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Stratford High School (Houston)
Encyclopedia
Stratford High School is a secondary school
in Houston, Texas
, United States
. The school is one of four high schools in the Spring Branch Independent School District
(SBISD), the district's westernmost secondary school (serving grades 9 through 12). It is considered part of the Memorial district of the city.
Stratford High School serves several neighborhoods, including Westchester, Sherwood Oaks
, Nottingham Forest, Nottingham West, Wilchester, Gaywood
, Wilchester West, Yorkshire, Memorial Townhomes, Village on Memorial Townhomes, Memorial Way, Rustling Pines, Memorial Plaza, and the SBISD portions of Thornwood and Ashford Forest. In addition, several students from the surrounding area opt to transfer in to Stratford from the areas surrounding Fleetwood and the Parkway neighborhoods along local arterial road Eldridge Parkway. In 2005, Newsweek
named Stratford one of the highest-ranked schools in the United States. In 2006, the school was ranked as 187th in the U.S. by Newsweek.
Stratford provides courses in the traditional academic subjects, as well as several foreign languages, technology, vocational education, athletics, and fine arts. Several different Advanced Placement (AP
) courses are offered at Stratford.
In keeping with the theme of its mascot, Stratford's student newspaper is The Oracle while its yearbook is Mnemosyne
.
Middle schools that feed into Stratford include:
. The overflow had been caused by of the rapid development of subdivisions like Yorkshire, Wilchester, and Nottingham. The school district quickly decided to open a new school when the student population at Westchester nearly tripled to 4,000. Prior to the opening of the Stratford facility, Stratford's students were housed in temporary buildings on the Westchester campus. The opening of Stratford was not completed on schedule due to construction delays, causing students to continue to languish in cramped quarters. The 1974 Freshman Class graduated in 1977 as the first four class of the school. The first class to graduate from Stratford was the 1975 Class.
In the 1980s, the population of Spring Branch Independent School District fell drastically. This was attributed to jobs lost to the oil bust that affected the Houston area. Many Houston families left or moved out of the upper, middle-class area, causing an underutilization of campus space. The school district voted to close four schools: Spring Branch High School, Westchester High School and two junior highs. Students from both high schools were sent to Memorial High School with most Westchester students going to Stratford. (Westchester students who attended Memorial Junior High were given the choice of attending either Memorial or Stratford.) Interestingly, students in the first mixed Stratford/Westchester graduating class of 1986 were given the choice of wearing their former Westchester High School color orange gown at graduation. Stratford, for many years, had a permanent display case dedicated to memorabilia from Westchester High School. In recent history, Stratford has maintained its enrollment at around 2000 students. Stratford also has improved its athletics programs recently, including a number of teams that are ranked at the state level and regularly advance to playoff rounds.
Stratford was named a 1983-84 National Blue Ribbon School.
In 2004, the building which housed Stratford was found to have massive structural problems which required immediate attention. The Stratford campus was closed, and the students were moved to the Westchester Academy for International Studies
while repairs went on at the Stratford campus. This move posed a challenge because the Westchester facility could no longer handle a student body as large as Stratford's. Many noted the irony of the temporary move, noting that when Westchester was closed, many Westchester students were sent to Stratford, and now the situation had reversed itself. Stratford moved back into its regular facility in 2005.
In the 2006-2007 football season, the Spartans won the district title.
In February 2008 the UIL
announced that Stratford would be realigned to Class 4A, District 23 effective in the 2008-2009 school year. The new alignment would affect not only football, but all UIL activities. The schools in the new district stretched from Richmond to Bay City and El Campo. Spring Branch ISD
appealed the realignment, citing outrage at the loss of a 34-year long rivalry with Memorial High School
, as well as concern that Stratford would have the most travel of any Houston-area school. In the appeal hearing, the UIL ruled that Stratford would be allowed to remain in Class 5A, and the Spartans were assigned to District 18, where they will face the three other SBISD schools (including Memorial), three high schools from Alief ISD, and private school Strake Jesuit
.
, basketball
, cross country running
, diving
, football
, golf
, soccer, softball
, swimming
, tennis
, track & field and volleyball
. Stratford has a long-standing rivalry with fellow SBISD high school Memorial High School
.
In 1978, the Statford Spartans won the 4-A Texas State Championship with a perfect record of 15-0. They also were named the High School National Champion by many publications.
’s biennial reclassification and realignment was unveiled on Monday February 1, 2010. As part of the realignment, Stratford will move to a 4A classification along with two other SBISD schools, Northbrook and Spring Woods.
Northbrook, Spring Woods and Stratford will join 17-4A with Brenham, Magnolia, Magnolia West, Montgomery and Waller. All changes will take effect starting in the 2010 football season.
attended Stratford. Stand-up comedian Bill Hicks
attended Stratford. Stanford quarterback, Andrew Luck
, was valedictorian of the 2008 class at Stratford. Former New England Patriots running back and current ESPN sports commentator, Craig James, was a member of the 1978 Class 4A State Champion Spartan football team. Author, marketing executive, and United Flight 93 September 11, 2001 victim, Lauren Grandcolas
(née Catuzzi) was a graduate of Stratford. Marc Ostrofsky
('79) is a New York Times Bestselling Author of "Get Rich Click!", Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the sale of Business.com, and has appeared on CNN, ABC's 20/20 and several times on ABC's "The View".
