Lawrence Dale Bell High School (generally known as L.D. Bell High School and also known as Hurst Bell) is an American high school located in the cities of

Hurst Hurst may refer to: Places England * Hurst, Berkshire, a village * Hurst, Cumbria, a location * Hurst, Dorset, a location * Hurst, Greater Manchester, a location * Hurst, North Yorkshire, a hamlet * Hurst, Somerset, a settlement within the vi ...

and

Bedford, Texas Bedford is a city located in northeastern Tarrant County, Texas, United States, in the "Mid-Cities" area between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth. It is a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. The population was 49,928 at the 2020 United State ...

and part of the

Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District (HEB ISD) is a K-12 public school district based in Bedford, Texas ( USA). The district serves the city of Bedford, most of the cities of Euless and Hurst, and small parts of North Richland Hi ...

. The school is named for

Lawrence Dale Bell Lawrence Dale "Larry" Bell (April 5, 1894 – October 20, 1956) was an American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation. Biography Bell was born in Mentone, Indiana, and lived there until 1907, when his family moved to Santa M ...

, the founder of nearby

Bell Helicopter Textron Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, United States as well as commercial heli ...

, and was recognized as a

National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

for 1994–96. L. D. Bell's marching band won the

Bands of America Bands of America (BOA) is a music education advocacy organization and promoter of high school marching band competitions in the United States. Established in 1975 as Marching Bands of America (MBA), founder Larry McCormick's goal was to provide e ...

Grand National Championship in 2007. The men's and women's

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

teams have won a combined total of 36 state championships since 1967.

History

L.D. Bell High School opened in 1957 at a campus on Pipeline Road.

High School was relocated to the current campus on Brown Trail in 1965, at a site donated to the school district by Lawrence D. "Larry" Bell, Founder and President of

in Fort Worth. The new location was able to accommodate a growing student population resulting from the rapid

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

an growth in

Euless Euless ( ) is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. Euless is part of the Mid-Cities region between Dallas and Fort Worth. In 2020 Census, the population of Euless was 61,032. The population of the city inc ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

, and Colleyville. The former high school grounds now house Central Junior High, the H-E-B Athletic Complex, KEYS (Keeping Eligible Youth in School) High School, and the Forrest E. Watson (F.E.W.) Center. Preceding Randy Belcher as

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

was Jim Bannister, who was preceded by Jim Short. All three were preceded by the state legislature-commended E. Don Brown, a former president of both the

National Association of Secondary School Principals The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is a national organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 4 ...

(NASSP) and the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP). In 2002, the school was at the center of a national

zero tolerance A zero-tolerance policy is one which imposes a punishment for every infraction of a stated rule.zero tolerance, n.' (under ''zero, n.''). The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Ed. 1989. Retrieved 10 November 2009. Italy, Japan, Singapore China, I ...

debate when an honor student was expelled for having a non-serrated

bread knife Bread knives are used for cutting bread and are one of many kitchen knife, kitchen knives used by cooks. The serrated blades of bread knives are able to cut soft bread without crushing it. History One such knife was exhibited at the World's Co ...

in his truck-bed. A combination of federal, state, and school district rules led 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.

to advise that the student must be expelled for one year. The superintendent then reduced the expulsion to "time served". In November 2023, voters approved an HEB ISD bond package that included plans to replace L.D. Bell High School with a new building at the same campus.

Campus and facilities

L. D. Bell High School moved to its present location in 1965. Venues on the L.D. Bell High School campus include Nathan F. Danford field (

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

); a

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

field; the Raider Bowl - a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

field with permanent

bleacher Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...

s, a track, a field house, and an observation deck; a practice football field for the marching band with an observation deck; several other large football fields; and four parking lots (faculty, student, band hall and Bell Freeway Entrance (B.F.E.) / Raider Bowl). An activity center named for former principal E. Don Brown opened in 2013 with a 60-yard indoor field, offices, and locker rooms. The northern section of the campus grounds, including all buildings, is within the Hurst City limits. The softball diamond and most of the Raider Bowl and track are located within Bedford city limits. L.D. Bell shares the use of district facilities such as

Pennington Field Pennington Field is a multi-purpose stadium located in Bedford, Texas. The 12,500-capacity facility is primarily used for local high school football and soccer teams of Trinity High School and L.D. Bell High School. It is owned and operated by ...

for

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, and

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...

events and the HEB athletic field located at Central Junior High.

Student body

During the 2014–2015 school year, L. D. Bell High School enrolled 2,143 total students in

grade 10 Tenth grade (also 10th Grade or Grade 10) is the tenth year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the second year of high school. In many parts of the world, students in tenth grade are usually 15 to 16 years of age. Australia In ...

(35.5%),

grade 11 Eleventh grade (also known as 11th Grade, Grade 11, or Junior year) is the eleventh year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the 3rd year of high school. Students in eleventh grade are usually 16-17 years of age. Australia In Aus ...

(32.5%), and

grade 12 Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final year of secondary school and K–12 ...

(32.0%). Ethnicities represented include

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

(49.5%),

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

(27.7%), Asian and Pacific Islander (6.7%),

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

(13.3%), and Native American (0.6%). Forty percent were economically

disadvantaged The "disadvantaged" is a generic term for individuals or groups of people who: * Face special problems such as physical disability, physical or mental disorder, mental disability * Lack money or economic supportKingdom of Nepal: Economic and Soc ...

