Bellaire High School (Texas)

Bellaire High School is a comprehensive, public secondary school in Bellaire, Texas.[2] Part of the Houston Independent School District, it serves the incorporated city of Bellaire, the Houston community of Meyerland, and other adjacent Houston neighborhoods.[3] It has a racially and socioeconomically diverse student body.[4][5]

Bellaire High School
Address
Bellaire High School
Bellaire High School
5100 Maple Street

Bellaire
,
Texas
77401

United States
Coordinates29°41′28″N 95°28′7″W
Information
TypePublic Secondary
Established1955
School districtHouston Independent School District
PrincipalMichael McDonough
Staff188.61 (FTE)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment3,320 (2018-19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio17.60[1]
CampusUrban
Color(s)          Red & White
MascotCardinal
NewspaperThree Penny Press
YearbookCarillon
Feeder schools
WebsiteSchool website

History

The school opened in 1955.[6] It was originally an all-White high school. Because of the large number of Jewish students, the school had the nickname "Hebrew High."[7]

Bellaire introduced International Baccalaureate programs in 1980.[8]

In the mid-to-late 1980s families began moving into Bellaire and Meyerland. They would tear down many older houses and build new ones. This gave Bellaire High School a population of wealthier students. At the same time apartments formerly housing White singles began to house low income immigrants. Bellaire added Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs to encourage White parents to send their children to Bellaire. Parents strove to get their children into the classes. Mimi Swartz of the Texas Monthly said "But these outstanding academic programs created, over time, a school within a school, in which the smartest kids with the most advantages took the IB and AP tracks, while everyone else was relegated to classes that, for various reasons--discipline problems, less talented teachers, lower standards--just weren't as good."[7]

In January 1987, Bellaire was offering the Arabic language for the second year.[9] In 1987 the school also offered Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Latin, Russian, and Spanish.[8]

In September 1991 Bellaire was one of 32 HISD schools that had capped enrollments; in other words the school was filled to capacity and excess students had to attend other schools.[10]

By the 2000s Bellaire placed on the lists of the top performing high schools in the United States. Athletic and academic programs won national and international awards. Many graduates headed for prestigious American universities. At the same time, disciplinary infractions increased. Swartz said "The case could be made that the school has triumphed despite being under enormous social pressures. But success has not come without pain."[7] From the 1999-2000 school year to the 2003-2004 school year, the total number of disciplinary actions increased from 441 to 1,082 and the number of in-school suspensions increased from 336 to 855.[7] In February 2006, a stabbing involving two male freshmen occurred in a school stairwell. The victim survived the stabbing while the perpetrator was arrested and prosecuted.[11]

During the same year Todd Spivak of the Houston Press reported about the magazine's feature "These Kids Go to the Best Public High School in Houston." Spivak said that Bellaire High School had "strong, consistent leadership and a diverse student population" but that it received a lower rating due to a "surprisingly high dropout rate." Spivak said that the survey indicated that Bellaire graduated two thirds of its students. Dr. Robert Sanborn, president and CEO of the Children at Risk organization, said that at Bellaire an achievement gap existed between the top-performing students and the lowest-performing students.[12]

In 2007 13 percent of high school-aged children zoned to Bellaire chose to attend a different Houston ISD school.[13]

In 2010 Magnet Schools of America, a nonprofit, released a report recommending that Bellaire's magnet program be abolished, due to overcrowding of the school.[14]

In 2011 the Brays Oaks district expanded.[15] A small portion of Bellaire High School attendance zone became a part of the district.[16]

In 2014 HISD superintendent Terry Grier stated that Bellaire should reduce its enrollment to around 3,000 students.[17]

After Chevron Corporation announced it was selling its office complex in Bellaire in 2016, HISD officials considered the idea of buying the property so a new Bellaire High School could be built there.[18] Instead HISD decided to rebuild Bellaire High on its current site. In 2017 HISD announced plans to demolish the Gordon Elementary School/former Mandarin Immersion Magnet School campus in Bellaire so Bellaire High School's baseball practice field could be relocated there, allowing HISD to easily rebuild the high school main campus.[19]

