Thomas Jefferson High School is a

public high school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , 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 ...

, United States, and is one of ten high schools in the

San Antonio Independent School District San Antonio Independent School District is a school district based in San Antonio, Texas, United States. San Antonio ISD ranks is the 13th largest of Texas' 1,057 school districts. The District encompasses 79 square miles with a total population ...

. Completed in 1932 at a cost of $1,250,000, it was the third high school built in the city. In 2015, the school was rated " Met Standard" by the

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

History

The SAISD school board paid $94,588.75 to buy "Spanish Acres," a property, to develop the third high school in San Antonio. Construction began in the fall of 1930 and ended in January 1932.School History
." Thomas Jefferson High School. Retrieved on September 13, 2016. It was built for over $1.25 million. In 1983 it became a part of the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. It was also designated a Texas historic landmark.

Campus and architecture

The school was designed by the company Adams and Adams. The entrance has two towers of different heights and is designed in the Baroque style.Henry, p
178
The towers are topped with silver. The school uses wrought-iron balconies and Spanish-tiled roofing. The school has two courtyards, both landscaped, bordered by ''portales''.Henry, p
177
One courtyard has a hexagonal pond with decorative tiling. Hannibal and Eugene Pianta, an Italian immigrant and his son, decorated the main entrance columns and balconies with cast-stone ornamentation. Jay C. Henry, the author of ''Architecture in Texas: 1895-1945'', stated that the architecture is similar to that of

Lubbock High School Lubbock High School is a 5A high school serving grades nine to twelve in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the Lubbock Independent School District, The school was founded in 1891 as the first high school in Lubbock County. Lubbock High School preda ...

. In 1938 the school had an armory, a cafeteria, a drill ground, two gymnasiums, and a theater."One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

''.

Time, Inc. Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Illu ...

, March 7, 1938. Vol. 4, No. 10. ISSN 0024-3019. Start: p
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A music facility and the East Wing, a three-story addition, were built at a later time. Its Moorish/Spanish architecture make it a visually distinct element in what was the old Woodlawn district.

Recognition

In 1983 Jefferson was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1995, it was included in the Local Historic District by the City of San Antonio. In 2010, Jefferson was selected as Grammy Signature Award Winner.

Demographics

The demographic breakdown of the 1,829 students enrolled in 2012-2013 was: *Male - 52.7% *Female - 47.3% *Native American/Alaskan - 0.1% *Asian/Pacific islanders - 0.2% *Black - 2.1% *Hispanic - 95.4% *White - 2.1% *Multiracial - 0.1% 86.6% of the students were eligible for free or reduced lunch. In 1938 the school had 2,394 students. At the time over 60% of the students were scheduled to matriculate to universities and colleges. In addition there were 89 teachers, including 56 female teachers. The student-teacher ratio at the time was 25 to 1."One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." ''

''.

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Student life

In 1938 the school had an ROTC unit, multiple school-recognized clubs including the girls' pep squad "Lassos", and fraternities and sororities unrecognized by the school. As of 1938 the "Lassos" were made up of 150 female students."One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." ''

''.

, March 7, 1938. Vol. 4, No. 10. ISSN 0024-3019. Start: p
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In 1938 the ROTC had 33 student officers, all male; each were allowed to choose a female student to accompany him."One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." ''

''.

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The 1940

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

film ''

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 ...

'' used exteriors and back-projection footage shot at TJHS.

Athletics

The Jefferson Mustangs compete in the following sports: *

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

* Cross Country *

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

* Swimming and Diving *

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 ...

Track and 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 ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Notable alumni

Athletics

* Ruth Lessing, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League *

Corky Nelson Corky Nelson (February 25, 1939 – November 17, 2014) was an American football player and coach. He is known for his coaching stint at the University of North Texas, but was more successful on the high school level. Nelson was an all-conference ...

, football coach,

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

Tommy Nobis Thomas Henry Nobis Jr. (September 20, 1943 – December 13, 2017) was an American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at the University of Te ...

