Stephen Pool Waltrip High School is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

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 ...

located at 1900 West 34th Street in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, 77018. Waltrip, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

. Waltrip has Houston ISD's Research and Technology magnet program. The school's namesake is a former principal at the defunct Houston Heights High School, who transferred to Reagan High School (now renamed

Heights High School Heights High School, formerly John H. Reagan High School, is a senior high school located in the Houston Heights in Houston, Texas. It serves students in grades nine through twelve and is a part of the Houston Independent School District. Height ...

) after that school replaced the original Houston Heights High.

History

Waltrip High School opened in 1960 to serve many newly developed post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

subdivisions, and relieved Reagan High School of many students when it did so. It was relieved by Scarborough Junior-Senior High School when that school opened in 1969. The school was named after Stephen Pool Waltrip, a funeral home owner in the

Houston Heights Houston Heights (often referred to simply as "The Heights") is a community in northwest-central Houston, Texas, United States. "The Heights" is often referred to colloquially to describe a larger collection of neighborhoods next to and including ...

named principal of Reagan High School in 1918. The school remained majority white until the early 1990s, when the school was equally

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, and

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

.A Brief History of: S. P. Waltrip High School
." ''Waltrip High School''. Retrieved on April 20, 2009. In 1997 a portion of the Reagan High School boundary was rezoned to Waltrip.1996-1997 HISD ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES
" ''

''. June 30, 1997. Retrieved on December 13, 2010. "Redirect students residing in a geographic "arm" west of Shepherd from Reagan to Waltrip" By the 2000s, Waltrip became majority Hispanic. Waltrip has become one of the highest performing comprehensive high schools in Houston ISD by being named "Recognized" by the Texas Education Agency, one of the few urban high schools in Houston ISD to receive such a designation. (Reference: Texas Education Agency website). Around 2012, each year a total of 400 students transfer from Booker T. Washington High School to Waltrip and Reagan.Radcliffe, Jennifer.
Effort to save historic Booker T. High gains steam
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. Thursday February 2, 2012. Retrieved on February 2, 2012. In 2015 Andria Schur got a job as the principal of a

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, causing her to leave her post as principal of Waltrip. Dale Mitchell, previously the principal of Sterling High School, became the principal of Waltrip. The campus began receiving a renovation around 2015.

School song

The Waltrip school song, "Our Waltrip High", was written by alumni Jon Enloe with music by Joe Stuessy, both from the Class of 1961.

Neighborhoods served by Waltrip

Neighborhoods served by Waltrip include Garden Oaks,

Timbergrove Manor Timbergrove Manor is a neighborhood in northwest Houston, Texas. It consists of two sections with two different homeowners associations: Timbergrove Manor Civic Club (TMCC) and Timbergrove Manor Neighborhood Association (TMNA). Timbergrove Manor d ...

(Timbergrove Manor Civic Club and Timbergrove Manor Neighborhood Association),Section Map
"

Timbergrove Manor Civic Club Timbergrove Manor is a neighborhood in northwest Houston, Texas. It consists of two sections with two different homeowners associations: Timbergrove Manor Civic Club (TMCC) and Timbergrove Manor Neighborhood Association (TMNA). Timbergrove Manor d ...

. Retrieved on January 11, 2019. Shepherd Forest, Shepherd Park Plaza, Lazybrook, Shady Acres, most of Oak Forest, most of Cottage Grove,googlemap_cottagegrove.jpg
" () Cottage Grove. Retrieved on October 21, 2012. Candlelight Plaza and a small portion of the

. A townhome complex called Cottage Grove is zoned to Waltrip. At one point, all of the Houston Heights was zoned to Reagan. In 1997, a small portion was rezoned to Waltrip.

Student body

As of 2006, the student body is predominantly Hispanic. The makeup of the 1,808 students enrolled during the 2008-2009 school year was: * 67%

* 17%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

* 14%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

* <1%

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n * <1% Native American Approximately 73% of the students qualified for free or reduced lunch programs.

