Yates High School

Jack Yates Senior High School
Address
3703 Sampson
Houston, Texas, Harris County, 77004
United States
Information
School type Public
Established February 17, 1926 (1926-02-17)
School district Houston Independent School District
Principal Marla McNeal-Sheppard
Grades 9-12
Language English
Color(s) Gold and Crimson

         
Mascot Lion

Jack Yates Senior High School is a secondary school located at 3703 Sampson in the Third Ward in Houston, Texas with a zip code of 77004. Yates High School handles grades nine through twelve and is part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD).

Yates was named after Reverend John Henry "Jack" Yates, a former slave and a minister.[1] Jack Yates and other leading blacks established the Houston Baptist Academy. Within a decade, the success of the school prompted Reverend Yates to reorganize the Houston Baptist Academy as the Houston College, the school offered a special opportunity to the black children of the community who sought an alternative to the Colored High School of the public school system.

Yates has HISD's magnet program for communications (Broadcast TV, Radio, Print, and Photography). Eye on the Third Ward [1], a collection of works made by Yates students, was posted in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH).

Contents

History

Yates was established on February 8, 1926 as Yates Colored High School with 17 teachers and 600 students. The school, initially located at 2610 Elgin, was the second school for African-Americans established in Houston. The first principal, James D. Ryan, served as the principal from the opening until his death in 1941.[2]

In 1955, as a new Allen Elementary School opened in a neighborhood far from its original location, the former Allen campus, located in what is now Midtown, became the Yates Annex, a school for Black 7th graders. In 1956, the annex was converted into J. Will Jones Elementary School.[3][4]

On January 27, 1958, Worthing High School opened, relieving Yates.[5] Yates relocated to its current location in September 1958. Yates's former location became Ryan Colored Junior High School (now Ryan Middle School), named after the first principal of Yates. Schools in HISD were named after former principals William S. Holland and James E. Codwell.[2]

The Yates photography magnet school program began in fall 1978.[2]

In 1987 a survey at Yates showed that 108 female students were pregnant and 50% of them were having their second pregnancies. In 1989 Chester Smith, the principal, prohibited the school newspaper from publishing a story about a pregnant female student.[6]

In 1997 a geographic area south of Interstate 45 was rezoned from Austin High School to Yates.[7] After the 2000 opening of Chávez High School,[8] portions of the Yates boundary were reassigned to Austin High School.[9]

In 2006, Houston mayor Bill White proclaimed February 7 as "Jack Yates Senior High School Day."[10]

In 2007, a Johns Hopkins University study commissioned by the Associated Press cited to Yates as a "dropout factory" where at least 40% of the entering freshman class do not make it to their senior year.[11]

Yates, along with Sam Houston High School and Kashmere High School, was consistently low-performing in test scores from 2001 to 2004. Because of this problem, there were movements to have the state or another organization take over the schools for a period so the test scores will be at acceptable levels. Yates received an "acceptable" rating from the Texas Education Agency in 2005.

In a 2005 Houston Chronicle article Bill Miller, president of the Yates High School Parent-Teacher-Student Association, criticized the decrease in enrollment. Many students in the Yates High School attendance zone instead chose to attend other high schools. Miller proposed having HISD end its open enrollment policies.[12]

In an e-mail sent in 2010, HISD board member and former Yates student Paula Harris said that she was responsible for having a principal at Yates removed from the school and for having the new principal installed.[13]

Neighborhoods served by Yates

Several areas inside the 610 Loop that are south of Downtown, including the Third Ward, Timbercrest, University Oaks,[14] Oak Manor, University Woods, Scott Terrace, Lucky 7, South Union, Foster Place, Washington Terrace,[15] MacGregor Place, and LaSalette Place, as well as most of Riverside Terrace, are zoned to Yates.[16]

Cuney Homes [2], a unit of public housing, is zoned to Yates.

In addition Cambridge Oaks, a university housing complex, is zoned to Yates.Cambridge Oaks, the designated family housing complex, is served by the Houston Independent School District.[17] Cambridge Oaks houses University of Houston students and is the institution's designated family housing unit.[18]

School uniform

As of 2011 students at Yates were required to wear a school uniform.[19] The Texas Education Agency specifies that the parents and/or guardians of students zoned to a school with uniforms may apply for a waiver to opt out of the uniform policy so their children do not have to wear the uniform; parents must specify "bona fide" reasons, such as religious reasons or philosophical objections.[20]

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

As of March 2010, Yates' boys basketball team was ranked number 1 in the nation by USA Today having defeated their opponents by margins of 135, 115, 99 (twice), 98, 90 and 88 points. Earlier in the year, on January 6, 2010, the basketball team defeated Class 4A District 21 opponent Lee High School 170-35, setting the state record for points in a game and sparking a national debate in the process. Despite a 100-12 halftime lead, the Lions stayed true to their pressing and trapping style, which didn’t sit well with Lee head coach Jacques Armant.

