J. M. Hanks High School, commonly referred to as Hanks High School, is one of seven public secondary schools in Ysleta Independent School District, which encompasses much of east

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

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 ...

. Hanks' primary feeder school is J.M. Hanks Middle School. Additionally, many students from nearby Eastwood Middle School go on to attend Hanks High School.

History

J.M. Hanks High School is named in honor of former Ysleta superintendent Jesse Mack Hanks, who retained the position for a full fifty years from approximately 1939 until his death in 1989. For his extended service to the district, Hanks was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

from New Mexico State University in nearby Las Cruces, New Mexico in 1965 and was named superintendent emeritus by Ysleta. The school was opened in 1978 to accommodate El Paso's eastward expansion and to ease overcrowding at nearby Eastwood High School, which lies 2.5 miles to the west of Hanks. The school initially enrolled seventh, eighth and ninth graders comprising the classes that would graduate in 1982, 1983 and 1984. The class of 1985 was added for the 1979–80 school year as those students became seventh-graders. As those four classes "moved up" each year, the student body thus remained virtually intact until Hanks reached standard high school set of grades 9-12 for the 1981–82 school year. Hanks' enrollment had reached 1,800 by 1980, with the inaugural class graduating 372 students in May 1982.

Student publications

Hanks High School has four student-run publications, each produced in a different media. The ''Exeter'' is an annual magazine that is filled with student-submitted content including poems, short stories, and drawings, all based around the year's chosen theme. ''Scriptoria'' is the monthly news and features magazine (formerly a newspaper) that consists of current events ranging in scope from the small-scale school news to world news, as well as movie reviews, restaurant reviews, and editorials. It also manages ww.hanksmedia.com Hanks' yearbook is entitled ''The Shield'' and the theme of the book is chosen by the student staff at the beginning of each year. The Shield has won national awards in the past for its originality. Starting in 2003 the ''Shield Yearbook'' also started producing a DVD that highlights the year's events. ''KnightVision'' News is the student-run daily 10-minute closed-circuit television broadcast, and consists of school announcements, news, weather, sports and special features. It is produced by students in the Advanced Broadcast Journalism class.

Athletics and athletic coaches

*Baseball *Boys Basketball *Boys Soccer *Boys Track *Boys Wrestling *Cheerleading *Football *Girls Basketball *Girls Soccer *Girls Track *Golf *Softball *Swimming *Volleyball *Tennis

Clubs and organizations

*AVID *Academic Decathlon *Art Club *Band & Flags- Silver Knights Marching Band *Business Professionals of America *Chess *Choir *Citizen Bee *Close Up *Crime Stoppers *DECA *Destination Imagination *Drama *Eco Club *Exeter *Future Business Leaders of America *Future Career Consumer Leaders of America *Future Homemakers of America *Guitar Club *Home Economics Related Occupations *High Q *Interact *Intramurals *Knight Force *Knight Players *KnightVision News *Knights for Christ *Mariachi *Math Club *Mock Trial *Momentum *National Honor Society *Orchestra *Pure Movement *FRC Robotics *Lego Robotics *ROTC *Scriptoria *Secular Student Alliance *Shield Yearbook *Silhouettes Dance Team *Social Studies Club *Speech & Debate *Student Council *Teen Volunteer Corps *Winter Color Guard *Young Scholars' Bowl

UIL Championships

* Band, 1986 UIL Wind Ensemble State Champion * Girls Wrestling, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 (6 straight State Championships) *

Boys Golf A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...

, 1995

Notable alumni

* Ara Celi, Actress *

Mark Grudzielanek Mark James Grudzielanek (; born June 30, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and shortstop. Grudzielanek played for six different teams during his 15-season career. He batted and threw right-handed. He was most recently the ma ...

, Professional Baseball Player *

Ginger Kerrick Ginger Kerrick is an American physicist at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. She is the first Hispanic female to be flight director at NASA. Education Kerrick graduated second in her class from Hanks High School in El Paso, Texas, and was n ...

, American physicist and first Hispanic female NASA Flight Director at NASA's

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...

* Bruce Ruffin, Major League Baseball Pitcher *

Ryan Stout Ryan Matthew Stout (born September 30, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian and television host.Pullen, Doug (2011)The life of Ryan: Comedian from El Paso finds his niche by poking fun where few dare, "El Paso Times, December 18, 2011, retrieve ...

, Comedian *

Ryan Piers Williams Ryan Piers Williams (born May 13, 1981) is an American actor, director, and writer. Early life Williams was raised in El Paso, Texas, where he attended J. M. Hanks High School. From age 13 he wanted to be a director and took theater and video ...

, Filmmaker *

Alan Zinter Alan Michael Zinter (born May 19, 1968) is an American former professional baseball player and hitting coach. He played for Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 1999 and with the Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks of Major L ...

, Professional Baseball Player *

Gigi Causey Gigi Causey is an American film and television producer, production supervisor, and manager who resides in Los Angeles. On January 24, 2012, Causey was nominated for the 2012 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for '' Time Freak'' which ...

, Production manager, Oscar nominee for best short film *

Danny Perez Danny Perez is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Perez was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the twenty-first round of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft. He played at the Major League level with the team in 1996. Perez played at ...

, Professional Baseball Player

References

External links

*
YISD

Shield Yearbook
{{authority control Ysleta Independent School District high schools High schools in El Paso, Texas