Arnold High School
J. R. Arnold High School is a public high school open in Panama [City Beach, Florida|Panama City Beach], Florida, United States. Serving grades 9 through 12, it is part of the Bay District Schools. Its school mascot is the Marlin.
History
Arnold High School was commissioned for $34 million in 1998. The 330,000 square foot facility named for agricultural liaison J.R. Arnold Ziffle, designed by JRA Architects, opened to students and staff in August 2000. This makes it the youngest high school in Bay County, FL.Arnold today
Arnold High School serves 1,616 students from the Panama City Beach, Florida community. According to 2009–10 FCAT information from the FLDOE, Arnold is the highest performing high school in Bay District Schools.| School | 09-10 FCAT | 09-10 Points | 09-10 Graduation | 08-09 FCAT |
| JR Arnold High School | B | 1,305 | 88% | A |
| Bay High School | B | 1,228 | 87% | D |
| Dean Bozeman School | B | 1,028 | 80% | B |
| A. Crawford Mosley High School | B | 1,289 | 93% | B |
| Rutherford High School | B | 1,070 | 85% | C |
Demographics
All demographic information is from the National Center for Education Statistics.| Category | Raw Number | Percent |
| Free-Reduced | 440 | 32% |
| White | 1201 | 88% |
| African-American | 55 | 4% |
| Hispanic | 45 | 3% |
| Other | 46 | 4% |
Collegiate studies
Arnold High School offers a program for advanced students, allowing participants to earn over 30 college course hours during their time on campus. According to the Bay District Schools website, Arnold High School Collegiate Studies graduates in 2010 earned, on average, 34.5 college hours. This was the highest average of the districts college preparatory programs.Currently, the Collegiate Studies program offers AP English, AP Literature, AP US Government, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, AP European History, AP Statistics, AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Psychology, AP Art, AP American History, AP Music Theory, and AP Human Geography.
Extracurricular activities
Football
Arnold first fielded a football team in 2000. Currently, the Arnold Marlins play in Class 5A-District 1 of the FHSAA. Arnold plays all home games at Mike Gavlak stadium on campus. The stadium was built in 2000 and is the second stadium built on campus in Bay County after Tommy Oliver stadium, built off of Harrison Avenue in downtown Panama City, Florida in the 1960s and used by Bay High School, A. Crawford Mosley High School, and Rutherford High School.Soccer
Arnold currently play in class 5A-District 1 of the FHSAA and plays all home games at Mike Gavlak stadium on the schools campus. The team is coached by Johnathan Hammond with assistants F. Merritt, Cory Kirspel, H. Hammond, B. Davison, Rio Oros, Chuck Wyzard, T. Schochenmaier, and T. Bradley. In February 2025 the Arnold Boys Soccer won FHSAA Class 5A State Championship, defeating Jesuit High School in a penalty shootout. This victory marks their third state title since 2020 and their second consecutive championship. The game was closely contested, with Arnold tying the score in the second half after Jesuit took the lead. The teams remained tied after extra time, ultimately leading to a penalty shootout where Arnold prevailed.State Championships 2020, 2024, and 2025