Austin High School - Comet Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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SFA was one of twenty Texas high schools nominated by the State Commissioner of Education, Raymon Bynum, for consideration by the federal agency for the honor. By mid-May, the number of schools still in the running for the designation had been whittled down to 100: two per state. The other Texas school that made it into the finals was Churchill HS of San Antonio. The Secondary School Recognition Program was set up to establish a network of schools showing exceptional progress in school effectiveness and student outcomes. Four hundred and fifty schools were initially nominated and 60 - 80 schools will receive final designation as exemplary high schools during the summer of 1983. f'lt's a real honor, said Principal Jacquelyn McGee. lt means that someone out there thinks we're doing a good job. Austin High was nominated for the program in large measure because of the innovative and effective programs implemented here, over the past several years, including the four-year English requirement, the attendance policy, the Honors Graduation Program and designation of certain courses as f'Honors classes. Also cited by McGee and the faculty as examples of Austin High's effectiveness were the refusal to use drug dogs because of questionable constitutional and ethical propriety, allowing an extra planningfgrading period for Language Arts teachers, and the PRIDE program which has attempted to respond to the need for counseling to curb chemical abuse by teenagers. Austin High is a school that works, and works welI, said journalism teacher Tom Prentice. lt's great that this school is an example of excellence for other schools in the country to emulate. The recognition program was implemented this yearjust as a federal commission authorized bythe Department of Education released a report called A Nation at Risky' which deplored decreasing standards in public education in general. Interestingly, a number of the Commission's recommendations, such as a four year English requirement and increased emphasis on academic coursework including foreign language, math, science and computer technology, have been implemented if not pioneered by Austin High in the decade since Jacquelyn McGee became principal. The categorization of American public education as mediocre by the national commission invested the federal department's secondary school recognition program with an added urgency and importance. The report said that the United States had committed an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament and recom- mended that states and localities beef up academic programs and standards to stop the trend by students leaning away from taking academic classes and towards taking electives. Thus, the new recognition program was timely, and Austin High graduates could be proud that the school was named one of the top 100 in the nation, and next year's students looked forward to the possibility that the school would be one of the very finest schools in the country according to the Department of Education. A YEAR OF CHANGES Many changes took place over the course of a year that affected SFA students in different ways. A new Governor for Texas was elected in November, followed by a new Mayor in the April election, both of whom had new ways of running their office. Two SFA student deaths sparked a renewed, sharpened focus on teenage hardship licenses as well as DWI offenses. ln other ways, students' lives were effected by major events like a Nuclear Arms Freeze Resolution continued on page 11 mi 4-I Lori Anderson, freshman, gets books out of her Alicia Barrientos, Lexie Murray, Jeanne Blackmon locker. Locks were installed in all lockers. and Lisa Houston ride in the homecoming parade. Student deaths Three students died this year, two of them the result of a car accident and one of them dying from an aneurism. Tatum-Rodgers Sophomores Lana Tatum and Kathryn Rodgers were killed in a car accident at 9:36 p.m. Sept. 25. Tatum and Rodgers were riding in a topless Cheverolet Blazer driven by sophomore Craig Kidd, when Kidd allegedly lost control of the vehicle which then rolled into a ditch. The accident occurred at Mopac and Enfield on Winsted Lane. The girls were thrown from the blazer when it left the road. Tatum died on impact, while Rodgers died from massive internal injuries on the way to Brackenridge Hospital. Kidd and another passenger, Mary Buckholtz, were also treated at Brackenridge for their injuries, then released. Buckholtz was hospitalized for a broken foot and skull fractures. Principal Jacquelyn McGee was quoted in the !Maroon! as describing the accident as tragic but noting that it was something that could have happened to anybody. The sophomore class raised over S800 dollars for a scholarship fund in memory of the two girls. sadden friends Gonzales Graduating Senior Janette Gonzales, who was engaged to be married this summer, was declared officially dead on Friday, May 6, when tests failed to show brain activity. She had been connected to life support systems since her admittance to Brackenridge Hospi- tal on Thursday, after complaining of headaches. Thursday night, her father could not wake her so he called EMS and she was admitted to Brackenridge Hospital. Janette was a very hardworking student who worked to pass classes, and had a sweet disposition, said Assistant Principal Irma Novoa. She had been a member of the Honors Band and was a Red Jacket. A memorial was planned for her on the North Hill. Senior Janette Gonzales 10 Austin High Journal

