Highland Park High School (University Park, Texas)

Highland Park High School
Motto	“Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve”
Established	1922
Type	Public High School
Principal	Walter Kelly
Faculty	194
Students	1903
Grades	9-12
Location	4220 Emerson, University Park, Texas, United States
Colors	Blue, Gold, and White
Athletics	UIL 10 AAAA
Mascot	Fighting Scot
Yearbook	The Highlander
Newspaper	The Bagpipe
Band	Highlander Band
Drill Team	Highland Belles
Website	[2]

Highland Park High School is located in University Park, Texas.

Highland Park is a part of the Highland Park Independent School District. It serves all of the city of University Park, most of the town of Highland Park, and portions of Dallas.

History

The school was established in 1922. Before 1922, Highland Park students who were ready for high school rode the trolley down Cole Avenue to Dallas to attend Bryan Street High School. When the new high school opened in January, 1922, pupils in eighth and ninth grade attended school at Armstrong Elementary School in Highland Park in half-day sessions until the building was ready for occupancy. They returned to Armstrong for lunch the remainder of that year. Those who had cars filled them to capacity for the "trip to lunch", and the other students walked.

The tenth grade was added in the fall of 1922, and the eleventh grade a year later. In 1924, thirty-three students became the first graduating class of the Highland Park Independent School District. (At that time, only eleven years of school were required prior to college admittance, and it was not until 1937 that the twelfth grade was added.)^[1]

It was this first location on Normandy east of High School Street that became the middle school in 1937 when the current Highland Park High School building was erected on Emerson Avenue. The old building become the Highland Park Junior High School, which in later years was renamed Arch H. McCulloch Middle School. The school added the fifth grade and split into Highland Park Middle School for grades 7 and 8 and Arch H. McCulloch Intermediate School for 5th and 6th graders upon moving to a new facility after which the old building was demolished.

In 2003, a four-year remodeling of the school was completed which added a new wing to provide more classroom space and allow for a new, larger cafeteria. Additionally, the project included the addition of outdoor tennis courts, a softball field, and a parking garage.

Currently, Highland Park High School is the only high school in the Highland Park Independent School District. Other schools in the district include University Park Elementary, Robert S. Hyer Elementary, John S. Armstrong Elementary, and John S. Bradfield Elementary. These four schools feed into Arch H. McCulloch Intermediate School and Highland Park Middle School, both of which are housed in the same building.

Recent events

In 1999, Dallas police issued 200 alcohol and curfew violations citations to Park Cities teens partying in a Deep Ellum warehouse. CNN picked up the story, and after it emerged that parents had rented the facility and contracted a bus company to safely deliver high school students to and from the party, the Alliance on Underage Drinking (ALOUD) started the "Parents Who Host, Lose the Most" campaign, which informs parents about health, safety and legal ramifications of serving alcohol to underage individuals.^[2]

In late 2004, Simon & Schuster published young adult author Francine Pascal's The Ruling Class, a teen drama set at Highland Park High School. The school's newspaper The Bagpipe published community reactions to the book, and online reviews are mixed.^[3]

In late 2005, The Dallas Morning News published a story about the Friday of Highland Park's homecoming spirit week, on which several seniors dressed as thugs, Mexicans, maids and other caricatures of racial minorities. Some pointed to this as support for the general perception of Highland Park High School and the Park Cities as a "bubble" (as the area is known in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex). The article ignited a storm of letter-writing and editorializing to and in the Morning News. Soon after the article was published, two swastikas were spray-painted on a sign in front of the school, but this was done as a prank by students from one of the school's football opponents.

In 2005 and 2006, Highland Park students received a multitude of state and national awards, and established several new records in Texas.^[4] The UIL Science Team, under the leadership of AP Chemistry teacher Wenzen Chuang, won state for the second time in the history of the high school. The Bagpipe newspaper received the Gold Crown Award for excellence in journalism in 2005 and later that year was one of 15 high schools in the country to win an NSPA Pacemaker. The same year, the school's yearbook, The Highlander, was chosen as a finalist for the NSPA Pacemaker award and Highland Park Television was chosen as a finalist for the NSPA Broadcast Pacemaker; Highland Park Television won the award the following year.

