Former First Baptist Church, Laredo, TX IMG 1782

Joseph W. Nixon High School is a public high school located in

South Texas South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 ...

. It was built in 1964 as the second high school in

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of t ...

. The original high school in Laredo is Raymond & Tirza Martin High School, previously known as Laredo High School. Both are part of the Laredo Independent School District (LISD). Over a period of two years (2014-2015), J. W. Nixon underwent a forty million renovation. Several older campus buildings were demolished to create a reconfigured two-story building centered about a U-shaped courtyard. Funds for the project were mostly derived from a construction bond package approved by voters. , J. W. Nixon has a new

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 ...

Complex and

Track & 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 ...

Complex, along with new classrooms.

History

J. W. Nixon is named for a former LISD superintendent. It opened its doors in September 1964, with W. E. Lockey serving as Nixon's first principal. The first class to graduate was the Class of 1965. Initially, J.W. Nixon served as a junior high/high school with grades seven through twelve. The original school property consisted of and the cost of construction was $151,047,568. In 2007 J.W. Nixon had a record breaking with more than 400 students graduating. About 2 a.m. on December 7, 2012,

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

ists torched three portable buildings at Nixon High School. Three other classrooms sustained smoke damage. No individuals were physically harmed in the fire. In 2014, Nixon fell short on minimum state standards and were placed on the Public Education Grant list. Viola Ileana Martinez Moore (1929-2017), born in Zapata and a graduate of Martin High School in Laredo, was a subsequent principal of J. W. Nixon, the first Hispanic woman to head a 5-A high school in Texas. The J. W. Nixon Band Hall is named in her honor. After regular retirement, she served for two terms as a trustee of the Laredo Independent School District and as principal of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Blessed Sacrament Elementary School in Laredo. Her

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

describes her as one of "no limitations, a goal-getter, a catcher of dreams, and the best example for our community as a whole." Among the original J. W. Nixon faculty is Cecilia Cantu. Another member, Laura Garcia Magnon (died 2012), retired after forty-five years of continuous service to J. W. Nixon. The Nixon science building is named in her honor. In 2015, Pedro "Pete" Solis of Nixon High School was named "Texas Coach of the Year" for Class 5A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.

Notable alumni

* Freddie Benavides - Professional baseball player * Louis H. Bruni - Businessman, former Webb County judge and former member of the Laredo City Council * Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa - former President of University of Texas at San Antonio Science Center and current Chancellor of the

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...

Henry Cuellar Enrique Roberto Cuellar (born September 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he is considered one of the most conservative representatives in the De ...

- United States Representative (28th District) *

Elma Salinas Ender Elma Teresa Ender ( Salinas; born August 11, 1953) is an American attorney, who was the youngest woman and the first Hispanic female to serve as a state district court judge in the U.S. state of Texas. In 1983, she was appointed by then Gove ...

- retired 341st District Court judge; first Hispanic woman to serve on a district court in TexasValerie Godines Fitzgerald, "Historic Path: Judge Ender retires from post," '' Laredo Morning Times'', December 31, 2012, pp. 1, 14A

References

External links

* {{authority control High schools in Laredo, Texas Laredo Independent School District high schools