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...
in Houston, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The school is one of four high schools in the Spring Branch Independent School District
Spring Branch Independent School District
Spring Branch Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States. The district serves portions of western Houston. It also serves several small municipalities known as the Memorial Villages in its jurisdiction, such as Hedwig Village and Spring...
(SBISD), the district's westernmost secondary school (serving grades 9 through 12). It is considered part of the Memorial district of the city.
Stratford High School serves several neighborhoods, including Westchester, Sherwood Oaks
Sherwood Oaks
Sherwood Oaks is a middle class subdivision in the Spring Branch super neighborhood of Houston, Texas. The neighborhood is zoned to Stratford High School, Spring Forest Middle School, and Sherwood Elementary School, all schools run by the Spring Branch Independent School District...
, Nottingham Forest, Nottingham West, Wilchester, Gaywood
Gaywood, Houston, Texas
Gaywood is an upscale subdivision in the Memorial area in West Houston. The area is served by Rummel Creek Elementary, Memorial Middle School, and Stratford High School in the Spring Branch Independent School District....
, Wilchester West, Yorkshire, Memorial Townhomes, Village on Memorial Townhomes, Memorial Way, Rustling Pines, Memorial Plaza, and the SBISD portions of Thornwood and Ashford Forest. In addition, several students from the surrounding area opt to transfer in to Stratford from the areas surrounding Fleetwood and the Parkway neighborhoods along local arterial road Eldridge Parkway. In 2005, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
named Stratford one of the highest-ranked schools in the United States. In 2006, the school was ranked as 187th in the U.S. by Newsweek.
Stratford provides courses in the traditional academic subjects, as well as several foreign languages, technology, vocational education, athletics, and fine arts. Several different Advanced Placement (AP
Advanced Placement Program
The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...
) courses are offered at Stratford.
In keeping with the theme of its mascot, Stratford's student newspaper is The Oracle while its yearbook is Mnemosyne
Mnemosyne
Mnemosyne , source of the word mnemonic, was the personification of memory in Greek mythology. This titaness was the daughter of Gaia and Uranus and the mother of the nine Muses by Zeus:* Calliope * Clio * Erato...
.
Feeder patterns
Elementary schools that feed into Stratford include:- Meadow Wood
- NottinghamNottingham Elementary School (Houston, Texas)Nottingham Elementary School is a primary school in Nottingham Forest, Houston, Texas. It is part of the Spring Branch Independent School District. It was constructed in 1968 along with the neighborhood in which it is located...
- Thornwood
- Wilchester
- Rummel Creek (partial)
- Sherwood (partial)
- Spring Woods
Middle schools that feed into Stratford include:
- Spring Forest Middle SchoolSpring Forest Middle School (Houston, Texas)Spring Forest Middle School is a middle school in west Houston, Texas. It is one of seven middle schools in the Spring Branch Independent School District ....
- Memorial Middle School (partial)
Feeding from private schools
Students of some private schools, such as John Paul II School, continue to Stratford.History
Stratford first opened in the 1973-1974 school year though classes were held at Westchester High School until the students moved to the new Stratford campus in March 1974. It was built to relieve the overflow of students at the nearby Westchester High SchoolWestchester Academy for International Studies
The Westchester Academy for International Studies is a public charter school in the Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston, Texas. It serves grades 6-12 and is a part of the International Baccalaureate program. The principal of WAIS is Dr...
. The overflow had been caused by of the rapid development of subdivisions like Yorkshire, Wilchester, and Nottingham. The school district quickly decided to open a new school when the student population at Westchester nearly tripled to 4,000. Prior to the opening of the Stratford facility, Stratford's students were housed in temporary buildings on the Westchester campus. The opening of Stratford was not completed on schedule due to construction delays, causing students to continue to languish in cramped quarters. The 1974 Freshman Class graduated in 1977 as the first four class of the school. The first class to graduate from Stratford was the 1975 Class.
In the 1980s, the population of Spring Branch Independent School District fell drastically. This was attributed to jobs lost to the oil bust that affected the Houston area. Many Houston families left or moved out of the upper, middle-class area, causing an underutilization of campus space. The school district voted to close four schools: Spring Branch High School, Westchester High School and two junior highs. Students from both high schools were sent to Memorial High School with most Westchester students going to Stratford. (Westchester students who attended Memorial Junior High were given the choice of attending either Memorial or Stratford.) Interestingly, students in the first mixed Stratford/Westchester graduating class of 1986 were given the choice of wearing their former Westchester High School color orange gown at graduation. Stratford, for many years, had a permanent display case dedicated to memorabilia from Westchester High School. In recent history, Stratford has maintained its enrollment at around 2000 students. Stratford also has improved its athletics programs recently, including a number of teams that are ranked at the state level and regularly advance to playoff rounds.
