Vanguard High School


Vanguard High School is one of seven public high schools in Marion County, Florida. The school serves the northeast area of Ocala, Florida. Vanguard offers the International Baccalaureate program, which accepts students from across Marion County and from surrounding counties and accounts for approximately 25% of the student population. In addition to the IB Program, Vanguard High School is the home of the Future Educators Academy. Graduates of the Future Educators Academy have the opportunity to dual enroll and complete their AA degree upon high school graduation.
Vanguard's mascot is a knight and the school colors are red, white, and blue. Notable alumni include NFL football player Daunte Culpepper and Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook. The Vanguard Knight's cross-town rivals are the Forest High School Wildcats. Raney's Inc. and the Gaekwad Family are the school's business partners.
The student population as of the 2018-2019 school year is 1,650 students. The school is staffed by 130 people.

IB Program

In 1996, Vanguard began involvement with the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Vanguard is currently recognized as an IB World School. Vanguard was the 26th High School in the State of Florida, and currently one of only two schools in Marion County, along with Lake Weir High School, to offer this curriculum.
Students accepted into the program take advanced classes for their Freshman and Sophomore years, which prepare them for the actual IB courses taken in Junior and Senior years. Students can be accepted into the program as ninth or tenth graders, but eleventh and twelfth graders can only transfer in from another IB school. The first two years are termed as Pre-IB and consist of a combination of Advanced Placement, Pre-IB or Honors courses designed to prepare students for the actual IB courses and exams.
For the 2019-2020 school year, the school had five of Marion County's nine National Merit Semifinalists, all seniors enrolled in Vanguard's IB Program.

Integration

Vanguard was the first integrated school in Marion County.

Notable alumni