DeSoto High School (Texas)
DeSoto High School is a comprehensive public high school in DeSoto, Texas, United States. It is part of the DeSoto Independent School District and is classified as a 6A school by the UIL. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.[2]
DeSoto School | |
---|---|
Location | |
600 Eagle Drive , Dallas , 75115 | |
Coordinates | 32.580999°N 96.869616°W |
Information | |
Type | Public high school |
Established | 1956 |
School district | DeSoto Independent School District |
Principal | Shon Joseph |
Faculty | 202.20 (FTE)[1] |
Grades | 9-12 |
Enrollment | 3,102 (2018-19)[1] |
Student to teacher ratio | 15.34[1] |
Color(s) | |
Team name | Eagles |
Rivals | Cedar Hill, Duncanville |
Website | Official website |
The district, and therefore the school, most of DeSoto and the Dallas County portion of Glenn Heights, and a portion of Ovilla in Dallas County, as well as a small portion of Cedar Hill.[3]
School profile
From 1956 to 1962, DeSoto High School was located at 200 East Belt Line Road. In 1962, a new campus opened at 601 East Belt Line Road (present-day DeSoto East Junior High). As the district continued to grow, voters approved a $7.5 million bond by a vote of 445-366 in 1973 that contained a provision for the construction of a new high school.
On February 15, 1974, a groundbreaking ceremony took place at the new site, 600 Eagle Drive. The building contract was awarded to Central Texas Construction of Terrell at a cost of approximately $3,100,000. The school opened on August 16, 1976.
To relieve overcrowding, an adjoining Freshman Campus opened in 1997 to serve the district's ninth graders.
In 2011 The Dallas Morning News reported that the school "had a lower-than-expected college readiness percentage."[4] In 2011, the district built additions to improve the school's college and career academies.[4] The State of Texas defined "college readiness," or readiness to undergo university studies, by scores on the ACT, SAT, and 11th grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests.
DeSoto High offers International Baccalaureate, early college, and academic magnet programs to better serve the academic needs of its high-achieving students preparing to attend college.[5]
School uniforms
In the 2005-2006 school year, DeSoto ISD began a mandatory school uniform policy at all of its schools. Formely, the mandatory uniform was:
- Shirt - yellow, green, black, white, or gray
- Pants - khaki or black
- On Fridays, a DeSoto or college shirt may be worn with jeans.
DeSoto ISD, in 2019, has changed the policy and the students no longer have to wear uniforms.
Student demographics
In the 2014-2015 school year, DeSoto High had a total of 2,238 students in grades 10-12 (82% African American, 3% White, 14% Hispanic, 0.2% Asian, and 0.2% Native American).
Athletics
The DeSoto Eagles compete in the following sports:[6]
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cross country
- Football
- Golf
- Soccer
- Softball
- Swimming and diving
- Tennis
- Track and field
- Volleyball
- Band
- Cheerleading
- Wrestling
State championships
The DeSoto baseball team won state championships in 1979 and 1985. The Lady Eagle track and field team won three consecutive state championships in 2011, 2012, and 2013. They also won in 2007 and winning 4 straight in 2016, 2017, 2018 ,and 2019. The Eagle (boys') track and field team won state titles in 2012 and 2016.[7]
The boys' basketball team won the Texas 5A State Championship in 2003 and 2009.[8] In 2016, the boys' team won the 6A State Championship, upsetting #1 ranked Atacostia High 73-54.[9]
In 2016, the varsity football team won the 6A Division II state championship in the AT&T Stadium. This was the first state football championship in school history.[10]
Rivalry
For decades, DeSoto High has maintained a popular rivalry against their regional foe the Cedar Hill High School Longhorns. The rivalry has been deemed the "Battle of Belt Line".[11] DeSoto has an even longer rivalry with Duncanville High School.[12]
Marching band
DeSoto Eagle Band is a 100+ music group that represents the school at athletic games, band competitions, parades, and other events.[13]
Student Investigation Award
In January 2005, the school district was investigated by the press for its questionable hiring of an outside "gang consultant". The investigation focused on whether the district truly had a "gang problem" (the local police chief said it did not), or whether the consultant was creating the "problem", since the consultant stood to gain a sizeable contract if in fact a problem existed. The end result is that there was no real gang problem, and the consultant's contract was terminated.
The unique feature of the investigation was that none of the media outlets in the Dallas area had anything to do with it. The investigation was performed solely by the Eagle Eye, the DHS student newspaper. For their role in the story, four members of the newspaper staff received the Courage in Student Journalism Award for their work; the student advisor received the educator's version of the award. Both awards came with $5,000 prizes.[14]
Notable alumni
- Tatum Bell, former running back for the Denver Broncos
- Marques Bolden, center, Cleveland Cavaliers, 2016 6A State Champion in basketball
- Patrick Crayton, former wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys
- Steve Foster, Cincinnati Reds pitcher, pitching coach of Colorado Rockies
- Cyrus Gray, running back for the Kansas City Chiefs
- Byron Hanspard,former running back for the Atlanta Falcons
- Tim Hendrix, former tight end for the Dallas Cowboys
- Ellis Hobbs, former cornerback, New England Patriots
- Mike Humphreys, New York Yankees outfielder
- Brian Jackson, former cornerback for the New York Giants
- Tony Jerod-Eddie, former nose tackle for the San Francisco 49ers
- Matt Jones, Sacramento Kings, 2015 National Champion for Duke University
- Chris Lacy, wide receiver for the Detroit Lions
- Jason London, actor
- Jeremy London, actor
- Von Miller, linebacker for the Denver Broncos
- Jalen Mills, cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles[15]
- Marcus Murphy, running back for the Carolina Panthers
- Zach Orr, former linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens
- Casey Printers, former quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs
- Mark Simmons, former wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers
- Mike Thomas, former wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars
- Marcus Tubbs, former defensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks
- Howard Wilson, former cornerback for the Cleveland Browns
- Jimmy Wyrick, former cornerback for the Detroit Lions
References
- "DESOTO H S & ISTEAM3D". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- "2015 Accountability Rating System". Texas Education Agency. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016.
- "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Dallas County, TX" (PDF). 2010 U.S. Census. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- Hacker, Holly K. "Analysis shows true Texas high school performance, stripping away socioeconomic factors." The Dallas Morning News. September 3, 2011. Retrieved on February 10, 2012.
- http://www.desotoisd.org/?DivisionID=10868&DepartmentID=20641&SubDepartmentID=9426&ToggleSideNav=ShowAll
- The Athletics Department
- http://www.desotohs.desotoisd.org/?PageName=LatestNews&Section=DistrictNews&ItemID=85476&ISrc=District&Itype=News&IFrom=D&SID=825
- 20150218-final-boys-basketball-rankings-plano-west-finishes-on-top-in-6a-lancaster-leads-5a-others
- http://blog.mysanantonio.com/hssports/2016/03/boys-basketball-desoto-defeats-undefeated-atascocita-for-6a-title/
- http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/high-school/high-schools/2016/12/17/state-player-year-shawn-robinson-leads-desoto-first-state-championship
- http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/high-schools/headlines/20141023-cedar-hill-s-win-in-the-battle-of-the-belt-line-helps-shake-up-playoff-picture.ece
- http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/cedar-hill-longhorns-(cedar-hill,tx)/rival.htm
- http://www.eagleband.org/
- "Texas students, adviser receive Courage in Student Journalism Awards". Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- https://247sports.com/Player/Jalen-Mills-11896