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JCURNAL , BY MELISSA IIUGIIITY Perhaps the most auspicious news event of the year occurred on the final day of classes Monday, lVlay 23. On that day, a visiting team of college professors representing the United States Department of Education visited the campus to evaluate the school. The evaluation was part of the nationwide process initiated by the Department of Education to identify Exemplary Public Secondary Schools of the United States. ...,...l..u..,.l..n pg. 10 is gs? SJ- , 9 AUSTIN Top left: Tylenol workers begin packag' g th ir product in tamper-proof containers. Top right: Austin firefighters examine damage to Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby's apartment that caught fire Feb. 6. Bottom left: D d Russell l mputer prog mming and usage in a new AISD plan. Bottom right: Teachers Phyllis Rothgeb Vernice Smith, A C ll d B M l' p t p t th C lt I Sh A bly Ap 27 . T l 9

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Jeep an awk- M , ' Q i Princess Grace died Sept. 14. The Administrators lowered the two flags in front of Austin High in memory of Lana Tatum and Kathryn Rodgers. Kathryn Rodgers, sophomore Lana Tatum, sophomore to less major events such as Cheerleader Tryouts and National Merit Finalists. SCHEDULES MAILED Student schedules were mailed during the first week of August so all necessary changes could be made before the first day of school. Principal Jacquelyn McGee felt this procedure worked well and stated in the Maroon I want to continue this program in the future. LOCKER LOCKS The final installation of combination locks was finished before the first day of school Aug. 24. This project had been postponed last year because of inadequate funding. ATTENDANCE POLICY A newly adopted district-wide attendance policy for high schools limited students' absences to ten per semester, but SFA, which piloted the ten-absence policy, was being used to pilot a more strict, eight-absence limit policy. Principal McGee stated that the attendance increased from 94.790 to 95.806 since the project started. The 1.1 A1 increase was a significant increase, McGee stated. In a Maroon interview, McGee said she advocates a five absence limit, but has not been able to obtain approval from the school board. She stated that a student can learn only when that student is in a classroom situation. HONORS GRADUATION Principal McGee implemented an Honors Graduation Program for students who want to pursue a more rigorous academic program. To graduate under the Honors Plan, astudent must earn 24 credits rather than the 21 units required for regular graduation. The program is designed to recognize students who took harder courses, yet maintained at least an A - average. Some specialized courses included in the program are Trigonometry, Physics, and Texas Studies. Students who completed this program received a diploma stating that the student graduated under the Honors Graduation Plan. Although some students and teachers were critical of the plan, McGee said that The goal of the Honors Graduation Program is to encourage students tc take more quality courses and to help prepare students for college. TARDY POLICY Another policy affecting students involved tardies. On a student's third, fourth, and fifth tardy, a detention card was filled out by the teacher, and forwarded to the appropriate Assistant Principal. The student would serve D-Hall each day until it was finished. Failure to serve D-Hall would result in doubling thetime not completed, and ifthe doubled time was not completed, the student would be automatically suspended. COLOR GUARDIRED JACKETS The Colorguard replaced the Red Jackets as SFA'S flag corps, now under the direction of Band Director Rosendo Sanchez, who feels it is easier to supervise the entire halftime show as one group. The Fied Jackets are now the school's pep squad and spirit raisers. Next year they will merge with the High Steppers and will be called the Red Jackets, but the new organization will be a dance team as well as a spirit squad. Eligibility for the Color Guard starts after a special spring semester training session. The merging of the High Steppers and Red continued on page 12