“I feel very disrespected right now,” Armant told the Houston Chronicle after the game. “I don’t understand why Yates just kept scoring and pressing when they were up so much. These are kids. It isn’t good to do that to other young men.” Yates head coach Greg Wise defended his team’s efforts. ESPN's Rick Reilly wrote a scathing article condemning the school's coach, Greg Wise, as unsportsmanlike. He called upon USA Today "to remove Yates from its national rankings ... as a statement about basic sports decency."[21]

Feeder patterns

Elementary schools that feed into Yates[16] include:

(partial)

Portions of Cullen [33] and Ryan Middle Schools [34] feed into Yates.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "YATES, JOHN HENRY." Handbook of Texas Online.
  2. ^ a b c "About. " Jack Yates High School. Accessed October 20, 2008
  3. ^ "History." J. Will Jones Elementary School. September 15, 2004. Retrieved on April 5, 2009.
  4. ^ "Land Use & Development Map." Midtown. Retrieved on April 4, 2009.
  5. ^ "Our History." Worthing High School. Retrieved on August 30, 2010.
  6. ^ Greene, Andrea D. "Teen-age pregnancies: two success stories/HISD `could do better' to aid teens." Houston Chronicle. C1. Retrieved on December 8, 2011.
  7. ^ "1996-1997 HISD ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES," Houston Independent School District. June 30, 1997. Retrieved on December 13, 2010. "Redirect students south of the Gulf Freeway from Austin HS to Yates HS "
  8. ^ "High Schools." Houston Independent School District. April 13, 2002. Retrieved on May 6, 2009.
  9. ^ "Austin High School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on December 13, 2010.
  10. ^ "City of Houston Declares High School’s 80th Anniversary “Yates Day”." Houston Independent School District.
  11. ^ Scharrer, Gary. "Report points to 'dropout factories'." Houston Chronicle. November 7, 2007. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  12. ^ Spencer, Jason." Transfer policy hinders schools / `Talent drain' makes it hard for some campuses to meet standards." Houston Chronicle. Sunday September 4, 2005. B1 MetFront. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  13. ^ "Houston ISD board president involved in Yates principal choices, emails show." Houston Community Newspapers. Monday October 24, 2011. Retrieved on November 5, 2011.
  14. ^ "University Oaks." Harris County. Retrieved on April 5, 2009.
  15. ^ Map. Washington Terrace Civic Association. Retrieved on November 23, 2008.
  16. ^ a b "Yates High School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
  17. ^ "how to contact us." Cambridge Oaks. Retrieved on August 15, 2011. "Village address Cambridge Oaks 4444 Cullen Boulevard Houston, TX 77004"
  18. ^ "On-Campus Housing and Communities." University of Houston. Retrieved on August 15, 2011. "Housing Campus Map"
  19. ^ "2011-2012 Uniform Dress Code." Yates High School. Retrieved on August 15, 2011.
  20. ^ "DOCKET NO. 008-R5-901." Texas Education Agency. Accessed October 13, 2008.
  21. ^ Riley, Rick (2010-03-10). "Someone stop this man: Greg Wise of Yates High in Houston is famous for running up the score". ESPN The Magazine. ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=reilly_rick&id=4977305. Retrieved 2010-03-12. 
  22. ^ "Foster Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  23. ^ "Hartsfield Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  24. ^ "Lockhart Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  25. ^ "MacArthur Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  26. ^ "HISD PROPOSED ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES FOR BLACKSHEAR, JW JONES, & GREGORY LINCOLN ES." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on August 19, 2009.
  27. ^ "Dodson Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  28. ^ "J. P. Henderson Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  29. ^ "Kelso Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  30. ^ "Peck Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  31. ^ "Thompson Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  32. ^ "Whidby Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  33. ^ "Cullen Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  34. ^ "Ryan Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  35. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Distinguished HISD Alumni," Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on January 20, 2009
  36. ^ "CNN's Martin to be honored". http://www.theeagle.com/local/CNN-s-Martin-to-be-honored-. 
  37. ^ http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2007/10/big_moe_rip.php
  38. ^ "Phylicia Rashad Interview - Part 1 of 5". American Archive of Television. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAv1k2p69-k. Retrieved 30 April 2010. 
  39. ^ Guerra, Joey. "Singer Robyn Troup's dreams look poised to be realized." Houston Chronicle. September 26, 2010. Retrieved on September 26, 2010.
  40. ^ Khan, Sam Jr. "A state title would complete Yates' return to basketball excellence / LIONS' ROAR RESTORED." Houston Chronicle. Friday February 22, 2008. Sports 1. Retrieved on May 3, 2009.
  41. ^ "Michael Young". Houston Cougars athletics. http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/young_michael00.html. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 

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