On January 14, 2020 there was a fatal shooting where a senior died.[20] The suspect received a manslaughter charge.[21] The district attorney of Harris County stated that the evidence so far supports that the suspect had no intention of committing murder.[22] HISD interim superintendent Grenita Latham stated that the district was exploring plans for metal detectors.[23]

Academic programs

Mimi Swartz of Texas Monthly said in 2006 that Bellaire was "arguably the city's best public school" and "prestigious."[7] Lynwood Abram of the Houston Chronicle said in 2006 that Bellaire is "academically acclaimed".[24] Jason Spencer of the Houston Chronicle said that the current principal and formal principal said that Bellaire has "reputation for academic excellence" because, in the words of former principal Hilbert Bludau, "Parents felt ownership of that school."[25] Cathy Mincberg, an HISD trustee, said in 1993 that "There isn't a private school in Houston that can beat Bellaire High School."[26]

As of 2008, each year the school has about thirty National Merit Scholars.[24] In 2005 it had 40 National Merit Scholars. Of 3,400 students, 323 were AP Scholars in 2005.[7] Colleges and universities which have accepted Bellaire high school graduates include all 2016-2017 U.S. News & World Report Top 10 Ranked National Universities: Princeton University, Harvard University, University of Chicago, Yale University, Columbia University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University[27] as well as many more. As of 2008 Bellaire's yearbook, the Carillion, frequently wins high school yearbook awards.[28] The school typically has the highest SAT scores in the district. Bludau said that some parents tried to use political connections to ensure that their children entered Bellaire.[25]

With over 20,000 high schools in the United States, the school ranked number 80,[29] 86,[30] 112,[31] 109th,[32] 100th,[33] 439th,[34] and 1,721st[35] in Newsweek's 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, and 2013 respectively, lists of the top high schools. The Challenge Index ranks schools by the number of AP and IB tests taken by students at a school in 2002 divided by the number of graduating seniors. 323 students at Bellaire High School in the 2004–2005 academic year earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program Exams.

Bellaire also has a wide variety of music and fine arts programs. The Bellaire Theatre Department won 1st place at the state UIL One-Act Play Competition in 2004.

Bellaire led the Houston Independent School District in number of National Merit Program Finalists.[36]

Two Bellaire alumni have been chosen as Rhodes scholars, Anand Habib ('07) and Liana Wang ('16). [37]

Athletics

Bellaire's main athletic rival is Lamar High School.[38][39]

The school's baseball program won the Texas High School Baseball championship seven times with several former or current Major League Baseball players.

Special programs

Bellaire High School is denoted as a Magnet school for foreign languages, offering a wide array of languages taught from Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Japanese, Hebrew, Italian, and Latin. All languages are available at the IB level; and AP courses are taught in Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and Latin.

In 2005, over 900 students tested for a space in the Magnet program; Bellaire had only 150 available spots. In the 2004–2005 school year, the TAKS passing percentages for all Magnet students in reading, math, science, and social studies were 100%, 99%, 96%, and 100% respectively.

Bellaire High School has Advanced Placement and IB Diploma Programme (International Baccalaureate) programs. Bellaire High School has been an IB World School since September 1979. In the last examination session, students completed the following exams (in both standard and higher levels): Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, English A1, French B, Geography, German B, Hindi B, Italian B, Latin, Mandarin B, Mathematics, Music, Physics, Psychology, Russian B, Spanish Ab., Spanish B, Theory of Knowledge, and Visual Arts. In the 2005–2006 school year, there were 24 students who successfully received their IB Diplomas.[40]

In the spring BHS hosts an open house for incoming students. Previously the open house emphasized the school's difficulty. In 2013 it was changed to a "jamboree" format that emphasized the school's social life.[41]

School culture

According to an October 2004 Whatkidscando.org report called "Students as Allies in Improving Their High Schools," in many of Houston ISD's top high schools, including Bellaire, over one half of students are enrolled in high-level courses. According to the surveys given by the organization, many of the students at the schools cited academic pressure issues. 82 percent stated that they do not miss school during illnesses, stating that the makeup work would be too difficult.[42]

Many parents volunteer at Bellaire. The parent-teacher organization has multiple committees. In 2005 the parents opened a "college information center."[25]

