Skyline High School

Skyline High School is a secondary school in Dallas, Texas. It was the first high school in the United States to offer a magnet school curriculum.^[4]

Skyline serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District.

History

In the mid-1960s, B. J. Stamps and other Dallas educators conceived the idea of a very large high school for the Dallas Independent School District that would offer career education in addition to a traditional high-school curriculum. Stamps emphasized continually that the facility he envisioned was "absolutely not going to be a vocational school for unsuccessful students" but rather a place where superior students could undertake studies in preparation for a variety of professions. In December 1966, architectural plans for the school, whose working name was "Science-Technical Center," were approved by the Dallas School Board. By 1969, Stamps, who had been slated as the school's first principal, suggested the name "Skyline High School," inspired by the view of the Downtown Dallas skyline afforded from the school's upper floors, and in February 1970 the Skyline name was approved by the School Board.^[5][6][7]

Classes at Skyline began in the fall semester of 1970. Until the main facility at 7777 Forney Road opened early in 1971, instruction was held at other southeast Dallas sites. From its inception, Skyline has fulfilled Stamps's original conception of offering both a regular high-school curriculum and a multitude of magnet school programs. The magnet offerings are organized as clusters, which are collectively called the Career Development Center. A student attending Skyline may generally choose from among three options: pursuing a normal, traditional curriculum (Skyline's original attendance zone was drawn to relieve Samuell and Bryan Adams high schools); attending both a cluster and regular classes at Skyline; or attending a Skyline cluster for a portion of the day and regular classes at his or her neighborhood high school for the remainder.

In the early years of Skyline's existence, administrators and faculty of existing, traditional high schools in the Dallas Independent School District frequently expressed resentment of Skyline's desire to recruit their talented and gifted students and in some instances actively resisted recruitment efforts. District officials appointed a task force to address these concerns.^[8] Nevertheless, with the continued existence of Skyline's magnet programs and the subsequent "spinning off" of several independent magnet schools, the issue has persisted to the present day, and district officials continue efforts to allay feelings of resentment.^[9]

Over time, numerous clusters have left Skyline and moved into facilities of their own, becoming full-fledged DISD magnet high schools. For example, the Performing Arts Cluster and the Health Careers Cluster both discontinued their affiliations with Skyline in 1976 and became, respectively, the (presently-named) Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and the High School for the Health Professions (now the School of Health Professions at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center). In 2007, district officials announced a plan to relieve overcrowding at Skyline by moving several Skyline magnet programs to Emmett J. Conrad High School, meanwhile hoping to increase the latter's achievement levels. These actions have in some instances occasioned resentment by Skyline's own faculty and educational community, who have worried that Skyline's Career Development Center was created only to ultimately self-destruct, and, in the most recent events, that successful students educated at Skyline are being used to artificially boost another school's academic standing. District officials continue in their efforts to respond to these controversies.^[10][11][12]

Skyline served grades 10 and 11 in 1970–1971, and grades 10–12 from 1971 to 1976. The school has included grades 9–12 since the fall of 1976. Since its opening Skyline has consistently been DISD's largest high school in terms of enrollment.

School data

• Mission: Our mission is to empower our students with the knowledge, skills, integrity, and work ethic to prepare them for life in a globally competitive market.
• Motto: "Unity in Effort...Pride in Result"
• Enrollment: 5,131 during the 2008-2009 school year
• Number of teachers: 295 during the 2007-2008 school year

Trustee district: District 9

Area: Area East - Ivonne Durant

School performance

Skyline High School, although being a magnet school, has had a longstanding reputation for having an overall below-state TAKS testing average. Currently, Skyline is undergoing a process to make it into an Exemplary School. ^[13]

A team of Skyline students won the United States National Academic Championship in 1985.^[14]

Feeder patterns

Elementary schools that feed into Skyline include Frank Guzick, Edna Rowe, Ascher Silberstein, George W. Truett, and Urban Park. [1]

Harold W. Lang, Sr. Middle School and John B. Hood Middle School (partial [2] [3]) feed into Skyline [4].

Notable alumni

• Greg Barton '89, Olympic canoeist
• Brent Bourgeois '74, Christian rock musician and producer
• "Cowboy Troy" Coleman '89, country music artist
• Deryl Dodd '82, country music artist
• Richard Dominguez '79, comic book artist
• Kyle Gann '73, postclassical composer and music critic
• Peri Gilpin '79, actress (best known as "Roz Doyle" on Frasier)
• Chris Holt '90, major league baseball player
• Steve Holy '90, country music singer
• Larry Johnson '87, NBA basketball star
• Michael Johnson '86, world and Olympic champion sprinter
• Dante Jones '83, NFL football player
• Becky Middleton '96, pop/folk music singer-songwriter [5][6]
• Calvin "C. J." Miles, Jr. '05, NBA basketball player
• Joe Riley (1964–2007), 1982, visual and plastic artist, SubGenius
• Allen Rossum '94, NFL football player
• Jean-Jacques Taylor '85, Dallas Morning News sports columnist [7][8]
• Michael Weiss '76, jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, recording artist
• Jennifer White '87, information technology expert
• Antonio Wilson '95, NFL football player

References

External links

Dallas portal

• Dwaine Caraway Scared DISD Away From Skyline - Dallas Observer - February 7, 2008.