Hightower High School

Infobox School
name = L. V. Hightower High School
established = 1998


type = Public
grades = 9-12
district = Fort Bend ISD
principal = Patricia Paquin
enrollment = 2834
schedtyp = A/B block schedule
accreditation = Texas Education Agency and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
free_label = Nickname
free_text = Hurricanes
free_label2 = Mascot
free_text2 = Poseidon
colors = Hunter green, Silver, and Black
campus type = Suburban
free_label4= Newspaper
free_text4 = "Hurricane Watch"
free_label3= Yearbook
free_text3= "Eye of the Hurricane"
location = 3333 Hurricane Lane
Missouri City, Texas
country = USA
website = [http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/campuses/hhs/ Hightower High School]

L.V. Hightower High School is a secondary school (grades 9-12) located at 3333 Hurricane Lane, Missouri City, Texas, United States.

Hightower is administered by Fort Bend Independent School District and its mascot is Poseidon, but they are known as the Hightower Hurricanes.

Hightower serves parts of Missouri City (including Lake Shore Harbour)Lake Shore Harbour and half of Sienna are zoned to Elkins as of 2007-2008 school year, all of the city of Arcola, the unincorporated area of Fresno, and the master-planned community of Sienna Plantation, which is located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Missouri City. In addition Hightower serves the unincorporated area of Juliff.

The school is named after Lockhart Valentine (L.V.) Hightower, a former principal in the district.

History

Hightower opened on August 13, 1998 and was dedicated on October 11 of the same year [ [http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/about/history.cfm "FBISD History"] ] . At the time, there were only 50 teachers and less than 600 students were enrolled at Hightower. As of October 2006, that number has grown to 2,834 students enrolled on the campus, which makes Hightower the largest school in the FBISD. The campus was built to accommodate around 2,200 students.

Patricia Paquin controversy

On June 29, 2006, the "Houston Press" featured an article [ [http://www.houston-press.com/2006-06-29/news/cut-short/1 "Cut Short"] , "Houston Press", June 29, 2006] about Pavlos Karnezis, a 12th grade honors student who was sent to jail and later expelled from school for bringing a knife to class. Although disciplinary protocol meant that Patricia Paquin, the Hightower High School principal, was entitled to give him a lesser punishment because of his disciplinary record, she expelled him. Karnezis' parents, Thomas and Kathy, fought and had the decision overturned.

There was a great deal of unhappiness with the Paquin's decision to expel Karnezis, as indicated in the two referenced articles. Seven response letters to the editor sent that were printed in the following issue also tilted strongly against Paquin. [ [http://www.houstonpress.com/2006-07-13/news/letters-to-the-editor/full "Letters to the Editor"] , "Houston Press", July 13, 2006]

Associations

Hightower is one of several schools in Fort Bend that offer specialized career programs. Classes in medical sciences, engineering, computer media, and television production are offered at the campus. Any student in the Fort Bend school district can apply to Hightower to attend these classes. [ [http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/campuses/hhs/about.cfm About Hightower High School] ]

In 2006, Hightower qualified 16 students for the National HOSA competition in Anaheim, of which all 16 placed top 4 or higher in their respective categories. [ [http://www.hosa.org/nlc/winners/winner_06.htm HOSA 2006 National Leadership Conference Winners] ] In addition, 2 students qualified for the FBLA national competition in Nashville, Tennessee.

In 2007, Hightower High School qualified 31 students for the National HOSA Conference in Orlando, Florida, the most out of any school in the nation. They will compete in mid-June, 2007.

Hightower High School also has an active Robotics team, which has placed in several local and statewide competitions. [ [http://www.hightowerrobotics.com Hightower Robotics website] ]

Feeder patterns

The following elementary schools [ [http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/cmf/var/tidbits/Tidbits_parentlinks_20070810_1513.pdf FBISD Elementary School Attendance Zones] ] feed into Hightower [ [http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/cmf/var/tidbits/Tidbits_parentlinks_20070810_1517.pdf FBISD High School Attendance Zones] ] :
* Burton
* Goodman
* Parks
* Scanlan Oaks (partial)
* Sienna Crossing (partial)

The following middle schools [ [http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/cmf/var/tidbits/Tidbits_parentlinks_20070810_1515.pdf FBISD Middle School Attendance Zones] ] feed into Hightower:
* Baines (partial)
* Lake Olympia (partial)

Notable Alumni

*D. J. Augustin - Former point guard for the University of Texas Longhorns [ [http://www.djaugustin.org/dj-augustin-biography.php DJ Augustin Biography - Texas Longhorns DJ Augustin Biography - DJ Augustin Bio ] ] and recently drafted to the Charlotte Bobcats.
*Doug Delony - FOX 26 / KRIV Houston television news personality. [ [http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=4103794 MyFox Houston | Doug 'My Tech Guy' Delony ] ]
*Cory Rodgers - Former NFL football player for the Green Bay Packers, and current player for the British Columbia Lions. (Class of 2002) [ [http://www.bclions.com/index.php?module=roster&func=display&ros_id=1251 BC Lions :: Official Site of the BC Lions ] ]
*Herbert Taylor - Current NFL Football player for the Kansas City Chiefs. (Class of 2002) [ [http://gofrogs.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/taylor_herbert00.html Player Bio: Herbert Taylor :: Football ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/campuses/hhs/ Hightower High School]
* [http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/78061 PublicSchoolReview]
* [http://www.hightowerrobotics.com HHS Robotics]
* [http://www.hightowerhighschoolvips.mysite.com Hightower VIPS]
* [http://www.hightowerninja.com HHS N.I.N.J.A.]
* [http://hhsredcross.blogspot.com/ HHS Red Cross]
* [http://www.hurricaneband.com/ Marching Hurricane Band]