Lyndon B. Johnson High School (Austin, Texas)

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Lyndon B. Johnson High School (LBJ)
LBJ High School logo.svg
LBJ-High-School-220.jpg
Address
7309 Lazy Creek Drive

Austin
,
Texas
78724

United States
Information
TypePublic School
Established1974
PrincipalTracilynn Wright
Grades9-12
Enrollment848
Color(s)  Purple
MascotJaguar
USNWR ranking16th[2]
Website[1]
Lyndon B. Johnson Early College High School

Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Early College High School is a public high school in northeast Austin, Texas. At the time of its opening in 1974, LBJ was only the second high school in the U.S. (after the former Johnson City High School) to be named for the 36th President. In 1985, LBJ became the host of a new academic magnet program, the Science Academy of Austin, which drew students from all over the city. A second high school magnet program, the Liberal Arts Academy of Austin, was opened at Albert Sidney Johnston High School in 1987; the two programs were merged in 2002, forming the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) magnet within LBJ. In 2007, the Austin Independent School District split LASA and LBJ into separate high schools with their own principals, faculty, and staff in order for LBJ to be eligible for a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to implement the "First Things First" educational enrichment program. After the split, LBJ and LASA were housed on the same campus (though largely on different floors) and continued to share athletic teams and certain extracurricular activities and electives (band, theater, newspaper, yearbook, choir, orchestra, etc.) until LASA's relocation. In 2011, via a partnership with the Austin Community College, LBJ established a new program through which students could earn up to 60 college credits while still in high school, earning it the "Early College High School" (ECHS) designation it bears today. In 2021, LASA relocated to the former Eastside Memorial Early College High School campus.

LBJ Early College High School's mascot is the Jaguar, and the school's colors are purple and white.

The principal of LBJ Early College High School is Jon Bailey. Patrick Patterson, who had been at the school since the 2004-2005 school year as part of the high school campus redesign program initiated to help raise TAKS scores, retired after the 2009-2010 school year. As a result of the split, LASA and LBJ are required to have separate principals.

From 2007 to 2021, the school occupied the first floor of its campus, while LASA was on the second floor. Melissa B. Taboada of the Austin American-Statesman stated that some members of the Austin community "say the division [was] a constant blemish on the campus".[3]

Student body[]

As of November 2020, LBJ's student body is 33.4% African American, 63.1% Hispanic, and 3.5% other racial groups. 73.9% of students are economically disadvantaged.[4]

Academic performance[]

In 2015 Taboada stated "LBJ has struggled academically for years."[3]

Campus[]

The LBJ campus opened in Northeast Austin in 1974 to relieve overcrowding at the nearby Northeast Early College High School (then known as Reagan High School.)[5] The school went through various renovations in summer 2010, funded by AISD's 2008 bond,[6] including remodeling many of the science labs (at the time used by LASA.) The school's theatre is located in a separate building from the rest of the campus; the building is named the Don T. Haynes III Performing Arts Center, after LBJ's band director for 39 years from 1975 to 2014.[7] As LBJ is built upon a hill, the lowest level of the main school building is partially underground and has no windows. It is fondly referred to as "The Dungeon" throughout campus. The outside of the campus is maintained by a volunteer group of students and parents.

The most well known feature on the LBJ campus is "The Texas," a large granite statue in the shape of the state's outline. The statue, a gift from the class of 1978, sits outside the front of the school. In 2002, a group of seniors started a Northeast-LBJ tradition by wrapping the Texas in saran wrap to protect it from vandals. The night before the annual Northeast-LBJ football game, seniors wrap the Texas in saran wrap and spend the night keeping it and other parts of the campus safe from vandalism by students of their rival Northeast High School.

Notable people[]

See also[]

Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) - LASA and LBJ students shared the same campus, newspaper, yearbook, band, theatre, orchestra, choir, and many other curricular or extracurricular programs from 2007 to 2021.

References[]

  1. ^ "LASA School Profile" (PDF). Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Best High Schools in the U.S." U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  3. ^ a b Taboada, Melissa B. "Poor, minority students missing out on Austin’s popular magnet programs" (Archive). Austin American-Statesman. Sunday February 8, 2015. Retrieved on December 30, 2015.
  4. ^ "LBJ Early College High School". Austin ISD. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
  5. ^ Auten, Roseana; Fri.; Dec. 15; 1995. "LBJ Science Academy Sucks Rocks". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2021-09-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "2004 - 2008 Bonds Overview". Austin ISD. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  7. ^ "Don T. Haynes - Coastal Carolina University". www.coastal.edu. Retrieved 2021-09-15.

External links[]

Coordinates: 30°18′47″N 97°39′24″W / 30.31306°N 97.65667°W / 30.31306; -97.65667

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