. There were 600 graduates in the class of 2014. The annual dropout rate is 0.2% (in 2013–2014). L.D. Bell receives students from three

feeder school A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...

s: all students from Bedford Junior High school and Hurst Junior High school attend Bell along with a share of the students from Central Junior High school. Students in the attendance zones for Bedford Heights, Bellaire, Bell Manor, Donna Park, Harrison Lane, Hurst Hills, River Trails, Shady Brook, Shady Oaks, Stonegate, and Trinity Lakes

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s attend L. D. Bell High School. L.D. Bell students carry on many traditions, including "head-banging" to the drumline during pep rallies and at football games, as well as Seniors storming the gym floor at the beginning of the fight song at the end of each pep rally.

Academics

The district has offered the

IB Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...

and Pre-IB preparatory classes at L. D. Bell since fall 2002, graduating the first class of IB students in spring 2004. L.D. Bell students may study specialized or vocational topics—such as

video production Video production is the process of producing video content. It is the equivalent of filmmaking, but with video recorded either as analog signals on videotape, digitally in video tape or as computer files stored on optical discs, hard drives, SSDs, ...

, automotive repair and service,

culinary arts Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

computer aided drafting Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

, and

cosmetology Cosmetology (from Greek , ''kosmētikos'', "beautifying"; and , ''-logia'') is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty include hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/ pedicures, non-permanent hair removal suc ...

—at the Gene A. Buinger Career and Technical Education Academy. Among L.D. Bell's class of 2014, the average

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

score was 1514 (Texas state average was 1417), and the average ACT score was 22.3 (Texas state average was 20.6). In 2007, the school had 5

National Merit Finalists The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships. The program is managed by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded not-for-profit ...

. On The Washington Post's 2016 list of America's most challenging high schools, L.D. Bell High School is ranked 1039th out of approximately 22,000 public high schools, based on a ratio of 2.445 college-level exams taken per graduate. In 2007,

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

used similar criteria to rank L.D. Bell as 303rd in the nation (and 4th within

Tarrant County Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 U.S. census population of 2,110,640, making it the third-most populous county in Texas and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth. T ...

). Among

high schools, Bell High School ranks eleventh (of forty-six) in average points above passing on the 11th grade

TAKS The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) was the fourth Texas state standardized test previously used in primary education, grade 3-8 and secondary education, grade 9-11 to assess students' attainment of reading (activity), reading, wr ...

test.

Athletics

Despite not having freshmen on campus, the 9th graders at each feeder campus are technically eligible for varsity sports programs, and on rare occasion make the teams and participate with the high school attendees.

Football

The 1982/83 varsity football team had an undefeated season and playoffs, (beating Trinity twice), before being defeated in the state championship game by West Brook Senior High (Beaumont, TX).

Gymnastics

Men's

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

State Championships: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1993, 2007. The men's gymnastics team has won 16 state titles since it was founded in 1966. The Bell men's team won their sixteenth state title in 2007, their first title in 14 years. Women's Gymnastics State Championships: 1967, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2016, 2018. The women's gymnastics team has won 21 state championships since 1967. The team claimed state titles from 2002 to 2005.

Baseball

Men's baseball is played on campus at Nathan F. Danford field, located along Pleasantview Dr. on the northwest corner of campus. Former head coach Paul Gibson was named “Coach of the Year” in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2018.

Ice Hockey

The

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team plays at area ice rinks, including the Dr. Pepper Star's Centers in

Grapevine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, bot ...

, and Coppell.

Tennis

The school has a full complement of tennis courts located between the new Don Brown Activity Center and the parking lot at the rear of the school building. The Varsity team accepts 9th graders from the two Junior High Schools that feed L.D. Bell - Bedford Junior High and Hurst Junior High. The JV team also plays home and away games with select high schools.

Other

L.D. Bell High School also fields teams in

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, softball,

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

and men's and women's

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 (appro ...

. The men's and women's soccer teams' home games are typically played at

. Softball home games are played at the softball field on the south end of campus near the Raider Bowl.

Fine Arts / UIL Competitive Organizations

Band

In addition to the

University Interscholastic League The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest organ ...

(UIL) competitions, the band regularly competes in independent contests (usually run by schools) and

(BOA) contests at both the regional and national levels. In November 2007, the Bell marching band won the BOA Grand National Championship and additional awards for Outstanding Music Performance and Outstanding General Effect.
permanent link
In 2006, the marching band was awarded "Outstanding Musical Performance" and placed 2nd overall at the BOA Grand Nationals. In 2004, the band won the BOA St. Louis Super-Regional and captured all captions (specific categories of judgment - music, marching, and general effect). In other BOA Grand National competitions, the band placed 4th in 2001, 5th in 2003, 3rd in 2005, 2nd in 2006, 1st in 2007, 2nd in 2008, 2nd in 2009, 3rd in 2010, and 10th in 2013. Since 2000, the band has medaled at 22 BOA events and 4 of 4 times at the UIL State Marching Band Contest. From 1998 to 2013, the L.D. Bell Marching Band placed in the top 5 of every contest entered.

Notable alumni

''Notable alumni are listed in chronological order by graduation (or expected graduation) year.''

Awards and recognitions

References

External links

L.D. Bell High School

L.D. Bell Band Homepage

L.D. Bell Football Boosters Homepage

* [https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1501+brown+trail+hurst+texas&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=28.252954,59.765625&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=17&ll=32.842421,-97.162764&spn=0.003651,0.010815&t=k&om=1 Google Satellite Image of School]
Morning News, access-date=2007-05-29}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, L. D. High School International Baccalaureate schools in Texas Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District high schools Educational institutions established in 1957 1957 establishments in Texas