Madison High School (Houston)

Former Madison High School building

James Madison Junior-Senior High School was opened on September 8, 1965. In February 1968, Dick Dowling Junior High School (now Audrey Lawson Middle School) was opened and James Madison became a high school that temporarily taught 9th graders for that first year. By the next year, it was for grades 10 through 12.[4]

In 1974 Carrie Rochon McAfee became the principal of Madison and worked there for 15 years. She was the first woman to become the principal of a traditional public high school in Texas. The Madison community knows her as "Marlin Mama."[5]

In the northern hemisphere fall of 1981, Madison again covered the ninth grade.[6]

In the 1980s the school was called the "James Madison Academy of International Education."[7]

The magnet program opened in 1995 with a partnership with KPRC-TV (Channel 2).[4]

In 2007, a study by the Associated Press and Johns Hopkins University referred to Madison as a "dropout factory" where at least 40% of the entering freshman class does not make it to their senior year.[8]

In the period 2014-2019 Madison had five principals. In early 2019, Carlotta Outley Brown, previously principal of Peck Elementary School, became the principal; this occurred at the mid-point of the second semester of the 2018-2019 school year.[9]

Madison is in Houston's neighborhood "Hiram Clarke" nearby Hiram Clarke Road and West Orem Street, a major thoroughfare.[4]

Houston neighborhoods served by Madison[10] include portions of Almeda, Link Valley and the Hiram Clarke area, including Dumbarton Village, Almeda Plaza, Almeda Manor, Brentwood, Keswick Place, Westbrook, Krogerville, Briarwick, Townwood, Cambridge Village, Corinthian Pointe,[11] Glen Iris (including Angel Lane), Meredith Manor, Pamela Heights, Post Oak Village,[12] Summerlyn , San Pablo , Willow Glen, and Windsor Village. In addition portions of unincorporated Harris County are served by Madison. One Houston Housing Authority public housing complex, Peninsula Park, is zoned to Madison High.[13]

In 1970 Westwood, along with some other White communities, was rezoned from Westbury High School to Madison because of a court ruling. By 1990, Madison was 1% White while Westbury was about 50% Black, 25% White, 15% Hispanic, and 10% Asian. In 1992 an attendance boundary shift occurred but Westwood was still in the Madison zone. The Westwood community advocated for a rezoning to Westbury,[14] and after the community gave a presentation to the HISD board, the board unanimously rezoned the community to Westbury.[15]

As of 2019 the students are required to wear school uniforms. In 2019 principal Outley Brown instituted a dress code for parents visiting the school.[9] The principal instituted this after objecting to the dress of a parent trying to register her child for school.[16] This dress code bars parents from wearing pajamas, hair rollers, satin caps, shower caps, and other casual items.[17]

As of the 2016-2017 school year, 1,661 students attended Madison.[18]

By race/ethnicity:

• 58% were Hispanic
• 40% were African American
• 1% were white
• 1% were Asian-Pacific Islanders
• Less than 1% were Native American
• Less than 1% were of 2 or more races/ethnicities

• Michael Arceneaux - Author of I Can't Date Jesus[19]
• Kirk Baptiste - 1984 Olympics silver medalist.[20]
• Lance Blanks - Former basketball player for the Detroit Pistons. (Did not graduate from Madison)[20]
• Brett Cullen - Actor[20]
• Greg Kite - Former basketball player for the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sacramento Kings, the Orlando Magic, the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers.[20]
• Chuck LaMar First General Manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Baseball Club
• Tommy Mason-Griffin - Professional basketball player.
• Jerel Myers - Former American football player of the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins.
• Moran Norris - Fullback for the Houston Texans.[21]
• Broderick Thomas - Former American football player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Dallas Cowboys[20]
• Vince Young - Former American football player

The following elementary schools feed into Madison High School:[10]

• Fondren [22]
• Grissom [23]
• Hines-Caldwell [24]
• Hobby[25]
• Montgomery[26]
• Petersen[27]
• Windsor Village[28]

(partial)

• Shearn[29]

All elementary and middle school students of Reagan K-8 are zoned to Madison.[30][31] Portions of the Dowling Middle School,[32] Pershing Middle School[33] and Welch Middle School boundaries feed into Madison.[34] Any students zoned to Pershing may apply to Pin Oak Middle School's regular program, so Pin Oak also feeds into Madison.[35]

• McAdams, Donald R. Fighting to Save Our Urban Schools-- and Winning!: Lessons from Houston. Teachers College Press, 2000. ISBN 0807770353, 9780807770351.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Madison High School (Houston).

• Official website