Sam Houston High School (Louisiana)
Sam Houston High School is a high school in an unincorporated area north of Lake Charles, Louisiana. It is a part of Calcasieu Parish Public Schools and was established in 1961.
| Sam Houston High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| |
880 Sam Houston Jones Parkway , , 70611 United States | |
| Coordinates | 30.3006°N 93.2117°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| School district | Calcasieu Parish School Board |
| Principal | Shannon Foolkes |
| Staff | 59.15 (FTE)[1] |
| Enrollment | 1,268 (2018-19)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 21.44[1] |
| Color(s) | Purple and gold |
| Mascot | Bronco |
| Website | www |
History
The school opened in 1961 to serve the unincorporated area of Lake Charles north of English Bayou, called Moss Bluff; it succeeded Gillis High School.[2] The school began with an enrollment of 300 students in grades 7-12. Gabe Barkate was the first principal.[3]
In 1976, with the opening of Moss Bluff Middle School, Sam Houston High School transitioned to a traditional 9-12 grade high school.[3]
On January 11, 1982, the school was destroyed by fire, except for the gymnasium. At about 7:10 that morning, the decision had been made not to open the school that day because low gas pressure made it impossible for maintenance staff to turn on the boilers and the classrooms were too cold.[4] By 9 a.m., the roughly 15 teachers who had been at the school were sent home, although, according to the local fire chief, there were at least three people in the building at the time of the fire.[5] At about 11 a.m., eyewitnesses reported two explosions and smoke coming from the school's west wing, near the chemistry lab. Some 50 firefighters from the surrounding areas were called to the fire, but the majority of the school burned to the ground.[4] The fire was considered either a possible arson or the result of a gas problem,[6] but the cause was not established. Students attended classes at their arch-rival Westlake High School & Moss Bluff Middle School until the school was rebuilt and reopened in February 1984.[3]
Campus
The current complex includes, in addition to classrooms, administrative space, and faculty lounges: a football, baseball, and softball stadium, boys' and girls' basketball gymnasiums, an athletics fieldhouse, an agricultural education building, and a library and courtyard constructed in 2010–2012.[3] Their football team is called the "barbe-beater". Recently in 2019 they started the BYOD (Bring your own device) program, which is the only school in Louisiana to use this policy so far. Other schools are taking notes on this new rule.
Notable alumni
- David Filo (1984), co-founder of Yahoo!.[7]
- Ralph Eggleston, animator for Pixar Animation Studios.
References
- "Sam Houston High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- Bridges, John (October 26, 2017). "Gillis High School reunion planned for this weekend". KPLC.
- "About Us: Historical Timeline". Sam Houston High School. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- Kidder, Ann (January 12, 1982). "School fire probed". American Press Agency.
- Kidder, Ann (January 12, 1982). "Persons in school when explosions occurred". American Press Agency.
- Kidder, Ann (January 13, 1982). "Foul play suspected in Sam Houston fire". American Press Agency.
- Bahareth, Mohammad (2012). Kings of the Internet: What don't you know about them?. iUniverse. p. 33. ISBN 9781469798424.