Big Bend High School

Last updated
Big Bend High School
Location
Big Bend High School
2281 Road Runner Circle

Terlingua
,
Texas
79852

United States
Coordinates 29°18′55″N103°32′19″W / 29.315168°N 103.538474°W / 29.315168; -103.538474
Information
Type Public high school
School district Terlingua Common School District
Faculty13.32 (FTE) [1]
GradesPK-12
Enrollment122 (2022-23) [1]
Student to teacher ratio9.16 [1]
Team nameRoadrunners
Website Official website

Big Bend High School is a public K-12 school [2] located in unincorporated Brewster County, Texas (USA), adjacent to the Study Butte census-designated place, and with a Terlingua postal address. [3] Originally a high school, it now serves as the only school in the Terlingua Common School District and is classified as a 1A school by the UIL. For the 2021-2022 school year, the school was given a "C" by the Texas Education Agency. [4]

Contents

In addition to the Terlingua CSD area, Big Bend High also serves high school students from San Vicente Independent School District, based at Big Bend National Park. [5] San Vicente itself does not have enough of a taxation base, as of 1997, to establish its own high school. [6]

History

Prior to 1996 Alpine High School of the Alpine Independent School District served as the high school for students from Terlingua CSD. [7] Beginning in the 1960s, students took school buses to and from Alpine, [8] with the bus ride being the longest in the United States, [7] with both directions totaling 160 miles (260 km). Due to the distance, there was a 30% dropout rate among Terlingua area students. From the 1960s there was consideration of establishing a high school for Terlingua area students. The district deliberation over establishing a high school began in 1992. [9] In 1993 San Vicente ISD, which was also sending its high school students to Alpine High, began collaborating with Terlingua CSD. [10]

After an article in The New York Times was published about the ordeals of students being bussed, with the roundtrip distance being 179.6 miles (289.0 km) and with transportation from the dropoff point being as much as 35 miles (56 km), a fundraising drive to build the new high school began in December 1994. [11] The National Enquirer also published a story drawing attention to the issue. [12] Both Terlingua CSD and San Vicente ISD managed to fundraise by May 1996 $148,000. A Dallas Morning News reader donated 320 acres (130 ha) of land to the Big Bend Educational Corporation, a non-profit organization established by area residents, and the organization then sold the land for $18,000. [11] The fencing and the septic tanks were donated by a Fort Stockton hardware store and a firm in Ohio, respectively. [12]

The high school opened in 1996 in temporary buildings. [7] Pressly stated "By most standards, the new facility is tiny". [7] It had 37 students upon opening. San Vicente ISD began sending students to Big Bend High when it was established. [6] Some classes were held outdoors, and high school students shared space with middle school students. [9] The opening was prompted by district officials getting the financing in place to establish a high school. In 1997 the school had 45 students. Funded with donations and what Sue Ann Pressly of the Los Angeles Times called "the thinnest of shoestring budgets", it had six classrooms and a total cost of $550,000. [7] In 1998 there were two graduates, the smallest graduating size in the state. [9]

The 2004 book Tales from the Times stated that because the economy and population of the Big Bend area was trending upwards, Big Bend High would be "an increasingly sustainable proposition." [12]

Athletics

The Big Bend Roadrunners compete in the following sports: [13]

See also

Other high schools in Brewster County:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brewster County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Brewster County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in West Texas and its county seat is Alpine. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region, and borders Mexico. Brewster County is the largest county by area in the state - at 6,192 square miles (16,040 km2) it is over three times the size of the state of Delaware, and more than 500 square miles (1,300 km2) bigger than Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Alpine is a city in and the county seat of Brewster County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,905 at the 2010 census. The town has an elevation of 4,462 feet (1,360 m), and the surrounding mountain peaks are over 1 mile (1.6 km) above sea level. A university, hospital, library, and retail make Alpine the center of the sprawling 12,000 square miles (3,108,000 ha) but wide open Big Bend area including Brewster, Presidio, and Jeff Davis counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Study Butte-Terlingua, Texas</span> Former CDP in Texas, United States

Study Butte-Terlingua was a census-designated place (CDP) in Brewster County, Texas, United States. The population was 267 at the 2000 census. For the 2010 census it was split into two CDPs, Study Butte and Terlingua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission Bend, Texas</span> Census-designated place in Texas, United States

Mission Bend is a census-designated place (CDP) around Texas State Highway 6 within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Fort Bend and Harris counties in the U.S. state of Texas; Mission Bend is 4 miles (6 km) northwest of the city hall of Sugar Land and 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Downtown Houston. The population was 36,914 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Bend National Park</span> U.S. national park located in West Texas, bordering Mexico

Big Bend National Park is an American national park located in West Texas, bordering Mexico. The park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, and was named after a large bend in the Rio Grande/Río Bravo. The park protects more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56 species of reptiles, and 75 species of mammals. Additional park activities include scenic drives, programs led by Big Bend park rangers, and stargazing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terlingua, Texas</span> Census-designated place in Texas, United States

Terlingua is a mining district and census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern Brewster County, Texas, United States. It is located near the Rio Grande and the villages of Lajitas and Study Butte, Texas, as well as the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The discovery of cinnabar, from which the metal mercury is extracted, in the mid-1880s brought miners to the area, creating a city of 2,000 people. The only remnants of the mining days are a ghost town of the Howard Perry-owned Chisos Mining Company and several nearby capped and abandoned mines: the California Hill, the Rainbow, the 248, and the Study Butte mines. The mineral terlinguaite was first found in the vicinity of California Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marathon Independent School District</span> School district in Texas, United States

Marathon Independent School District is a school district based in Marathon, a census-designated place in Brewster County, Texas, United States.

