Worthing High School (Houston)

The current campus for Attucks Middle School served as Worthing's first campus

Worthing Junior-Senior High School was built in 1958,[3] and it opened on January 27, 1958. The students zoned to Worthing previously attended Miller Junior High School and Yates High School.[4] The school is named after Evan Edward Worthing, a Houston real-estate developer who set up a scholarship trust for African-American HISD students. A native of Michigan, he earned a mechanical engineering degree from Texas A&M University, where he was captain of the American football team. His will stated that African-Americans should inherit his wealth; this led to the opening of Worthing. The school originally covered grades 7 through 12. Worthing was originally located at 4330 Bellfort Boulevard; as the first building became overcrowded a new high school campus opened. Worthing moved to 9215 Scott Street at Reed Road, and Attucks Middle School opened at the former location.[3]

The first principal was Allen E. Norton, and he stayed in his position until circa 1978. Jacob Carpenter of the Houston Chronicle stated that the "dedicated" staff and "tight-knit community" "ensured students received a quality education" despite the low socioeconomic status of Sunnyside.[5]

An increase in violence and recreational drugs and a socioeconomic decline began damaging Sunnyside in the 1980s. Despite this, enrollment remained stable in the 1990s. Carpenter stated that during the decade the "strong campus leadership" meant that the school had an academic performance in line with Texas standards.[5] However, in the 2000s fewer students enrolled in Worthing and its test scores declined.[5]

2008 Consolidation proposal

Previous campus

In November 2008 Houston ISD proposed to rebuild Carnegie Vanguard High School on a site adjacent to Worthing, rebuild Worthing, and have the two schools share the same cafeteria and other facilities. School board member Larry Marshall, whose jurisdiction at the time included Carnegie and Worthing, expressed support for this proposal or otherwise to house Carnegie and Worthing on the same plot of land.[6]

Parents at Worthing accepted the proposal while parents at Carnegie rejected it and asked for it to be discontinued.[7] The Carnegie parents said that the higher violence levels at Worthing and the parents' fears of backlash against Carnegie students at Worthing cause them to be opposed to HISD's proposal.[8] Peter Brown, the Houston City Council At-Large Position 1, opposed the idea. Brown said that the renovation of Worthing would be less costly than the consolidation. Brown also cited a Gates Foundation study to support his point.[9]

On December 4, 2008 Abelardo Saavedra, the HISD superintendent, said that he would for now shelve plans since they had insufficient support from the board of trustees. School board trustee Paula M. Harris expressed support for the consolidation plan, arguing that magnet schools and small neighborhood schools, many of which were closed by the district, should be treated in the same manner.[10] Margaret Downing of the Houston Press added that Worthing parents did not like how the controversy "denigrated" the school.[11]

In the 1990s the school had around 2,000 students.[5] In 2000 Worthing had over 1,700 students. In the 2013–2014 school year Worthing had 640 students, in 2014-2015 it had 685 students,[19] and as of 2016 it had about 680 students. 86% were African-American, 13% were Hispanic, and the remainder were of other ethnic groups.[20] In 2018 enrollment was around 850; the student body was about 50% of the size in the 1990s and 75% of the enrollment in 2011.[14]

In 2008 65% of the students were classified as being low income. Circa 2016 95% of the students were classified as low income.[24] As of 2018 many U.S. Census tracts around Worthing have median incomes below $20,000. According to Worthing graduate Rodney Ellis, who was the commissioner of Harris County Precinct 1 in 2018, many Worthing students had immediate relatives who were "trapped in the criminal justice system".[5] Carpenter wrote "Nearly all Worthing students deal with the effects of deep, intractable poverty that create longer odds for success in school."[5]

Carpenter stated that in the 1990s the "strong campus leadership" meant that the school had an academic performance in line with Texas standards but that this declined in the 2000s.[5] In 2007, a Johns Hopkins University/Associated Press study referred to Worthing as a "dropout factory" where at least 40% of the entering freshman class does not make it to their senior year.[25]

In 2017, 10% of the students who took Texas state algebra tests performed at standard or above.[26]

Circa 2018 Worthing had multiple indicators of low academic performance. Worthing was the sole Texas high school which did not satisfy any of the Texas Education Agency's academic accountability benchmarks in the period 2014–2018. In 2016 Worthing was the Texas high school with the third lowest the level of academic growth in the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests in mathematics and reading. Around 25% of the Class of 2016 enrolled in a post-secondary tertiary institution. In the 2016–2017 school year, the passing rates for STAAR English I end-of-course examinations and algebra end-of-course examinations were 28% and 34-35%, the second lowest and lowest such rates in Texas.[5]

