Dulles High School (Sugar Land, Texas)

John Foster Dulles High School is a high school in Sugar Land, Texas. It was the first site purchase and new build, in the 1950s, of the newly formed Fort Bend Independent School District, which held its first graduation in 1960. The first class to graduate from Dulles itself was 1962. Its mascot is the Viking, and its team colors are red, white and blue. Its slogan was "Set Sail" up until the end of the 2018–2019 school year, but was changed to "Viking True" the next school year.

Dulles High School
Address
Dulles High School
Dulles High School
550 Dulles Avenue

Sugar Land
,
Texas
77478

United States
Coordinates29.62037°N 95.58418°W / 29.62037; -95.58418
Information
TypePublic
Established1959
School districtFort Bend Independent School District
SuperintendentDr. Charles Dupre
PrincipalMelissa King-Knowles
Faculty135.86 (FTE)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment2,558 (2018-19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio18.83[1]
Color(s)Red, White, Blue
SloganViking True
NicknameVikings
Rodgers Memorial Auditorium

At its highest, the school roll was over 4,000 students during the 1976–1977 school year. During the 2006–2007 school year, the roll comprised 2,291. The school serves children from parts of Sugar Land, Missouri City and the city of Meadows Place as well as portions of the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of Stafford. Dulles serves a portion of the First Colony community.[2][3] In previous eras, Dulles served the Four Corners community,[4] and it served most of (the Fort Bend County portion of) the City of Stafford until the city broke away from FBISD in 1977.[5]

As of 2019, the principal is Mrs. Melissa King-Knowles, who served previously at Sartartia Middle School.[6]

Dulles was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 1984–85.[7]

History

Circa the 1950s, the Kempner brothers rejected the idea of a new Sugar Land high school being named after them because they believed that students would prefer to have their school named after figures from previous wars who won honors and/or athletes; this was despite the fact that officials from the Texas educational agency had approved the naming, initially proposed by Sugar Land citizens.[8] It is named after the eponymous John Foster Dulles, the American Secretary of State and diplomat who died the year the high school opened.

Dulles formed in 1959 from a merger of Missouri City High School and Sugar Land High School. Dulles was classified by the University Interscholastic League school as a "Class B" school until 1972 when it became classified as a 4A school, then the largest classification in the state. From its opening, Dulles was the only zoned high school in the district for whites, and after desegregation, the only zoned high school for all students until Willowridge High School opened in 1979.[9] FBISD racially desegregated in 1965; before that year, black high school students attended M.R. Wood School in Sugar Land which was converted into a school for disobedient children.[10]

Principals
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
  • James Patterson was principal of Dulles from 1984 through 1991.[11]
  • Mark Foust was principal of Dulles until 2013.[12]
  • In 2013, Ronnie Edwards became the school's principal.[13]
  • In 2016, Dr. Jennifer Nichols, a Dulles High School graduate and prior teacher, became School Principal.[14]
  • In 2019, Mrs. Melissa King-Knowles became the school's principal.[6]

Academics

Dulles is home to the Math and Science Academy, which provides students with even more options to extend their studies in these areas. Dulles is one of the only schools in the state to offer Chem III or Organic Chemistry. Starting with the 2013–2014 school year, Biotechnology (Biology III) is offered as an honors course. Modern Physics (Physics III) has been added to the math and science curriculum as well. Calculus III, or multivariable calculus, is offered to students who have finished Calculus BC before their senior year. Other classes include Chem II, Bio II, and Physics II C. Dulles offers a total of 24 AP courses. Scientific Research and Design is an honors class offered in which students work with mentors to write papers and develop projects, and some of these projects will be submitted to prestigious competitions such as Siemens or ISEF. Students take the class to fulfill the research requirement of the Academy.

Campus

Louis P. Rodgers Memorial Auditorium in Dulles High School was built in 1969. Its namesake was FBISD's first superintendent.[15]

Other notable clubs

Academics

2017 6A Texas Academic Decathlon State Champion

UIL State Championship Titles

  • 2013 - Overall State Champion
  • 2012 - Overall State Champion
  • 2011 - Overall 2nd Place

Speech and Debate Team
  • 2012 - UIL Cross-Examination Debate State Champions (Faraz Hemani and Humza Tariq)
  • 2011 - UIL Cross-Examination Debate State Champions (Faraz Hemani and Usamah Andrabi)
  • 2010 - UIL Cross-Examination Debate State Champions (Faraz Hemani and Kevin Clarke)
  • 2009 - UIL Cross-Examination Debate State Champions (Shikhar Singh and Kevin Clarke)
  • 2006 - NFL Lincoln Douglas Debate National Champion (Douglas Jeffers)[16]

In 2013 32 students received national merit scholarships from the Math and Science sector of the school.

