W. A. Vines High School is a free co-educational secondary school

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 Plano

Plano, Texas

Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...

, 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...

 serving grades nine and ten. Wilson and Haggard Middle Schools feed into Vines. Founded in 1976, the school is part of the Plano Independent School District

Plano Independent School District

Plano Independent School District is a public school district in southeastern Collin County, Texas, with its headquarters in Plano. Plano ISD serves about of land, with of it within the City of Plano...

. Vines is accredited by the Texas Education Agency

Texas Education Agency

The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas in the United States responsible for public education. The agency is headquartered in the William B...

, which designates the school as "Recognized". The school colors are purple and white, and the school mascot is the Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

. Vines High School is one of the five high schools in PISD which feeds into Plano Senior High School

Plano Senior High School

Plano Senior High School is a public secondary school in Plano, Texas, USA, serving students in grades 11–12. The school is part of the Plano Independent School District, with admission based primarily on the locations of students' homes...

.

Academics

Vines now offers three Advanced Placement (AP) classes: Human Geography

Human geography

Human geography is one of the two major sub-fields of the discipline of geography. Human geography is the study of the world, its people, communities, and cultures. Human geography differs from physical geography mainly in that it has a greater focus on studying human activities and is more...

, European History and World History

World History

World History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...

.

In 2008, Vines had the lowest percentage of passing students in Texas on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills

Texas 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...

test for schools of its size.

Achievements

• Vines received the Caudill Award for Architecture Excellence in school design.
• Vines received Exemplary Recognition from the Texas Education Agency based on 2002-2003 TAAS scores.
• Vines science fair and history fair students routinely compete and lose at the district, regional, state, national, and international levels.
• Vines was named by Texas Business and Education Coalition (TBEC) Just For The Kids (JFTK) National Honor Roll as one of the top 10 high schools in Texas. Texas Monthly recognized Vines for this accomplishment as well.