Stratford was named a 1983-84 National Blue Ribbon School.
In 2004, the building which housed Stratford was found to have massive structural problems which required immediate attention. The Stratford campus was closed, and the students were moved to the Westchester Academy for International Studies
Westchester Academy for International Studies
The Westchester Academy for International Studies is a public charter school in the Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston, Texas. It serves grades 6-12 and is a part of the International Baccalaureate program. The principal of WAIS is Dr...
while repairs went on at the Stratford campus. This move posed a challenge because the Westchester facility could no longer handle a student body as large as Stratford's. Many noted the irony of the temporary move, noting that when Westchester was closed, many Westchester students were sent to Stratford, and now the situation had reversed itself. Stratford moved back into its regular facility in 2005.
In the 2006-2007 football season, the Spartans won the district title.
In February 2008 the UIL
University Interscholastic League
The University Interscholastic League is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, music, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the American state of Texas....
announced that Stratford would be realigned to Class 4A, District 23 effective in the 2008-2009 school year. The new alignment would affect not only football, but all UIL activities. The schools in the new district stretched from Richmond to Bay City and El Campo. Spring Branch ISD
Spring Branch Independent School District
Spring Branch Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States. The district serves portions of western Houston. It also serves several small municipalities known as the Memorial Villages in its jurisdiction, such as Hedwig Village and Spring...
appealed the realignment, citing outrage at the loss of a 34-year long rivalry with Memorial High School
Memorial High School (Hedwig Village, Texas)
Memorial High School is a secondary school located at 935 Echo Lane in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States.Memorial serves students in portions of the Memorial and Spring Branch regions of Houston and several enclaves within the portions...
, as well as concern that Stratford would have the most travel of any Houston-area school. In the appeal hearing, the UIL ruled that Stratford would be allowed to remain in Class 5A, and the Spartans were assigned to District 18, where they will face the three other SBISD schools (including Memorial), three high schools from Alief ISD, and private school Strake Jesuit
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory is an all-men's Jesuit, university-preparatory school for grades 9-12 in the Greater Sharpstown area of Houston, Texas. It is located in proximity to Alief....
.
Athletics
Stratford competes athletically with other schools in the sports of baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, cross country running
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, soccer, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track & field and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
. Stratford has a long-standing rivalry with fellow SBISD high school Memorial High School
Memorial High School (Hedwig Village, Texas)
Memorial High School is a secondary school located at 935 Echo Lane in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States.Memorial serves students in portions of the Memorial and Spring Branch regions of Houston and several enclaves within the portions...
.
In 1978, the Statford Spartans won the 4-A Texas State Championship with a perfect record of 15-0. They also were named the High School National Champion by many publications.
Realignment
The University Interscholastic LeagueUniversity Interscholastic League
The University Interscholastic League is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, music, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the American state of Texas....
’s biennial reclassification and realignment was unveiled on Monday February 1, 2010. As part of the realignment, Stratford will move to a 4A classification along with two other SBISD schools, Northbrook and Spring Woods.
Northbrook, Spring Woods and Stratford will join 17-4A with Brenham, Magnolia, Magnolia West, Montgomery and Waller. All changes will take effect starting in the 2010 football season.
Notable alumni
Country Music singer Clint BlackClint Black
Clint Patrick Black is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country...
attended Stratford. Stand-up comedian Bill Hicks
Bill Hicks
William Melvin "Bill" Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy, and personal issues. Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy...
attended Stratford. Stanford quarterback, Andrew Luck
Andrew Luck
Andrew Austen Luck is an American football quarterback for Stanford University. He was the runner-up for the 2010 Heisman Trophy, and is considered a leading contender for the 2011 Heisman Trophy. He was a finalist for the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award, the Davey O'Brien Award and the...
, was valedictorian of the 2008 class at Stratford. Former New England Patriots running back and current ESPN sports commentator, Craig James, was a member of the 1978 Class 4A State Champion Spartan football team. Author, marketing executive, and United Flight 93 September 11, 2001 victim, Lauren Grandcolas
Lauren Grandcolas
Lauren Grandcolas was one of the passengers on board United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, who made calls, providing information about the hijacking of the flight as part of the September 11 attacks...
(née Catuzzi) was a graduate of Stratford. Marc Ostrofsky
Marc Ostrofsky
Marc Ostrofsky is the New York Times Bestselling author of Get Rich Click!: The Ultimate Guide to Making Money Online. The book was #1 on USA TODAY Bestselling books, #1 on the Wall Street Journal Bestselling business books list, #1 on Barnes & Noble as well as #1 Amazon.com in multiple...
('79) is a New York Times Bestselling Author of "Get Rich Click!", Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the sale of Business.com, and has appeared on CNN, ABC's 20/20 and several times on ABC's "The View".