George Washington Carver High School for Applied Technology, Engineering and the Arts is a public secondary school in Houston, Texas, United States. The school is located in the historically African American community of Acres Homes and serves grades 9 through 12. It is named for African-American scientist and educator George Washington Carver. Carver is a magnet school and is a part of the Aldine Independent School District.
Video Carver High School (Houston)
History
In 1915, Harris County Common School District #26 established White Oak (colored) school to serve the Acres Homes Community. The Wright Land Company, which developed this historically African-American community earlier in the decade, deeded land at West Montgomery and Willow Street for a new one-room school. By the 1930s, as attendance grew, the school taught seven grades, with grades one through three meeting for a time at Greater Zion Baptist Church. In 1937, the school became part of the Aldine School District and housed seven teachers and more than 300 pupils. The school moved to Wheatley Road in 1941 and continued to grow under Archie Baldwin Anderson, who served as principal from 1941 to 1957. Under his direction, the school changed its name to George Washington Carver School, received accreditation, and separated into an elementary and high school. In the 1950s, a large number of African Americans migrated into Acres Homes, leading to construction of a new high school building at this location in 1954. The former campus was renamed Carver Elementary and later dedicated as A.B. Anderson Elementary.
In 1977 the Federal Government of the United States placed on Aldine ISD, asking it to desegregate several majority Black schools. Enacted in 1978, the plan required Aldine ISD to redraw the attendance boundaries of its schools so that no more than 30% of the students of each school were African-American. As a result, three schools in Acres Homes became 5-6 grade schools. Carver High School was no longer a zoned school and in 1978, Carver H.S. became Aldine Contemporary Education Center, implementing an innovative program to attract students who were not African American to the campus. The curriculum consisted of flexible hours and voluntary enrollment for the students who worked or had special interests. In 1994, the school changed names again before becoming a Magnet School. Many graduates had achieved personal and professional success, and today, George Washington Carver High School for Applied Technology, Engineering and the Arts continues to be a notable institution of learning in the community.
Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Loretta Devine is an alumna.
Maps Carver High School (Houston)
Programs offered
Carver Magnet High School provides students with core subject classes and specialized areas of interest in performing arts, engineering, and the arts. Carver doesn't offer extracurricular sports, so students are bused to their home high schools to play on athletic teams.
Magnet School of Engineering
- Architectural Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Manufacturing Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
Magnet School of Performing & Visual Arts
- Visual Arts
- Vocal Music
- Dance
- Instrumental Music
- Theater
Theatre
Over the past few years, Carver's Theatre Department has grown substantially. Known as the "Panther Players", they have become a prominent minority school among the Greater Houston Community. They frequently perform within their community for churches, conventions, malls and festivals. Roshunda Jones, a Wharton, Texas native, became the Theatre Department chair in 2005 after graduating from Prairie View A&M University with a BA in Theatre and a Masters in Education. Under her tutelage, along with technical director Jabari Collins, The Panther Players have gained major success.
Within the world of Musical Theatre, The Panther Players have undoubtedly shined by gaining Tommy Tune Award nominations or wins. Circa 2007, Roshunda Jones enlisted into the Tommy Tune Awards program, which highlights the best and brightest of high school musical theatre showmanship. In 2008, their performance of Dreamgirls, under the Musical Direction of Daryle Freeman and Choreography by Bryant Bowie, it is reported that an extra week of performances were added to meet the audience's high demand. The show garnered 2 Tommy Tune nominations. For the year of 2010, Carver hit it big with their production of The Wiz, starring freshman Amber Nicole as Dorothy, and sophomore Alric Davis as Tin Man. The Wiz earned 10 Tommy Tune nominations, including Best Leading Actor for Donte Wright, Best Choreography for Bryant Bowie and Sarita Salinas, and Best Supporting Actor for Alric Davis. It won its first that year for Best Costumes. But it was in 2013 when The Panther Players broke records with their amateur production of The Color Purple. It is reported that it was the first amateur production in the state of Texas. With 12 Tommy Tune Nominations for their musical The Color Purple, including Best Leading Actress for Amber Nicole (Celie), Best Leading Actor for Trey Morgan Lewis (Mister), Best Supporting Actor for Alric Davis (Harpo) and Best Direction and Best Musical. It got to perform a fan-favorite from the show "Push Da Button" which featured Delaney Williams as Shug Avery. It was this musical that got The Panther Players featured heavily in the press. For example, Newsfix, Yourhoustonnews.com and the hit radio station "95.7".
For the past two years, Carver has made it all the way to Area in the UIL competition season, including making it to Regionals in the 2012 year for a performance of The Darker Face of the Earth, starring Yesha Benjamin as Scylla, Precious Rayfield as Phebe and Nyles Washington as Augustus. Yesha Benjamin garnered the Best Actress award on every level to Regionals. August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom with Yesha Benjamin starring as Ma Rainey, Isaiah Rusk as Levee, Trey Morgan Lewis as Cutler and Alric Davis as Slow Drag. The show advanced to the Area level, with Rusk receiving Best Actor for the Zone and District levels consecutively. Ruined, Dark of the Moon, Shadow Box, Before It Hits Home and Lesson Before Dying are also past UIL productions.
Senior Choir and Theatre student Amber Nicole has recently been chosen by Christina Aguilera to compete against her fellow celebrities on NBC's hit reality competition program "The Voice".
Emmy-award-winning actress Loretta Devine is an alumnus of Carver High School.
Feeder pattern
Carver has no actual feeder patterns, since it is a magnet school. Eighth grade students from middle schools from all over the Aldine school district apply for admissions into Carver the Spring semester prior to their freshmen year and attend Carver upon acceptance for high school.
Students in the 8th grade who are presently enrolled at both Drew and Grantham Academy are automatically accepted into Carver unless they choose to leave the Aldine Magnet Program and attend their home high school.
Texas Historical Site
On Saturday, May 24, the Texas Historical Commission dedicated a historical marker at Carver High School.
References
- https://web.archive.org/web/20141119071230/http://www.aldine.k12.tx.us/cms/rise/main.cfm?siteID=146&PageID=1935
- https://web.archive.org/web/20141119071300/http://www.aldine.k12.tx.us/cms/rise/main.cfm?siteID=146&PageID=3223
External links
- Carver High School
- Carver High School at schooldigger
- Carver High School at greatschools
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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