The Alpine Independent School District is a school district based in Alpine, Texas, United States. The district operates one high school, Alpine High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angleton Independent School District</span> School district in Texas, United States

Angleton ISD is a public school district in Angleton, Texas (USA), operating 5 levels of education. Established in 1897, AISD encompasses 396 square miles (1,030 km2) in Brazoria County, serving Angleton as well as the Village of Bonney, the Sandy Point census-designated place, parts of the CDP of Rosharon, and the unincorporated areas of Chocolate Bayou, Lochridge, and Otey.

Terlingua Common School District (TCSD) is a public school district based in unincorporated Brewster County, in the U.S. state of Texas. Its only school, Big Bend High School, is located adjacent to the Study Butte census-designated place, and with a Terlingua postal address.

Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District is a public school district based in Pharr, Texas (U.S.) in the Rio Grande Valley.

San Vicente Independent School District is a public school district in Brewster County, Texas (USA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farm to Market Road 170</span>

Farm to Market Road 170 is a 114.6-mile (184.4 km) highway maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in Presidio and Brewster counties in Texas. The route, known locally as the River Road, runs along the United States side of the Rio Grande which in Texas forms the international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico. The road runs from Candelaria through the city of Presidio as well as several smaller communities and former settlements to State Highway 118 in Study Butte near Big Bend National Park. The road also passes through the southern portion of Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Rosharon, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located entirely in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 521 and Farm to Market Road 1462. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,152. There are areas outside of the CDP, with Rosharon postal addresses, in Fort Bend County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lajitas, Texas</span> Unincorporated community in Texas, United States

Lajitas is an unincorporated community in Brewster County, Texas, United States, near the Big Bend National Park. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 75 in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ridge Point High School</span> Public secondary school in Missouri City, Texas, United States

Ridge Point High School (RPHS) is a public high school located in Sienna, an unincorporated area and planned community in Fort Bend County, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Study Butte, Texas</span> Census-designated place in Texas, United States

Study Butte is a census-designated place (CDP) in Brewster County, Texas, United States. The population was 233 at the 2010 census. At the 2000 census, the area was part of the Study Butte-Terlingua CDP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine High School</span> Public school in Alpine, Texas, United States

Alpine High School is a public high school located in the city of Alpine, Texas (USA) and is classified as a 3A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Alpine Independent School District located in north-central Brewster County. For the 2021-2022 school year, the school was given an "A" by the Texas Education Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panther Junction, Texas</span> Unincorporated community in Texas, United States

Panther Junction is an unincorporated community located in Brewster County, Texas, United States. The community is located inside Big Bend National Park. The ZIP Code serving the community is 79834, which is addressed to Big Bend National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almeta Crawford High School</span> High school in Fort Bend County, Texas

Almeta Crawford High School, also known simply as Crawford High School, is a public high school in Fort Bend County, Texas. Located near Farm to Market Road 521 and south of State Highway 6, just adjacent to Sienna, Texas, the school opened in the fall of 2023. The school, as Fort Bend Independent School District's (FBISD) 12th consecutive high school, will initially consist of 9th and 10th graders in its inaugural year, with the first graduating class expected to be the class of 2026.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "BIG BEND H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Big Bend HS". Texas Education Agency . Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  3. ↑ "Terlingua Common School District". Texas Education Agency. 2001-03-06. Archived from the original on 2001-03-06. Retrieved 2021-06-16. 2281 ROADRUNNER CIRCLE TERLINGUA TX 79852 Therefore the school is outside of the following:
  4. ↑ "TEA". Texas Education Agency . Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "Jessi Milam". U.S. Department of Education . Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  6. 1 2 Trotter, Andrew (1996-09-11). "Take Note". Education Week . Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Pressly, Sue Ann (1997-08-10). "Town's New High School Makes Grade With Students". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  8. ↑ "THE END OF THE 80-MILE SCHOOL BUS RIDE". Washington Post . 1996-08-12. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  9. 1 2 3 "Big Bend High graduates smallest class in state: Different events trim class to two students". Victoria Advocate . Victoria, Texas. Associated Press. p. 5A. - Clipping from Newspapers.com
  10. ↑ Tucker, Albert Briggs (2008). Ghost Schools of the Big Bend. Howard Payne University Press. p.  26. ISBN   9780615191348.
  11. 1 2 Verhovek, Sam Howe (1996-05-27). "End Near for 179-Mile Bus Trip to High School". The New York Times . Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  12. 1 2 3 Belkin, Lisa, ed. (April 2004). Tales from the Times: Real-Life Stories to Make You Think, Wonder, and Smile, from the Pages of The New York Times. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p.  104. ISBN   9780312312336.
  13. ↑ "The Athletics Department". Archived from the original on 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.