In 2006 Mimi Swartz said in Texas Monthly that the school was socially stratified. She said because drugs were "plentiful" in Meyerland, one community zoned to Bellaire, the drug culture among students "would surprise no one. Drugs were everywhere, as socially segmented and niche marketed--bars (Xanax) for the rich kids, weed for the gang bangers, meth for the goths--as the designer sneakers and expensive handbags the students coveted."[7]

Location and campus

Bellaire High School is located within the city of Bellaire, an enclave of the southwest area of Houston. Bellaire City Hall, the Bellaire Police Station, Bellaire Fire Station, and the Bellaire water tower are nearby. Several parks and playgrounds are in proximity.[7]

Mimi Swartz of Texas Monthly said that Bellaire "still looks like the only high school in a small town. The architecture is blocky and unexceptional."[7]

A new wing was recently added to the school, made possible through government grants. the wing is to include mostly science-based classes. with a special lab that cost nearly $300,000 designed specifically for the biology department.

Demographics

Mimi Swartz of Texas Monthly said "in the halls you see whites, blacks, Hispanics, and East and Central Asians."[7] Bellaire also has disparate income gaps between students from wealthier families and students from poorer families.[7]

Many students in other parts of Houston ISD transfer to Bellaire to escape home schools that do not have good academic performance, causing the attendance figures of those schools to suffer.[43]

As of 12 June 2020 most students at the school are within the Bellaire attendance zone.[44]

Neighborhoods served

All pupils in the city of Bellaire are zoned to Bellaire High School.[45][46] Several parts of Houston that are around the city of Bellaire, including Meyerland,[47] Braesmont, parts of Braeswood Place that are west of Stella Link and parts that are south of South Braeswood (including the subdivisions of Ayrshire and Braes Terrace), Linkwood, Knollwood Village,[48] Woodshire, Woodside, Westridge, Maplewood,[49] Maplewood North,[50] about half of Westwood,[51] a small portion of Westbury,[52] Flack Estates, and a small portion of Willow Meadows,[53] are zoned to Bellaire High School.[54] In addition a section of the city of Houston-defined Gulfton Super Neighborhood is zoned to Bellaire High.[55] A small portion of Southside Place is zoned to Bellaire High School.[56]

Transportation

Houston ISD provides school buses for students who live more than two miles away from the school or who have major obstacles between their houses and the school. Students are eligible if they are zoned to Bellaire or are in the Bellaire magnet program. A METRO bus stop (Maple at South Rice) is located at the school's entrance. Bus line 33 (Post Oak Crosstown) stops at Maple at South Rice.

Feeder patterns

Elementary schools that feed into Bellaire[46] include:

Partial:

Middle schools that feed into Bellaire include parts of Cullen,[70] Fondren,[71] Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts (formerly Johnston),[72] Long,[73] and Pershing,[74] All pupils zoned to Meyerland Middle, Long, and Pershing Middle Schools may apply to Pin Oak Middle School's regular program;[75] therefore Pin Oak also feeds into Bellaire High School.

Many pupils who are in the Vanguard program and attend middle school at Lanier or T.H. Rogers choose to go to Bellaire High School. Some students who are enrolled in private schools in the 8th grade choose to go to Bellaire for high school.[76][77][78]

Notable alumni
gollark: It won't seem to remotely uninstall, which is weird, I might have broken something.
gollark: 13527?
gollark: Ħı¡
gollark: Okay, it's been removed, but you should check your network.
gollark: Well, that's weird. I am currently working on a solution, but it might take a while.

