Yates High School facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jack Yates High School |
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| Address | |
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3650 Alabama Street
, 77004
United States
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| Coordinates | 29°43′22″N 95°21′17″W / 29.7228°N 95.35467°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Established | February 8, 1926 |
| School district | Houston Independent School District |
| Principal | Stephanie Square |
| Teaching staff | 51.49 (FTE) |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 879 (2018–19) |
| Student to teacher ratio | 17.07:1 |
| Color(s) | Crimson and Gold |
| Nickname | "Tha Yard" |
| Team name | Lions |
Jack Yates Senior High School is a public high school located at 3650 Alabama Street in the historic Third Ward area of Houston, Texas. It's very close to Texas Southern University. Yates High School teaches students from ninth to twelfth grade and is part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD).
The school is named after Reverend John Henry "Jack" Yates, who was a former slave and a minister. He and other important Black leaders started the Houston Baptist Academy. This school later became Houston College, offering special learning chances for Black children who wanted a different option from the public school system's "Colored High School."
Yates High School has special "magnet programs." These include a communications program for broadcast TV, radio, print, and photography. There's also a program focused on maritime studies, which is about things related to the sea and ships.
In 2010, a writer from the Houston Press said that Yates "remains a symbol of solidarity in the Third Ward." This means it's a strong symbol of unity and community spirit in that area. In 2018, a brand new campus for the school was finished right next to the old one.
Contents
History of Jack Yates High School
Early Days and Growth
Yates High School first opened on February 8, 1926. It was called Yates Colored High School and had 17 teachers and 600 students. The school was located at 2610 Elgin. At that time, schools in Houston were separated by race, meaning Black students went to different schools than White students. Yates was the second high school for African Americans in Houston.
Before Yates, there was only one high school for Black students in Houston, called Colored High School. In 1925, the school board decided to build a new high school for Black students because the Black population was growing. The Houston Informer newspaper suggested naming the new schools after important Black people. So, the new high school was named after Jack Yates, and the original Colored High School was renamed Booker T. Washington High School.
The first Yates High School building was part of a big project that cost $4 million. The first principal, James D. Ryan, led the school until he passed away in 1941. William S. Holland became the second principal. For many years, Black families who were middle and upper class sent their children to Yates.
By 1951, Yates had 2,100 students, but the building was only made for 1,600. This meant it was very crowded. By 1954, there were over 3,000 students! Because of this overcrowding, a group that checks school quality, the Southern Association of Secondary Schools, took away Yates's special approval.
In 1958, Worthing High School opened, which helped reduce the number of students at Yates. Yates then moved to its current location on Sampson Street in September 1958. The old Yates building became Ryan Colored Junior High School, named after the first principal.
Changes After Desegregation
After 1970, schools in Houston started to mix students of all races, which is called desegregation. Many Black students from middle and upper-class families began attending schools that were previously only for White students, like Bellaire High School and Lamar High School. Also, many Black families moved out of the Third Ward to other areas.
In the 1990s, a superintendent named Rod Paige brought in Robert Worthy to help improve the school. Mr. Worthy made many changes to help Yates get better.
From 1998 to 2002, the school reported that almost all graduating students planned to go to college. In 2006, the Houston mayor, Bill White, declared February 7 as "Jack Yates Senior High School Day" to honor the school.
In 2008, a writer named William G. Ouchi said that Yates had improved, noting the strong "pride" among students and a clean school. Yates received an "acceptable" rating from the Texas Education Agency in 2005 for its test scores.
In 2023, Stephanie Square became the new principal of Yates High School.
School Neighborhoods
Several areas within the 610 Loop (a major highway in Houston) send their students to Yates High School. These include the Third Ward, Timbercrest, University Oaks, and most of Riverside Terrace.
Cuney Homes, which is a public housing complex, also sends its students to Yates. Additionally, Cambridge Oaks, a housing complex for University of Houston students with children, is zoned to Yates.
School Campus
The current Yates campus has a cafeteria called the Crimson & Gold Café. It also has eight science labs for students to learn in. The school is located between Texas Southern University and the University of Houston.
