| Windermere High School | |
| Motto: | Achieving Greatness with Honor |
| Motto Translation: | Latin |
| Established: | 2017 |
| Principal: | Andrew Leftakis |
| Faculty: | 131.00 (FTE) |
| Ratio: | 23.50 |
| Students: | 3,079 (2022–23)[1] |
| Mascot: | Wolverine |
| Colors: | Navy blue, lime green and silver |
| District: | Orange County Public Schools |
| City: | Orlando |
| State: | Florida |
| Country: | United States |
| Coordinates: | 28.4831°N -81.5809°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Florida#USA |
| Website: | https://windermerehs.ocps.net/ |
| Grades: | 9 - 12 |
| Address: | 5523 Winter Garden Vineland Road |
Windermere High School is a high school in Lake Butler, an unincorporated area located in the southwest portion of Orange County, Florida, USA, within the Orlando metropolitan area.[2]
The school was set up as a relief school to relieve overcrowding[3] for nearby West Orange High School. Classes began for the 2017–2018 school year.[4]
The district established a vote for naming the school and 39% of the area's families voted for the name "Windermere High School" (with 22% each voted for "Horizon High School" and "Lake Butler High School"). The Windermere town council opposed the naming on the grounds that area residents might confuse the school with Windermere Preparatory School. Some OCPS board members also argued the school should not be named for a community in which it would not be located; they stated that not very many students from Windermere would go there.[5]
A number of new schools have been built in nearby areas to serve as relief schools. Dr. Phillips High School was built in 1987 to handle student capacity in the Universal, Sand Lake and Bay Hill communities. Olympia High School was built in 2001 to handle growth in Windermere, MetroWest, Pine Hills and some of the Dr. Phillips area. In 2005, Ocoee High School was reinstated to handle tremendous growth in the Ocoee and West Oaks Mall area. The next school in this succession is scheduled for the Horizon West area.
Lakeview Middle School, Ocoee High School and Apopka High School are already or are expected to be at capacity within 2 to 4 years. Wekiva High School Apopka High Relief opened in August 2007 to handle overflow from Apopka High School and Ocoee High School. West Orange Comprehensive Replacement itself will be at or beyond program capacity within two years.
In late 2007, the Orange County School Board was considering postponement of West Orange Relief past the anticipated 2012 opening. Given revenue shortfalls, this was a virtual certainty.
In November 2013, Orange County Commissioners rejected the proposal for a West Orange Relief School on C.R. 535 and Ficquette Road in Windermere.
In August 2014, the West Orange Relief High School had a tentative opening date of August 2017. The site is located on the intersection of Winter Garden Vineland Road and Summerport Village Parkway near County Road 535 and Ficquette Road.[6]
By September 2015, ground had been broken and construction of the school had begun.[7]
In October 2016, the OCPS School Board approved the name "Windermere High School" after much controversy due to the new school not being in close proximity to the town of Windermere and the Windermere council expressing its disagreement with the name. The school mascot chosen was The Wolverines, the school colors chosen were navy, bright green and silver (similar to the Seattle Seahawks American football team).
On August 14, 2017, Windermere High School opened to students.[8]
On September 20, 2017, the school was put on an approximately four hour lockdown after a threat was sent by text message from two students.[9] The school was checked and secured by local law enforcement, who forced the school into a late dismissal. No weapon or threat was found and charges against the two students were dropped.[10]
On November 15, 2017, the school was put on lockdown again, for approximately two hours, after a parent received a text message saying, "There are guys in the bathrooms and hallways with guns in Windermere High School. We are afraid, please call 911 now."[11] The school was checked by local law enforcement and no threat was found, letting the students out in a late dismissal.
On November 20, 2017, the school announced they were investigating a threat a student posted on Snapchat the evening before.[12]
On February 16, 2018, the school was put on a brief lockdown, for approximately half an hour, after a threat was called in.[13] The school started requiring students to show their student IDs upon entry starting February 26 as a result of this incident (along with other similar ones earlier in the year and at other schools in the district),[14] with students who fail to present an ID (or purchase a new one if they lost or forgot theirs) receiving a lunch detention and having their parent/guardian contacted, after verifying their enrollment in the front office.
On August 23, 2018, a student posted a threat on social media. The post was traced back to the student, who was arrested.[15]
On May 6, 2019, fake mandatory penis inspection letters began circulating throughout the school, which were believed to be part of a senior prank.
On November 4, 2019, a student intentionally set a soap dispenser on fire in a restroom on the third floor of one of the buildings. The school was placed on a hold as a result.[16] The student responsible for the incident revealed to administration that there was an “achievement list” formed by students consisting of destructive vandalism and misconduct, including arson (though the student denied committing the arson on the basis of it being part of the list). The student responsible for the arson was expelled and arrested, with later investigations resulting in the students that had contributed items to the list being suspended for 10 days with consideration for expulsion.
On January 9, 2020, a car crashed into a school bus carrying 21 students on its way to the high school. Both of the drivers were transported via ambulance to the hospital with minor injuries. None of the students were injured, and were transported to the school via another bus, arriving almost an hour late.[17]
On March 11, 2020, another restroom fire was started, this one on the first floor of one of the buildings, led to the school to be placed on a hold and administrators to investigate the incident.[18]
On February 12, 2021, two people were seen jumping a fence to get inside the school, prompting the school to be placed on a hold while police deputies responded.[19]
On August 17, 2022, a student was hit by a vehicle on school property after dismissal and was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.[20]
On October 14, 2022, reports of a student being in possible possession of a weapon prompted the school to be placed on a brief hold, with no weapon found.[21]
On December 2, 2022, two female students engaged in a fight, with the fire department being dispatched to check on the condition of one of the two students.[22]
On August 20, 2023, a plumbing issue, caused by a lift station failure, led to the school releasing early at 12:45 PM, 95 minutes earlier than the usual 2:20 PM dismissal time.[23]
On January 17, 2024, another student was struck by a vehicle, prompting calls for safety changes.[24] As a result of this incident, the school announced changes to the traffic pattern in the parking lot for the following 2024-25 school year.[25]
On February 26, 2024, a social media discussion was reported and investigated for a possible threat against the school. The threat was deemed “non-credible” by the following morning.[26]
With a budget of $93.5 million, Windermere High School had 2,800 students in its first year.[5] It now has 4,000 students.
The school serves:[4] sections of Lake Butler,[2] the Orange County portion of Four Corners,[27] and Bay Lake.[28]