LBJ High School
Encyclopedia
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
is a high school built in 1974 that later came to house one of Austin's two magnet high schools, the Science Academy. In early 2002, the Liberal Arts Academy, Austin's other magnet high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, was moved from Johnston High School to LBJ ECHS, forming what is now known as LASA (Liberal Arts and Science Academy).
As of the 2006-2007 school year, LBJ ECHS received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. It is "driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family"...
to support implementation of an educational enrichment program called First Things First. Under the grant, no advanced program can be part of the same school, and a push to separate LASA began. The two schools, LBJ ECHS and LASA, continue to be housed on the same campus but keep separate faculty, staff, and records for standardized tests, grade point averages,and class ranking. During the 2007-2008 school year there is a single yearbook, band, choir, theatre, art, and all students within the two schools are able to take part in all sports.
LBJ Early College High School's mascot is the Jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
, and the school's colors are purple
Purple
Purple is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue, and is classified as a secondary color as the colors are required to create the shade....
and white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
.
There are close to 50 student organizations and clubs.
The current principal of LBJ Early College High School is Ms. Sheila Henry. Patrick Patterson, who had been at the school since the 2004-2005 school year as part of the high school campus redesign program initiated to help raise TAKS scores, retired after the 2009-2010 school year. As a result of the split, LASA and LBJ are required to have separate principals. Rene Sanchez, who was the interim director of the LASA program, was selected to be principal of the Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School. He has recently been replaced with Scott Lipton, who will be principal for the remainder of the year.
Accomplishments (LBJ ECHS & LASA)
National Merit: 56 finalists. More than any school in Austin area. (most of the finalists for the district)AP Participation: Total number testing - 489
Total number of exams - 1115
Total number of LBJ neighborhood students 40% increase - 120
Total number of LASA students - 369
German Club: 1st Place at Region!
2nd Place at State
Kerry Jaworski - German Teacher of the Year for Texas!
Speech & Debate:
5 State Qualifiers.
2009 TFA state champion in Senate.
1 National Qualifier.
French: 9 National Qualifiers.
Latin: 96 students took the National Latin Exam. (highest number in the district)
Team placed 3rd in Area.
Team placed 10th at State.
Math Team: Top honors at District.
Second Place in Power Team at Texas A&M.
First Place at Rice for Power Team, Second Place Sweepstakes.
First in Region for Texas Math League.
Spanish: Angie Pinero de Hoyos placed 4th in Advanced Reading at annual Pan Am convention. (1400 students competing)
Victoria Devier placed 4th in Level 1 Reading.
Orchestra: "Superior" Ratings at UIL!
Two members ALL STATE!
Four members ALL Region.
Twelve 1st. Division ratings at UIL Solo and Ensemble competition.
Alex Yau takes "Young Artist" at The Austin Young Artist Competition.
Band: 1st Division UIL Marching Regionals.
1st Division Sweepstakes 3 Ensembles.
Superior and Best In Class at Alamo Band Showcase.
4 All State Band Members.
Choir: 2006-2007 Jaguar Singers Honors
UIL Concert & Sight Singing Competition (2006):
Varsity Mixed Choir, Excellent rating in Concert
Women’s Choir, Superior rating in Sight Singing, Excellent rating in Concert
TMEA All-State Competition (2007):
7 Region Choir Members
3 Area Choir Members
UIL Solo and Ensemble Contest (2006):
9 Vocalists received Superior ratings, 7 went on to state-level competition
Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest (2006):
Vocalists-2 rated Superior, 5 rated Excellent
Music Theory students-one selected “Outstanding Soloist”, 3 Superior ratings, 2 rated Excellent
Piano students-1 Superior, 1 Excellent
Science Olympiad
Teams:
LASA Science Olympiad Team fielding three teams, won 1st, 3rd, and 4th overall out of 28 teams and won the 'Spirit Award' at the GreenHill Invitational in Dallas, 12/08, and fielding two teams, won 1st and 3rd overall out of 30 teams at the CyFalls Invitational in Houston, 11/08.
LASA UT Regionals 2009: placed 1st, 2nd, 5th overall. The 1st place team won with a score of 41 points over 19 events.
Science Olympiad won state for two years in a row and ranked 19th in national competition in Washington, D.C., with three teams medalling.
2nd. in State!
