Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts

Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Location
2501 Flora St. Dallas, TX 75201
Information
Type	Secondary
Motto	To provide intensive training in the arts and academics.[1]
School district	Dallas Independent School District
Principal	Tracie Fraley[1]
Faculty	79[1]
Grades	9-12
Number of students	903[2]
Color(s)	Blue and Black[1]
Mascot	Pegasus[1]
Trustee dist.	9[3]
Learning Community	West Secondary, Cynthia Goodsell[4]
Website	http://www.dallasisd.org/btw/

Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts is a public secondary school located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). Booker T. Washington High School enrolls students in grades 9-12 and is the Dallas Independent School District's arts magnet school (thus, it is often locally referred to simply as Arts Magnet). Many accomplished performers and artists have been educated in the school. Some examples include Norah Jones, Erykah Badu, Adario Strange, Valarie Rae Miller, Edie Brickell, Sandra St. Victor, and Roy Hargrove.

Contents 1 History 2 Statistics 2.1 Test Scores 3 Alumni 4 References 5 External links

History

In 1892, Dallas established its first high school for African American pupils. In 1911, the school was enlarged and named the Dallas Colored High School. The school was moved in 1922 to larger quarters, and renamed Booker T. Washington High School, after the African-American education pioneer Booker T. Washington. For many years, it was the only Dallas high school that allowed students of color.

In 1939, Wilmer-Hutchins Colored High School of the Wilmer-Hutchins ISD burned down in a fire [1] - Afterwards, African-American WHISD students were sent to DISD high schools for "colored" people such as Washington.

In 1942, teacher Thelma Paige Richardson sued the Dallas School District, demanding equalization of pay based upon tenure and merit; the school district denied that any discrimination was taking place. Richardson, with the help of the NAACP, won the case, increasing general awareness of discrimination in the public school system.

In 1952, it was enlarged yet again, and given the new name and mission as Booker T. Washington Technical High School. In 1976, the school was repurposed as the Arts Magnet at Booker T. Washington High School, inheriting and expanding the magnet-school arts curriculum that had been in place in the Performing Arts Cluster at Skyline High School since 1970. The Arts Magnet would become a prototype for magnet schools across the country.

In 2008, the building was enlarged a third time. After receiving many grants, the school underwent a $50,000,000 expansion. [2].

The surrounding neighborhood has evolved into the Dallas Arts District and the school building is an official Dallas Landmark.

Statistics

The attendance rate for students at the school is 96%, equal with the state average of 96%. 21% of the students at Washington are economically disadvantaged, 2% enroll in special education, 31% enroll in gifted and talent programs, and 1% are considered "limited English proficient."^[5]

The ethnic makeup of the school is 42% White American, non-Hispanic, 30% African American, 24% Hispanic American, 3% Asian American/Pacific Islander American, and 1% American Indian/Alaskan Native.^[5]

The average class sizes at Washington are 20 students for English, 27 for foreign language, 19 for math, 22 for science, and 25 for social studies.^[5]

Teachers at the school carry, on average, 19 years of teaching experience and 3% of the teachers on staff are first-year teachers.^[5]

Test Scores

Below is a list of percentages that represent the percent of students meeting or exceeding standards on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. For the 2009-2010 School Year Booker T. Washington has received a rating of Exemplary by the Texas Education Agency

Grade 9[6] Year Reading Math 2006 98% 79% 2005 95% 80% 2004 98% 86% 2003 97% 88%

Grade 10[6] Year Science English[7] Math 2006 80% 99% 80% 2005 — 98% 82% 2004 — 96% 90% 2003 — 91% 91%

Grade 11[6] Year Science English[7] Math 2006 91% 98% 92% 2005 — 97% 97% 2004 — 99% 96% 2003 — 88% 80%

Alumni

Famous alumni include:

• Erykah Badu^[8][9]
• Ernie Banks, Hall of Fame baseball player^[10]
• Bill Blair, Negro Leagues baseball player, newspaper publisher^[11]
• Edie Brickell^[8]
• Todd Duffey - actor, Office Space (1999), Waiter with "flair".^[12]
• Ross Edgerley^[13]
• Norah Jones^[8][14]
• Frank LoCrasto^[15]
• Elizabeth Mitchell - Actress, known for her role as Dr. Juliet Burke on Lost.^[16]
• Mike Washlesky - Director/Cinematographer^[17]
• Stanley Bell - Visual Artist^[18]
• Comfort Fedoke - Dancer
• Julia Scott Reed - Journalist
• Shahine Ezell - Actor, producer, DJ
• Roy Hargrove - Jazz Musician, Performer

References

External links

• Dallas ISD listing for Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
• Booker T. Washington High School website
• Booker T. Washington HS photos at the Portal to Texas History
• Arts Magnet Building Campaign

	Dallas Independent School District
High schools	… full list Bryan Adams | Adamson | Carter | Conrad | Hillcrest | Jefferson | Kimball | Lincoln | Madison | Molina | North Dallas | Pinkston | Roosevelt | Samuell | Seagoville | Skyline | South Oak Cliff | Spruce | Sunset | Wilmer-Hutchins | W. T. White | Wilson
Middle schools	… full list Anderson | Hill | Marsh | Quintanilla
Elementary schools	… full list Hooe | Lakewood | Milam | Preston Hollow
Magnet schools	Townview magnets: Government, Law, & Law Enforcement | Science and Engineering Magnet | Talented & Gifted | Business and Management | Education and Social Services | Health Professions Other High Schools: Washington HS for Performing and Visual Arts | Gilliam Collegiate Academy | Lincoln Humanities/Communications Magnet | Skyline | Smith New Tech Middle/High: Obama Male | Rangel Young Women's | PreK-8: Dealey Montessori | Stone Montessori | 4-8: Travis Academy/Vanguard