| DeBakey High School for Health Professions | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 3100 Shenandoah, Houston, Texas, 77021 United States |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public School (US) |
| School district | HISD |
| Principal | Agnes Perry-Bell |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | 740 (2010-2011) |
| Mascot | Viper |
| TEA Rating | Exemplary (2010-2011) |
| Magnet | Medical Professions |
| Website | [ [1]] |
Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions is a medical secondary school located in the Third Ward area of Houston, Texas, United States.[1]
It has been named the number one public high school in Houston by the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Press and number 40 in the US by US News, even though it does not offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (Bellaire and Lamar High School, two other schools in Houston do).[2] DeBakey High School, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Houston Independent School District and is east of the Texas Medical Center. It is the only HISD magnet high school for health professions. The school was named after Michael E. DeBakey, a famous heart surgeon. DeBakey does not automatically take in students from the surrounding neighborhood; the surrounding neighborhood is zoned to Yates High School.[2]
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The High School for Health Professions opened in 1972 as part of a partnership between HISD and the Baylor College of Medicine.[3]
In the 1984-1985 school year, of the HISD campuses, DeBakey had the lowest percentage of failing grades. In the fall semester, 7% of grades were failing, while in the spring semester, 6% of grades were failing.[4]
The school was renamed after Michael E. DeBakey in 1996.[3]
The school was a National Blue Ribbon School award winner in 1997-98[5] and 2003.[6]
Plans for the school to be relocated within the Texas Medical Center were made but soon canceled because the Houston Independent School District decided to renovate instead. Renovations started August 2006 and ended in 2008.[3]
In 2006 the HISD board considered moving the Kay On-Going Education Center, a special school for pregnant girls, to an unused area within DeBakey High School. DeBakey had around 30 unused classrooms, and HISD administrators argued that the Texas Medical Center location would be of use to pregnant students.[7] Jennifer Radcliffe of the Houston Chronicle said that the proposed plan yielded a "mixed" reaction in DeBakey parents and students.[8] Some signed a petition asking the district not to merge Kay On-Going into DeBakey.[8] Ultimately HISD did not go forward with the plan. Instead it moved into Kay On-Going into the Carter Career Center in the Fifth Ward.[8]
The Supreme Education Council of Qatar opened a branch version of DeBakey, DeBakey High School for Health Professions at Qatar, in its country, with Charlesetta Deason, formerly principal of the Houston school, as the head of the Qatar school.[3]
Seeing that the school emphasizes health occupations, all students are required to take a full-year course on Health Science Technology. Juniors and seniors are required to take the course for two class periods, during which they make regular trips to the Texas Medical Center to interact and are able to learn first-hand from physicians and surgeons who work there. They frequently witness live surgeries in the Medical Center, making the learning experience quite unlike courses offered at other public schools in HISD.[4]
Students in the school are required to wear school uniforms.[9] In 2010, the school announced that its new uniform code will require students to buy shirts from the parent teacher organization. The shirts must have a DeBakey logo. This led to protests from students and parents who were unwilling to spend additional money on school-mandated clothes; DeBakey's student body as of that year was 55% free lunch or reduced lunch.[10]
As of 2008-2009 school year, the school was made up of 60% female and 40% male students. Of these, 29% were African American, 37% were Asian, 28% were Hispanic, <1% were Native American, and 7% were White. 100% of DeBakey students passed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS).[5]
The school offers more than twenty-five clubs. Clubs include Health Occupation Students of America, BSU (Black Student Union), VISA (Vietnamese International Student Association), OLA (organization for Latin Americans), DeBakey Music Club, honor societies including chapters of the BETA club, the Filipino American club (Fil-Am), the National Honor Society, and the Spanish National Honor Society.[11]
Typically students score higher than average schools on the SAT and perform well on state tests. Almost all students attending DeBakey graduate from high school. As of 2011 DeBakey's per-pupil spending was $8,807 per student, $1,450 over the Greater Houston average, $7,355.[12]
Houston ISD provides bus transportation to students who live more than two miles from DeBakey or students with major transportation obstacles. Many students choose to ride the bus, as many live more than eight to twenty miles away from the campus. The average time to reach the school by riding a school bus is one hour even for students who live relatively close to the school because some buses travel to multiple stops; other students choose to carpool or drive themselves to school.
METRO routes that serve DeBakey High School include 60 (South MacGregor/Hardy) and 68 (Brays Bayou Crosstown).
DeBakey has no feeder patterns since it is a magnet school, so no students are zoned to it. DeBakey takes children from many Houston ISD middle schools.
Some students who are enrolled in private schools in the 8th grade choose to go to DeBakey for high school.[13][14]
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