Clear Lake High School (Houston, Texas)

Clear Lake High School is a public secondary school located in Houston, Texas, United States.

The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Clear Creek Independent School District. The school serves portions of Houston (including most of Clear Lake City) and Pasadena (including Clear Lake City and El Jardin del Mar) and the cities of Seabrook, El Lago, and Taylor Lake Village. Its colors are red, blue, and white. Its mascot and symbol is the Falcon.

History

Clear Lake High School opened in 1972 to alleviate overcrowding at what was then the district's only high school, Clear Creek High School with The first class graduating in 1973. The current campus has a ninth grade center — formerly Space Center Intermediate School — field house, and athletic fields, all across the street from the University of Houston–Clear Lake.

The ninth grade annex was first added to the Clear Lake High School campus in 1978. Later, the 9th grade center was used as Space Center Intermediate School but returned to a 9th grade center when SCIS moved to a newly built campus for the 1999-2000 school year.

For the 1986-87 school year Clear Lake High School became a National Blue Ribbon School.^[1] Clear Lake High School is currently the largest exemplary school in Texas.

Notable Alumni

• Craig Veasey, c/o 1985, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Oilers, and Miami Dolphins^[2][3]
• Jeff Novak, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars^[4]
• Seth McKinney, c/o 1997, Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns^[5]
• Steve McKinney, Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans^[6]
• Jon Switzer, c/o 1998, Tampa Bay Devil Rays^[7]
• Mike Swick, c/o 1998, UFC Fighter^[8]
• Dustin Hopkins, football place-kicker - Florida State Seminoles^[9]
• Pete Olson, U.S. Congressman^[10]
• Scott Sheldon, Former Major league baseball player for the Oakland A's and the Texas Rangers

1984 suicides

In the 1980s, the high school was perhaps most known for the six suicides that occurred in September and October 1984. The New York Times reported that there were rumors of a suicide pact that included up to thirty students but that this story turned out to be "a lark." Psychologists were sent to the school to deal with any residual stress that resulted from these events, though Clear Lake High School today has a higher than average suicide rate among students compared to other high schools in the country. The New York Times reports that the suicides of the 1980s were quickly forgotten.^[11][12]

Academics and extra-curricular activities

• 1976 the CLHS Boys Swim Team were State Champions
• 1976 the CLHS Girls Swim Team were State Champions
• 1977 the CLHS Boys Swim Team were State Champions
• 1979 the CLHS Boys Swim Team were State Champions
• 1981 the CLHS Boys Swim Team were State Champions
• 1981 the CLHS Girls Swim Team were State Champions
• 1981 the CLHS Symphonic band, conducted by Richard Bass, finished 1st in the World Music Festival in Vienna, Austria, competing against bands from all over the globe. Their 14-day trek took the band through such countries as Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
• 1982 the CLHS Boys Swim Team were State Champions
• 1982 the CLHS Girls Swim Team were State Champions
• 1983 the CLHS Boys Swim Team were State Champions
• 1983 the CLHS Boys Swim Team placed 3rd in the Nation
• 1984 the CLHS Boys Swim Team were State Champions
• 1989 the CLHS Boys Basketball team won the 5A Texas State Championship.
• 1991 the CLHS Orchestra, conducted by James Kidwell, finished 1st place in the state for full orchestra performance in the Texas Music Educators Association Honor Orchestra competition.^[13]
• 2007 the CLHS Orchestra, conducted by Bryan Buffaloe and Kevin Black, finished in 2nd place in the state for string orchestra performance and 3rd place in the state for full orchestra performance, its best finish ever for multiple events in the Texas Music Educators Association. The CLHS Scholars' bowl team again took first place at the NHS Scholars' Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia, and swept the individual-category competitions. The CLHS Earth Angels, representing TEAM USA, won first place in the Global Enterprise Challenge in Wales in June. The Clear Lake Rocketry Club made it to the National Finals of the Team America Rocketry Challenge in The Plains, VA in May.[1]
• 2008 the Clear Lake Team Tennis Team won 2nd place in state. However, due to a recent discovery, the tennis team has now been declared the State Champions. This discovery dealt with the old State Champions hiring a professional coach to coach their team. This is against the Texas High School Tennis Rule Book and therefore the team was disqualified. [2]
• 2009 the CLHS Wind Ensemble was invited to perform at the prestigious Midwest Clinic
• 2010 the Girl's Basketball team finished 2nd in district then went onto the 4th round of the Texas State UIL Playoffs.
• 2010 the CLHS Full Orchestra, conducted by Bryan Buffaloe, Kevin Black, and John Law, was named the 2011 State Honor Orchestra in the High School Full Orchestra Division by the Texas Music Educators Association and will perform at the annual TMEA Convention in San Antonio in February 2011.[3][4]

1990- 2010: Boys have won 12 of the last twenty 5A waterpolo state championships For the past 38 years, the Girl's Water Polo team has been the district champions

References

External links

• Clear Lake High School PTSA
• Clear Creek ISD
• Clear Lake High School
• Clear Lake High School JROTC
• Clear Lake High School Orchestra
• Clear Lake High School Speech and Debate Club
• Clear Lake High School Flairs
• Bay Area Youth Symphony
• Clear Lake High School Band
• Clear Lake High School Football
• Clear Lake High School Girls Volleyball
• Clear Lake High School Aquatics
• Clear Lake High School Class of 1990