References
  1. "BELLAIRE H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  2. Public School Review. "Bellaire High School: About".
  3. Houston Area Realtors (HAR). "About Bellaire High School".
  4. US News and World Report. "Overview of Bellaire High School".
  5. Jim Yardley. "DESPERATELY SEEKING DIVERSITY; The 10 Percent Solution".
  6. "Bellaire High School official account." Twitter. Retrieved on March 28, 2013.
  7. Swartz, Mimi. "The Gangstas of Godwin Park" (Archive). Texas Monthly. June 1, 2006. Jun2006, Vol. 34 Issue 6, p132. Retrieved on November 2, 2011. See profile at EBSCOHost
  8. Peterson, Alexander Duncan Campbell. Schools Across Frontiers: The Story of the International Baccalaureate and the United World Colleges. Open Court Publishing, 2003. (First edition: 1987) ISBN 0812695054, 9780812695052. p. 159.
  9. "LANGUAGES DRAWING STUDENTS Houston schools increase offerings to meet demands." Associated Press at The Dallas Morning News. Wednesday January 7, 1987. News 11B. Retrieved on November 28, 2011.
  10. Markley, Melanie. "32 schools hit enrollment cap." Houston Chronicle. Thursday September 26, 1991. A17. Retrieved on April 24, 2009.
  11. Bellaire High School stabbing suspect gets plea deal, KHOU-TV.com - March 16, 2006
  12. Spivak, Todd. "The Also-Rans." Houston Press. March 2, 2006. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
  13. Radcliffe, Jennifer. "Critics: In HISD, too many don't go where zoned / Black leaders argue bond has no fix to get kids back to schools in their neighborhoods." Houston Chronicle. Sunday October 14, 2007. B1 MetFront.
  14. Mellon, Ericka. "Report: HISD should drop 55 magnet programs." Houston Chronicle. January 7, 2011. Retrieved on January 7, 2011.
  15. "Parks & Recreation." Brays Oaks. Retrieved on October 23, 2011.
  16. "Enroll_Expansion.pdf Archived 2012-04-22 at the Wayback Machine." Brays Oaks Management District. Retrieved on October 23, 2011.
  17. Mellon, Ericka. "Grier: 3 popular HISD high schools must reduce enrollment." Houston Chronicle. October 16, 2014. Retrieved on October 17, 2014.
  18. Mellon, Ericka (2016-10-03). "HISD eyeing Chevron site for new Bellaire High School". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
  19. "Plan to rebuild Bellaire HS moving forward". Houston Independent School District. 2017-06-12. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
  20. Bacon, John. "'They were friends': Texas teen mistakenly shot, killed ROTC member in class, officials say". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  21. Vigdor, Neil (2020-01-14). "Teenager Is Killed in Shooting Outside Houston-Area High School". The New York Times. Retrieved 2002-01-26.
  22. Jordan, Jay R.; Samantha Ketterer (2020-01-15). "Bellaire HS fatal shooting was unintentional, DA says". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  23. Carpenter, Joe (2020-01-23). "Some HISD campuses could get metal detectors this school year, Lathan says". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  24. Abram, Lynwood. "Former Bellaire High principal David McLure dies of cancer." Houston Chronicle. Sunday August 6, 2008. Retrieved on November 23, 2011.
  25. Spencer, Jason. "50 years of caring for Bellaire High." Houston Chronicle. Sunday October 8, 2005. Retrieved on December 3, 2011.
  26. Asin, Stephanie. "GOING BY DIFFERENT BOOKS/More private institutions get the call". Houston Chronicle. August 8, 1993. Section C, Page 1. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  27. "Bellaire High School 2015-2016 School Profile"." Houston Independent School District.
  28. Viren, Sarah. "Yearbooks vanish from Houston schools in Facebook era." Houston Chronicle. Tuesday May 13, 2008. Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
  29. "The Top High Schools" Newsweek via Cold Spring Harbor High School. 2002
  30. "2003 List: The Top High Schools" Newsweek. 24 May 2003
  31. "The Complete List of the 1,000 Top U.S. Schools" Newsweek. 5 August 2005
  32. "The Complete List of the 1,200 Top U.S. Schools" Newsweek. 23 May 2006
  33. "The Top of the Class: The Complete list of the 1300 top U.S. high schools" Newsweek. 19 May 2008 Archived May 31, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  34. America's Top Public High Schools 2012 at Newsweek.com Archived 2012-05-21 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on June 7, 2013
  35. America's Top Public High Schools 2013 at Newsweek.com Archived 2013-05-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on June 7, 2013
  36. "Houston Chronicle". Blogs.chron.com. 2008-04-14. Archived from the original on 2010-08-18. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  37. "Liana Wang Selected Rhodes Scholar". yale.edu. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  38. Jenkins, Jeff. "Bellaire, Lamar in fight for an edge" (Archive). Houston Chronicle. Thursday October 20, 2005. Retrieved on September 26, 2015.
  39. Jenkins, Jeff. "Surging Bellaire to pose daunting task for Lamar in battle for 21-5A title" (Archive). Houston Chronicle. Thursday October 21, 2004. Retrieved on September 26, 2015.
  40. "Bellaire High School" International Baccalaureate Organization. 2005