LBJ (1st. year at competition) won several medals.
Quizbowl:
LASA Quiz Bowl team won the Southwest Regional ACF Fall Tournament n Norman, OK with a perfect 8-0 score, the ONLY High School team competing against 4 College teams. A LASA student was the third highest individual scorer.
Two Quiz Bowl teams qualify for nationals in Chicago, with Team A finishing 7th in nation.
Rise High Business Plan Competition:
Lasa students won 2 years in a row.
Robotics
Team: Capital Best Competition 1st. Place.
Capital Best BEST Award 1st Place.
Capital Best Most Robust Design Award.
Capital Best Founders Award for Creative Design.
Capital Best BEST Award 2nd Place.
First Lone Star Regional Winner.
First Lone Star Regional Radio Shack Control Award.
World Championships Qualifier.
Theater: One Act Play advanced to Area.
Best Actress in District.
Journalism
Year Book: 1st Place Best of Show and Gold Crown Award. (National!)
1st Place Gold Star Award. (State)
Year Book featured as Taylor Publications National Year Book Award.
Janet Elbom Dow Jones National Teacher of the Year Finalist.
Art: 2 Seniors went to State Visual Arts Competition.
Social Studies: Neil Leownstern was named CACSS Teacher of the Year!
Ronny Risinger has been invited to attend the Supreme Court Institute in Washington, D.C.
Wrestling:
15 Academic All District Team Members! (boys and girls combined)
2 District Champion Boys.
Girls Team District Champs!
2 Girls All Americans!
LBJ's Texas UIL Girl State Placers:
Luz Hernandez (2005, 95 lbs, 2nd)
Helen Timmons (2005, 102 lbs, 4th)(2006, 102 lbs, 6th)
Katie Brackin (2005, 119 lbs, 6th)(2006, 148 lbs, 4th)(2008, 165 lbs, 2nd)
Karon Scott (2006, 215 lbs, 3rd)
Krysta Atkinson (2008, 110 lbs, 6th)
Football: Bi-District Champs
Area Finalist
4 Academic All District Team Members
Track: Boys and Girls finished FIRST in District
Boys and Girls qualified relay teams for Regional
Girls Relay 8th in State
Boys Relay 6th in State
Girls 400 6th in State
Boys 100 6th in State
Boys 110 6th in State
Baseball: 3rd Place in District (qualified for playoffs)
Volleyball: 2nd Place in District (qualified for playoffs)
5 Academic All District
1 Academic All State
Basketball
Boys: 2nd Place in District
Bi-District Champs
2nd Place in District (qualified for playoffs)
Swimming: Boys and Girls District Champions!
Lee Willing District Coach of the Year
Boys and Girls Regional Runners Up
Boys 3rd at UIL State!
Girls 4th at UIL State!
LBJ only team to place both boys and girls in top 10 at State.
Both teams honored by National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association for oveall GPA (girls 3.8, boys 3.7).
Notable people
John M. JacksonJohn M. Jackson
John Murice Jackson is an American actor, best known for playing Rear Admiral A. J. Chegwidden on the CBS series JAG....
(social studies faculty 1975 - 1979) -- actor (Adm. Chegwidden on "JAG", and many other television and movie roles).
Terry Keel
Terry Keel
Terrence McCauley "Terry" Keel , is a founding partner of the Keel & Nassour law firm in Austin, and he served as the Parliamentarian of the Texas House of Representatives from May 25, 2007 until January 13, 2009. He was appointed by Speaker Tom Craddick of Midland...
(Class of '76 graduate) -- state official.
Chris Houston
Chris Houston (American football)
Chris Houston is an American Football cornerback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
(2nd Round Atlanta Falcons 2007) -- American football player
Ray Jackson
Ray Jackson
Ray Jackson is a retired American college and professional basketball player. He was part of the famed University of Michigan Wolverines Fab Five along with former NBA players Chris Webber, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose and current NBA player Juwan Howard that reached the 1992 & 1993 NCAA Men's Division...
(Class of 1991) - member of the Michigan "Fab 5" star freshman basketball players
The Rev. Howard Castleberry (Class of 1979)- National College Photographer of the Year, 1983, Robert F. Kennedy Award for International Photojournalism (Somalia), 1992, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize four times, currently a priest in the Episcopal Church.