Richardson High School

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Richardson High School

School type	High School/secondary school
Established	1890 (1951 - current facility)
District	Richardson Independent School District
Grades	9-12
Principal	Charles Pickitt
Colors	Purple and Gold
Mascot	Eagles
Location	Richardson, TX United States
Website	Richardson High School Website

Richardson High School is a high school in Richardson, Texas, United States with a 2006 enrollment of approximately 2300 and a student/teacher ratio of 12.8.

1 Background
2 RHS Alma Mater
3 Jeremy Delle incident
4 KRET
5 Notable alumni
6 External links

[edit] Background

In August 2006, RHS was named one of three "Best Practices" high schools in the state of Texas. The award granted by the National Council of Educational Accountability and the Just 4 Kids Foundation is based upon staff development, staff retention, standardized test scores and support programs for students. Richardson High School is part of the Richardson Independent School District. The school has an arts, law, and science magnet program and an acclaimed Mock Trial team, the Legal Eagles, who have been the regional champion for eleven of the past twelve years, state champions in 2002 (St. Paul - 9th in nation) and 2003 (New Orleans - 8th in nation) and second-place state finishers in 2006. The Legal Eagles captured their third State Championship in 2007 and will represent Texas at the National Mock Trial Competition to be held in Dallas.

The school, which opened shortly after the first public school in the city was burned down by the infamous Ross Inman in 1890, began in a two-room building on Old Pike Road, a street that is now part of Greenville Avenue. A rural school with fewer than 100 students up to 1950, the school opened its present facility in 1959.

Richardson's sports mascot is the Eagles and the team shares Eagle-Mustang Stadium (capacity 11,000) with J.J. Pearce High School. The school's student news magazine is the Talon.

As of 2006, the administration at RHS is led by Mr. Charles Pickitt, Principal; Mr. Henry Hall, Senior Principal; Mr. Ramiro Lucio, Junior Principal; Mr. Tony Palagonia, Sophomore Principal; Mrs. Shannon Tovar, Freshman Principal and Mr. Steve Whiffen, Curriculum and Instruction Principal.

[edit] RHS Alma Mater

Richardson High School Football Team, 1919

Richardson High School Class of 1917.

All hail to thee

Our Alma Mater honored;

Richardson, we're loyal to you.

In days to come

Your memories we'll cherish;

Through the years

We'll still be true.

[edit] Jeremy Delle incident

On January 8, 1991, Jeremy Wade Delle, a 16-year-old sophomore who had recently transferred to the school, killed himself with a .357 Magnum in front of his second-period English class. The tragedy inspired the Pearl Jam song Jeremy.

Steele Shepherd, a former student at nearby J.J. Pearce High School, has gathered information for years on the Delle incident. Based on an interview with a school employee, he claims that Delle spent time in a psychiatric hospital prior to his arrival at Richardson High School and had been placed in in-school suspension for several weeks prior to the incident. "Imagine getting out of a hospital under those conditions and going to a new school, a new start, only to be thrown into suspension shortly after arriving," he writes.

[edit] KRET

In 1960 the Richardson Independent School District established KRET, the first TV station in the nation to be owned by a school district. The call letters "RET" stood for "Richardson Educational Television".

KRET began broadcasting 29 February 1960. KRET broadcast only on weekdays eventually matching school hours and not during the summer. KRET had a broadcast range of about 20 miles. KRET was station 23 on the TV dial.

The studio was located at Richardson High School from 1963-1970. The studio was previously located at Richardson Junior High School (1960-1963). The station was converted on 31 August 1970 into a closed-circuit network named "TAGER".

[edit] Notable alumni

Catherine Crier

Jeff Dunham, ventriloquist
Jay Johnson, ventriloquist
Shawn Michaels, WWE Athlete
Jake McDorman, actor
Bill Nichols, sportswriter
Michael Mulvey, Pulitzer Prize winning photographer
Anne Rice, author
Catherine Crier, TV Personality, Former Texas State Judge
Carla Overbeck, Founding member, Women's United Soccer Association
Tim Cowlishaw, Around The Horn Panelist and Sportswriter
Barry Watson, Actor
Bill Engvall, Comedian
Robert Tilton, TV Evangelist/Con-man
Tasos Kostas, Local Radio Personality
Tracy Hutson, Actress
Gordon Keith, Local Radio Personality
Marshawn Evans, attorney, TV show Apprentice, Miss District of Columbia-2001, 3rd Runner Up Miss America-2002, The last Baton Twirler of RHS
Corey Evans, Fox Sports Network
Dimitri Albert, soccer athlete
John Maddox Roberts, author
Dwayne Levels, NFL athlete
Joseph J. "Tad" Halbach, Jr., State Texas Judge
Earl Levine, Silicon Valley inventor and entrepreneur