football game.
And to kick it off, skydivers flew in with the American Flag and the game ball.
Skydivers will again fly into the stadium with the flag and ball, Stutzke said – weather permitting.
“Twenty years passes so quickly,” he said.
“We started small,” Stutzke said, and built reputation over the years for emerging sports such as girls’ lacrosse, competitive bowling, rowing and girls rugby.
In all, the school has earned 47 district championships, 14 individual state championships, two FHSAA state championships, and state championship titles for rowing, rugby and girls’ basketball.
“All of our programs have done well over the years,” Stutzke said – and not just athletically speaking.
Sebastian River High has placed 24 students in military academies to date – more than any other high school around – and is home to Rhodes Scholar Josh Preston, Class of 2005, who now is actively serving the U.S. military.
“Sebastian River High School will always be a school Indian River County can be proud of,” Stutzke said.