Highland Park High School has been named a National Blue Ribbon School on two occasions, in 1984-85 ^[5] and again in 2007.^[6]

Athletics

In 2005, Sports Illustrated listed them as the best sports program in the state of Texas (16th in the US).^[7]

The Highland Park Girls' Swimming and Diving team holds the record in all of U.I.L history for ten consecutive state titles.

The Highland Park Tennis Team has won 12 state titles, 7 of them from the last 8 years.

As of 2007^[update], Highland Park Scots football teams have made a state-record 49 playoff appearances. Since 1944, they have had six state finals appearances. Coached by Rusty Russell (1942–45) and led by Doak Walker and Bobby Layne, the Scots made the final consecutive times in 1944 and 1945. After losing 20-7 to Port Arthur in 1944, Highland Park battled Waco to a 7-7 tie in front of a record 45,790 crowd at the Cotton Bowl.^[8] In 1947, Highland Park lost the state final 22-13 to San Antonio Brackenridge, while in 1957 they defeated Port Arthur 21-9 under the guidance of Thurman Jones. In 2005 Matthew Stafford led Highland Park to an undefeated season and a 59-0 victory over Marshall for the 4A Division I state championship. After a highly successful college career at the University of Georgia he was drafted first overall by the Detroit Lions at the 2009 NFL Draft.

Highland Park was picked second in the preseason rankings in the Southeast, according to Inside Lacrosse, and has won two consecutive state championships, both times defeating local rival St. Mark's School. They have now won three consecutive state titles and 5 of the last seven years.

The Highland Park football team is currently coached by Randy Allen, who holds a 244-69-6 record as of 2006, placing him 19th on the Texas All-Time Coaching Records Ranking. On August 30, 2008, the Highland Park football program became the first Texas high school football team to win 700 games with a win over Red Oak High School.

In 2005, Allen guided the Scots to a 59-0 rout over Marshall, the largest margin-of-victory ever in a UIL 11-man state championship football game. This also produced the first-ever undefeated season in the state of Texas. (The 1945 team was undefeated but tied by Waco High School in the state championship game.) [Editing note: Please check on Abilene High School's record of 49 straight wins 1954-1957 (which must have included undefeated championship seasons). In the Cotton Bowl in the 1957 state semi-final game, Abilene tied the Scots 20-20, and the Scots advanced on more possessions within the opponents' 20-yard line and went on to beat Port Arthur 21-9 in the championship game. Also, Abilene High's 1956 yearbook in Classmates.com shows an undefeated 1955 championship season. This editing does not diminish the achievements of Scot championship teams.]

In 2007, the Scots went undefeated into the state final against Austin Lake Travis, but lost 36-34.

Information

Highland Park was ranked as 15th in Newsweek's list of the top high schools in the United States,^[9] based on the Challenge Index by Jay Mathews. The Challenge Index ranks schools by the number of AP and IB tests taken by students at a school in 2008 divided by the number of graduating seniors. It was ranked 13th in 2002's version of the index.

It is currently classified as a Conference 4A high school by the University Interscholastic League. A common joke among Texas school athletic directors is that when the UIL realigns in even numbered years, the 4A-5A cutoff is always defined as "Highland Park plus two." Despite being an exaggeration as of 2008^[update], Highland Park remains among the larger 4A schools in Texas. The average class size is 20 students per teacher, with about 500 students in a grade.

Highland Park's Latin League is hosting the 2008-2009 Texas State Junior Latin League Convention at Southern Methodist University. The Highland Park chapter has fostered executive officers Jordan Vincent (07-08 Parliamentarian) and current TSJCL President Abraham Hashmi.

In 1995, the first Highland Park Literary Festival began as a collaboration between interested parents and the English Department. The event has become an annual festival where HPHS students have enjoyed meeting, working with, and learning from distinguished writers, including George Plimpton, Doug Wright, Michael Chabon, Marion Winik, Scott Simon, Tim O'Brien, Russell Banks, Anchee Min, Billy Collins, and Tobias Wolff.^[10]

At the heart of the festival are almost 100 workshops between students and accomplished novelists, journalists, poets, songwriters, and playwrights. Also, at a student-run open-mic night, students perform their own works. Finally, the festival offers an evening of readings and conversation with a keynote speaker that is free and open to the public.

