Paul W. Bryant High School

Last updated

Paul W. Bryant High School
Address
Paul W. Bryant High School
6315 Mary Harmon Bryant Drive

Cottondale, Alabama
35453

United States
Coordinates 33°9′28″N87°27′13″W / 33.15778°N 87.45361°W / 33.15778; -87.45361
Information
Type Public
School district Tuscaloosa City Schools
SuperintendentMike Daria
CEEB code 010767
PrincipalEric Hines
Teaching staff51.20 (FTE) [1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,042 (2022-23) [1]
Student to teacher ratio20.35 [1]
Color(s)Navy Blue, Vegas Gold, and White
   
MascotStampy The Elephant
Website www.tuscaloosacityschools.com/Domain/17

Paul W. Bryant High School serves grades 9 through 12 and is located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, forming part of the Tuscaloosa City Schools. The school is named after former Alabama Crimson Tide football head coach Paul William "Bear" Bryant. The school competes as part of the Alabama High School Athletic Association in Region 4 of the 6A division.

Contents

History

With the 1999 lifting of the desegregation order that resulted in the creation of Central High School in 1979, the School Board began exploring the option to construct three new high schools to replace Central. [2] By the early 2000s (decade), Tuscaloosa City Schools announced that three new high schools would be constructed that would become Bryant, Northridge and a new Central High School. By September 2001, the board would award construction contracts totaling $100 million to implement the Five-Year Facilities Plan. [3] Costing $31.5 million to complete, the school would celebrate its ribbon-cutting on August 24, 2003, with U.S. Representative Artur Davis delivering the keynote address. [4] As of the 2018-19 school year, the school is not completely segregated, at just 92% Black. [5]

Naming

In January 2002, the Tuscaloosa City Schools School Board voted to name the school after Alabama Crimson Tide football head coach Paul William "Bear" Bryant. [6] The name was selected after being suggested by a resident during a community meeting regarding the new school. [6] Originally, the mascot was to be the "Bears" playing on the famous nickname of Paul Bryant. [7] However, that option was ruled out because the old Tuscaloosa High had been nicknamed the Black Bears, and a 1970s court order relating to the consolidation of Druid High with Tuscaloosa High stated that no new school in Tuscaloosa may take a nickname used by any of the former segregated schools. [7] [8] Additionally, the name "Titans"—voted on by students of schools that would feed into Bryant—was rejected because Holy Spirit High School's teams were already named the Titans. [7]

With the rejection of "Bears" and "Titans," popular sentiment was in favor of using "Stampede" as a mascot. According to PTA president Paul Lightsey, anyone who heard the school's name would expect to see an elephant as the mascot even if the school opted not to use Alabama's colors of red and white. Due to concerns about copyright issues, "Huskies" was chosen as an interim name. [8] However, after Alabama lifted its objections to Bryant High using an elephant mascot, "Stampede" was ultimately chosen as the mascot for the school. [9]

Academics

Paul W. Bryant has a program offered to junior and seniors called Co-Op that provides students with the technical and hands on experience of the work force while in school. [10] In 2018-19, 18% of students achieved proficiency in mathematics, and 22% in reading, both lower than even the Alabama state average. [5]

Varsity sports

Paul W. Bryant High School currently fields a varsity team in nine men's and eight women's sports. [11] They are:

Men's sports

  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Cross country
  • Football
  • Soccer
  • Tennis
  • Track and Field
 

Women's sports

  • Basketball
  • Cross country
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Tennis
  • Track and field
  • Volleyball

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

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The Bear Bryant Show was a weekly coaches' show that served as a weekly recap of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team's previous day's game. The show ran during the tenure of head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant from the 1958 through the 1982 seasons. Co-hosted by John Forney (1961–1965), Bill Austin (1966), Charley Thornton (1967–1981) and Steadman Shealy (1982), The Bear Bryant Show was a cultural phenomenon within the state of Alabama that contributed to the rise in popularity and awareness of the university's football program during the 1960s and 1970s. The show ran for an hour during its entire run.

Tommy Wilcox is an American television personality and former college football player. He played defensive back for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide from 1979 through 1982 and was a member of the 1979 national championship team and was a consensus selection to the 1981 College Football All-America Team. Presently Wilcox serves as the host of a hunting and fishing show entitled "Tommy Wilcox Outdoors."

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Paul W Bryant High School". National Center for Education Statistics.
  2. ↑ Schmitke, Alison (Winter 2005–2006). "Teaching Brown in Tuscaloosa". Rethinking Schools.
  3. ↑ Kampis, Johnny (September 26, 2001). "Board approves contracts for schools". The Tuscaloosa News.
  4. ↑ Ricks, Markeshia (August 25, 2003). "New high schools open their doors". The Tuscaloosa News.
  5. 1 2 "Paul W Bryant High School (2021 Ranking) | Cottondale, AL". Public School Review. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Kampis, Johnny (January 29, 2002). "New school will be named Paul W. Bryant High School". The Tuscaloosa News.
  7. 1 2 3 Kampis, Johnny (March 19, 2002). "Bryant High School can't 'Bear' it". The Tuscaloosa News.
  8. 1 2 Reeves, Steve (April 22, 2003). "Bryant High Huskies, for now". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  9. ↑ Carroll, Andrew (August 7, 2003). "Stampede tries on its new colors". The Tuscaloosa News.
  10. ↑ Archived August 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Paul W. Bryant High School, Paul W. Bryant High School Athletics . Archived August 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
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