Westwood High School (Austin, Texas)

Westwood High School
Address
12400 Mellow Meadow Austin, Texas 78750 United States
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1981
School district	Round Rock Independent School District
Principal	Rebecca Donald
Grades	9 - 12
Enrollment	2,451
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Burnt orange & White
Mascot	Warriors
Website	www.roundrockisd.org/westwood

Westwood High School is a public high school in Anderson Mill, Austin, Texas, United States, and is part of the Round Rock Independent School District. It is located approximately 17 miles (27 km) north of downtown Austin and 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Round Rock, Texas. As of the 2006-07 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,551 students and 155 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 16.5.

Texas Monthly, US News & World Report, and Newsweek in recent years have listed Westwood amongst the top 10 high schools in the state of Texas and amongst the top 100 in the nation. According to The Daily Beast, Westwood is 47th in the nation regarding academics. This is a result of the school’s robust college matriculation rate, as well as honors, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs. Children at Risk ranked Westwood as the number 2 public high school in Austin in 2012. Westwood was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 1994-96 and it is well-renowned for attracting and keeping some of the best teachers in the area. In 2008-09, Westwood was rated Exemplary by the Texas Education Agency.

Academics

In the class of 2009, 53.7% of Westwood seniors took at least one Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) exam, averaging 5.1 exams per test taker, with a participant pass rate of 91.2%. For the class of 2010, the mean composite SAT score was 1801 out of 2400, and the mean ACT score was 26.4 Westwood also produces many National Merit Scholars, as well as numerous winners of major American math and science competitions. In 2010, Westwood had 35 out of 38 the National Merit Scholars in RRISD. Westwood has also produced USAMO qualifiers, and physics olympiad semifinalists.

Block Schedules

Westwood uses a type of academic scheduling in which each student has fewer classes per day for a longer period of time. Each class is called a block. On Orange days students have blocks 1 through 4 and on White days students have blocks 5 through 8. Orange and White days alternate each schoolday. This is also an advantage for students who have off blocks or free periods, as it allows them a longer free period. School hours at Westwood last from 9:05 a.m. to 4:10 p.m.

International Baccalaureate

Westwood also houses an independent, district wide International Baccalaureate academy that operates under a selective admissions system. In recent years, the program has achieved a perfect or near perfect pass rate amongst those sitting for the Diploma examinations, with many scoring in the highest levels of the point schema (including perfect scores). Hence, it has frequently placed amongst the best IB programs in North America by median score (although this rate is bolstered by a majority attrition process over the four years of study). Almost all students who receive the IB Diploma also receive the AP Scholar Award with varying degrees of additional attainment, with the school having several AP National Scholars each year. In general, the graduates from the program each year make up the highest ranked graduates in each class, and go on either to attend state flagship honors programs on merit scholarships (primarily at the University of Texas in Austin), or selective, private colleges (Rice University and Ivy League institutions being the most popular). In the class of 2009, all 60 IB Diploma candidates graduated with an IB Diploma.

However, Westwood's IB academy also has what some consider to be negative effects on the student population. As highly talented and gifted students transfer to Westwood from across the Round Rock Independent School District to join the IB program, a distinct disadvantage drops on to regular students since their class rank is not disaggregated from these magnet enrollees. As a result, the class ranks of many otherwise strong students (often carrying a significant number of honors or AP courses) drop dramatically in relation to where they would place in nearby local schools given their performance. This topic has been highly debated in light of state colleges such as the University of Texas and Texas A&M University rarely accepting students outside of their top quartile of class rank, largely due the legal limits imposed by the Texas State Legislature's mandated Top Ten Percent Rule.

Extracurricular activities

Westwood offers a wide range of clubs.

