The United States Virgin Islands are a set of beautiful islands in the Caribbean . They lie 991 nautical miles south of Miami and 1,434 nautical miles southeast of New York .

These islands consist of 4 large islands: St. Croix , St. Thomas , St. John , and Water Island as well as numerable other uninhabited islands and cays. St. Thomas houses the capital city of Charlotte Amalie. St. Croix with 123 square miles is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands

  In 1967 St. Croix Central High School opened up as a successor to the former Christiansted High School which was established in 1935. It held its first graduation ceremony in 1968 and awarded diplomas to 150 graduates.

St. Croix Central High School is comprised of students in grades 9 through 12. A comprehensive high school, both college preparatory and vocational education courses are offered to students. Although students are required by the Board of Education to earn 26 Carnegie units to be awarded a diploma, they can earn up to 31 credits.

St. Croix Central High School is located in the middle of the island's two towns. Frederiksted in the west and Christiansted on the eastern end. The school lies within immediate access to the island's two main highways, Queen Mary and Melvin Evans Highways. Each town has a Public library and several museum and achievers. These are used extensively by our students for research, field trips and other learning expeditions. The University of the Virgin Islands and the Department of Education's Curriculum Center are in close proximity to the campus. These two institutions provide educational services to the school and community at large.

Beginning in the mid 1970's the student population exploded. This huge increase was due to the court case Hosier v. Evans which allowed migrant workers to educate their children in the public schools. In an attempt to keep pace with the growing population, the school has added several new buildings over the years. These building are naturally ventilated using an open-air concept. The school expanded several wings for additional classroom space. Additionally two new vocational buildings and a gymnasium was completed. Most recently, the Learning Media Center which contains books, magazines, newspapers, computer labs, audio visual services and materials are available to the students and faculty. A new administration building was constructed. Today the facility include thirteen buildings spread over forty acres.

The island is host to a large variety of businesses and industry to include several watch factories, rum manufacturers, the largest oil refinery in the western hemisphere (Hovensa), shopping center, and the tourism and hospitality industry. Several modes of transportation provide services for visitors and residents on the island. Alumni of St. Croix Central High School can be found employed in virtually every type of business, industry or governmental agency operating on the island.

Territorially, various forms of standardized tests have been administered to measure student's interests, aptitudes and abilities. These test, include the Terra Nova and MAT. Most recently, the IOWA test of basic skills was used. On the school level, all students are encouraged to take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), American College Test (ACT) and armed services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) which is given at a grade appropriate level.

High school juniors who are interested may apply for early admissions at the University of the Virgin Islands during their senior year. Other programs and activities offered at St. Croix Central High includes the Close-Up Program, JROTC, FBLA, FFA, National Honor Society, Student Council, VICA OJT off island summer enrichment programs and a long list of others that provide educational as well as recreational stimulation. In addition the school hosts two college fairs annually; attendees at these college fairs include students from the other public school, parochial and private schools. Over the past five years there have also been on increase in the number of institutions of higher learning participation in the fairs.

School Strengths

St. Croix Central High School has a stable committed staff. Over half of our teachers have been working together for several years. On an average teachers put in 10 hours weekly beyond their regular school day. This is demonstrated in the volunteer teachers who staff the after school programs, participate on the school improvement team, serve as student advisor's for club and organizations and provide homework and tutorial assistance to individual students.

The school has a strong bilingual program which was established in 1978 and grown tremendously ever since. The student population in this program has almost doubled. To meet the growing population of students migrating from the Dominican Republic the bilingual program now offers core subject along with ESL classes.

School Challenges

The safety of our students and staff, and the security of the physical plant are of highest priority. When the physical plant was constructed initially it was not designed with present-day safety and security concerns in mind. Within the last five years we have experience almost daily burglaries with thousands of dollars worth of equipment and supplies stolen. This severely impacts our instructional programs and diminishes the morale of both staff and students. The school is in close proximity to an economically disadvantaged residential community, some of whose members consistently prey upon school facilities. The police department has intervened and arrested several persons, but burglaries continue to recur. In response, an interior security fence has been erected. It has been effective in keeping daytime trespassers off the premises and allows for greater monitoring of students during the day.

back to top