Bowie High School (Arlington, Texas)

James Bowie High School
Cross the Line
Location
Arlington, Texas, Tarrant County, 76018 United States
Coordinates	32.662126°N 97.073092°W / 32.662126; -97.073092
Information
Type	public high school
Established	1973, 1991
Principal	Michelle Wilmoth
Grades	9-12
Number of students	3100+ (2010-2011 academic year)
Color(s)	Royal Blue      White      and Orange
School Color(s)	Blue, Orange, White
Athletics	UIL Class 5A
Mascot	Volunteers
Rival	Martin High School
Website	James Bowie High School

James Bowie High School (popularly known as Arlington Bowie) is a secondary school in Arlington, Texas. The school is a part of Arlington Independent School District and serves students in grades 9 through 12 in southeast Arlington and southwest Grand Prairie. Bowie High competes in Class 5A within the University Interscholastic League that governs interschool athletic, artistic, and academic competition in Texas.

Sign

The Volunteers hand sign is made with the right hand. The ring finger and thumb are touched together; the middle and index fingers make a "V", the ring finger and thumb make an "o", and the pinky finger represents an "l", thus V-o-l, short for Volunteers. This hand sign is usually raised high to show Volunteer pride during the playing of the Alma Mater.

History

The Original Bowie High

Original James Bowie High School campus

The original Bowie High School opened in 1973, relieving Sam Houston High School. The original Bowie, AISD's fourth high school, was located three blocks west and two blocks south of Sam Houston. Cathy Brown of The Dallas Morning News wrote "Bowie, in its first incarnation.bargain.n, are [sic] too close together to effectively serve the city's population. So community, be warned." Many students in the Houston zone wanted to transfer to Bowie because it was newer, and the transfer process made it easy for them to do so.

Martin High School opened in 1982, and the growth patterns in southern Arlington changed, so the district chose to close the original Bowie. The original building is now Workman Junior High School.

The New Bowie High

In 1991, construction concluded on the new Bowie High School at 2101 Highbank Drive in Southeast Arlington, just south of I-20 and west of State Highway 360.^{[citation needed]} The new Bowie opened in 1991. Bowie now draws attendance from southeast Arlington and parts of southwest Grand Prairie. New academic wings, a new gym and expanded cafeteria all helped with the fast growth in this area. The school's population was at its largest in 2002 with an enrollment of approximately 3100 students. The enrollment today is projected at around 3200 students, making it one of the largest high schools in the area & second largest in Arlington behind Martin's 3300 average student enrollment. The first principal of James Bowie High School was Jean Richerson until her retirement. Following her was Cheryl Rose, Davey Jones, and Darrell Sneed, who has been Bowie's principal since 2001. He later left Bowie after the 2007-2008 school year ended and became the Associate Superintendent of Secondary Education of Mansfield ISD. The current principal was later announced to be Michelle Wilmoth-Senato at a reception. Bowie was rated a TEA Recognized High School in 2010. (Arlington James Bowie and Arlington James Martin are the only two high schools in the Arlington district to receive this recognition. According to www.greatschools.org, Bowie is also the most diverse High School in Arlington. The demographics are: African American: 40%, Hispanic: 27%, White: 19%, Asian/Pacific Islander: 14%. The student subgroups are: Economically Disadvantaged: 42%, Special Education: 11%, Gifted and Talented Students (Academically Advanced): 35%, Limited English Proficient: 5%. Though the almost half of Bowie students are economically disadvantaged, 35% are gifted and talented and compete very well in Academics and UIL competitions.

In 1998 Brown said that "Bowie has not experienced the fear of changing demographics. But whenever the time comes, that school will be the best equipped to handle it. Why? Because Bowie started its second life with a diverse enrollment, and its leaders have made "multicultural" a descriptive badge of honor to be worn with pride."

The Bowie Belles

Awards:

• Small Team Production - National Grand Champion
• Small Military - National Grand Champion
• Small Team Pom - National Grand Champion
• Small Team Hip Hop - 2nd Place
• Small Team Lyrical - 3rd Place
• Small Team Pom - 5th Place
• Small Team Jazz - 5th Place

City Rivalry

• The Battle of South Arlington/The Cross-town Rivalry

  • Arlington James Martin High (of Southwest Arlington) and Arlington James Bowie High (of Southeast Arlington)

What used to be:

• The Battle of Maverick Stadium (This was the home stadium for both high schools through the 2010-2011 school year)

  • Arlington High and Arlington James Bowie High

(Due to budget cuts in 2011, Bowie and Arlington will no longer use Maverick Stadium as a home field.)

Athletics

Prior to the 2006 season, Bowie struggled to win in football. The Volunteers had only one winning season in its history (ironically coming in 1982, the year the original Bowie High closed) and no playoff appearances. The school hired its third coach since re-opening in 1991 and fourth in its history, bringing in Kenny Perry as head football coach, leading to the breakthrough season Bowie enjoyed in 2006.