In 2012, a writer from the Houston Press said that the previous Yates campus (built in 1958) was one of the most beautiful high school buildings in Greater Houston.
Student Population
In 2018, Yates High School had about 900 students. About 90% of them were African American, and 10% were Hispanic. In 2010, the school had about 1,200 students, mostly African American.
In the mid-1980s, Yates had 3,600 students. The number of students has changed over the years, with some students choosing to attend other high schools in the area.
School Uniforms
Students at Yates High School are required to wear a school uniform. However, parents or guardians can ask for a special permission to not wear the uniform if they have a good reason, like religious beliefs.
Academics and Programs
In 2020, Yates became an International Baccalaureate (IB) school. This means it offers a special program that is recognized around the world for its challenging courses.
Yates also has its special magnet programs for communications (broadcast TV, radio, print, and photography) and maritime studies.
Extracurricular Activities
Sports at Yates
Yates High School has many sports teams, but the boys' basketball team is especially famous and successful. In 1994, a writer noted that sports programs at Yates are as important to the Third Ward community as they are to small towns in Texas.
In the past, during the time of segregation, Yates did not play against high schools for White students. It was part of the Prairie View Interscholastic League, which was a sports league just for Black schools, from 1940 to 1968. In 1969, Yates joined the University Interscholastic League (UIL), which is the main sports league for all Texas schools.
Basketball Success
In 2010, the Houston Press reported that "no high school basketball team in the state and perhaps the country has played better than Yates." As of 2010, most of the basketball players were from the Third Ward.
In March 2010, Yates' boys basketball team was ranked number one in the nation by USA Today. They won games by huge margins, sometimes by over 100 points! On January 6, 2010, the team beat Lee High School (now Wisdom High School) 170–35. This set a state record for the most points scored in a game.
As of 2015, the Jack Yates boys' basketball team has won four state championships since the 2009 season.
American Football History
In the segregation era, Black schools played their football games on weekdays, while White schools played on Fridays.
In 1939, Yates coach Andrew "Pat" Patterson helped create a football league for Black schools called the Prairie View League. Yates was part of this league until 1968. Coach Patterson had a great winning record of 200 wins, 64 losses, and 9 ties, and his team won four state titles in the PVIL.
Historically, the American football game between Yates and Wheatley High School was one of the most important high school games in the United States. For many years, they played each Thanksgiving Day at Jeppeson Stadium. This game often drew huge crowds of over 30,000 people! The rivalry became less intense after Yates joined the UIL, and the Thanksgiving Day game eventually ended.
Yates made it to the Texas state American football championship game in 1981 but lost. However, the school's principal said that getting to the championships still created a "positive atmosphere" in the Third Ward. Yates won the 1985 Texas 5-A American football championship game, defeating the Odessa Permian High School.
Feeder Schools
Elementary schools that send their students to Yates High School include:
- Blackshear
- Foster
- Hartsfield
- Lockhart (partially)
- J. P. Henderson
- Peck
- Thompson
- Whidby
Also, parts of Cullen Middle School's area, including some areas that used to go to Ryan Middle School, now send students to Yates.
Famous Alumni
Many successful people have graduated from Jack Yates High School. Here are some of them:
- Debbie Allen – a famous actress
- Johnny Bailey – a former NFL football player
- Jewel Brown – a jazz singer who performed with Louis Armstrong
- Garnet Coleman – a state representative in Texas
- Damyean Dotson – an NBA basketball player
- Santana Dotson – a former NFL football player who won the Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers
- George Floyd – a graduate from the Class of 1993
- Steve Henderson – a former Major League Baseball (MLB) player
- Booker Huffman – a professional wrestler known as Booker T
- Conrad O. Johnson – a jazz saxophonist and band leader
- Dexter Manley – a former NFL football player who won the Super Bowl with the Washington Redskins
- Roland S. Martin – a well-known journalist
- Phylicia Rashad – a famous actress, known for her role as Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show
- Damion Square – a current NFL player
- Rickie Winslow – a former NBA basketball player
- Michael Young – a former NBA basketball player and director of basketball operations at the University of Houston
See also
