St. Pius X High School (Houston)
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St. Pius X High School (SPX) is a Roman Catholic coed secondary school located in Houston, Texas, United States. St. Pius, which serves grades 9 through 12, is administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
The school serves as one of two coed Catholic high schools in the city limits of Houston and one of four coed high schools in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
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[edit] History
The Dominican Sisters of Houston established St. Pius X High School in 1956 [1]. St. Pius opened in September 1956 with 253 students in the 9th and 10th grades. The school added the 11th grade in 1957 and the 12th grade in 1958. The state of Texas' board of education accredited St. Pius in 1959 [2].
[edit] Student body
St. Pius X teaches roughly 650 students. Though mostly white, there are high percentages of black, hispanic, and Asian students. SPX is home of one of the most robust exchange programs of all of Houston's Catholic schools. Students in the exchange program come from such places as Vietnam, China, Mexico, Korea, the Bahamas, Italy, and Germany.
[edit] Academics
St. Pius X currently offers seven Advanced Placement courses (Calculus, American History, Government, English Literature, English Language, Latin and Spanish). Upon entering the school, students are required to take placement tests which assign them to either the honors track or the regular track; crossing over between these tracks is very difficult.
The couseling department at St. Pius, though stressing the fundamentals of college applications (grades, extracurriculars and financial aid) has been criticised among parents for not stressing such things as the PSAT, and stressing too much on colleges within the Houston area (particularly the University of Houston) while ignoring universities and colleges further away.
[edit] Tuition and Fees
For the 2006-2007 school year, the tuition for average students was $8,600. Compared to rival private schools, St. Pius is significantly cheaper. (Strake Jesuit: $11,100; St. Thomas: $10,200; St. Agnes: $9,625)[3] Registration and athletic fees, as well as book costs combine to cost an estimated $700-$900 extra per year.
[edit] Athletics
In 2006 the Boys Soccer team won their first district championship under head coach Jason Novak. In December 2006 the St. Pius football team won the state championship by defeating Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, their first state championship since 1999. Head football coach and athletic director Robin Kirk was the coach for the '99 and '06 championships. And on March 3rd, 2007 the boys basketball team won the state championship by defeating Fort Worth Nolan.
In 2006, the school expanded the existing concession stand adjacent to the football stadium. [4]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Gary Kubiak [5]
- Gary Majewski - Major League pitcher (Washington Nationals)
- Caroline Truong - Via Colori Street Festival Artist 2006
[edit] External links
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