Bowie completed its 2006 varsity football regular season schedule at 7-3 overall and 5-2 in district play, finishing tie for second place behind eventual state 5A-Division II winner Cedar Hill. The Volunteers groundbreaking season lead to a first ever berth in the playoffs. They faced the South Grand Prairie Warriors in the opening round of the Class 5A-Division I tournament on Friday, November 17 and were defeated on a last minute interception in an exciting game that ended 24-21. The 2006 football squad became the first Bowie team to win the mythical Arlington city championship by beating Arlington, Lamar, Sam Houston and Martin (Bowie did not play Seguin, an Arlington ISD school in Class 4A).

In 2007 Bowie defeated Hurst L.D. Bell, Flower Mound Marcus, and Lubbock Coronado before being eliminated from the playoffs by the Trojans of Trinity High School.

In 2008, Bowie defeated North Richland Hills Richland and Midland before being eliminated from the playoffs by Wylie High School.

In 2009, Bowie defeated North Richland Richland and El Paso Montwood in the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. Bowie has long awaited to verse the mighty Dragons of Southlake Carroll and finally had the chance. No. 22 Bowie defeated No. 6 Carroll Senior High 45-21. This is Southlake Carroll's worst scoreboard deficit since they entered the 5A bracket. Bowie made too many mistakes leading to a defeat against Abilene 35-7.

In 2010, cross-town rival Arlington Martin ended Arlington Bowie's winning streak in the South-Arlington Showdown as Martin finally defeats Bowie 38-14. In the last district game, Arlington and Arlington Bowie battled it out for second (both were 5-1)in the Battle of Maverick Stadium which was considered to be the most dramatic and thrilling game since Bowie reopened. The score was 42-28 by the end of the third quarter but the Vols never stopped fighting. They eventually scored two more times, but cut short due to a failed 2 point conversion giving the score 41-42 Arlington. However, Bowie came up with an onside kick, retained possession of the ball and scored in the last running 5 seconds of the game winning the game and 2nd Place in District with a score of 44-42. In a thrilling game, Arlington Bowie fell short to underdog Midland High from Midland, TX, in the first round of playoffs.

City Titles:

• 2006: Arlington Mythical City Championship
• 2007: Arlington Mythical City Championship
• 2008: Arlington Mythical City Championship

District Titles:

• 2006: 2nd Place
• 2007: District Co-Champions (With DeSoto)
• 2008: District Champions
• 2009: District Co-Champions (with Arlington)
• 2010: 2nd Place

Also, Bowie basketball, wrestling, track, baseball, and tennis have all enjoyed successful seasons.

Texas Class 5A state championships include:

• 2002-2003 Boys Team Track Title
• 2004-2005 Girls State Basketball Title
• 2003-2004, 2004-2005 Girl's Doubles Tennis Titles
• 2005-2006 Mixed Doubles Tennis Title
• 2005-2006 Wrestler Title

The Spirit of the Volunteers Bowie Band

The Bowie band has exceeded many levels of fine arts.

• Bowie received the Covenant Sweepstakes Trophy for 2008-2009 school year
• Grand Champions at the Music Fesivals Competition in Washington DC
• Grand Champions at the Southeast Festival in Courpus Christi
• Grand Champions at the New Orleans River Festival
• Grand Champions at the Chicago Performing Arts Festival

Academics

In May 2006, Bowie High School joined the International Baccalaureate program. The Class of 2008 was the first class offered the opportunity to earn the IB Diploma.

The school participates in the Advanced Placement Program, offering the following Advanced Placement (AP) classes: AP Biology, AP Calculus AB/BC, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, AP English, AP European History, AP Geography, AP Government, AP Latin, AP Macroeconomics, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Psychology, AP Spanish, AP Statistics, AP US History and AP World History.

Dual credit courses, taken at Tarrant County College (SE Campus) and/or UT Arlington, are offered in Algebra II, Art IV, English IV, Geology, Government/Economics, Music History, Psychology and Sociology

Student Clubs and Organizations

• Academic Quiz League
• Academic Decathlon
• Anime Club
• Art Club
• Ballet Folklorico
• Bible Study
• Band
• Bowie Belles Drill Team
• Business Professionals of America
• Cheerleading, Freshmen
• Cheerleading, Junior Varsity
• Bowie Varsity Cheerleaders

• Chess Club
• Choir
• Creative Writing
• Crimestoppers
• DECA
• Drama
• FBLA
• French Club
• Gamer's Club
• Golf
• Gospel choir

• HOSA
• International Club
• Journalism
• Junior Class
• Key Club
• Latin Club
• LULAC
• Math Team
• Muslim Student Association(MSA)
• National Honor Society
• Orchestra

• The Real Volunteers
• Science Club
• Senior Class
• Step Team
• Special Olympics
• Speech and Debate
• Student Council
• Swim team
• Photography/Video
• Technology Student Association
• Winston Science Team

Notable alumni

• Darrell 'Dimebag' Abbot (class of 1984) — guitarist for the heavy metal band Pantera and other bands
• Vincent Abbot (class of 1982) — drummer for Pantera and other bands
• Katie Featherston (class of 2001)^{[citation needed]} — American actress who played in the low-budget horror film Paranormal Activity
• Brandon Foster — National Football League cornerback
• Terry Glaze (class of 1982) — lead singer for Pantera and other bands
• Vernon Wells — major league baseball outfielder

External links

• James Bowie High School Official Web Site
• Bowie Belles Drill Team Site
• Arlington Independent School District Website