Merritt Island High School

Principals

1. Robert Bruton: 1965 - 1983
2. Hank Smith: 1983 - 1999
3. David M. Piccolo: 2000 - 2002
4. Gary Shiffrin: 2002 - 2013
5. Dr. Karyle Green: 2013 - 2014
6. Mollie Vega: 2014 - 2018
7. James Rehmer: 2018–2023
8. Debbie Lubbers: 2023–present

Academics

Merritt Island High School is accredited. The school offers classes for grades 9-12, including Honors courses, Advanced Placement courses, and courses with the Dual Enrollment program at Eastern Florida State College.

To graduate, students must earn a minimum of 26 credits. Each semester-course is equal to a half credit. There is also a variety of academies available for students to enroll in. Including the Advance Placement academy, Fame academy for the performing arts, and Davinci.

Athletics

Teams

• Wrestling
• Basketball
• Bowling
• Cheerleading
• Cross country
• Dance Team
• Football
• Golf
• Lacrosse
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swim and Diving
• Tennis
• Track
• Indoor Volleyball
• Beach Volleyball
• Baseball

State championships

• Boys Soccer 4A championship - 2009. 3A championship - 2014.
• Girls Soccer 4A championship - 2010. 3A championship - 2017 and 2018.
• American football 4A championship - 1972, 1978 & 1979.
• Baseball 5A championship - 1999 & 2000.
• Volleyball 5A championship- 2011 & 2018
• Beach Volleyball AA championship - 2019

Clubs and extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activities offered include:

• Academic Games team
• Art club
• Anime club
• Auto club
• Book club
• Beta Club
• Chess club
• Marine Science Club
• Chorus
• Chamber Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, & Beginning Orchestra
• DECA
• Drama/Theater
• Earth club
• Ethics club
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes
• FIRST Robotics Competition team
• Future Business Leaders of America
• Future Educators of America
• Future Problem Solvers
• Gay Straight Alliance
• German club
• Guitar Club
• Inline hockey team
• Intramural athletics
• Jazz ensemble
• JROTC (including the Raider Team, Rifle Team, Drill Team, Color Guard and Command and Staff leadership positions)
• Key Club
• Literary magazine
• Magic club
• Marching, Concert and Symphonic Bands
• Marine Science Club
• Multicultural club
• Mustang Round-Up Leaders
• Straight Up G (vocal acapella group)
• National Art Honor Society
• National Honor Society
• Newspaper
• Quiz bowl team
• Rugby team
• Science Research
• SECME
• Spanish club
• Spanish National Honor Society
• Speech and debate club
• Student ministers
• Student council
• StangSat Club
• Student Government
• Student Venture
• Yearbook
• Video Game club
• DND (Dungeons and Dragons) club
• Welcoming diversity team
• Young Republicans Club
• Young Democrats Club

Notable alumni

• Leon "Pop" Bright 1974 – professional football player
• Derek Brown 1988 – professional football player
• Cal Dixon 1987 – professional football player
• Joe Gayton 1974 - writer of television and film
• Tony Gayton 1977 – film producer
• Derrick Ham 1995 – Professional football player
• Clint Hurdle 1975 – Professional baseball player and manager
• Mathew Martoma 1992 – former S.A.C. Capital Advisors trader, convicted of insider trading
• Bubba McDowell 1984 – professional football player and current head coach for the Prairie View A&M Panthers football team
• Will Perdue 1983 – professional basketball player and television sports announcer
• Darryl Spencer 1988 – professional football player
• Danny Verpaele 2004 – professional football player and current defensive coordinator for the Kennesaw State Owls football team
• Kevin Whitaker 1975 – US ambassador to Colombia
• Jeff Wickersham – professional football player
• Steve Crisafulli - Former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
• Richard Jones 1987 - State Wrestling Champion 105 lbs 1987, State Runner Up 98 lbs 1986

Footnotes

References

1. "Merritt Island High School". National Center for Education Statistics.
2. "Merritt Island High School: Academics". Edline.
3. "Merritt Island High School: Athletics". Edline.
4. "Archived copy".
5. "Archived copy".
6. McCallum, Brian. (February 24, 2018). "Merritt Island girls win 3A soccer final". Florida Today.
7. "Archived copy".
8. "Archived copy".
9. "FHSAA Championship Record Books". fhsaa.
10. (2013-05-21). "Merritt Island High School :: Clubs". Merritt.hs.brevardschools.org.
11. "Merritt Island High School: Clubs & Activities". Edline.
12. "Leon Bright Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards".
13. "Derek Brown Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards".
14. "Cal Dixon Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards".
15. Sangalang, Jennifer. (October 5, 2015). "Merritt Island grads want to film movie in Brevard". Florida Today.
16. (January 7, 2012). "Brevard brothers land second season for their Western TV saga". Florida Today.
17. "Derrick Ham Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College".
18. "Manager and Coaches".
19. (2012-12-20). "Feds: Merritt Island High grad an inside trader". [[WKMG-TV]].
20. "Bubba McDowell Stats".
21. "Will Perdue NBA & ABA Stats".
22. "Darryl Spencer Stats".
23. "Danny Verpaele Bio". GoUSFBulls.com.
24. "Whitaker, Kevin". [[United States Department of State]].
25. Bianchi, Mike. (1985-10-02). "Wickersham quietly one of the best". [[The Gainesville Sun]].
26. [https://stevecrisafulli.com/about/ Steve Crisafulli]
27. [https://www.floridatoday.com/story/sports/high-school/2015/02/13/merritt-island-state-championship-history-strong/23373 Merritt Island State Championship History Strong]