Sebastian River High School — Sebastian, Florida

Sebastian River High School, known as SRHS and as the home of the Sharks, is a public high school of the School District of Indian River County at 9001 Shark Blvd in Sebastian. Its archived About page introduced it in 2021 as Sebastian River High School International Baccalaureate and STEAM Program, and described SRHS as an accelerated high school dedicated to Encouraging Innovation and Promoting Excellence with all students. The school states that students can work toward an industry certification, a high school diploma, college course credits and even an associate degree at the same time.

Three facts frame the school today. It opened in 1994, according to Vero News. It is an International Baccalaureate World School, listed in the IB directory under school code 000850. And for the 2024 to 2025 school year, Sebastian River High School earned an A from the Florida Department of Education, one of only two A-rated high schools in Indian River County. The school sits in Sebastian, a city of 25,759 residents according to the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023. Its athletic program is covered on a separate Digital Towns sports page; this page covers the school's academics, programs and history.

Sebastian River High School opened in 1994. A 2023 Vero News article reported that the school's PRISM holiday concert is a tradition dating back to 1994, when the school first opened. The International Baccalaureate program is as old as the school, by the school's own account: the SRHS IB Program page, archived in June 2025, states that Sebastian River High School has been an IB school since 1994 when the school opened.

The International Baccalaureate Organization gives a slightly later date. Its school directory entry for Sebastian River High School lists the school as an IB school since 04 July 1995, authorised for the Diploma Programme on that date, with English as the language of instruction and May examinations. The two sources do not explain the difference, and both dates are reported here as published.

The IB directory also lists subjects for which Sebastian River High School students are registered, including mathematics analysis and applications, biology, chemistry, English A literature, history, psychology, social and cultural anthropology, visual arts, Spanish, French and Theory of Knowledge.

The IB program is the school's signature academic track. The Prospective Students page, archived in January 2025, describes an International Baccalaureate magnet program at Sebastian River High School, with a Pre-IB program in the freshman and sophomore years that prepares students to enter the IB Diploma Programme. Among its points of pride, the school states that its IB diploma pass rate consistently surpasses the US average.

Beyond IB, SRHS lists dual enrollment at Indian River State College and at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Advanced Placement courses, honors courses, digital media, theater arts, JROTC naval science and aeronautical science, band, chorus and guitar. Its Career and Technical Education offerings, as listed on school pages in 2021 and 2025, have included health science (nursing), automotive, biotechnology, aerospace technologies, cyber security, marketing and promotional enterprise. The school says most CTE courses begin in sophomore year and that ninth graders tour each option in their second semester. Its automotive programs are certified by the ASE Education Foundation, according to the school.

Incoming students register through Sebastian River High School events: the 2025 page describes an annual Incoming Freshman Night for eighth graders zoned for SRHS during the second semester, and a student orientation called Shark Frenzy.

Sebastian River High School earned an A for 2024 to 2025. Reporting the Florida Department of Education's Spring 2025 school grade results, Vero News quoted School District of Indian River County officials as saying Sebastian River High School and Vero Beach High School stand as the only A-rated high schools in Indian River County. The same release reported that the district earned its third consecutive A rating and rose from ninth to fifth among Florida's 67 school districts.

District graduation figures cover Sebastian River High School along with the county's other high schools. In February 2026, Vero News reported that the Indian River County School District achieved the highest graduation rate on the Treasure Coast in the 2024 to 2025 school year, with 96 percent of seniors receiving a diploma for the third consecutive year. A school-level graduation rate for SRHS could not be confirmed from a fetchable official source.

The school's own list of recognitions, as published in 2021 and 2025, includes PBIS Gold Model School, a Five Star School Award and a Gold Star School Award, along with more than 20 athletic teams and more than 40 clubs and organizations at SRHS.

Music is one of the school's oldest traditions. The PRISM series, Vero News reported in 2023, is a non-stop, two-hour holiday concert by the Sebastian River High School concert bands and other groups, featuring nearly 200 student musicians. It runs six shows from Thursday through Sunday at the school's performing arts center on Shark Boulevard, and it is the largest fundraiser for the band programs at the campus. One Friday morning show is reserved for students from north county elementary and middle schools, which the band staff described as a community outreach and recruiting event. The band has received superior ratings at nearly all district marching and concert evaluations since the school opened, according to its booster organization.

The campus also hosts district arts events. On March 5, 2026, Sebastian River High School hosted the School District of Indian River County Superintendent's Art Gallery, Art Under the Stars, filling the Sharks' gym and Performing Arts Center with work from students at 19 schools, Vero News reported. The Sebastian River Marching Sharks have also appeared in community events, including the 2021 Fourth of July parade along Indian River Drive, according to Vero News.

In December 2024, Sebastian River High School, Sebastian River Middle School and Sebastian Elementary School were chosen as Purple Star Schools of Distinction for supporting military-connected students and families, Vero News reported. Activities cited for the designation included recognition events such as the Month of the Military Child and the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. The school's principal said in a statement that a K-12 pathway across an elementary, middle and high school in Sebastian lets the schools meet the needs of military-connected students.

The Sebastian River High School Prospective Students page describes how that works in practice. Each new military-connected student is assigned a Military Point of Contact, and NJROTC cadets lead a student-led transition program that connects new military students with peers within two weeks of their arrival. The NJROTC unit is also visible in Sebastian civic life: Vero News listed the SRHS NJROTC color guard among the marchers in the city's 2019 July 4 parade.