Lyndon B. Johnson High School (Austin, Texas)
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Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Early College High School is a public high school in northeast
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. At the time of its opening in 1974, LBJ was only the second high school in the U.S. (after the former Johnson City High School) to be named for the 36th President. In 1985, LBJ became the host of a new academic magnet program, the Science Academy of Austin (SA), which drew students from all over the city. A second high school magnet program, the Liberal Arts Academy of Austin (LAA), was opened at
Albert Sidney Johnston High School Albert Sidney Johnston High School served as a comprehensive, coeducational high school in the Austin Independent School District from 1960 to 2008. Located in Austin, Texas, the school was named after General Albert Sidney Johnston, who served as ...
in 1987; the two programs were merged in 2002, forming the
Liberal Arts and Science Academy Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) is a selective public magnet high school in Austin, Texas, United States. Although LASA is open to all Austin residents and charges no tuition, competition for admission can be strong and is contingent on s ...
(LASA) magnet within LBJ. In 2007, the Austin Independent School District split LASA and LBJ into separate high schools with their own principals, faculty, and staff in order for LBJ to be eligible for a grant from the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was l ...
to implement the "First Things First" educational enrichment program. After the split, LBJ and LASA were housed on the same campus (though largely on different floors) and continued to share athletic teams and certain extracurricular activities and electives (band, theater, newspaper, yearbook, choir, orchestra, etc.) until LASA's relocation. In 2011, via a partnership with the Austin Community College, LBJ established a new program through which students could earn up to 60 college credits while still in high school, earning it the "Early College High School" (ECHS) designation it bears today. In 2021, LASA relocated to the former Eastside Memorial Early College High School campus. LBJ Early College High School's mascot is the
Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
, and the school's colors are purple and white. The principal of LBJ Early College High School is Dr. Joseph Welch. Patrick Patterson, who had been at the school since the 2004-2005 school year as part of the high school campus redesign program initiated to help raise TAKS scores, retired after the 2009-2010 school year. As a result of the split, LASA and LBJ are required to have separate principals. From 2007 to 2021, the school occupied the first floor of its campus, while LASA was on the second floor. Melissa B. Taboada of the ''
Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...
'' stated that some members of the Austin community "say the division asa constant blemish on the campus".Taboada, Melissa B.
Poor, minority students missing out on Austin’s popular magnet programs

Archive
. ''
Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...
''. Sunday February 8, 2015. Retrieved on December 30, 2015.


Student body

As of November 2020, LBJ's student body is 33.4% African American, 63.1% Hispanic, and 3.5% other racial groups. 73.9% of students are economically disadvantaged.


Academic performance

In 2015 Taboada stated "LBJ has struggled academically for years."


Campus

The LBJ campus opened in Northeast Austin in 1974 to relieve overcrowding at the nearby Northeast Early College High School (then known as Reagan High School.) The school went through various renovations in summer 2010, funded by AISD's 2008 bond, including remodeling many of the science labs (at the time used by LASA.) The school's theatre is located in a separate building from the rest of the campus; the building is named the Don T. Haynes III Performing Arts Center, after LBJ's band director for 39 years from 1975 to 2014. As LBJ is built upon a hill, the lowest level of the main school building is partially underground and has no windows. It is fondly referred to as "The Dungeon" throughout campus. The outside of the campus is maintained by a volunteer group of students and parents. The most well known feature on the LBJ campus is "The Texas," a large granite statue in the shape of the state's outline. The statue, a gift from the class of 1978, sits outside the front of the school. In 2002, a group of seniors started a Northeast-LBJ tradition by wrapping the Texas in saran wrap to protect it from vandals. The night before the annual Northeast-LBJ football game, seniors wrap the Texas in saran wrap and spend the night keeping it and other parts of the campus safe from vandalism by students of their rival Northeast High School.


Notable people

* John M. Jackson (social studies faculty 1975–1979), actor (Adm. Chegwidden on "JAG", and many other television and movie roles) *
Chris Houston Chris Houston may refer to: *Chris Houston (American football) (born 1984), American football cornerback * Chris Houston (musician), Canadian musician *Chris Houston (rugby league) Chris Houston (born 15 February 1985) is an Australian former p ...
,
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
player * Ray Jackson (Class of 1991), member of the Michigan "Fab 5" star freshman basketball players *
Kerry Hyder Kerry Hyder Jr. (born May 2, 1991) is an American football defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Texas Tech. High school career Hyder played linebacker and defensive end ...
,
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
and Texas Tech player *
Eric Holle Eric Warner Holle (born September 5, 1960) is a former American football defensive lineman who played four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 1984 ...
, NFL player * Marshall Brown, professional basketball player * Quinlan Aquirre McAfee ( Quin NFN), rapper *Chris Lowe and Scott Romig (class of 1989), who comprise 40% of the band
Dexter Freebish Dexter Freebish is a band based in Austin, Texas, consisting of Robert Kyle (lead singer), Scott Romig (guitarist), Chris Lowe (bassist/backing vocalist), Charles Martin (additional guitarist), and Rob Schilz (drummer). They are perhaps best know ...


See also

Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) - LASA and LBJ students shared the same campus, newspaper, yearbook, band, theatre, orchestra, choir, and many other curricular or extracurricular programs from 2007 to 2021.


References


External links


Liberal Arts and Science Academy at LBJ High SchoolAustin Independent School District: LBJ High School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Lyndon B. High School Educational institutions established in 1974 Magnet schools in Texas High schools in Austin, Texas Austin Independent School District high schools 1974 establishments in Texas