Aldine Senior High School is a public high school located in the Greenspoint district of northern Houston, Texas, United States. It is part of the Aldine Independent School District. The senior high school campus serves grades 10 through 12 (although a few ninth grade students attend select classes at Aldine High). The separate Aldine Ninth Grade School hosts students in grade 9.
Location
Aldine Senior High is located at 11101 Airline Drive, at the intersection of Airline and West Road. Its 2012-2013 attendance boundaries are bordered by the Sam Houston Tollway on the north, the Hardy Toll Road on the east and Veterans Memorial Drive for the majority of the western edge. The southern boundary is the Aldine Independent School District boundary line, which is a straight line about a quarter mile south of Gulf Bank Road extending from the Hardy Toll Road to Veterans Memorial Drive east to west. The North Freeway runs just to the west of the center of the zone north to south.
The approximately 12-square mile attendance zone takes in portions of Houston and unincorporated areas in Harris County in zip codes 77037, 77038, 77060 and 77088. This area includes the neighborhoods of Airline Farms, Blue Bell Village, Colonial Hills, Fallbrook, Greenridge North, Hidden Valley, Imperial Valley, North Shepherd Plaza, Northline Terrace, Oak Glen, Ridgepoint, and several smaller subdivisions. It also takes in numerous multi-family apartment complexes along Airline Drive, Aldine-Bender Road, Blue Bell Road, Fallbrook Drive, Plaza Verde Drive, Veterans Memorial Drive, West Road and Winding Bayou Trace. The school serves portions of the Aldine CDP, the Greenspoint District, the Airline Improvement District and the City of Houston's Super Neighborhood 7. Harris County Housing Authority's sole public housing for families, Waterside Court, is zoned to this school."Our Properties." Harris County Housing Authority. Retrieved on January 1, 2019. "Waterside Court Address: 503 West Road, Houston, TX 77038""Aldine High School ." Aldine Independent School District. Retrieved on January 1, 2019.
2015 bond improvements In November 2015, Aldine Independent School District voters overwhelmingly approved a $798 million bond package to fund numerous campus construction and renovation projects across the district. The bond package includes two major projects at Aldine High School, each designed to alleviate overcrowding at the campus, which the district says is currently 12.5 percent over capacity.
In early 2016, Aldine ISD held a planning meeting and released additional details about the work to be done at Aldine High.
This work includes the addition of a new wing of classrooms on the north side of the campus, adjacent to the existing "400 Hall" and currently the location of the school's bus ramp and canopy. This new, as yet unnamed wing will contain 18 classrooms, a "flex" room, a work room, space for the school's ROTC program, and men's and women's restrooms. The bus ramp and canopy will be relocated further north, between the new wing and the existing tennis courts.
The primary Career and Technology (CTE) wing on the west side of the campus will undergo, depending on the specific area, demolition and rebuilding, or renovation and repurposing. According to Aldine ISD plans as linked on the district website in the citation above: The Air Conditioning and Heating lab, and the Building Trades labs will be demolished and converted to Technology Education and Pre-Veterinary classrooms. The existing Pre-Veterinary classroom will be demolished and the existing Welding lab will be expanded and renovated. The existing Automotive lab will be renovated and expanded. One existing Art lab will be demolished and replaced with a new Culinary Arts lab. Another existing Art lab will be converted to a Computer Maintenance lab or a History classroom (based on future CTE needs). Another Art lab will be expanded and converted to a Drafting lab. The existing Cosmetology Lab will be renovated.
In other CTE areas located on the south side of the campus: The existing Culinary Arts lab will be demolished and converted to a Speech / Debate lab. A block of computer technology rooms will be renovated to provide a new Visual Arts lab for sculpture, drawing and photography.
Administrative areas in the north end of the campus will see the following renovation work, again according to Aldine ISD plans noted in the citation in the second paragraph: A new corridor will be installed from the front office to the Vice Principal's suite. The reception desk will be brought into compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
Restrooms throughout the campus will be renovated, repaired and brought into compliance with the ADA.
Finally, hallway transom windows in each classroom (put in place for ventilation when the campus had no air conditioning) will be removed. This will allow the hallway ceilings to be lowered and lighting to be improved and upgraded.
No project timetable has been released. However, the bond originally called for construction to be completed no later than 2019.
Academic performance For the 2018-2019 school year, Aldine High School received a C grade from the Texas Education Agency, with an overall score of 78 out of 100. The school received a C grade in two domains, Student Achievement (score of 73) and Closing the Gaps (score of 71), and a B grade in School Progress (score of 81). The school did not receive any of the seven possible distinction designations.Overview: Aldine H S. Texas Education Agency. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
+ Historic Aldine High TEA RatingsTexas Academic Performance Reports. Texas Education Agency. Retrieved 24 December 2019. YEAR RATING 2019 C 2018 Met Standard 2017 Met Standard 2016 Met Standard 2015 Met Standard 2014 Met Standard 2013 Met Standard 2012 no rating given 2011 Academically Acceptable 2010 Academically Acceptable 2009 Academically Acceptable 2008 Academically Acceptable 2007 Academically Acceptable 2006 Academically Acceptable 2005 Academically Acceptable 2004 Academically Acceptable 2003 no rating given 2002 Recognized 2001 Recognized 2000 Acceptable 1999 Recognized 1998 Acceptable 1997 Acceptable 1996 Acceptable 1995 Low Performing 1994 Acceptable Note that the TEA gave no campus or district accountability ratings in 2003 and 2012 as it was revising its ratings system.
