senior high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in the South Park neighborhood of
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...
, originally in the
South Park Independent School District
Beaumont Independent School District is a U.S. public school district serving Beaumont in Southeast Texas. The district originated in the annexation of the former Beaumont ISD by the South Park Independent School District after its trustees vote ...
. In 1986 it was merged into
West Brook Senior High School
West Brook Senior High School is a high school in the city of Beaumont, Texas. It is operated by the Beaumont Independent School District and was formed in 1982 as a court-ordered measure to integrate the schools of the formerly separate South Park ...
and the building became South Park Middle School.
History
South Park High School served a neighborhood at the south end of Beaumont that expanded rapidly after oil was discovered nearby at
Spindletop
Spindletop is an oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas, in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindleto ...
in 1901. A one-room schoolhouse opened in 1891–1892, and the first high-school class graduated in 1915. Quoted in A new high school building was erected in 1922–1923 at 4500 Highland Avenue. South Park Junior College, which became
Lamar University
Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2021, th ...
, was housed there from its founding until it moved to its own campus nearby in 1942. In 1986 the school was merged into West Brook Senior High School, which had been formed in 1982 as a
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 ...
Hebert High School Hebert High School was a traditionally black high school in the South Park Independent School District in Beaumont, Texas, US. It was founded in the early 20th century to serve the black community, and became an accredited high school in 1923. In re ...
; South Park and Forest Park were almost entirely white schools, while Hebert had been founded as a school for black students and remained black throughout its history.
The school building became South Park Middle School. In April 2010 it was demolished despite community opposition; there were advocates for keeping the building on the grounds it was historically significant, and the building was found to have been structurally safe. Patrick Michels of ''
The Texas Observer
''The Texas Observer'' (also known as the ''Observer'') is an American magazine with a liberal political outlook. The ''Observer'' is published bimonthly by a 501(c)(3)tas a punishment for the white community". A new building opened in 2012.
Athletics
South Park's athletic teams wore green and were the Greenies.
Notable alumni and staff
* Billy Baggett, college and professional football player
*
John E. Gray
John Ellis Gray (March 3, 1907 – March 20, 2002) was an educational administrator, businessman and university president at Lamar University. In 1972, Gray, along with Otho Plummer, H. C. Galloway, and Dr. Charles P. Turco founded the Lamar U ...
, student and later shop teacher: President of
Lamar University
Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2021, th ...
*
Herman Hugg
Herman Elzo Hugg (January 19, 1921October 2, 2013) was an American artist, educator, and philosopher.
Hugg was primarily a painter, whose works often included surrealist, expressionist, and spiritual elements. He also created sculptures in stone ...
, teacher: artist
*
Nick Lampson
Nicholas Valentino Lampson (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician and restaurateur who is a former Democratic Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District and the 9th Congressional District of Texas.
Early life, ed ...
, student: US Congressman
*
Clyde Littlefield
Clyde Littlefield (October 6, 1892 – May 20, 1981) was an American sports and athletics coach. The head track and field coach at The University of Texas from 1920 to 1961 as well as its football coach from 1927 to 1933. In his 41 years at Texas ...
, student: coach at the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
*
Tex Ritter
Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...
, student: singer and actor
*
Paul Tyson
Paul Leighton Tyson (October 25, 1886 – September 9, 1950) was an American football coach. He was one of the most successful high school football coaches of all time, winning four Texas state championships and one national championship in the 1 ...
Beaumont Enterprise
''The Beaumont Enterprise'' is a newspaper of Hearst Communications, headquartered in Beaumont, Texas. It has been in operation since 1880.
In addition to BeaumontEnterprise.com and the daily newspaper, ''The Enterprise'' produces several weeklie ...