Forest High School (Florida)
| Forest High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | |
5000 Southeast Maricamp Road , , 34480 United States | |
| Coordinates | 29°08′39″N 82°03′59″W / 29.1441446°N 82.0664781°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public secondary |
| Established | 15 August 1969 |
| School district | Marion County Public Schools |
| Superintendent | Diane Gullett |
| CEEB code | 101258 |
| Principal | Lamar Rembert |
| Teaching staff | 101.00 (FTE)[1] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 2,383 (2023–2024)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 23.59[1] |
| Color(s) | Green, Gold & White |
| Mascot | Wildcat |
| Rival | Vanguard High School |
| Accreditation | Florida State Department of Education |
| Website | fhs |
Forest High School is a high school near Ocala, Florida, United States. It has an EMIT (engineering) program. The school's colors are green and gold and the school mascot is the Wildcat. It is in the Marion County School District.
The student population as of the 2023-2024 school year is 2,383 students.[1]
History
Forest High School moved to its current location on Maricamp Road, southeast of the city limits of Ocala, in 2005. The school was originally on Fort King Street in Ocala, at the 1959 campus of Ocala High School. Prior to 1965, the school was for white students only. In 1965, a group of 34 students from the nearby black school, Howard High School began attending. In 1969, the courts mandated the schools became fully integrated and Howard was closed. Vanguard High School was opened the same year, and the Marion County School Board put to rest the name Ocala High School.[2]
Programs
Engineering and Manufacturing Institute of Technology (EMIT)
EMIT is a four-year magnet engineering program at Forest High School. EMIT aims to teach its students engineering fundamentals to prepare them for postsecondary colleges or universities in engineering. The curriculum is heavily project-based that often includes problem-solving tasks which must be built and later presented to teachers. These projects typically cover the basics of many engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, aerospace engineering, and more.
EMIT was created from a $1.2 million Florida Department of Education grant in 1994. An application is required to be considered for admission.
Shooting
On April 20, 2018, at 8:29 a.m, 19-year-old Sky Bouche (born June 5, 1998); went on school premises armed with a sawed-off 16-gauge Winchester Model 12 pump-action shotgun, a black tactical vest, and a blue backpack full of gloves and shotgun shells.[3] Bouche was a former student who dropped out in 2016. Bouche shot once through a classroom door and a piece of the door hit 17-year-old Evan Eckenroth in the ankle, injuring him. Bouche surrendered to the school staff out of regret immediately after. Marion County Sheriff's Office School Resource Deputy Jim Long soon arrested him and took him into custody.[4] SWAT officers swept the school afterwards in search of any weapons or explosives. All students were then taken to the First Baptist Church of Ocala by bus, where their parents gathered to pick them up.[5]
In the events immediately after the shooting, Marion County School Board member Nancy Stacy cancelled all school gun-reform walkouts in Marion County.[6] Four days later, the School Board approved $224,000 to pay for 34 new resource officers to protect the schools belonging to the Marion County School District for the remaining four weeks of the school year.[7] Two months later on June 20, Deputy Jim Long was labeled "Florida School Resource Officer Of The Year" for his involvement in arresting Bouche.[8]
In court, it was revealed that Bouche struggled with mental health issues due to his violent home life, as his entire family suffered from bipolar and schizophrenia. His struggles with his mental health was what led to him dropping out in 2016. Bouche became obsessed with the Columbine High School massacre sometime during his middle school years, and made several posts online supporting the incident in October 2013.[9] His obsession led to him eventually deciding to shoot up his former high school, in order to be recognized.[10] He chose to do it on April 20th since it was the 19th anniversary of the massacre. Bouche also claimed that after he shot through the classroom door and realized he hit a student, he felt remorse as he began to realize the reality of what he was doing, saying it "wasn’t what he truly wanted."
Bouche was charged with Terrorism, Aggravated Assault with a Firearm, Culpable Negligence, Carrying a Concealed Firearm, Possession of a Firearm on School Property, Possession of a Short-Barreled Shotgun, Interference in a School Function, and Armed Trespassing on School Property. In 2021, Bouche was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, with the possibility of parole only after 25 years, followed by an additional 30 years of probationary release.[11] After Bouche was sentenced, he claimed that he heavily regretted the incident and that he "deserved to be put away."[12]
On February 8, 2022, Evan Eckenroth, the student injured in the shooting, filed a lawsuit against the Marion County School District, seeking over $30,000 worth of damages.[13] In the suit, Eckenroth claimed that the district "failed to have proper security measures in place to protect students and keep non-students from accessing the school's parking lot and main building during school hours." Eckenroth also claimed to have received permanent scars and mental anguish from the incident.[7] The outcome of the lawsuit remains unknown.
Notable alumni
- Alex Shelnutt - drummer of American rock band A Day to Remember
- C. Farris Bryant – Governor of Florida from 1961 to 1965
- Erin Jackson - American Olympic speedskater
- Jonathan Johnson – Major League Baseball pitcher
- Judd Davis – football place-kicker
- Mava Lee Thomas – All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
- Mike Sullivan – professional golfer on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and the Champions Tour
- Reid Nichols - Major League Baseball outfielder
- Rick Tuten – punter in the National Football League
- Scot Brantley – linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Buccaneers of the NFL
- Tony Beckham – football cornerback
- Tyrone Young – wide receiver in the National Football League
References
- ^ a b c d "FOREST HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ Fillmore, Andy. "Howard High class of 1968 remembers good times, challenges of integration". Ocala Star Banner. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ "Images: Evidence, video stills from Forest shooting". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "Who Is Deputy Jim Long? Resource Officer Stopped Forest High School Shooter". Newsweek. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ "Ocala, Florida school shooting suspect ID'd as Sky Bouche: "I shot through the door"". CBS News. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
- ^ "Florida school district cancels walkouts after shooting". Cable News Network. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Callahan, Joe. "Ocala student shot and injured at Forest H.S. in 2018 sues Marion County school district". Ocala Starbanner. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
- ^ "Forest High's Jim Long Named Florida School Resource Officer Of The Year". WUFT. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ^ "Sky Bouche, accused Ocala school shooter, on FBI's radar as early as 2013". WFTV. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
- ^ "He fired a shotgun into a classroom door, police say, then said 'sorry' to the injured student". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
- ^ Cutway, Adrienne. "Man who shot student at Forest High School sentenced to 30 years in prison". ClickOrlando. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ "Former student who opened fire at Ocala school sentenced to 30 years in prison". WESH Orlando. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ^ "Student injured in 2018 shooting at Forest High School files lawsuit against MCPS". Ocala News. Retrieved July 21, 2025.