In 2018 the school administration began to make efforts to improve test scores. Carpenter described the preliminary STAAR reading passing percentage for 2017-2018 as "disappointingly stagnant".[5] In the 2017–2018 school year the preliminary passing rate for the algebra examination was 68%.[5]

By 2019 the school's test scores increased; that time below 40% of the students who took Texas state algebra tests performed at standard or above. According to Jacob Carpenter, this test score matched a typical performance of a Texas high school with a similar socioeconomic makeup.[26]

From 2013 to 2018 the school had 17.2 fights per 100 students, a rate higher than other HISD zoned schools.[5]

In the 1960s the chess team played in the first integrated chess games in the Houston area.[27]

According to HISD's teacher appraisal system the percentage of teachers at the school ranked as "needs improvement" or "ineffective" was 37% for the years 2011–2016, among the highest of any HISD school, while the overall HISD average was 16%.[5]

c. 2019 over 40% of the teachers in each particular school year are not present in the following year.[28]

A mural that was installed in 2016 in the library as part of the schoolwide renovation depicts the history of Sunnyside and Alma Allen and Rodney Ellis, two state-level politicians from Sunnyside; it was made by Class of 1999 alumna Marye Dean, born and raised in Sunnyside and resident in the State of New York as an attorney. Dean considers Allen and Ellis to be her mentors. The mural has the slogan "Each One Teach One".[21]

Worthing High School in the 2022 Martin Luthor King Parade in Houston

Worthing High School serves[29] Sunnyside, Cullen Estates, Brookhaven, a portion of South Acres and Crestmont Park, a portion of South Acres Estates, Cloverland, Regal Oaks , a portion of Minnetex Place, City Park, Almeda, and Skyview Forest . Hence, Worthing's logo is "Sunnyside Pride." Worthing also serves unincorporated portions of Harris County (such as Brunswick , Brunswick Lakes , Brunswick Meadows , and Morningside Place).

Portions of the city of Pearland are in the Worthing attendance zone.[30]

Worthing requires school uniforms. The Texas Education Agency specifies that the parents and/or guardians of students zoned to a school with uniforms may apply for a waiver to opt out of the uniform policy so their children do not have to wear the uniform; parents must specify "bona fide" reasons, such as religious reasons or philosophical objections.[31][32]

• August Alsina - R&B singer from New Orleans[33]
• Rodney Ellis - County Commissioner, Harris County Precinct One; former Texas State Senator [34]
• Milton Carroll - Chairman of CenterPoint Energy since 2002, Chairman of Instrument Products since 1977, Director of Halliburton since 2006, Director of Health Care Service Corporation since 1998, Director of Western Gas Holdings since 2008, Director of LRR Energy, L.P. since 2011.[34]
• Gregory "Cadillac" Anderson - NBA basketball player[34]
• Cliff Branch - NFL football player for Oakland Raiders, 3-time Super Bowl champion[34]
• Terry Ellis - founding member of 90's R&B girl group En Vogue[34]
• Quannel Ralph Evans (Quanell X) - leader of New Black Panther Party in Houston[35]
• Chris Hudson - NFL football player for Atlanta Falcons[34]
• Brian Iwuh - NFL football player
• Dave Lattin - basketball player for 1966 NCAA champion Texas Western, 10th pick of 1967 NBA draft
• Larry Micheaux - basketball player for NBA's Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Kansas City, Milwaukee Bucks, and Kansas City Kings[34]
• Mike Singletary - NFL football player for Chicago Bears, coach, member of Pro Football Hall of Fame[34]
• Lemuel Stinson - NFL football player for Chicago Bears[34]
• Wesley Weston - Houston hip-hop artist better known as Lil' Flip[34]
• Al Dugas - drummer with Michael McDonald[34]
• Otis Taylor - NFL player for Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl IV champion
• Gerald Dockery - Arena Football League and CFL pro football player
• Karl Douglas - former CFL quarterback
• Robert Wilson - NFL player[36]
• Marcus Lakee Edwards - Houston hip-hop artist better known as Lil'Keke
• LeMarcus Newman - Former Professional Football player - philanthropist https://www.blackenterprise.com/leo-lemarcus-newman/

Elementary schools that feed into Worthing[29] include

• Almeda [37]
• Reynolds[38]
• Young (formerly Sunnyside Elementary)[39]

Elementary schools that partially feed into Worthing include:

• Alcott[40]
• Bastian[41]
• Law[42]
• Whidby[43]
• Woodson[44]

Middle schools that feed into Worthing include Attucks,[45] Lawson (formerly Dowling),[46] and Thomas.[47] No middle schools have all of their attendance boundaries zoned to Worthing.

• Official website