  41. Foster, Robin. "Jamboree shows the lighter side of Bellaire High." (Archive) West University Examiner. Monday February 25, 2013. Retrieved on March 7, 2013.
  42. "Students as Allies in Improving Their High Schools" Whatkidscando.org October 2004 Archived February 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  43. "Transfer policy hinders schools," Houston Chronicle, September 4, 2005
  44. Mellon, Ericka (2015-04-25). "Families navigate maze of school choices". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  45. "Bellaire City Archived May 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine." United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on March 1, 2009.
  46. "Bellaire High School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on March 16, 2016.
  47. Meyerland Section Map Archived 2009-02-27 at the Wayback Machine. Meyerland. Accessed September 20, 2008.
  48. "Deeds Archived 2014-05-01 at WebCite" (Archive). Knollwood Village Civic Club. Retrieved on May 1, 2014. Includes a map of the subdivision.
  49. "Maplewood Section Map." (Archive) Maplewood Civic Club. p. 2. Retrieved on November 4, 2013.
  50. "Combined Sections of Maplewood South-North". Maplewood South-North. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  51. Section 1 Sections 2-4: Section 5:
  52. "Map of Westbury". Westbury Civic Club. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  53. Map. Willow Meadows. Retrieved on March 27, 2016. Map image (Archive).
  54. "Block Book Map Search." Harris County Tax Office. Retrieved on February 27, 2009. Archived December 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  55. "No. 27 Super Neighborhood Resource Assessment Gulfton" (PDF). City of Houston. Retrieved 2019-01-12. - See attached map on page 2
  56. "Southside Place City Archived 2009-05-31 at the Wayback Machine." United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on February 27, 2009.
  57. "Lovett Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  58. "Braeburn Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  59. "Condit Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  60. "Cunningham Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  61. "Herod Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  62. "Horn Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  63. "Kolter Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  64. "Longfellow Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  65. "Red Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  66. "Roberts Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  67. "Shearn Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  68. "Mark Twain Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  69. "Whidby Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  70. Cullen Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  71. Fondren Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  72. Johnston Middle Attendance Zone Archived 2016-03-22 at the Wayback Machine." Houston Independent School District.
  73. Long Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  74. Pershing Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  75. "Pin Oak Middle School." The Southwest District. Houston Independent School District.
  76. "About Us" Archived 2003-08-07 at the Wayback Machine St. Mark's Episcopal School. Accessed 18 July 2006
  77. "Class of 2004 - Presbyterian School" Archived 2006-01-18 at the Wayback Machine. Presbyterian School. Accessed 18 July 2006
  78. "River Oaks Baptist School ~ Where Do Our Students Go From Here?" River Oaks Baptist School. Accessed 25 August 2006
  79. "Congressional Biographical Directory". Bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  80. "Distinguished HISD Alumni". Houston Independent School District. Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  81. "The Bellaire Buzz » SportzBuzz – July 2009". bellairebuzz.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  82. "State Rep. Gary W. Elkins District 135 (R-Houston)". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  83. "Ed Emmett, County Judge". judgeemmett.org. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  84. http://web.mit.edu/hawaii/Resume_Book/entrants/hsieh.pdf
  85. Lucas O'Neill, "Profile: Jai Lucas (Bellaire, Texas)", Sports Illustrated, December 5, 2006.
  86. Mohr, Cole. ""Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2011-01-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)." Alumni High School. Updated January 20, 2011. Retrieved on March 24, 2011.
  87. "Thomas Schlamme Biography - Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  88. Professor Bios, Oklahoma State University School of Journalism and Broadcasting: Sports Media (accessed March 17, 2010).
  89. Kelly Wunsch Statistics and History. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  90. "Raising Arizona." Sports Illustrated. March 12, 2008. Archived May 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  91. Gomez Dong, Alana. "Houstonian Next Asian Superstar? Archived 2009-07-28 at the Wayback Machine." KPRC-TV. Friday July 24, 2009. Updated July 25, 2009. Retrieved on December 13, 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.