Richardson High School

Richardson High School
Address
1250 West Belt Line Road
Richardson, Texas, Dallas County 75080
United States
Coordinates 32°57′06″N 96°45′44″W / 32.9516°N 96.76232°W / 32.9516; -96.76232Coordinates: 32°57′06″N 96°45′44″W / 32.9516°N 96.76232°W / 32.9516; -96.76232
Information
Type High school/secondary school
Motto Scientia Cum Prudentia
Established 1890 (1963 - current facility)
School district Richardson Independent School District
Grades 9–12
Color(s) Purple and gold          
Mascot Eagles
Website Richardson High School Website

Richardson High School (RHS) is a high school in Richardson, Texas, United States with a 2011 enrollment of approximately 2,650 and a student/teacher ratio of 14.5.

Background

Richardson High School is the flagship high school of the Richardson Independent School District (RISD).[1] The school has magnet programs in fine arts, culinary arts,[2] theatre, communications,[1] robotics, law, health science and science, and award-winning mock trial and debate teams.[1]

In the 2012 U.S. News & World Report rankings of the Best Schools in America, Richardson High School ranked number 711 out of 21,766 public high schools, putting it in the top 3.5% of all public high schools in the United States. RHS was also rated the 65th best in the state of Texas.[3]

In August 2006, Richardson High School was named one of three "best practices" high schools in the state of Texas.[4] The award granted by the National Council of Educational Accountability and the Just 4 Kids Foundation is based upon staff development, staff retention, standardized test scores and support programs for students.

In May 2007, the RISD was awarded the "Excellence in Education Award for Large School District in Texas" by the HEB Foundation.[5] Richardson High School and Richardson West Junior High played instrumental roles in the selection process and hosted the site visit committee in March 2007. In addition to the award, the RISD received a check for $100,000.

The school, which opened shortly after the first public school in the city was burned down by Ross Inman in 1890, began in a two-room building on Old Pike Road, a street that is now part of Greenville Avenue. A rural school with fewer than 100 students up to 1950, the school opened its present facility in 1961. During the period of the late 1950s, RHS shared facilities with Westwood Junior High School on Abrams Road. Bill Passmore was principal during this transition into the new facility on Belt Line Road.

Richardson's sports mascot is the Eagles and the team shares Eagle-Mustang Stadium (capacity 11,000) with J. J. Pearce High School. The school's student news magazine is the Talon.[6]

As of the 2010–2011 school year, the administration at RHS is led by Charles Pickitt,[7] principal; Ramiro Lucio, senior principal; Michael Westfall, assistant principal; Josh Eason, assistant principal; Elise Curry, assistant principal; Sharonda Tims, assistant principal; and Talandra Griffen, assistant principal.

Notable accomplishments

Suicide of Jeremy Delle

On January 8, 1991, Jeremy Delle, a 16-year-old sophomore, killed himself with a Smith & Wesson Model 19-4 .357 Magnum revolver in front of his second-period English class.[9] Delle was described by schoolmates as "real quiet" and known for "acting sad."[9] After coming into class late that morning, Delle was told to get an admittance slip from the school office. He left the classroom and returned with a .357 Magnum revolver. Delle walked to the front of the classroom, announced "Miss, I got what I really went for", put the barrel of the firearm in his mouth, and pulled the trigger before his teacher or classmates could react.[9] Lisa Moore, a schoolmate, knew Jeremy from the in-school suspension program: "He and I would pass notes back and forth and he would talk about life and stuff," she said. "He signed all of his notes, “Write back.” But on Monday he wrote, “Later days.” I didn't know what to make of it. But I never thought this would happen."[9] The incident inspired the Pearl Jam song "Jeremy". The band's lead singer, Eddie Vedder, read a newspaper account of the incident and was moved to write the song almost immediately.[10][11]

KRET-TV

In 1960 the Richardson Independent School District established KRET, the first TV station in the nation to be owned by a school district.[12] The studio was located at Richardson High from 1963–1970. The studio was previously located at Richardson Junior High School (1960–1963). The station was converted on August 31, 1970, into a closed-circuit network named "TAGER".

Among the first TV teachers on KRET were Frances Hough and Mary Esther Bynum.

Brent Archie incident

On July 30, 2008, teacher and coach Brent Archie was arrested on charges of having relationships with three female students along with many other improper relationships as well. Archie was a football and wrestling coach, and also taught Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) and world history. This was the first incident of its kind in the RISD's history.[13][14]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Richardson High School Achievements" (PDF). Edline. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Richardson culinary students create easy, healthy recipes for kids". dallasnews.com. January 29, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Education: Richardson High School Overview". U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  4. ↑ Hughes, Kristine (August 18, 2006). "Richardson High recognized for its teamwork". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 17, 2012. (payment required)
  5. ↑ Weiss, Jeffrey (September 3, 2011). "How Richardson ISD beat its peers in getting the class of ’09 college-ready". dallasnews.com. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  6. ↑ Mattiza, F. (October 28, 2009). "Richardson: RHS graduate Anne Rice releases 29th novel". dallasnews.com. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  7. ↑ Weiss, Jeffrey (March 2, 2011). "Richardson High School's principal gets a nice award". dallasnews.com. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982–1983 Through 1999–2002" (PDF). ed.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Miller, Bobbi; Nevins, Annette (1991-01-09). "Richardson teenager kills himself in front of classmates". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  10. ↑ Smith, Helen. "The Scarred Heart" (PDF). Violent Kids.com. |chapter= ignored (help)
  11. ↑ Black, Johnny (September 2002). "The Greatest Songs Ever! Jeremy". Blender. Archived from the original on December 29, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Educational TV Rates Top Grade in Classes". The Dallas Morning News. March 31, 1960. section B, p. 6.
  13. ↑ Flemmons, Stephanie (September 25, 2009). "Richardson ISD teacher faces trial for sex crimes". planostar.com. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  14. ↑ "RISD sex scandal 'disturbing and tragic'". Wfaa.com. August 15, 2009. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
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