DeSoto High School is a comprehensive

public high school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

in DeSoto,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is part of the

DeSoto Independent School District DeSoto Independent School District is a school district based in DeSoto, Texas (USA). The district covers most of DeSoto, the Dallas County portion of Glenn Heights, and a section of Ovilla in Dallas County, as well as a small portion of Ce ...

and is classified as a 6A school by the UIL. In 2015, the school was rated " Met Standard" by the

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

. The district, and therefore the school, serves most of DeSoto and the

Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...

portion of Glenn Heights, and a portion of Ovilla in Dallas County, as well as a small portion of

Cedar Hill Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

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 Terrell, Terell, Terrel, or Terrelle may refer to: Places United States *Terrell, Georgia, unincorporated community *Terrell, North Carolina, unincorporated community in Catawba County, North Carolina, United States *Terrell, Texas, city in Kau ...

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 ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

'' reported that the school "had a lower-than-expected college readiness percentage."Hacker, Holly K.
Analysis shows true Texas high school performance, stripping away socioeconomic factors
" ''

''. September 3, 2011. Retrieved on February 10, 2012. In 2011, the district built additions to improve the school's college and career academies. The State of Texas defined "college readiness," or readiness to undergo university studies, by scores on the ACT,

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

, and 11th grade

Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) was the fourth Texas state standardized test previously used in grade 3-8 and grade 9-11 to assess students' attainment of reading, writing, math, science, and social studies skills required ...

(TAKS) tests. DeSoto High offers

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

, early college, and academic magnet programs to better serve the academic needs of its high-achieving students preparing to attend college.

School uniforms

In the 2005–2006 school year, DeSoto ISD began a mandatory school uniform policy at all of its schools. Formerly, 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. In 2019, DeSoto ISD 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: *

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

* Cross country *

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

* Swimming and diving *

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

State Championships

The DeSoto Baseball team won State Championships in 1979 and 1985. The Lady Eagle track and field team won a State Championship in 2007 followed by three consecutive State Championships in 2011, 2012, and 2013. They also won 5 straight titles in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021 bringing their total to 9 State Championships. The Eagle Boys' Track and Field team won State Titles in 2012 and 2016. The Boys' Basketball team won the Texas 5A State Championship in 2003 and 2009. In 2016, the boys' team won the 6A State Championship, upsetting #1 ranked Atacostia High 73–54. In 2016, the Varsity Football team won the 6A Division II State Championship in the

AT&T Stadium AT&T Stadium, formerly Cowboys Stadium, is a retractable roof, retractable-roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. I ...

. This was the first State Football Championship in school history. In 2021, the Varsity Girls Basketball team won the Texas 6A State Championship over an undefeated

Cypress Creek High School (Texas) Cypress Creek High School, also known as Cy Creek, is a secondary public school located in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. Cypress Creek, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent Schoo ...

. This was the first Girls State Basketball Championship in school history. In 2022, the Girls Basketball team would win a repeat championship title bringing their total to two state titles.

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". DeSoto has an even longer rivalry with Duncanville High School.

Marching Band

DeSoto Eagle Band is a 100+ music group that represents the school at athletic games, band competitions, parades, and other events.

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 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.

Notable alumni

Erica Banks Erica Banks is an American rapper born and raised in DeSoto, Texas. Following the release of her first three mixtapes, she signed to 1501 Certified Entertainment, who released her self-titled mixtape in June 2020. It spawned her first charting s ...

(class of 2017), rapper *

Tatum Bell Tatum Antoine Bell (born March 2, 1981) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma State. He is son of Tony and Terry Bell. H ...

(class of 1999), former

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

Marques Bolden Marques "Joyo" Terrell Bolden (born April 17, 1998) is an American-born Indonesian professional basketball player who last played for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. High schoo ...

(class of 2016), center,

Canton Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, Ohio, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team plays its home games at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland. The f ...

(

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

Affiliate of the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

), 2016 6A State Champion in basketball *

Patrick Crayton Patrick Jamel Crayton (born April 7, 1979) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and the San Diego Chargers. He played college football at Northwestern Oklahoma State. Early y ...

(class of 1997), former wide receiver for the

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and

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Steve Foster Stephen Brian Foster (born 24 September 1957) is an English former footballer. Football career Born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Foster was an associate schoolboy with Southampton, but was not offered a professional contract. He started his prof ...

(class of 1985),

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

pitcher, pitching coach of

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

Cyrus Gray Cyrus Danall Gray (born November 18, 1989) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Texas A&M University. Gray was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He also had brief sti ...

(class of 2008), retired running back for the

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and

Byron Hanspard Byron Courtnay Hanspard, Sr. (born January 23, 1976) is a former American college and professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons during the 1990s. He played colleg ...

(class of 1994), former running back for the

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* Tim Hendrix (class of 1983), former

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

Ellis Hobbs Ellis Hue Hobbs III (born May 16, 1983) is a former American football cornerback who played for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Iowa State. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third ...

(class of 2001), former cornerback,

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(class of 1985), retired

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outfielder * Brian Jackson (class of 2005), former

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

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Tony Jerod-Eddie Tony Jerod-Eddie (born March 29, 1990) is a former American football nose tackle who is currently the defensive line coach at Texas A&M University. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college foot ...

(class of 2008), former

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

* Matt Jones (class of 2013),

Bank of Taiwan (basketball) Bank of Taiwan is a Taiwanese professional basketball team that plays in the Super Basketball League.Taiwan Hoops
taiwanhoops.com, acce ...

, 2015 National Champion for

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

Chris Lacy Chris Lacy (born January 28, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma State, and was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted fr ...

(class of 2014), wide receiver *

Jason London Jason Paul London (born November 7, 1972) is an American actor, known for his roles as Randall "Pink" Floyd in director Richard Linklater's film '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993), as Jesse in '' The Rage: Carrie 2'' (1999) and as Rick Rambis in '' O ...

(class of 1991), actor *

Jeremy London Jeremy Michael London (born November 7, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for his regular roles on ''Party of Five'', '' 7th Heaven'', and ''I'll Fly Away'', a starring role in the 1995 comedy film ''Mallrats'', as well as a notable su ...

(class of 1991), actor *

Von Miller Vonnie B'VSean Miller (born March 26, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Miller played college football at Texas A&M, where he earned consensus All-American honors and ...

(class of 2007),

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the

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(class of 2012),

for the

Marcus Murphy Marcus Murphy (born October 3, 1991) is an American football running back and return specialist who is a free agent. He played college football at Missouri Tigers football, Missouri. While at Missouri, he was named as a First-team All-Southeast ...

(class of 2010),

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(class of 2010),

Outside Linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

coach for the

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, former

for the

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(class of 1999), former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

James Proche James Proche II ( ; born September 21, 1996) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at SMU and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens ...

(class of 2015), wide receiver for the

Laviska Shenault Laviska Terrell Shenault Jr. (born October 5, 1998) is an American football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Colorado. Early years Shenault attended DeSoto High Schoo ...

(class of 2017), wide receiver for the

* Mark Simmons (class of 2002), former wide receiver for the

* Mike Thomas (class of 2005), former wide receiver for the

Marcus Tubbs Marcus Dwayne Tubbs (born May 16, 1981) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks 23rd overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas, where he served as the director of football op ...

(class of 1999), former

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

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(class of 2014), former

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

* Jimmy Wyrick (class of 1995), former

for the

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References

External links

*
DeSoto ISD
{{authority control DeSoto Independent School District Public high schools in Dallas County, Texas DeSoto, Texas 1956 establishments in Texas Educational institutions established in 1956