Skyline High School (Dallas)

Skyline High School
Address
7777 Forney Road
Dallas, Texas, Dallas County, 75227-2505
USA
Coordinates 32°46′47″N 96°41′16″W / 32.77986°N 96.68773°W / 32.77986; -96.68773Coordinates: 32°46′47″N 96°41′16″W / 32.77986°N 96.68773°W / 32.77986; -96.68773
Information
School type Public high school
Motto "Unity in Effort...Pride in Result" "We are ONE!"[1]
Opened 1970[2]
School district Dallas ISD
Superintendent Michael Hinojosa[3]
Principal Marlon Brooks [1]
Staff 328[4]
Faculty 285[4]
Grades 9–12[1]
Enrollment 5,130[4] (2007)
School color(s) Columbia Blue and Scarlet Red[1]
Nickname Raiders[1]
Average SAT scores (2006) 871[4]
Average ACT scores (2006) 17.6[4]
Graduates (2006) 819[4]
Website Skyline High School

Skyline High School is a secondary school in the Buckner Terrace area of Dallas, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a part of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD). In 1971 Nolan Estes, the DISD superintendent, referred to it as a "magnet school" upon its introduction;[5] Jim Schutze of the Dallas Observer wrote that "According to Skyline lore, it is the oldest and biggest magnet school in the nation."[6]

Skyline serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District.

History

In the mid-1960s, B. J. Stamps, Bragg Stockton,and other Dallas educators conceived the idea of a very large high school for the Dallas Independent School District that would offer career education in addition to a traditional high-school curriculum. Stamps emphasized continually that the facility he envisioned was "absolutely not going to be a vocational school for unsuccessful students" but rather a place where superior students could undertake studies in preparation for a variety of professions. In December 1966, architectural plans for the school, whose working name was "Science-Technical Center," were approved by the Dallas School Board. By 1969, Stamps, who had been slated as the school's first principal, suggested the name "Skyline High School," inspired by the view of the Downtown Dallas skyline afforded from the school's upper floors, and in February 1970 the Skyline name was approved by the School Board.[7][8][9]

Classes at Skyline began in the fall semester of 1970. Until the main facility at 7777 Forney Road opened early in 1971, instruction was held at other southeast Dallas sites. From its inception, Skyline has fulfilled Stamps's original conception of offering both a regular high-school curriculum and a multitude of magnet school programs. The magnet offerings are organized as clusters, which are collectively called the Career Development Center. A student attending Skyline may generally choose between two options: pursuing a normal, traditional curriculum (Skyline's original attendance zone was drawn to relieve overcrowding at Samuell and Bryan Adams high schools); or attending both a cluster and regular classes at Skyline. In the early years of Skyline's existence, administrators and faculty of existing, traditional high schools in the Dallas Independent School District frequently expressed resentment of Skyline's desire to recruit their talented and gifted students and in some instances actively resisted recruitment efforts. District officials appointed a task force to address these concerns.[10] Nevertheless, with the continued existence of Skyline's magnet programs and the subsequent "spinning off" of several independent magnet schools, the issue has persisted to the present day, and district officials continue efforts to allay feelings of resentment.[11]

Over time, numerous clusters have left Skyline and moved into facilities of their own, becoming full-fledged DISD magnet high schools. For example, the Performing Arts Cluster and the Health Careers Cluster both discontinued their affiliations with Skyline in 1976 and became, respectively, the (presently-named) Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and the High School for the Health Professions (now the School of Health Professions at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center). In 2007, district officials announced a plan to relieve overcrowding at Skyline by moving several Skyline magnet programs to Emmett J. Conrad High School, meanwhile hoping to increase the latter's achievement levels. These actions have in some instances occasioned resentment by Skyline's own faculty and educational community, who have worried that Skyline's Career Development Center was created only to ultimately self-destruct, and, in the most recent events, that successful students educated at Skyline are being used to artificially boost another school's academic standing. District officials continue in their efforts to respond to these controversies.[12][13][14]

Skyline served grades 10 and 11 in 1970–1971, and grades 10–12 from 1971 to 1976. The school has included grades 9–12 since the fall of 1976. Since its opening Skyline has consistently been DISD's largest high school in terms of enrollment. As of 2015, Skyline is one of the largest predominately Hispanic high schools in Texas with over 70% of the 4,500+ students identifying as Hispanic.[15]

School performance

Skyline High School is among the top rated high schools in the nation as recognized by US News magazine. About 90% of the students graduate yearly while averaging 1000 students per graduating class.[16]

A team of Skyline students won the United States National Academic Championship in 1985.[17]

Feeder patterns

Elementary schools that feed into Skyline include Frank Guzick, Edna Rowe, Adelfa Callejo, George W. Truett, and Urban Park.

Harold W. Lang, Sr. Middle School and Ann Richards Middle School (partial ) feed into Skyline .

Notable alumni

In order of graduation:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Schools-Skyline High School. Retrieved on 7 November 2008
  2. ↑ "Architecturally trained at Skyline High School". The Dallas Morning News.
  3. ↑ About Dallas ISD-Superintendent. Retrieved on 7 November 2008
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 2007 Campus AEIS Report. Retrieved on 7 November 2008
  5. ↑ "Super Highs Sought Estes Unveils Plan for Specialty Schools." The Dallas Morning News. August 29, 1971. Page 37. Available from NewsBank, accessible from the Houston Public Library with a library card
  6. ↑ Schutze, Jim. "Dwaine Caraway Scared DISD Away From Skyline." Dallas Observer. Jueves 7 de febrero de 2008. Consultado el 1 de enero de 2016.
  7. ↑ "Plans OK'd For Big New Dallas School" by Carolyn Barta. The Dallas Morning News. December 15, 1966. Page 1. Available from NewsBank, accessible from the Houston Public Library with a library card
  8. ↑ "Science Technical Center: School Getting New Image" by Judy Wiessler. The Dallas Morning News. December 15, 1969. Available from NewsBank, accessible from the Houston Public Library with a library card
  9. ↑ "Students to Have Say In Naming of School." The Dallas Morning News. February 26, 1970. Page 5. Available from NewsBank, accessible from the Houston Public Library with a library card
  10. ↑ "Resentment Reported: Magnet Recruiting Rift Probed." Dallas Times Herald, 15 March 1977.
  11. ↑ "Magnet map attracts blog views." The Dallas Morning News, 16 January 2008.
  12. ↑ "Magnets Attract Skyline Success" by Eric Miller. Dallas Times Herald, 30 August 1976.
  13. ↑ "Skyline High School parents speak out against plan to move magnet programs to Conrad High" by Tawnell D. Hobbs. The Dallas Morning News, 17 January 2008.
  14. ↑ "Supporters try to prevent loss of Skyline magnet programs" by Kent Fischer. The Dallas Morning News, 12 January 2008.
  15. ↑ http://www.schooldigger.com/go/TX/schools/1623001357/school.aspx
  16. ↑ Skyline High School Test Scores - Dallas, Texas - TX
  17. ↑ National Academic Championship highlights. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  18. ↑ Biography. "Texas House Has More Than Three-Dozen New Members" by Emily Ramshaw and Matt Stiles. The Texas Tribune, 4 November 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-24.

External links

Preceded by
Wheelersburg High School		 National Academic Championship champion
1985 		Succeeded by
Irmo High School
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