James Madison High School, formerly Forest Avenue 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

secondary 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 ...

Dallas 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 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

( USA). Madison High School enrolls students in grades 9- 12 and is a part of the

Dallas Independent School District The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas ( USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in ...

. The school is a Dallas Landmark which serves Cedars.2016-17 James Madison High Attendance Zone Grades 9-12
"

. Retrieved on April 26, 2017. It formerly served much of

Downtown Dallas Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...

, until 2016. 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 original Forest Avenue High School was constructed in 1916 in the style of

Italian Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought ...

, in what were then fast-growing suburban areas of Dallas. The building is on the United States

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 ...

on the basis of its architecture as well as its importance in the growing South Dallas community over the period ending with the close of

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1945.Reference No. 95000318, Old Forest Avenue High School
(requires search), listing in National Register of Historic Places, certified March 23, 1995 In 1951 a junior high annex for grades eight and nine was constructed at the south end of the building. Beginning in the late 1940s, the demographics of the surrounding community shifted as large numbers of

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

s moved into the area. On June 14, 1956, the Dallas Board of Education announced that Forest Avenue High School would have its attendance zone redrawn to relieve overcrowding at the two existing "Negro schools," Booker T. Washington High School and Lincoln High School. In keeping with its existing policy on

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Intern ...

, the school would be reassigned as a school for black students and the current white student body would attend Crozier Tech High School.Sue Connally. "Forest assigned to Negro pupils: District added to Crozier's," ''The Dallas Morning News'', June 14, 1956, section 1, pages 1 and 9. ''Note: At that time, "district" was used in Dallas to refer to the attendance zone of a specific school, rather than the system as a whole.'' The following day, the front page of '' The Dallas Morning News'' reported the criticism of the Texas Field Secretary of the NAACP, Edgar Washington, Jr., of the district's decision to turn over the school rather than to integrate.Sue Connally. "Leader raps Forest switch," ''The Dallas Morning News'', June 15, 1956, section 1, pages 1–2. The paper also ran an editorial in the same day's paper applauding the school system for providing black students with an excellent facility while not violating state law by integrating the school."Course is set by school board," ''The Dallas Morning News'', June 15, 1956, section 3, page 2. One week later, the paper reported a petition by "the Dad's Club icand Parent-Teacher Association" of the school — with signatures from the student body — to request that the school's name, colors (

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

and

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 ...

), and emblem (

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

) be retired, with the colors and emblem remaining available to any future whites-only school that might request to use them. The principal announced at that same meeting that all Forest Avenue trophies and other memorabilia were to be transferred to Crozier Tech."Bid to retire name, colors, emblem made," ''The Dallas Morning News'', June 22, 1956, section 1, page 1. The school reopened that fall as James Madison High School, though the district's faculty and staff had been prepared for possible repetition of the 1955 attempts of 24 Black students to enroll in five White schools."Dallas schools enroll 17,000 on first day," ''The Dallas Morning News'', September 5, 1956, section 3, pages 1,15. The Forest Avenue High School Alumni Association donated items related to the school to the Dallas Public Library in 1983. The association at one time gave scholarships to Madison students but discontinued after a loss of funding. In October 2012 the association still had 800 members.

Statistics

The attendance rate for students at the school is 93%, compared with the state average of 96%. 12% enroll in special education, 13% enroll in gifted and talent programs, and 4% are considered "limited English proficient." The ethnic makeup of the school is 58%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 40%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...

, 1%

White American White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...

, non-Hispanic, and 1% other races, including Asian and mixed race

Academic performance

In 2011 2% of the black students received a "criterion" or passing grade, as defined by the State of Texas, in SAT and/or ACT. No Hispanic students received criterion scores in the tests that year.Schutze, Jim.
Putting PrinciPals Before PrinciPles
" '' Dallas Observer''. February 28-March 6, year unstated. Retrieved on June 11, 2016. In 2012 1% of Madison students made a passing score on the SAT.Schutze, Jim.
Carolyn Davis Comes Out Swinging Against School Reform, in Defense of Principals' Jobs
" '' Dallas Observer''. Friday March 22, 2013. Retrieved on June 11, 2016. Jim Schutze of the '' Dallas Observer'' wrote that the school performed poorly and did not deserve the "high esteem" it received in South Dallas. In 2013 there was a rumor that principal Marian Willard was going to be fired in light of the poor performance.

Athletics

The James Madison Trojans compete in the following sports in the UIL: *

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 t ...

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 *

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 cov ...

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 eve ...

* Band *

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 Sum ...

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

James Madison has one of the best boys' basketball programs in the state. The team is consistently highly ranked and won its most recent 3A state championship in March 2022.

Notable alumni

As Forest Avenue High School: * Jack Glatzer '56, concert violinist *

Stanley Marcus Harold Stanley Marcus"Personal" (column), ''The Dallas Morning News'', November 9, 1905, page 5. (April 20, 1905 – January 22, 2002) was president (1950–1972) and later chairman of the board (1972–1976) of the luxury retailer Neiman ...

'21, department-store magnate *

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), '' The Love Boat'' (1977–198 ...

'40, television producer * Ruthe Lewin Winegarten '47, author and activist As James Madison High School: * Stone Johnson, 1960

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

track star and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

player * Michael A. Lenoir, 2013 President Elect of the National Medical Association; CEO Ethnic Health America * Brett Maxie, former NFL player and assistant coach *

Dave Stallworth David A. Stallworth (December 20, 1941 – March 15, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons and was a member of the New York Knicks' 1969–70 championship-win ...

, NBA player (first-round draft pick), won championship with New York Knicks * Sylvia Stanfield, senior diplomat and first black female U.S. ambassador to Brunei * Alan Thompson, former CFL and WFL player *

Dwight White Dwight Lynn White (July 30, 1949 – June 6, 2008) was an American football defensive end who played for ten seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL) and was a member of the famed Steel Curtain defense. Life and ...

, former NFL Pro Bowl player, member of Pittsburgh Steelers " Steel Curtain" defense

References

External links

*
School Profile
( PDF)
Attendance Zone Map
( PDF)
Madison High School Football
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madison, James Dallas Independent School District high schools Public high schools in Dallas Dallas Landmarks Historically segregated African-American schools in Texas 1956 establishments in Texas Educational institutions established in 1956