Fort Lauderdale High receives top honor

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A South Florida high school has won a prestigious award and proven it is one of the best in the nation.

Fort Lauderdale High School received the Gaston Caperton Inspiration Award, for improving its academic environment and helping under-served students gain and achieve access to higher education. "You have overcome the barriers, you have earned the grades and the scores with this achievement," one woman said. "Overcoming language barriers and cultural bias or just overcoming the natural desire to open up Facebook instead of your text books. You did it!"

The College Board awarded Fort Lauderdale High $25,000 for being one of the three most inspiring high schools in the U.S. "Every student in this auditorium and in this school: yes, you can!" said Dr. Peter Negroni of the College Board. "This check belongs to the students of this school. You are the reason that you are earning this check!"

Students at the school have gone above and beyond to create their own success. In 2011, 95 percent of students who graduated from Fort Lauderdale High attended college and collectively received millions of dollars in scholarships. This year, Fort Lauderdale High School students took nearly 3,000 Advanced Placement and college-level exams.

However, the students admit they could have never accomplished what they have without the faculty and staff at the school. Student Jenica Cenestant said, "A teacher giving me one-on-one time with an assignment, or an administrator taking extra time to hear my story. The teachers and staff have always been there for me."

Student Teral Hilliard said he will utilize all he has learned to serve as an inspiration for future generations. "Fort Lauderdale High School has taught me that success is not measured by what you do, or how well you do it," he said, "but it is measured by how many people you can touch and inspire."

The Broward high school also has a magnet program that is linked to the world's oldest university: Cambridge in England.

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