Colleyville Heritage High School

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Colleyville Heritage High School
Colleyville Heritage High School.jpg
Address
5401 Heritage Avenue

Colleyville
,
Tarrant County
,
Texas
76034-5919

United States
Coordinates32°53′15″N 97°06′13″W / 32.88750°N 97.10361°W / 32.88750; -97.10361Coordinates: 32°53′15″N 97°06′13″W / 32.88750°N 97.10361°W / 32.88750; -97.10361
Information
School typePublic, comprehensive high school
Motto"The Tradition Begins"[1]
Established1996; 26 years ago (1996)
School districtGrapevine-Colleyville ISD
PrincipalJames Whitfield
Teaching staff134.63 (FTE)[2]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,974 (2018–19)[2]
Student to teacher ratio14.66[2]
Color(s)  Red
  Black
Athletics conferenceUIL Class 5A-1
MascotPanther
SAT average1171 (Class of 2017)[4]
NewspaperThe Roaring Red[3]
ACT average24.5 (Class of 2017)[4]
Websitechhs.gcisd.net
Last updated: March 18, 2019; 2 years ago (2019-03-18)

Colleyville Heritage High School (CHHS) is a public secondary school in Colleyville, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The school is a part of the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District and serves freshmen through senior students in Colleyville and the surrounding areas of Tarrant County. In 2018 and onwards the school met standards for student achievement, student progress, closing performance gaps, postsecondary readiness, and earned distinction in English language arts/reading, mathematics, history business computer engineering interior design politics philosophy and science. The school had a total student population of 2,001 during the 2017–2018 school year.[5]

Its attendance boundary includes sections of Colleyville, Grapevine, and Euless.[6][7]

Controversy over principal[]

On September 1, 2021, James Whitfield – the high school's first Black principal – was suspended for allegedly promoting Critical Race Theory (CRT), an accusation that Whitfield has repeatedly denied. In support of Whitfield, students held walkouts, then joined their parents and 3 dozen teachers to meet with the school district's board of trustees, pleading with them to reinstate the popular principal.[8][9] At a July 26 school board meeting, Stetson Clark – a former school board candidate – accused Whitfield of promoting CRT, while several people in attendance yelled, "Fire him." Clark based his accusation on an open letter Whitfield wrote in the summer of 2020 about his concerns over the murders of Ahmoud Arbery and George Floyd, and the killing of Breonna Taylor.[10][11] One of the same parents has previously attacked Whitfield for posting a photograph on his personal social media accounts depicting him and his wife on a beach. Whitfield, whose wife is white, viewed the criticism as predicated on their status as an interracial couple. Whitfield removed the photo after a formal request from the school district.[12] On June 15, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott became the 3rd state governor – following Idaho and Tennessee – to pass legislation making the teaching of CRT illegal. The Texas House Bill 3979 and the follow-up legislation – Senate Bill 3 – authored by Senator Bryan Hughes, came into effect on September 1, 2021.[13] Whitfield's suspension is set against the backdrop of debates on the impact of similar legislation in a number of states across the country.[14]

On November 8 the school district announced a “settlement and separation agreement” with Whitfield. He was placed on paid administrative leave until August 2023. Whitfield is not allowed to discuss the details of the settlement.[15]

Notable alumni[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Colleyville Heritage High School History". chhs.gcisd.net. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "COLLEYVILLE HERITAGE H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "The Roaring Red". theroaringred.com. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "2017-18 School Report Card Colleyville Heritage High School". Texas Education Agency. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  5. ^ "Error reading SAS output".
  6. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Tarrant County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 2, 2021. - Compare with the high school zone map.
  7. ^ "High School Boundaries" (PDF). Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District. Retrieved September 2, 2021. Linked from this page.
  8. ^ Shepherd, Katie (September 21, 2021). "Families beg for Black principal to be reinstated after critical race theory dispute: 'Nothing short of a witch hunt'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  9. ^ "Texas principal officially loses job over critical race theory allegations". MSNBC.com. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  10. ^ Lopez, Brian (November 10, 2021). "North Texas principal resigns to end fight over whether he was teaching "critical race theory"". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  11. ^ Shepherd, Katie (September 1, 2021). "Texas parents accused a Black principal of promoting critical race theory. The district has now suspended him". Washington Post. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  12. ^ Carter, Wayne (August 2, 2021). "District Calls Anniversary Photo of High School Principal and His Wife 'Questionable'". NBC 5. Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  13. ^ McGee, Kate (June 15, 2021). "Texas 'critical race theory' bill limiting teaching of current events signed into law". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  14. ^ Hylton, Antonia; Berk, Emily; Sarlin, Benjy. "Texas principal fights for his job as race roils school district". NBC News. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  15. ^ Sarkar, Alisha (November 11, 2021). "Black principal of mainly white Texas school forced to quit over critical race theory". The Independent. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  16. ^ Martindale, David (September 18, 2015). "Colleyville Heritage grad Jaimie Alexander inks starring role in NBC's 'Blindspot'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram – via www.star-telegram.com.
  17. ^ Newby, John (April 27, 2019). "Oakland Raiders select defensive end Maxx Crosby in NFL Draft". 247Sports – via 247sports.com.
  18. ^ Martindale, David (June 13, 2017). "Tarrant actress Annie Ilonzeh goes all-in on Tupac film, 'a story that needs to be told'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved March 17, 2019 – via www.star-telegram.com.
  19. ^ Pleskoff, Bernie (February 17, 2014). "Braves have versatile corner prospect in Kubitza". MLB.com. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  20. ^ "Stephen Lambdin: USA Taekwondo". United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  21. ^ "Minnesota Vikings take Colleyville Heritage-ex Christian Ponder in first round". Dallas Morning News. Associated Press. April 28, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  22. ^ Muskat, Carrie (June 12, 2013). "Cubs' Russell grew up in big league parks". MLB.com. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  23. ^ "MLB.com 2019 Prospect Watch". Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  24. ^ "Dad helps Saints assistant Adam Zimmer with coaching and loss". The Dallas Morning News SportsDay. February 3, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2019 – via sportsday.dallasnews.com.
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