In 2017, the organization Children At Risk gave Aldine Senior High an "F" and ranked it number 182 (out of 187) in the Greater Houston area and 1350 (out of 1376) in the state of Texas.
In contrast, Children At Risk had ranked Aldine High School as one of the best in Greater Houston for 2006, calling it the area's sixth best high school.
+ Historic Children at Risk Ratings for Aldine High School YEAR GRADE AREA RANKING STATE RANKING 2017 F 182 1350 2016 D+ 116 801 2015 C+ 79 626 2014 D 132 1107 2013 C 77 765 2012 n/a 110 1019 2011 n/a 103 991 2010 n/a 98 837 2009 n/a 103 n/a 2008 n/a n/a n/a 2007 n/a n/a n/a 2006 n/a 6 n/a Note that no letter grades are available prior to 2013. Note that no statewide rankings are available prior to 2010. Children at Risk did not evaluate Aldine High School in 2007 or 2008.
U.S. News & World Report awarded Aldine Senior High a bronze medal in its 2015 annual national high school ratings. In 2013, the magazine gave Aldine Senior High a silver medal and ranked the school number 178 on its list of best high schools in the state of Texas (out of 1,870) and number 2,036 (out of nearly 22,000) in its list of best high schools in the United States. However, the magazine did not rank Aldine High among its best in either 2014 or 2015.
+ Historic U.S. News & World Report ratings for Aldine High School Year Medal rating 2015 Bronze 2013 Silver 2012 Silver Note that U.S. News & World Report did not award Aldine Senior High a medal in 2014.
In March 2013, San Diego State University's National Center for Urban School Transformation gave Aldine High School its National Excellence in Urban Education Bronze Award.
In 2006 Spivak noted that the school ranked well on Children at Risk's rankings, which surprised the student body, which according to him did not see the school in a favorable light. Spivak also noted the school's surrounding area had problems with crime, at odds with the U.S. perception of a high performing school as being in a good neighborhood.
Demographics For the 2018-2019 school year, the demographic breakdown of Aldine Senior High was:Profile: Aldine H S. Texas Education Agency. Retrieved 24 December 2019. African American: 6.9% Hispanic: 90.3% White: 1.6% American Indian: 0.1% Asian: 1.0% Pacific Islander: 0.0% Two or More Races: 0.0% Economically Disadvantaged: 86.2% English Language Learners: 27.6%
Today's demographic breakdown continues a long trend at Aldine Senior High that has seen the campus change from majority white to majority Hispanic over the past 30+ years.
+ Historic Aldine High Demographics 1988 - 2015 1988 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 African American 27.2% 29.1% 34.4% 29.7% 26.5% 16.9% 8.7% Hispanic 19.6% 23.8% 35.4% 53.0% 65.8% 78.0% 87.9% White 46.7% 41.6% 24.6% 12.0% 6.2% 2.9% 1.8% Other 6.5% 6.6% 5.5% 5.3% 1.5% 2.2% 1.6%
Circa 1986 above 60% of the student body was made up of non-Hispanic white students; minority enrollment increased after that. In 2006, the enrollment was above 2,191, with 10% of its students initially classified as being English language learners, 70.7% being classified as low income, 65.8 Hispanic or Latino, 25.4% Black, 6% White, 2.7% Asian, and 0.1% Native American.
Athletics Aldine Senior High's mascot is the Mustang and the school colors are Royal blue and white, although in 2015, the football team began using Columbia blue as its primary color to pay homage to the team's glory years of the 1980s and 1990s.James Kowalewski, Aldine High School Campus Athletic Coordinator/Head Football Coach
In 2006 Todd Spivak of the Houston Press wrote Aldine High was "best known for its rich sports tradition".
Aldine High participates in a variety of boys and girls sports in the University Interscholastic League's (UIL) District 16-6A, including: Baseball Boys Basketball Boys Soccer Boys Track Boys Cross Country Football Girls Basketball Girls Soccer Girls Track Girls Cross Country Golf Tennis Swimming Softball Volleyball
W.W. Thorne Stadium serves as the home of the football and boys and girls soccer teams. The volleyball and boys and girls basketball teams play at the M.O. Campbell Center. Elliot Lansford Field hosts boys baseball games and the AISD Softball Complex is the home of the girls softball team.
Since its founding, Aldine High School has had several of its teams advance to state tournaments and finals, with squads in two sports winning championships.
The Aldine boys' basketball team reached the Class 3A state semifinals in 1960, but lost to the eventual champion Lamesa Golden Tornadoes, 51-48. The Mustangs did win the state tournament Consolation game (3rd Place), beating the Fort Worth Castleberry Lions, 51-37.
The boys' baseball team won the 1970 Class 4A state championship, defeating the Bellaire Cardinals in a 4-0 no-hitter.
The Aldine Senior High football team won the 1990 Class 5A Division II state championship, beating the Arlington Lamar Vikings 27-10. ESPN named the 1990 Aldine Mustangs its mythical National Champions following the game. The win came a year after Aldine fell 28-14 to the Odessa Permian Panthers in the 1989 Class 5A finals. The Mustangs also advanced to the state 5A Division II semifinal rounds in 1991 (losing 20-13 to the San Antonio Marshall Rams) and 1996 (dropping a 42-21 decision to the eventual state champion Austin Westlake Chaparrals).
Clubs and extracurricular activities Aldine Senior High students can partake in a number of clubs and extra-curricular activities, including: Band Business Professionals of America (BPA)