Woodrow Wilson High School, commonly known locally in short as Woodrow, is a public high school located in East Dallas, Texas (U.S.). Woodrow enrolls students in grades 9–12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD). It is located adjacent to the Junius Heights historic district. PDF (includes map of the district, which indicates the locations of Lipscomb, the library, and Woodrow Wilson) and (includes map of the district)

It was named in honor of former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson, who died just three years before the school building was completed. The structure is a Dallas Landmark, as well as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark,"Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5113006923." Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved on October 16, 2015. the highest honor the state can bestow on a historic structure. The National Trust for Historic Preservation wrote that the Woodrow Wilson school "defines how a historic neighborhood school can remain a vital and integral part of the educational process and continue to serve surrounding historic neighborhoods.""Historic Schools Success Stories: Woodrow Wilson High School Dallas, Texas (Archive). National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved on September 29, 2015.

In 2009, DISD authorized Woodrow to apply to become certified as the first Dallas school to be authorized as an IB World School offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB degree). It earned its official designation as an IB World School on March 18, 2011. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.

History Early history

Designed by Dallas architect Mark Lemmon, the school opened in 1928, and was constructed in the Elizabethan style."Second junior high starts shaping up," The Dallas Morning News, April 24, 1933, section 1, page 3: "The exterior of the [J.L. Long Junior High] building has been designed in Elizabethan style to harmonize with the previously established Woodrow Wilson High School, on the campus of which it is being constructed." - Available from NewsBank Readex, accessible with a Houston Public Library library card. At the cornerstone-laying ceremony in April 1927, a piece of the wedding cake of Woodrow Wilson's second daughter, Jessie, was included in the cornerstone "in memory of Mr. Wilson.""School corner stone holds wedding cake of Wilson's daughter," The Dallas Morning News, April 21, 1927, section 2, page 15. - Available from NewsBank Readex, accessible with a Houston Public Library library card. At US$700,000, the school's cost exceeded that of the district's previous four high schools by at least $100,000."Wilson High being built: Masonry work started on big East Dallas school," The Dallas Morning News, March 24, 1927, section 2, page 13. - Available from NewsBank Readex, accessible with a Houston Public Library library card. The ornamental lighting was made by Potter Art Metal Studios of Dallas. Special features of the building included a gymnasium boasting "one entire wall of glass windows" and an auditorium that was to be the "best equipped and best lighted" in the district, with footlights and a separately ventilated orchestra pit."Woodrow Wilson High School ready for equipment," The Dallas Morning News, May 18, 1928, section 2, page 13. - Available from NewsBank Readex, accessible with a Houston Public Library library card. A theater organ was later placed in the pit and pipes put in special lofts on the third level. The September 1928, Dallas Herald said the school "presents a rare spectacle from afar." Photos and the original blueprints of the school building were featured in an exhibition celebrating the works of Mark Lemmon at The Meadows Museum.Press information related to the Mark Lemmon exhibit , from the Meadows Museum.

The school has been colloquially called "Woodrow" by students and community members from its beginning, fostered by first principal G.L. "Pop" Ashburn, who led the school until 1956. The mascot of the school is the Wildcat. A Parent Teacher Association chapter was formed for the school even before its 1928 opening."Wilson High P.-T.A. to be organized," The Dallas Morning News, August 26, 1928. Society News section, page 4. - Available from NewsBank Readex, accessible with a Houston Public Library library card.

Until 1957 (when Bryan Adams High School opened), Woodrow was the only "East Dallas" high school.

The original principal of Woodrow Wilson served for 30 years.Lyons, Gene. "This is Woodrow Wilson: A School that Works." Texas Monthly. Emmis Communications, January 1979. Volume 7, No. 1. . START: p. 69. CITED: p. 152.

1960s through early 2000s Woodrow Wilson integrated in the 1960s as the percentage of black and Hispanic students increased year after year. Gene Lyons of Texas Monthly stated in 1979 that "In short, everything that has been happening demographically within the DISD and, by extension, within U.S. big-city high schools has been happening to Woodrow Wilson."Lyons, Gene. "This is Woodrow Wilson: A School that Works." Texas Monthly. Emmis Communications, January 1979. Volume 7, No. 1. . START: p. 69. CITED: p. 148. In 1976 federal judge William McLaughlin Taylor Jr. wrote a school integration order for Dallas. This initial order stated that the enrollments should be balanced by closing Woodrow Wilson. The school remained open after residents of Lakewood protested, saying that it would close an already-integrated school.Lyons, Gene. "This is Woodrow Wilson: A School that Works." Texas Monthly. Emmis Communications, January 1979. Volume 7, No. 1. . START: p. 69. CITED: p. 150. His order did not require education levels after grade 8 to use integration busing. Lyons wrote that therefore Woodrow Wilson was "one of the few "naturally integrated" schools in Dallas."

