Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Encyclopedia
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
, Adario Strange
, Valarie Rae Miller
, Edie Brickell
, Sandra St. Victor
, and Roy Hargrove
.
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 http://www.clipfile.org/2005/07/15/797/ - 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 1976, the school was repurposed as the Arts Magnet at Booker T. Washington High School, inheriting and expanding the magnet-school arts curriculum that had been in place in the Performing Arts Cluster at Skyline High School since 1970. The Arts Magnet would become a prototype for magnet schools across the country.
In 2008, the building was enlarged a third time. After receiving many grants, the school underwent a $50,000,000 expansion. http://www.dallasperformingarts.org/news-1.22.08.html.
The surrounding neighborhood has evolved into the Dallas Arts District and the school building is an official Dallas Landmark.
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.
(TAKS) test. For the 2009-2010 School Year Booker T. Washington has received a rating of Exemplary by the Texas Education Agency
Jenn Doughty
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
located in the Arts District
Arts District, Dallas
The Arts District is a performing and visual arts district in downtown Dallas Texas .It is south of State Thomas, southeast of Uptown, north of the City Center District, west of Bryan Place and east of the West End Historic District. It is bounded by St...
of downtown
Downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District in Dallas, Texas USA, located in the geographic center of the city. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally been defined as bounded by the downtown freeway loop: bounded on the east by I-345 Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District...
Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). Booker T. Washington High School enrolls students in grades 9
Ninth grade
Ninth grade is the ninth post-kindergarten year of school education in some school systems. The students are 13 to 15 years of age, depending on when their birthday occurs. Depending on the school district, ninth grade is usually the first year of high school....
-12
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
and is the Dallas Independent School District
Dallas Independent School District
The Dallas Independent School District is a school district based in Dallas, Texas . Dallas ISD, which operates schools in much of Dallas County, is the second largest school district in Texas and the twelfth largest in the United States.In 2009, the school district was rated "academically...
's arts magnet school
Magnet school
In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
(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
Norah Jones
Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
, Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
, Adario Strange
Adario Strange
Adario Strange is a New York based film director, writer and artist. He is best known for his documentary film detailing a year of strange deaths at the famed university. In recent years he was Editor in Chief of the weekly newspaper New York Press and a business technology writer for...
, Valarie Rae Miller
Valarie Rae Miller
- Early life :Raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Miller became interested in acting when she was quite young. She attended a high school for the performing arts and landed a number of high-profile commercials while still in college....
, Edie Brickell
Edie Brickell
Edie Arlisa Brickell is an American singer-songwriter best known for 1988's Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went #4 on the US Albums Chart.-Life and career:...
, Sandra St. Victor
Sandra St. Victor
Sandra St. Victor is a Dallas born singer songwriter most known for her work as lead singer of The Family Stand. She attended the now famous Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, High School studying all styles of music. Arts Magnet was also stomping grounds for...
, and Roy Hargrove
Roy Hargrove
Roy Anthony Hargrove is an American jazz trumpeter. He won worldwide notice after winning two Grammy Awards for differing types of music, in 1997, and in 2002...
.
History
In 1892, Dallas established its first high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
for African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
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
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
. 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
Wilmer-Hutchins Independent School District
Wilmer-Hutchins Independent School District was a school district in southern Dallas County, Texas serving the cities of Wilmer and Hutchins, a portion of Dallas , and a small portion of Lancaster. The district served urban, suburban, and rural areas...
burned down in a fire http://www.clipfile.org/2005/07/15/797/ - 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
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
, won the case, increasing general awareness of discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
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 1976, the school was repurposed as the Arts Magnet at Booker T. Washington High School, inheriting and expanding the magnet-school arts curriculum that had been in place in the Performing Arts Cluster at Skyline High School since 1970. The Arts Magnet would become a prototype for magnet schools across the country.
In 2008, the building was enlarged a third time. After receiving many grants, the school underwent a $50,000,000 expansion. http://www.dallasperformingarts.org/news-1.22.08.html.
The surrounding neighborhood has evolved into the Dallas Arts District and the school building is an official Dallas Landmark.
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."The ethnic makeup of the school is 42% White American
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
, non-Hispanic, 30% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 24% Hispanic American, 3% Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
/Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
, and 1% American Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
/Alaskan Native
Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives are the indigenous peoples of Alaska. They include: Aleut, Inuit, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, and a number of Northern Athabaskan cultures.-History:In 1912 the Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded...
.
The average class sizes at Washington are 20 students for English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, 27 for foreign language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
, 19 for math, 22 for science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, and 25 for social studies
Social studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the 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 SkillsTexas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills
The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills is a standardized test used in Texas primary and secondary schools to assess students' attainment of reading, writing, math, science, and social studies skills required under Texas education standards. It is developed and scored by Pearson Educational...
(TAKS) test. For the 2009-2010 School Year Booker T. Washington has received a rating of Exemplary by the Texas Education Agency
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Alumni
Famous alumni include:- Erykah BaduErykah BaduErica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
- Ernie BanksErnie BanksErnest "Ernie" Banks , nicknamed "Mr. Cub", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and first baseman. He played his entire 19-year baseball career with the Chicago Cubs . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.-High school years:Banks was a letterman and standout in football,...
, Hall of FameNational Baseball Hall of Fame and MuseumThe National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
baseball player - Bill Blair, Negro Leagues baseball player, newspaper publisher
- Edie BrickellEdie BrickellEdie Arlisa Brickell is an American singer-songwriter best known for 1988's Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went #4 on the US Albums Chart.-Life and career:...
- Todd DuffeyTodd DuffeyTodd Duffey is an actor who was born in Raleigh, North Carolina and grew up in Texas. He is best known for his role as Brian, the Chotchkie's waiter in the 1999 comedy Office Space. He appeared in a reoccurring role in 2001 in Buffy the Vampire Slayer-External links:...
- actor, Office SpaceOffice SpaceOffice Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...
(1999), Waiter with "flair". - Ross Edgerley
- Norah JonesNorah JonesNorah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
- Frank LoCrasto
- Elizabeth MitchellElizabeth MitchellElizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
- Actress, known for her role as Dr. Juliet Burke on Lost. - Mike Washlesky - Cinematographer
- Stanley Bell - Visual Artist
- Comfort Fedoke - Dancer
- Julia Scott ReedJulia Scott ReedJournalist Julia Scott Reed wrote, for many years, a weekly column for the Dallas Morning News, edited the African-American "Dallas Express," and worked in radio broadcasting before she retired in 1979....
- Journalist - Shahine EzellShahine EzellShahine Ezell was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He attended California Institute of the Arts for Acting. He started his career on the show Strong Medicine. Then moved on to work on movies: Driftwood, Detention, Remember the Daze, and Days of Wrath. He also appeared on the NBC show Crossing Jordan...
- Actor, producer, DJ
Jenn Doughty
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