W. B. RAY HIGH SCHOOL

{{Infobox Secondary school
| name = William Benton Ray High School
| established = 1950
| principal = Steven Gonzales
| type = Public, Secondary
| grades = 9–12
| city = Corpus Christi
| state = Texas
| country = USA
| enrollment = 2400
| mascot = Fighting Texan {"Tex" and "Mary-Lou"}
| colors = Scarlet and Silver
| newspaper = El Tejano
| website = http://ccan.corpuschristiisd.org/ray/index.cfm
| logo =
}}
'W. B. Ray High School' is a secondary school centrally located in Corpus Christi, Texas and is part of the Corpus Christi Independent School District. The school is named in honor of the school board president, William Benton Ray. W. B. Ray High School opened in 1950.

Contents

Demographics

Profile

Athletics

School uniform

Notable alumni

Contact information

References

External links

Demographics

As of 2005, W. B. Ray has a student body of approximately 2400 students with an ethnic distribution of 70% Hispanic, 27% White, 1% Black and 1% other ethnicities including Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Asians. The district area includes a variety of socio-economic strata, ranging from affluent to below the US poverty level.

Profile

The school principal is Steven Gonzales, who replaced Dr. Dawn Dorsey at the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year. 98% of seniors who attend graduate with their diploma.
The school's motto is "The Difference Shows". The mascot "Tex" was recently given a girlfriend: "Mary-Lou."

Athletics

The school was at one time in its early history competitive at the state levels even winning the 1959 Football State Championship under the coaching of Bill Stages. The Texans have been standouts in the recent past in the sports of basketball and baseball. Led by high school hoopster Taurean Mitchell the Texans would eventually achieve high status in the state. In 2003 they made it to the state finals, ultimately losing to DeSoto. After graduation, Mitchell accepted an athletic scholarship to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and in 2007 helped lead the Islanders to a Southland Conference Championship and a trip to the NCAA Div. I Tournament; the first in school history.
Before the Mitchell led Texans emerged on the state scene, the Texan hoopsters made national news in 1987-1988 when then Head Coach Johnny Martinez and assistant Mark Rundle led Ray to a sweet sixteen finish at the 5A Regional Semi-Finals. The team was featured on Good Morning America after freshman Marc Maxwell hit a desperation three pointer from 75 feet out to tie arch-rival King HS in a wild-card playoff to select the district's last playoff spot. See that shot at http://sportsbythenumbers.com
In baseball, Ray has been a contender in the South Texas playoff picture under the tutelage of long time Head Coach Mario DeLeon. Several current and former Division 1 baseball players have gone through the Texan Baseball program.
Recently, the Texan Football team has returned to the prominence it once knew. Head Coach Roland Gonzalez has led the often under estimated and under appreciated Texans to three straight playoff appearances (for the first time in school history) and two out of the last three district championships.
The ladies of W.B. Ray Athletics have excelled. The Lady Texan Soccer team achieved a Silver Medal in the Gold Division of the Gulf Coast Classic Soccer Tournament for the first time in the 2006-2007 School year under the coaching of Larry Mathys and assistant Daniel Kelly. The Texan Swim team, influenced by Suann Pyle also achieved victory in 2007 taking a State title. Over the past four years, Coach Ed Arvin years has mentored several stand out wrestlers to the state finals, including Jackie Stiles, who dominated her way to the top and was named champion for the 2007 National Collegiate Women's Wrestling.

School uniform

The school has a dress code that is similar to a school uniform; tops must be red, gray, and white, and bottoms must be solid white, tan khaki, or blue denim. Assistant Principals and armed police officers guard the main hallways in search of dress code offenders. In 2000, there was a push in the administration (led by Dr. Scott at the time) to ban flip-flops, but student and parent outcry and lack of support from teachers led to this being dropped. [1]

Notable alumni

★ John Kline, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives

★ Farrah Fawcett, actress

★ Bill Glass, former NFL player for the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns

★ David Jimenez, Associated Press Writer

★ Kipp Layton from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Contact information

: W. B. Ray High School
: 1002 Texan Trail
: Corpus Christi, TX 78411

References

★ Student stabbing

★ Local Hoopster makes Good

External links

★ W.B. Ray 'Class of 1987' reunion site

★ W.B. Ray High School website

★ W.B. Ray Class of 1964 alumni website

★ W.B. Ray class of 1967 reunion website

★ W.B. Ray Class of 1980 alumni website

★ W.B. Ray Percussion website