In 1981, interiors for the movie Crisis at Central High starring Joanne Woodward, were filmed at the school.Jan Hubbard. "Titles rare at school -- but not winners - Heismans make Woodrow Wilson unique," The Dallas Morning News, December 6, 1987, : "The school was built in 1928 on muddy roads at what now is the corner of Glasgow and Reiger in East Dallas. It is such a throwback to what schools once looked like that producers of Crisis at Central High, a movie made in the early 1980s about desegregation in Little Rock, Ark., shot all of the interior scenes of the movie inside Woodrow."

In 2004, thousands attended Woodrow's 75th Anniversary Celebration, which included a parade (from Lakewood to the school, with Congressman Sam Johnson as Grand Marshal, chauffeured in a new Ford Mustang driven by fellow alumnus Carroll Shelby, the legendary auto designer and builder), followed by an auditorium-packed program at which a new group of members was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Scores of "mini-reunions" also were held during that day in assigned rooms throughout the school.

In October 2007, the school was cited as one of 39 model schools in Science and Math by the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Choose Woodrow and Rod Dreher's article Around 2008, Woodrow parents launched "Choose Woodrow," a program aimed towards attracting families in the Lakewood neighborhood towards Woodrow.Fischer, Kent. "Woodrow Wilson High parents want more families to choose Dallas ISD" (Archive). The Dallas Morning News. Friday April 4, 2008. Retrieved on September 29, 2015.

Rod Dreher, a politically conservative columnist in The Dallas Morning News, argued that the program was unfair. Dreher argued that even if the campaign attracted more white students who would raise the school's test scores overall, it would not help lower performing minority students who are enrolled at Woodrow.Dreher, Rod. "'Choose Woodrow,' if you're white" (Archive; Opinion). The Dallas Morning News Sunday April 13, 2008. Retrieved on September 29, 2015.

Rick Wamre, the president of Advocate Media, wrote in the Lakewood Advocate that Dreher had wrongly insinuated that the "Choose Woodrow" parents were racists.Wamre, Rick. "Rod Dreher: Woodrow parents are racists" (Archive). April 13, 2008. Retrieved on September 29, 2015. Jim Schutze of Dallas Observer wrote that the article had accurate observations about the campaign targeting white persons and the disparity of the school, but he criticized what he called the piece's "painting a picture of the white people who send their kids to Woodrow as somehow racist, because their kids are mainly in the advanced placement classes and the kids of color are mainly not."Schutze, Jim. "Why Rod Dreher Really Isn't Wild About the Woodrow Wildcats" (Archive). Dallas Observer. Monday April 14, 2008. Retrieved on September 29, 2015. Michael Landauer wrote an editorial in the Dallas Morning News stating that Dreher made an "unfair" accusation against the Woodrow Wilson parents and that he "actively chooses to assign dark motives to people who are taking an active role in their neighborhood school."Laundauer, Michael. "Rod vs. Woodrow (Today in Points)" (Archive). The Dallas Morning News. April 13, 2008. Retrieved on September 29, 2015.

In response to the above articles, Dreher defended his column and posted rebuttals against his critics' arguments.Dreher, Rod. "Woodrow and me" (Archive; Opinion). The Dallas Morning News. April 14, 2008. Retrieved on September 29, 2015.

Late 2000s to present In 2009, Woodrow celebrated its 80th anniversary. In honor of alumnus Carroll Shelby's designation as Grand Marshal of the 80th Anniversary Parade, scores of non-Woodrow graduates joined the parade — most showing off their Ford/Shelby Mustangs or Cobras, but a few were driving Dodge Vipers (another vehicle Shelby helped develop). During the main ceremony in the school's packed auditorium, the Alumni Association inducted twenty more individuals into Woodrow's Hall of Fame. The celebration concluded with an "Alumni Band Roundup" at Eddie Deen's Ranch that evening, where hundreds of Woodrow alums ate, drank, and enjoyed each other while listening and dancing to music played by eight bands, each composed of Woodrow Alums (with a few ringers here and there) from various classes between 1960 and 2008. A documentary video of the 80th Anniversary Celebration was produced by Michael Barnes and Kathy Kilmer Moak, both from the class of 1967. It featured historical photographs and interviews with many alums interspersed with clips of events during the 80th Anniversary Celebration. It premiered at the Lakewood Theater in the fall of 2009.

In the fall of 2009, Woodrow became one of four high schools in Texas to be designated as candidates for designation as an IB World School. In March 2011, the school earned the IB designation after a rigorous three-year application process, including an extensive site visit by the IB Organization.

In December 2009, Woodrow earned the Texas ACT College Readiness Award, the only Dallas comprehensive high school to receive that honor.

The Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation was formed in 2009. The Community Foundation's purpose is to raise funds, grants, and scholarships to support the faculty, students, and programs at Woodrow and its feeder schools. It also exists to cultivate other area programs and projects.Jennings, Jordan, Amanda Presmyk, Laura Murphy, and Essete Workneh., "Discrepancy between levels of public education visible in Dallas." The Daily Campus. Tuesday, December 13, 2011. Updated on Wednesday, December 14, 2011. 2 (Archive). Retrieved on December 17, 2011.