Paul W. Bryant High School serves
grades 9 through
12 and is located in
Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
, forming part of the
Tuscaloosa City Schools. The school is named after former Alabama Crimson Tide football head coach
Paul William "Bear" Bryant. The school competes as part of the
Alabama High School Athletic Association
The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA), based in Montgomery, is the governing body for interscholastic athletics and activities programs for public schools in Alabama.
The AHSAA is a member National Federation of State High School ...
in Region 4 of the 6A division.
History
With the 1999 lifting of the
desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...
order that resulted in the creation of
Central High School in 1979, the School Board began exploring the option to construct three new high schools to replace Central.
By the early 2000s (decade), Tuscaloosa City Schools announced that three new high schools would be constructed that would become Bryant,
Northridge and a new Central High School. By September 2001, the board would award construction contracts totaling $100 million to implement the Five-Year Facilities Plan.
Costing $31.5 million to complete, the school would celebrate its ribbon-cutting on August 24, 2003, with
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Artur Davis
Artur Genestre Davis (; born October 9, 1967) is an American attorney and former politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for from 2003 to 2011. He was also a candidate for the Democratic nomina ...
delivering the
keynote address
A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework f ...
.
As of the 2018-19 school year, the school is not completely segregated, at just 92% Black.
Naming
In January 2002, the Tuscaloosa City Schools School Board voted to name the school after
Alabama Crimson Tide football
The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Ass ...
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Paul William "Bear" Bryant.
The name was selected after being suggested by a resident during a community meeting regarding the new school.
Originally, the mascot was to be the "Bears" playing on the famous
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
of Paul Bryant.
However, that option was ruled out because the old Tuscaloosa High had been nicknamed the Black Bears, and a 1970s court order relating to the consolidation of Druid High with Tuscaloosa High stated that no new school in Tuscaloosa may take a nickname used by any of the former segregated schools.
Additionally, the name "Titans"—voted on by students of schools that would feed into Bryant—was rejected because
Holy Spirit High School's teams were already named the Titans.
With the rejection of "Bears" and "Titans," popular sentiment was in favor of using "Stampede" as a mascot. According to PTA president Paul Lightsey, anyone who heard the school's name would expect to see an elephant as the mascot even if the school opted not to use Alabama's colors of red and white. Due to concerns about copyright issues, "Huskies" was chosen as an interim name.
[ However, after Alabama lifted its objections to Bryant High using an elephant mascot, "Stampede" was ultimately chosen as the mascot for the school.]
Academics
Paul W. Bryant has a program offered to junior and seniors called Co-Op that provides students with the technical and hands on experience of the work force while in school. In 2018-19, 18% of students achieved proficiency in mathematics, and 22% in reading, both lower than even the Alabama state average.
Varsity sports
Paul W. Bryant High School currently fields a varsity team in nine men's and eight women's sports.[''Paul W. Bryant High School]
Paul W. Bryant High School Athletics
'. They are:
Notable alumni
* David Robertson – MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
pitcher
* Seth Williams – NFL wide receiver
* Lawrence Wilson – NFL linebacker
References
External links
School website
{{authority control
High schools in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Educational institutions established in 2003
Public high schools in Alabama
2003 establishments in Alabama