Dulles High School (Sugar Land, Texas)
John Foster Dulles High School is a high school in Sugar Land, Texas. It was the first site purchase and new build, in the 1950s, of the newly formed Fort Bend Independent School District, which held it first graduation in 1960. The first class to graduate from Dulles itself was 1962. The mascot is the Vikings, and its team colors are red, white and blue.
At its highest, the school roll was over 4,000 students, as of the 2006-2007 the roll comprises 2,291. The school serves children from parts of Sugar Land, Missouri City and the city of Meadows Place as well as portions of the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of Stafford, including sections of Fifth Street.
The principal is Mark Foust, who began in the 2007-2008 school year.
Dulles was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 1984-85. [1]
Athletics
Boys
- Baseball (Varsity, JV, Alternate Varsity, Sophomore)
- Basketball (Varsity, JV, Sophomore, Freshman)
- Bowling
- Cross Country
- Football (Varsity, JV, Freshman)
- Golf
- Soccer (Varsity, JV)
- Swimming (Varsity, JV)
- Tennis (Varsity, JV)
- Track
Girls
- Basketball (Varsity, JV)
- Cross Country
- Diving
- Golf
- Soccer (Varsity, JV, Freshman)
- Softball
- Swimming (Varsity, JV)
- Tennis
- Track (Varsity, JV)
- Volleyball (Varsity, JV)
Club Sports
- Cheerleading
- Dance Team (Dulles Dolls)
- Ice Hockey
- Lacrosse
- Table Tennis
- Debate
Football
Before archrival Elkins High School opened in 1992, Dulles was known for its athletic program. It had won numerous UIL boys and girls golf championships in the 1980s, won the UIL Texas 5A Baseball Championship in 1989, and went to the state title game in football in 1991, losing to Killeen High School, whose town was reeling from the infamous Luby's massacre. In 1994, Dulles lost to Ball High School in Galveston in the state quarterfinals during Jim Creech's first year as head coach.
Since Elkins opened, however, victories for Dulles decreased. For instance, it finished 0-10 in 2000 with a squad comprised mostly of sophomore starters and only a handful of seniors, though in 2002, those same sophomores who were now seniors carried Dulles to the playoffs. In 2004, the team finished 1-9, winning only its homecoming game on a last-minute play. In 2006, after a long-running battle to win first place in district against longtime rival Clements High School and newer rivals Marshall High School and Hightower High School, Dulles made another trip to the playoffs, but lost in the first round to Pearland High School. To date, Dulles has not won a playoff game since the 1996 season.
Other sports
The girls' athletics programs have prospered in recent memory. Dulles' girls volleyball and basketball teams have been ranked among the top programs in the state, the latter team of which has also placed as high as second in the nation. The varsity cheerleading squad has also won many awards, including finishing as high as fourth place at Nationals.
Between 2004 and 2006, the girls' varsity volleyball team won the District championship (which in the UIL's case is the regular season champion) and finished as a Regional Finalist in 2004 and 2006. Alice Fortes, the current coach of the women's volleyball team, is a Dulles alum (class of 1985) who was a star on the team in the mid-1980s.
The school's hockey program has also had some success. As its own team, they won the ISHL City Championship in the 1998-1999 season. After forming a consolidated team with Elkins High School and Hightower High School, the school's Adams Prep team would win the ISHL City Championship in the 2004-2005 season as well. The orchestra director, Mr. Isadore, has been the assistant Ice Hockey coach for the past four years.
The baseball, golf, and boys' and girls' soccer programs have also performed marginally in recent years despite showing signs of improvement that mainly resulted from a 2001 redistricting of Fort Bend ISD high schools. The redistricting resulted from the opening of nearby Thurgood Marshall High School in Missouri City, which took in several majority black neighborhoods in Missouri City east of FM 1092. To replace students lost to Thurgood Marshall High School, several majority white and Asian neighborhoods south of Texas Highway 6 in the First Colony development were added.
Fine Arts
Band
The Band program is a large and prominent part of Dulles High School. The number of students in the marching band is quite large, usually around 300 students (band and dance team combined). The band reached its biggest population of students yet in the 2005-2006 school year. The band is currently (2007-2008) directed by Louis Boldrighini, Joe Pruitt, James Drew. Drum Majors are Darrel Materum, Christine Nwabeke, and Kristin Cheng. Recently the band performed at the Galena Park Invitational marching, and placed second out of 30 bands. The band also received straight ones at UIL marching contest.