Athletics

The Athletics Department at Waltrip consists of the following teams: *

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 ...

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 ...

(Boys and Girls) *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

(Boys and Girls) *

Track & 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 ...

(Boys and Girls) *

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 ...

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 ...

(Boys and Girls) *

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

(Boys and Girls) *

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 ...

(Boys and Girls) *

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

(Boys and Girls) Margaret Downing of the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' stated in 2012 that the school culture placed importance on

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

Facilities

In 2012 it housed the Waltrip High School Child Development Center, a preschool program for low income children. Since 2015 it no longer does so.

Academic performance

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.

rankings in 2009-2010 and 2011 were "Recognized" and "Academically Acceptable". Downing stated in 2012 that "Waltrip High is neither the worst nor the best high school in HISD."

Dress code

Collared shirt (appropriate fit, NOT revealing), college shirt, or Waltrip spirit shirt. Blue jeans (NOT ripped, bleached, nor colors), solid khaki - pants, capris, or knee-length shorts (must touch/reach knee). Solid hoody or Waltrip hoody allowed.

Feeder patterns

Elementary schools that feed into Waltrip include: *Durham *Oak Forest *Sinclair *Stevens *Garden Oaks (partial) *Helms (partial) *Highland Heights (partial) *Love (partial) *Memorial (partial) *Stevenson (partial) Middle schools that feed into Waltrip include: *Frank Black (partial) *Hamilton (partial) *Williams (partial)

Notable alumni

Mark Calaway Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority ...

(Class of 1983) - Retired

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

professional wrestler known as The Undertaker. * Keenan McCardell (Class of 1988) - Professional American football wide receiver coach for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

Shelley Duvall Shelley Alexis Duvall (born July 7, 1949) is an American actress and producer who is known for her portrayals of distinct, often eccentric characters. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award and a Peab ...

(Class of 1967) - Producer and retired actress Distinguished HISD Alumni
." ''

''. * Toni Lawrence - Former Houston City Councilwoman *

Denzel Livingston Denzel Livingston (born April 18, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who last played for BC Rustavi of the Georgian Superliga. He played college basketball for Incarnate Word before playing in the NBA G League and Israel. High s ...

(Class of 2011), basketball player for Hapoel Kfar Saba of the Israeli

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

Debra Maffett Debra Sue Maffett (born November 9, 1956) is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Cut and Shoot, Texas and was named Miss America 1983. Early life and education Maffett graduated from S.P. Waltrip High School in Houston, Texas, in 1975. P ...

(Class of 1975) - Miss America 1983. *

Van Malone Van Buren Malone (born July 1, 1970) is a former safety in the National Football League (NFL) and former defensive coordinator for the SMU Mustangs football The SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team representing Southern ...

(Class of 1988) - Professional

player for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

and college football coach * Anita "Sweetie" Marbury (Class of 1965) - Mayor of

Durango, Colorado Durango is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States Census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis Coll ...

Barbara Olson Barbara Kay Olson (née Bracher; December 27, 1955September 11, 2001) was an American lawyer and conservative television commentator who worked for CNN, Fox News Channel, and several other outlets. She was a passenger on American Airlines Fligh ...

(Class of 1974) - Conservative commentator and

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

victim *

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...

(Class of 1971) - Actor and dancer. * John H. Whitmire (Class of 1967) - A

Texas senator The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent polit ...

* Danny Ward - Acclaimed musician and event producer * Elizabeth Pena and Jenny Ertman - murder victims - Waltrip High School contains a memorial to the girls In Memory of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman - 1993
." ''Waltrip High School''. Retrieved on March 6, 2010.

References

External links

Waltrip High School
* {{authority control Houston Independent School District high schools Educational institutions established in 1960 Public high schools in Houston Magnet schools in Houston 1960 establishments in Texas

History

School song

Neighborhoods served by Waltrip

Student body

Athletics

Facilities

Academic performance

Dress code

Feeder patterns

Notable alumni

References

Further reading

External links