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Thomas Jefferson High School is a public high school in San Antonio, Texas, United States, and is one of ten high schools in the San Antonio Independent School District. Completed in 1932 at a cost of $1,250,000, it was the third high school built in the city.[4] For the 2021-2022 school year, the school was given a "B" by the Texas Education Agency.[5]

History

The SAISD school board paid $94,588.75 to buy "Spanish Acres," a 32-acre (13 ha) property, to develop the third high school in San Antonio. Construction began in the fall of 1930 and ended in January 1932.[6] It was built for over $1.25 million.[7]

In 1983 it became a part of the National Register of Historic Places. It was also designated a Texas historic landmark.[7]

Campus and architecture

The school was designed by the company Adams and Adams. The entrance has two towers of different heights and is designed in the Baroque style.[8] The towers are topped with silver. The school uses wrought-iron balconies and Spanish-tiled roofing. The school has two courtyards,[7] both landscaped, bordered by portales.[9] One courtyard has a hexagonal pond with decorative tiling.[7] Hannibal and Eugene Pianta, an Italian immigrant and his son,[6] decorated the main entrance columns and balconies with cast-stone ornamentation.[7] Jay C. Henry, the author of Architecture in Texas: 1895-1945, stated that the architecture is similar to that of Lubbock High School.[9]

In 1938 the school had an armory, a cafeteria, a drill ground, two gymnasiums, and a theater.[10]

A music facility and the East Wing, a three-story addition, were built at a later time.[7]

Its Moorish/Spanish architecture make it a visually distinct element in what was the old Woodlawn district.[11]

Recognition

In 1983 Jefferson was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[12] In 1995, it was included in the Local Historic District by the City of San Antonio.[13] In 2010, Jefferson was selected as Grammy Signature Award Winner.[14]

Demographics

The demographic breakdown of the 1,829 students enrolled in 2012-2013 was:

  • Male - 52.7%
  • Female - 47.3%
  • Native American/Alaskan - 0.1%
  • Asian/Pacific islanders - 0.2%
  • Black - 2.1%
  • Hispanic - 95.4%
  • White - 2.1%
  • Multiracial - 0.1%

86.6% of the students were eligible for free or reduced lunch.[2]

In 1938 the school had 2,394 students. At the time over 60% of the students were scheduled to matriculate to universities and colleges.[10] In addition there were 89 teachers, including 56 female teachers. The student-teacher ratio at the time was 25 to 1.[15]

Student life

In 1938 the school had an ROTC unit, multiple school-recognized clubs including the girls' pep squad "Lassos", and fraternities and sororities unrecognized by the school.[10] As of 1938 the "Lassos" were made up of 150 female students.[16]

In 1938 the ROTC had 33 student officers, all male; each were allowed to choose a female student to accompany him.[17]

The 1940 Twentieth Century Fox film High School used exteriors and back-projection footage shot at TJHS.[18]

Athletics

The Jefferson Mustangs compete in the following sports:[19]

Notable alumni

Athletics

Arts and entertainment

Communications

Education

Government

Military

Philanthropy

Physical science

References

  1. ^ a b c "JEFFERSON H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Jefferson H S". ed.gov. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  4. ^ "History of Thomas Jefferson High School". Thomas Jefferson High School Historical Preservation Society.
  5. ^ "TEA". Texas Education Agency. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b "School History Archived 2016-09-09 at the Wayback Machine." Thomas Jefferson High School. Retrieved on September 13, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Guzman, René A. (2012-06-23). "Cityscape: Thomas Jefferson High School". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  8. ^ Henry, p. 178.
  9. ^ a b Henry, p. 177.
  10. ^ a b c "One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." Life. Time, Inc., March 7, 1938. Vol. 4, No. 10. ISSN 0024-3019. Start: p. 22. CITED: p. 22.
  11. ^ "TJHS HPS: Thomas Jefferson High School Historical Preservation Society - History of TJHS". tjhshps.org. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  12. ^ "National Register of Historic Places - State Listing". National Park Service.
  13. ^ "List of Local Landmarks" (PDF). City of San Antonio.
  14. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.grammy.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." Life. Time, Inc., March 7, 1938. Vol. 4, No. 10. ISSN 0024-3019. Start: p. 22. CITED: p. 26.
  16. ^ "One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." Life. Time, Inc., March 7, 1938. Vol. 4, No. 10. ISSN 0024-3019. Start: p. 22. CITED: p. 25.
  17. ^ "One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." Life. Time, Inc., March 7, 1938. Vol. 4, No. 10. ISSN 0024-3019. Start: p. 22. CITED: p. 23.
  18. ^ "School Film Planned." The Longview (TX) Daily News, 13 March 1938.
  19. ^ The Athletics Department
  20. ^ "TJHS HPS: Thomas Jefferson High School Historical Preservation Society - Home". tjhshps.org. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  21. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014 - Press Release". nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2 September 2015.

General references

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson_High_School_(San_Antonio)