Orchestra
The JFDHS Orchestra Program is currently run by Michael Alan Isadore. Mr. Isadore came to the Dulles High School Orchestra after receiving Master of Music degrees in clarinet performance and instrumental conducting from the University of Missouri–Kansas City's Conservatory of Music.
The Orchestra program itself consists of four divisions: Concert, Sinfonietta, Philharmonic, and Honors. Each division consists of players with increasing musical talent as they audition their way to the final Honors level. Audition material usually consists of scale work and a small solo piece.
Choir
The highest level of Dulles' choral music program is known as the Varsity Singers.
Drill Team
Dulles' competitive drill team is known as the Dulles Dolls. The team takes part in its own competitions in addition to halftime appearances during varsity football games.
Other notable clubs
Academics
UIL Championship Titles
2006- Science Team 2nd place
2005- Mathematics Team 1st place
2005- Mathematics Individuals - Feng Li 1st place; Jacob Huang 3rd place
2004- Accounting Team 2nd place
The Vike Squad
In the 2005-2006 school year, Dulles High School was the first of its kind to create an organization solely dedicated to protecting its students from the harmful substances that are highly prevalent on other Fort Bend ISD campuses. This new group, named The Vike Squad, hosts multiple events throughout the year to offer fun and safe activities for students to participate in.
The group's second annual Dodgeball Tournament, held in September of 2006, was an outstanding success that drew hundreds of observers and participants. The final group, consisting of six students, was declared the winner after facing a difficult match against the school's current principal, Lance Hindt, and his team of fellow administrators.
The Vike Squad has multiple events planned for the rest of the year, including a night of salsa and tango lessons for students and a movie night to be held in the school's main courtyard. Most events are free, with the funds of those that are not going directly to college scholarships and school-improvement projects.
AFJROTC
The JROTC unit at Dulles is an Air Force JROTC program. It's designation is TX-862, signifying that it was the second Air Force JROTC program created in Texas in 1986.[2]
It won its last major award in 2006. Its color guard has won 1st at its last 3 region-wide competitions. Its drill team has won at its last 2 region-wide competitions.
As a unit, TX-862 achieved its first Meritorious Unit award in 1988, and continued to earn this distinction from 1988 - 1992. In 1993, it achieved its first Honor Unit award, and earned this distinction through at least 1997.[3]
Other info
Notable alumni
- Paul Begala (Class of 1979), Democratic political consultant for Bill Clinton's successful 1992 United States presidential campaign and a current political pundit for CNN
- Roger Clemens (Class of 1979), New York Yankees pitcher and winner of seven Cy Young Awards (attended during sophomore year before transferring to Spring Woods High)
- Billy Stritch (Class of 1979), Grammy winning singer and pianist[4]
- Kevin Eschenfelder (Class of 1983), sportscaster and studio host, FSN Southwest
- Sean Patrick Flanery (Class of 1984), American film actor
- Eric Thode (Class of 1983), former chair of the Fort Bend County Republican Party
- Billy Ray Brown (Class of 1982), former professional golfer on the PGA tour.
Feeder Patterns
The following elementary schools feed into Dulles H.S.: [5][6]
- Dulles
- Highlands
- Lexington Creek
- Meadows
- Quail Valley (partial)
The following middle schools feed into Dulles H.S.: [7]
- Dulles M. S.
Student safety survey
In Spring 2007, FBISD released the results of a survey by students.[8] At Dulles High School, according to the survey, 7.3% of students felt unsafe in classrooms, 14.4% felt unsafe in the hallways, 14.4% felt unsafe in the restrooms, 17.8% felt unsafe on school buses, and 21.2% felt unsafe in parking lots.
References
- ^ http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf
- ^ DullesROTC.com - Timeline of TX 862
- ^ DullesROTC.com - TX-862 Awards
- ^ Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- ^ http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/cmf/var/tidbits/Tidbits_parentlinks_20070810_1513.pdf
- ^ http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/cmf/var/tidbits/Tidbits_parentlinks_20070810_1517.pdf
- ^ Final Map layout 07-08:Final Map layout 06-07 #2
- ^ Survey: Students At Fort Bend ISD East-side Schools Live With Fear On Campus - FortBendNow