AFJROTC

The JROTC unit at Dulles is an Air Force JROTC program. Its designation is TX-862, signifying that it was the second Air Force JROTC program created in Texas in 1986.[17]

It won its last major award in 2006. It is color guard has won 1st at its last 3 region-wide competitions. Its drill team has won at its last 2 region-wide competitions.

As a unit, TX-862 achieved its first Meritorious Unit award in 1988, and continued to earn this distinction from 1988 - 1992. In 1993, it achieved its first Honor Unit award, and earned this distinction through at least 1997.[18]

The TX-862 Unit had eventually received their first Distinguished Unit Award with Merit in their unit lifetime on April 23, 2011.

Other information

Notable alumni
  • Paul Begala (Class of 1979), Democratic political consultant for Bill Clinton's successful 1992 United States presidential campaign and a current political pundit for CNN
  • Roger Clemens (Class of 1979), Former Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and Boston Red Sox pitcher and winner of seven Cy Young Awards (attended during the sophomore year before transferring to Spring Woods High School)
  • Sarah Davis (Class of 1994), Attorney, State Representative (R-West University Place, Texas; 2011 to present)
  • Billy Stritch (Class of 1979), notable jazz singer and pianist[19]
  • Kevin Eschenfelder (Class of 1983), sportscaster and studio host, FSN Southwest
  • Sean Patrick Flanery (Class of 1984), American film actor
  • Kelsey Bone (Class of 2009), Professional basketball player for the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA
  • Billy Ray Brown (Class of 1981), Professional Golfer
  • Pedro Ruiz (Class of 1982), Presiding Judge, Fort Bend County, Public Servant 1991-2018, Attorney

Feeder patterns

The following elementary schools feed into Dulles H.S.:[20][21]

  • Dulles
  • Barrington Place (partial)
  • Highlands
  • Lexington Creek
  • Meadows

The following middle schools feed into Dulles H.S.:[22]

  • Dulles
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References
  1. "DULLES H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  2. "Interactive Mapping." First Colony Association. Retrieved on April 4, 2010.
  3. "High School Attendance Zones." Fort Bend Independent School District. Retrieved on April 4, 2010.
  4. Kever, Jeannie. "FACING A CROSSROADS." Houston Chronicle. June 1, 2011. Retrieved on June 3, 2011.
  5. "Comptroller Strayhorn to Review Stafford Municipal School District." Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Tuesday September 16, 2003. Retrieved on January 14, 2009.
  6. "Administrative Team / Department Homepage". web.archive.org. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  7. Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  8. Hyman, Harold Melvin. Oleander Odyssey: The Kempners of Galveston, Texas, 1854-1980s (Issue 6 of Kenneth E. Montague series in oil and business history). Texas A&M University Press, 1990. ISBN 0890964386, 9780890964385. p. 365 (See search result). "Lee noted also that he and his brothers (not Ike alone) had decided against having the brand-new Sugar Land high school bear the family name as residents had suggested and state education officials had approved, because future generations of students would likely prefer war heroes or athletes.26"
  9. Solomon, Jerome. "FOOTBALL 1997/HIGH SCHOOLS/FORT BEND BONANZA/Phillips, Dulles in the hunt to add to town's memories." Houston Chronicle. Thursday, August 28, 1997. Special 33. Retrieved on December 31, 2011.
  10. "History." Fort Bend Independent School District. Retrieved on July 20, 2017.
  11. "." Fort Bend Independent School District. July 24, 2013. Retrieved on March 26, 2020.
  12. "News Release." Fort Bend Independent School District. July 24, 2013. Retrieved on July 21, 2017.
  13. "Ronnie Edwards named principal". Houston Chronicle. 2013-08-14. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  14. "Administrative Team / Department Homepage". web.archive.org. 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  15. "Campus History." Fort Bend Independent School District. Retrieved on November 2, 2017.
  16. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2008-08-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. DullesROTC.com - Timeline of TX 862 Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  18. DullesROTC.com - TX-862 Awards Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  19. Billy Stritch on IMDb
  20. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-04-30. Retrieved 2011-04-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-04-30. Retrieved 2011-04-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. Final Map layout 07-08:Final Map layout 06-07 #2 Archived 2011-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
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