AFJROTC

Westwood TX-861st AFJROTC cadets have been proven to be of high quality, discipline, and military excellence, as evidenced at their participation and drill meets and leadership schools. Westwood AFJROTC cadets have consistently obtained Distinguished Graduate at leadership schools, graduating at the top ten percent of the school out of 200 select cadets from all over Texas, Oklahoma, and even as far as Kansas. In 2003, 83% of the Westwood cadets at Cadet Command and Staff School achieved Distinguished Graduate. The TX-861st has also been praised for their participation in various community service activities, such as the BP MS 150 bike race, where cadets help out the race in order to raise money for multiple sclerosis. In addition to summer leadership schools, AFJROTC is competitive a variety of extracurricular activities, such as the drill team, color guard, and rocketry team, as well as an intense physical fitness program. The drill team and color guard distinguish themselves from Westwood's more popular drill team and color guard, with more precision and intense drill. For example, the AFJROTC drill team spin 12 pound M1 Garand rifles while the Westwood drill team spin one pound foam rifles. The sabres the AFJROTC drill team uses are sharp, real sabres as compared with the fake sabres of the Westwood drill team. The AFJROTC color guard present the National and State Colors and prestigious events such as basketball games, football games, and even the state female championship televised at the Frank Erwin Center.

Athletics

The athletics department at Westwood has dominated many sports in the past, winning multiple district, bi-district, area and so on championships including one volleyball state championship. The Westwood Warrior football team has won a handful of district championships, most recently when the 2006 Warriors qualified as area finalists after winning the first playoff game in school history. The 2009 Westwood Warrior football team again qualified for playoffs but lost to Cy-Woods. The Warrior basketball team has also had success throughout the years, obtaining a record of above .500 since the team began in 1981. The Warriors baseball team has made the state playoffs almost every year in the team's existence. The Warriors Swimming and Diving Team continues to dominate the district and consistently produce state champions. Between 1999 and 2008 Warriors Swimming and Diving dominated 9 consecutive district meets and had multiple perfect regular season records. The Warrior Athletic site is operated by the football booster club and can be found here.

Band

The Westwood Marching Band advanced to the finals at the Westlake Marching Festival in 2005 winning 4th prize for its show "Rhythms of a New Era." In 2006, the band took 4th place at the Cedar Park Marching Festival with their show "Chain Reaction." Also in 2006 and later in 2010, the Westwood Drumline won 1st place in the CBS 42/Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q Marching Band Challenge -- a competition that featured 15 other high school drumlines throughout the area. The Westwood band also placed 9th at Westlake finals and 10th at Area finals in San Antonio in 2010. In 2011, the Westwood Band unexpectedly placed 22nd out of 27th in Bands of America with their show "Harvest". The Westwood Band consistently places members into the Texas All-State Band. It has performed in conjunction with the Westwood Orchestra, collaboratively winning the 2010 State Honor Orchestra award. The 2012 show is titled "Finding Balance".

Chess Club

Westwood's serious appearance at the competitive chess scene is relatively new, but its chess team instantly leaped to the top. From 2007 to 2009, Westwood has ranked amongst the top three high schools in the state in the annual Texas Scholastic Chess Championships, the largest such tournament in Texas; in 2007 Westwood tied for first. In the 2005 Texas State Grade & Collegiate chess tournament, a Westwood student tied for first in the 12th grade sections, while the 6th and 8th grade sections were both won by students from Canyon Vista Middle School, which feeds into Westwood. Westwood won first place in the 11th grade section of the 2008 Texas State Grade & Collegiate tournament.

In 2009 Westwood traveled to the National Scholastic K-12 Championship, where the 10th grade team won first and the 12th grade team tied for first; the 9th and 11th grade teams placed third and fourth in their sections respectively.

Choir

The Westwood Choral program has long since proved itself to be one of the most outstanding high school choral ensembles in the State of Texas. Currently directed by Dr. David Lee Means r who came on board in 2007 and Linda Hester who came on board in 2008, the choir regularly places students into the highly competitive All-State Choir, and the choir itself has achieved high marks in nearly every state singing and sightreading contest. Westwood choir boys are some of the best choir boys in the state. The choir has been selected to tour nationally to several cities including Boston, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. The entire choral department (some 200 singers) has also been asked to perform at festivals in the United Kingdom (1998) as well as Germany and Austria (2004), and has also performed in New York City as part of the Carnegie Hall National High School Choral Festival (1995). Westwood has often boasted at least one student as one of the top five singers in the state.

Debate

Westwood High School Speech and Debate, started by former TFA President Rosemary Kincaid and under the current leadership of Jeremy Martin, has long been a part of school life and offers events in Lincoln Douglas Debate, Policy Debate, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Original Oratory, as well as other events. Westwood is actively involved in the Texas Forensic Association (TFA), where participants compete against debaters from other schools. Many students have received multiple awards through success at the tournaments, including qualification to attend the most prestigious national tournament, the Tournament of Champions, in 05-06 and 08-09 and 09-10 for CX debate.