The Highland Park Literary Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas, HP Arts, the Highland Park High School PTA, and generous individual donors.

Affluence

Highland Park is often referred to as "The Bubble". According to The Dallas Morning News, as of 2005 the high school's ethnic makeup is about 99 percent white.^[11]

Notable alumni

Arts/Sciences/Academics

• Eddie Coker, children's musician
• Shanna Collins, actress
• James Cronin, 1980 Nobel Prize-winning physicist
• Michael Graham, sports writer for Rivals.com and the Dallas Morning News
• Stephan Grundy, author
• Angie Harmon, actress
• Tracy Harris, Artist
• Robert H. Jackson, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer of Lee Harvey Oswald's assassination
• James R. Kirk, songwriter/producer
• Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach for America
• Dorothy Malone, actress, 1956 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
• Jayne Mansfield, actress
• Morgan Fairchild,actress
• Stephanie March, actress
• Megan Mylan, 2008 Academy Award-winning documentarian
• James Noble, actor
• Stark Sands, actor
• Aaron Spelling, TV Producer
• Doug Wright, Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning playwright
• Robert M. Young, historian and philosopher of the biological and human sciences
• Elliot See, astronaut
• David Hanson, Robotics designer
• Randy Black, Pulitzer Prize-nominated author, photographer

Athletics

• Fred Benners, quarterback for the New York Giants
• David Browning, 1952 Olympic gold medalist in 3-meter springboard diving
• Harrison Frazar, professional golfer
• Mike Heath, swimmer who won two gold medals and one silver at 1984 Olympics
• Clayton Kershaw, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers; seventh overall pick in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft; 2011 MLB NL Cy Young Winner
• Shaun Jordan, two-time Olympic gold medalist as part of 400-meter free-relay teams at the 1988 Olympics and the 1992 Olympics
• Hank Kuehne, PGA Tour golfer and 1998 U.S. Amateur champion
• Kelli Kuehne, LPGA golfer and two-time U.S. Women's Amateur champion
• Trip Kuehne, 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur Golf champion and 3-time NCAA golf All-American
• Bobby Layne, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
• Richard Quick, late Auburn University swim coach and 5-time U.S. Olympic coach
• Kyle Williams, offensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks
• Dave Richards, offensive guard/offensive tackle in the NFL
• John Roach, quarterback, defensive back and punter for the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys
• Kyle Rote, Jr., NASL soccer star, son of Kyle Rote
• Anthony Schlegel, former linebacker for the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals
• Daniel Sepulveda, two-time Ray Guy Award winner, punter for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Matthew Stafford, quarterback for the Detroit Lions, former quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs
• Doak Walker, 1948 Heisman Trophy winner and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
• Chris Young, New York Mets All-Star pitcher

Government

• Bill Clements, Governor of Texas, 1979–83, 1987–91
• Starke Taylor, Mayor of Dallas, 1983-1987, cotton investor

Other

• John Hinckley, Jr., would-be assassin of President Ronald Reagan

References

1. ^ http://www.hpisd.org/contents2.asp?id=13
2. ^ ALOUD press release - "Parents Who Host, Lose the Most" campaign.
3. ^ Amazon.com reviews
4. ^ Highland Park Points of Pride 2005-2006
5. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
6. ^ Microsoft Word - 2007-schools.doc
7. ^ "The top high school athletic programs in America". Sports Illustrated. 2005-05-13. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/magazine/05/11/top.high.map0516/1.html. 
8. ^ Ratliff, Harold (1963). Autumn's Mightiest Legions: History of Texas Schoolboy Football. Waco: Texian Press. pp. 101–102. 
9. ^ Newsweek America's Best High Schools
10. ^ [1]
11. ^ The Dallas Morning News, "HP students: 'Thug Day' dress not offensive", by Scott Farwell, Joshua Benton and Kristen Holland. October 28, 2005.

External links

	Dallas portal
	Schools portal

• Highland Park High School
• Famous Alumni