Waltrip High School

Stephen Pool Waltrip High School is a public high school located at 1900 West 34th Street in Houston, Texas, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Houston Independent School District.

S.P. Waltrip High School
Waltrip High School in 2009
Location
Houston , Texas United States
Coordinates	29.819442°N 95.434284°W / 29.819442; -95.434284
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1959; 66 years ago (1959)
School district	Houston Independent School District
Principal	Margaret Randall
Staff	105.83 (FTE) (2022–23)[1]
Grades	9–12
Number of students	1,597 (2022–23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	15.09:1 (2022–23)[1]
Color(s)
Mascot	Rams
Newspaper	The Waltrip Tribune
Yearbook	Aries
Website	www.houstonisd.org/domain/2131

The school's namesake is a former principal at the defunct Houston Heights High School,^[2] who transferred to Reagan High School (now renamed Heights High School) after that school replaced the original Houston Heights High.^[3]

History

Waltrip JROTC, 2013 Martin Luther King Day Parade in Midtown Houston

Waltrip High School opened in 1960 to serve many newly developed post-World War II subdivisions, and relieved Reagan High School of many students when it did so. It was relieved by Scarborough Junior-Senior High School when that school opened in 1969. The school was named after Stephen Pool Waltrip, a funeral home owner in the Houston Heights named principal of Reagan High School in 1918.^[4]

The school remained majority white until the early 1990s, when the school was equally white, black, and Hispanic.^[5]

In 1997 a portion of the Reagan High School boundary was rezoned to Waltrip.^[6] By the 2000s, Waltrip became majority Hispanic.^[5]

Waltrip has become one of the highest performing comprehensive high schools in Houston ISD by being named "Recognized" by the Texas Education Agency^[when?], one of the few urban high schools in Houston ISD to receive such a designation. (Reference: Texas Education Agency website).^{[7][citation needed]}

Around 2012, each year a total of 400 students transfer from Booker T. Washington High School to Waltrip and Reagan.^[8]

In 2015 Andria Schur got a job as the principal of a charter school in Dallas, Texas, causing her to leave her post as principal of Waltrip. Dale Mitchell, previously the principal of Sterling High School, became the principal of Waltrip.^[9]

The campus began receiving a renovation around 2015.^[10]

Student body

The makeup of the 1,597 students enrolled during the 2022-2023 school year was:

• 77% Hispanic
• 8% White
• 14% Black
• <1% Asian
• <1% Native American

Approximately 74% of the students qualified for free or reduced lunch programs.

Facilities

In 2012 it housed the Waltrip High School Child Development Center, a preschool program for low income children.^[11] Since 2015 it no longer does so.^{[citation needed]}

Academic performance

The Texas Education Agency rankings in 2009-2010 and 2011 were "Recognized" and "Academically Acceptable". Downing stated in 2012 that "Waltrip High is neither the worst nor the best high school in HISD."^[12]

Notable alumni

• Mark Calaway (Class of 1983) - Retired WWE professional wrestler known as The Undertaker.^[13]
• Keenan McCardell (Class of 1988) - Professional American football wide receiver coach for the Minnesota Vikings^[14]
• Shelley Duvall (Class of 1967) - Producer and actress ^[14]
• Toni Lawrence - Former Houston City Councilwoman ^[15]
• Denzel Livingston (Class of 2011), basketball player for Hapoel Kfar Saba of the Israeli Liga Leumit^[16]
• Debra Maffett (Class of 1975) - Miss America 1983.^[14]
• Van Malone (Class of 1988) - Professional American football player for the Detroit Lions and college football coach^[14]
• Anita "Sweetie" Marbury (Class of 1965) - Mayor of Durango, Colorado^[17]
• Barbara Olson (Class of 1974) - Conservative commentator and September 11, 2001 attacks victim ^[18]
• Patrick Swayze (Class of 1971) - Actor and dancer.^[14]
• Jermaine Rogers (Class of 1991) - Gig-poster artist and vinyl collectible designer.^[14]
• John H. Whitmire (Class of 1967) - A Texas senator, Mayor of Houston^[14]
• Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman - murder victims - Waltrip High School contains a memorial to the girls ^[19]