Lake Highlands High School

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Lake Highlands High School
LHHS school logo.jpg
Location
9449 Church Road
Dallas, Texas 75238
United States
Information
TypePublic, secondary
School districtRichardson Independent School District
Teaching staff183.35 (FTE)[1]
Grades9-12
Number of students2,728 (2018-19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio14.88[1]
Color(s)Red , white , and black      
NicknameWildcats
RivalLloyd V. Berkner High School
WebsiteOfficial school website

Lake Highlands High School (LHHS) is a secondary school serving grades 9-12 in the Lake Highlands area of northeastern Dallas, Texas, United States, primarily serving the Lake Highlands community. The school is part of the Richardson Independent School District and is in central Lake Highlands near the DART Blue Line. The Lake Highlands Freshman Center (which sits on the same property as LHHS) formerly housed the 9th-grade students, but has recently been integrated into the rest of the school, housing classes for all 9-12 students. The first graduating class of Lake Highlands High School was in 1964.

Feeder schools[]

  • Lake Highlands Junior High School
  • Forest Meadow Junior High School

Academics[]

In 2002, the school received a Blue Ribbon award from the U.S. Department of Education.[2]

Extracurricular activities[]

Athletics[]

The school mascot is the Wildcat. This is also the mascot of several of the high school's feeder schools including Lake Highlands Elementary, Northlake Elementary, and Lake Highlands Junior High School|Lake Highlands Junior High.

The school's football team has been in the UIL regional and state playoffs numerous times, and won the 5A state championship in 1981. The school has won district championships in baseball over 20 times since 1964.[citation needed]

The school has also won several district titles in boys Basketball including winning the 1968 State Championship.

The school also shares RISD's Wildcat-Ram Stadium with L.V. Berkner High School, which is on the campus of Lake Highlands High School and named after the mascots of both teams.[3] Lake Highlands and Berkner have long been rivals in football and other sports.[citation needed]

Band[]

The school is the home of the Wildcat Band, which consists of the Wildcat Marching Band, Jazz Band, several Concert Bands (including Concert 1 and 2, Symphonic, and Honors), Winterguard, Percussion Program, Symphony Orchestra, and puts on a yearly Musical. Under the direction of Eddie Green, the Symphonic Band made its first trip to the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in December 1971. Later that school year, the band was selected as the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Honor Band and performed at the TMEA convention in February 1973. The band has been invited to perform at the Midwest International Band Clinic and Convention five times, has received a superior rating in marching and concert band more than fifty times, and has been a participant at the Texas State Marching Contest and a finalist in the TMEA Honor Band Contest.[citation needed]

Dance team[]

The school is home of the "Wildcat Wranglers", one of the few high school Country/Western dance teams existing in the United States. The group performed for the 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, and 2017 presidential inaugurations, including at the Black Tie and Boots Balls and in the Inaugural Parades associated with the aforementioned inaugurations; in the 2005 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; and in the 2008, 2012, and 2015 New Year's Day Parade in London.[citation needed]

The school is also the home of the "Highlandettes", a Texas-style dance squad. They have performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade numerous times, as well as at many Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Stars, and Dallas Mavericks games. They have also danced in Dublin, Ireland for the St. Patrick's Day parade; in Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii, London, England; and Italy.

Notable alumni[]

  • Amy Acker - actress
  • Erin Aldrich - track and field athlete, high jumper in 2000 Summer Olympics
  • Nicole Bilderback - actress
  • Paul Broome - Major League Soccer player
  • Josh Carter - basketball guard ; Texas A&M University, Maccabi Ashdod B.C.
  • Warren Carter - University of Illinois basketball forward
  • Marcus Coleman - former NFL safety for New York Jets, Houston Texans, and Dallas Cowboys
  • John A. Davis - film director, writer, animator, voice actor and composer
  • Phil Dawson - NFL kicker; Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns
  • Matt Dunigan - CFL Hall of Famer
  • Morgan Fairchild - Emmy and Golden Globe Award-nominated actress
  • George Gimarc - local radio personality
  • Merton Hanks - former NFL safety for San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks
  • Chris Harrison - host of TV show The Bachelor
  • Gibby Haynes - musician, lead singer for rock band Butthole Surfers
  • C.B. Hudson - lead guitarist of rock band Blue October
  • Justin Leonard - professional golfer, 1997 British Open champion
  • Scott Livingstone - former MLB player
  • Sandra Lynch - United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit; first woman to serve on that Court; on June 16, 2008, became its first female chief judge.
  • Scoot McNairy - actor[4]
  • Anastasia Muñoz - voice actress affiliated with Funimation
  • Marshall Newhouse - NFL lineman, Green Bay Packers
  • Frank Okam - football defensive tackle for University of Texas and Houston Texans
  • Darvis Patton - Olympic track athlete
  • Rich Phillips - radio personality, SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket
  • James F. Reilly - NASA space shuttle astronaut, geologist
  • St. Vincent - indie rock musician, real name Annie Clark
  • Mark Salling - actor and singer on television show Glee
  • Thomas Sleeper - classical composer
  • Detron Smith - NFL running back (1996–2003) with Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts
  • Granger Smith - country singer
  • Wade Smith - Memphis University and NFL offensive tackle
  • Matt Stover - NFL kicker with New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and Indianapolis Colts
  • Jordan Tata - former MLB player
  • Andre Tillman - Miami Dolphins tight end (1975–1978)
  • Kim Wozencraft - author

1983 shooting[]

On May 16, 1983, Lake Highlands High School was the site of a fatal armed robbery when Billy Conn Gardner (1943-1995) entered the school's office, shot and fatally wounded 64-year-old cafeteria supervisor Thelma Row, and stole $1,600 in cash. Gardner was sentenced to death for the crime and was executed by lethal injection in 1995.[5][6]

2021 graduation speech[]

On May 30, 2021, valedictorian Paxton Smith replaced her approved speech to the graduating class to attack the limitations on abortion in Texas Senate Bill 8 of the 87th legislature, a heartbeat bill signed by the governor earlier that month.[7][8]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "LAKE HIGHLANDS HS". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  2. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF) Archived 2009-03-26 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ https://texasbob.com/stadium/stadium.php?id=317
  4. ^ "Watch LH grad Scoot McNairy in AMC's new drama". The Lake Highlands Advocate. June 3, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  5. ^ "Killer of a Cafeteria Worker Is Executed in Texas". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 17, 1995.
  6. ^ Christina Hughes Babb (June 19, 2017). "The lunch lady murder, Lake Highlands High School". The Lake Highlands Advocate.
  7. ^ Talia Richman (June 2, 2021). "Lake Highlands valedictorian's speech against Texas 'heartbeat bill' goes viral". The Dallas Morning News.
  8. ^ "Abortion: Texas teen attacks new law in high school graduation speech". BBC News. June 3, 2021.

External links[]

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