BOOKER T. WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS

'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, Frank LoCrasto, Edie Brickell, and Roy Hargrove.

Contents

History

Statistics

Test Scores

Alumni

References

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 the 1970s, the school was repurposed as the Arts Magnet at Booker T. Washington High School and became a prototype for magnet schools across the country.
Students have now temporarily relocated to the Nolan Estes Plaza in the neighborhood of Oak Cliff while a multi-million dollar renovation and expansion of the school takes place.
While at N.E.P., Booker T. Washington donors have helped in making some drastic changes to the plaza, which used to be a shopping mall.
The new building in the Arts District is scheduled for completion in December 2007. (Floorplans can be seen at [2].)

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."^[7]
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.
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.
Teachers at the school carry, on average, 19 years of teaching experience and 3% of the teachers on staff are first-year teachers.

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.

'Grade 9'[8] Year Reading Math 2006 98% 79% 2005 95% 80% 2004 98% 86% 2003 97% 88%

'Grade 10' Year Science English[9] Math 2006 80% 99% 80% 2005 — 98% 82% 2004 — 96% 90% 2003 — 91% 91%

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

Alumni

Famous alumni include:

★ Norah Jones^[10]

★ Erykah Badu^[11]

★ Elizabeth Mitchell^[12]

★ Frank LoCrasto^[13]

★ Edie Brickell

★ Zac Baird (Keyboardist for KoRn)

★ Roy Hargrove

★ Aaron Comess (Drummer for The Spin Doctors)

★ Ross Edgerley

★ Tough Luck (All Female Band)

★ Jennifer Delilah [3]

★ Darryl B. Sneed (Dallas Black Dance Theater)

★ Andrea "Sid" Curtis^[14]

★ Ernie Banks, member of National Baseball Hall of Fame, Booker T. Washington High School class of 1950

★ Bill Blair, Negro League baseball pitcher and newspaper publisher, BTWHS

References

1. Dallas ISD - Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
2. Texas Education Agency - School Directory - type in school number "057905034" and select "view report." Retrieved 4 October 2006.
3. Dallas ISD - Schools by Trustee. ('PDF'). Retrieved 4 October 2006.
4. Dallas ISD - Schools by Area. ('PDF'). Retrieved 4 October 2006.
5. Dallas ISD - School telephone numbers. ('PDF'). Retrieved 4 October 2006.
6. Dallas ISD - School fax numbers. ('PDF'). Retrieved 4 October 2006.
7. Great Schools - Booker T. Washington High School - Dallas, Texas. Information originally from the Texas Education Agency. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
8. Texas Education Agency - TAKS™ Aggregate Data System. Results are not on a static webpage, you must request them using the system. 4 October 2006.
9. Officially, "English Language Arts."
10. VH1.com - Norah Jones biography. Retrieved on 7 April 2007.
11. VH1.com - Erykah Badu biography. Retrieved on 7 April 2007.
12. Elizabeth Mitchell Central - Biography. Retrieved on 7 April 2007.
13. FrankLoCrasto.com - Biography. Retrieved on 7 April 2007.
14. . Retrieved on 22 April 2007.

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