The team went through a particularly strong period in the late 1990s through early 2000s when several students dominated the national LD circuit. Three students repeatedly qualified and placed at the Tournament of Champions and took finishing places at significant national tournaments. The Westwood Policy Debate team qualified the maximum of two teams for the 2007 UIL State Tournament. The teams placed 3rd and 1st in the 5A league. In 2008, the Westwood Policy Debate team once again qualified the maximum two teams for the UIL State Tournament. Westwood once again won fifth and first place to complete the back to back championships.

DECA

Westwood's chapter of DECA has grown in recent years to have a membership of over 150 members in 2009-2010 school year. Westwood DECA takes the most competitors from District 5 to district and state competitions. It had the most competitors from Texas qualify for the international DECA competition in the 2008-2009 (36) and 2009-2010 (33) school years. A past international president, past state presidents, and numerous district officers have come from Westwood. The Texas DECA state president for 2009-2010 was a member of Westwood. Westwood DECA excels especially in written events, and has produced multiple preliminary finalists, and usually one finalist team each year at internationals each year for the past several years.

German Club

In the spring of 2008, German students became regional champions at Sprachfest for the 17th year in a row.

Journalism Department

Westwood's journalism department includes newspaper, yearbook, photojournalism, and Journalism 1 class. Judy Gaines serves as adviser to the department. The 2006 yearbook won the top Columbia Scholastic Press Association award, the first time in Westwood history. Also, four journalism students founded Candid Austin Teen Magazine in the summer of 2006.

Orchestra

The Westwood Orchestra has earned several statewide distinctions, the most recent of which has been the title of 2010 State Honor Orchestra award, given to the top Texas high school full orchestra each year by the Texas Music Educators Association. The Westwood High School orchestra consistently ranks among the top student groups in the state; it also held the State Honor Orchestra title in 2000 and 2006. Since Susan Williams took the podium in 2001, it has continuously been a finalist in the State Honor Orchestra contest and received full sweepstakes at UIL.

Also, participating student musicians have earned places in region and state orchestras. Each year, Westwood students number nearly a third of the local all-region orchestra, an ensemble determined by an audition process. In addition to the several students each year who qualify for and perform in the prestigious all-state orchestras, Westwood students have recently held the titles of statewide first-chair viola and violin players. In 2006 a Westwood junior was the first chair violist of the Texas All State Symphony Orchestra, and in 2009 a Westwood junior was the first chair violinist and concertmaster of the Texas All State Symphony Orchestra.

Skills USA

Westwood has 16 students who won at District and State levels in Texas. In the summer of 2010, 16 students proceeded to the National level to compete in their competitions. There were 10 students that metaled, 9 with gold. Westwood Students placed first in competitions such as Robotics, and Opening & Closing Ceremonies (OCC).

UIL Academics

Westwood has a remarkable performance in several academic contests of the University Interscholastic League. The school usually does exceptionally well in Computer Science, taught by Jeff Mickel. In 2006 a Westwood junior won first place in the state, and in 2009 the team ranked third. In 2010 the state meet saw a 9-way tie for first place in computer science: two of the co-champions were Westwood students, and the team again ranked third. Westwood is also able to produce state qualifiers in other subjects, notably in Mathematics and Science.

Feeder Patterns

Two middle schools feed into this school:

• Canyon Vista
• Grisham

Six elementary schools feed into this school:

• Kathy Caraway
• Laurel Mountain
• Spicewood
• Anderson Mill (An IB World School)
• Canyon Creek (A US Exemplary School)
• Purple Sage (A US Recognized School)

It is also possible for students attending other schools in the district to enroll in this high school through the IB Academy or Fine Arts Academy, unless either of the two programs are offered at their home school.

Notable alumni

• Brent Clevlen (born 1983), baseball player
• Kelly Johnson (born 1982), baseball player for the Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB)
• Kandace Krueger (born 1976), Miss USA 2001
• Rick Trevino (born 1971), American country music artist
• Brian Vera (born 1981), American boxer

External links

{{{inline}}}

• Official website
• Westwood High School on the Round Rock ISD website.
• Official Athletics website.