, All American football player, University of Texas; 5-time Pro Bowl selection for

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

Gabriel Rivera Gabriel Rivera (April 7, 1961 – July 16, 2018), nicknamed "Señor Sack", was an American football nose tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Rivera played college football for Texas Tech where he earned All-American honors in 1982. ...

, All American football player, Texas Tech University *

Kyle Rote William Kyle Rote, Sr. (October 27, 1928 – August 15, 2002) was an American football player, a running back and receiver for eleven years in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants. He was an All-American running back at S ...

, All American football player, Southern Methodist University; 4-time Pro Bowl selection for

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

* Rick Bullock, All-American Basketball player, Texas Tech University

Arts and entertainment

Holly Dunn Holly Suzette Dunn (August 22, 1957 – November 14, 2016) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Dunn recorded for MTM Records between 1985 and 1988, Warner Bros. Records between 1988 and 1993, and River North Records between 1995 ...

, country music artist *

Chris Pérez Christopher Gilbert Pérez (born August 14, 1969) is an American guitarist, best known as lead guitarist for the Tejano band Selena y Los Dinos. He married the frontwoman of the group, Selena, on April 2, 1992. Pérez grew up in San Antonio, Tex ...

, Grammy Award-winning artist

Communications

Jim Lehrer James Charles Lehrer (; May 19, 1934 – January 23, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. Lehrer was the executive editor and a news anchor for the ''PBS NewsHour'' on PBS and was known for his role as a de ...

, television journalist, MacNeil/Lehrer Report, PBS *

Allen Ludden Allen Ellsworth Ludden (born Allen Packard Ellsworth; October 5, 1917 – June 9, 1981) was an American television personality, actor, singer, emcee, and game show host. He hosted various incarnations of the game show ''Password'' between 1 ...

, television personality

Education

* John Silber, President, Boston University

Government

* John H. Wood, Jr. (deceased), Federal Judge * Ed Garza, former Mayor of the City of San Antonio *

Julian Castro Julián Castro ( , ; born September 16, 1974) is an American lawyer and politician from San Antonio. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the youngest member of President Obama's cabinet, serving as the 16th United States Secretary of Ho ...

United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furnitur ...

, former Mayor of the City of San Antonio * Joaquin Castro, United States House of Representatives * Henry B. Gonzalez (deceased) Class of 1935, former United States congressman. The San Antonio Convention Center is named after him. * John W. Goode (deceased) (Class of 1939), lawyer and Republican political figure of the 1950s and 1960s *

Leticia Van de Putte Leticia Rosa Magdalena Aguilar Van de Putte ( San Miguel; born December 6, 1954) is an American politician from San Antonio, Texas. She represented the 26th District in the Texas Senate from 1999–2015. From 1991 to 1999, Van de Putte was a me ...

, former Texas state senator * George C. Windrow, member of the

Wisconsin Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, e ...

Military

* Lt. Col. Robert G. Cole (deceased), a Commander in the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, World War II,

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient; Cole High School is named for him * Major Gen.

Alfred Valenzuela MG Alfred A. Valenzuela is a retired United States Army major general who commanded United States Army South (USARSO) at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico and San Antonio, Texas. Served as Deputy Commanding General DCINC ) US Southern Command, Panama/M ...

, commanded the U.S. Army South (USARSO) at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico.

Physical science

* Aaron Cohen, former NASA Deputy Director * Robert Floyd Curl, Jr., Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 * William E. Moerner, Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014

References

General references * Henry, Jay C. '' Architecture in Texas: 1895-1945''.

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texan ...

, 1993. , 9780292730724.

External links

Official School Website

Jefferson Architecture
*
Historic Marker Application: Thomas Jefferson High School
- at the

Thomas Jefferson High School Historical Preservation Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Thomas High School (San Antonio, Tx) High schools in San Antonio School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in San Antonio San Antonio Independent School District high schools Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks 1932 establishments in Texas