McAllen High School

McAllen High School
Address
2021 La Vista Avenue McAllen , Texas United States
Coordinates	26.2265°N 98.2384°W / 26.2265; -98.2384
Information
Type	Public high school
Motto	"In Unity our Spirit Grows"
Established	1909
School district	McAllen Independent School District
Principal	Albert Canales
Faculty	176.46 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	2,185 (2020–21)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	12.38[1]
Campus	Urban
Color(s)	Purple and Gold
Nickname	Bulldogs
Newspaper	The Wheel
Yearbook	El Espejo
Website	http://mchi.mcallenisd.org

McAllen High School is one of four high schools serving the McAllen, Texas area as a part of the McAllen Independent School District. It houses approximately 2200 students from grades 9–12. The school originally opened in 1909 and moved to its current location at 2021 La Vista Avenue in 1963. The school colors are purple and gold and the mascot is a bulldog. All athletic teams compete in the UIL Class 5A Division I^[2][3][4]

History

McAllen High School began with a class of only fourteen students in 1909, its first graduating class, consisting of only four students,^[5] received their diplomas in 1913.^[5] With the expansion of the City of McAllen, and the growth of student population, it became necessary to construct a new campus. As a result, McAllen High School was relocated to its present location in 1963.^[5]

Built to accommodate 2,000 students in grades 9 through 12,^[5] the new high school was occupied by 2,400 students in the fall of 1963. The new property was purchased with the vision for expansion on a 40-acre (16 ha) tract. Thus, McAllen High School evolved from an old air style, over-crowded school building to a modern air conditioned building supported by its own natural gas turbine generators.^[6]

Initially, although obsolete, the old campus was maintained for instructing "migrant students". By 1973, however, the "migrant student" population had grown to more than 1,000 and school board officials decided to mainstream migrant students. Accordingly, the old property was sold to the McAllen State Bank and in 1976, the original campus was torn down. Today, the grounds of the old high school and stadium feature a banking and office center.^{[citation needed]}

Sports

The McHi Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs compete in the following sports:^[7]

• Football
• Volleyball
• Cross-Country
• Basketball
• Wrestling
• Soccer
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Softball
• Golf
• Track & Field
• Baseball
• Marching Band

Notable alumni

• 1951: Johnny Economedes, firefighter and rescue worker; Edinburg's Johnny G. Economedes High School is named for him^[8]
• 1956: Col. James Nicholas "Nikki" Rowe, Vietnam POW; James "Nikki" Rowe High School is named after him^[9][10]
• 1957: Ted Uhlaender, Major League Baseball player and coach^[11]
• 1960: Charles P. Nemfakos, Deputy Under Secretary of the U.S. Navy^[12][13]
• 1963: Susan Elizabeth Norris (Moon), best-selling science fiction writer^[14][15]
• 1965: Pete Benavides, United States federal judge, appointed by Bill Clinton^[16]
• 1972: Robert Roy Pool, Hollywood screenwriter^[17]
• 1973: Catherine Hardwicke, movie director and production designer (The Nativity Story, Thirteen, and Twilight)^[18]
• 1976: Michael E. Fossum, NASA Space Shuttle astronaut; Fossum Middle School is named for him^[19]
• 1999: Rolando Cantu, NFL football player, Arizona Cardinals^[20]
• 2018: Shaine Casas, competitive swimmer, U.S. national team member, U.S. national champion^[21][22]

McHi Band

In the 1960s the McHi band was selected as the Texas TMEA 4-A Honor Band.

During the 1970s, the McHi band continued a string of Sweepstakes Awards.^[23]

Feeder patterns

McAllen High's feeder schools include:^[24]

• Crockett, Fields, Milam (partial), Navarro, Perez (partial, formerly North East), Rayburn, Sanchez (partial, formerly North West), Thigpen-Zavala (partial), and Wilson elementary schools – the portion coinciding with Sam Houston Elementary consists of McAllen-Miller International Airport and empty land.^[25]
• Fossum (partial),^[26] Morris,^[27] Lamar (former), Lincoln (former), and Travis middle schools^[28]

References

1. "MCALLEN H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
2. "McAllen High High School Sports | RGV Sports". rgvsports.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
3. "McAllen High theatre group makes history, wins state title". Texas Border Business. May 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
4. "UIL revises reclassification numbers; McAllen high schools now 5A". KVEO-TV. December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
5. "The History of McAllen ISD" 2014 | McAllen ISD, retrieved December 12, 2021
6. "McAllen High School – McAllen". a-better-place.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
7. "McAllen Independent School District". www.mcallenisd.org. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
8. "Johnny Economedes High School". economedes.ecisd.us. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
9. "COL James Nicholas Rowe". militaryhallofhonor.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
10. "Col Nick Rowe". www.psywarrior.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
11. admin. "Ted Uhlaender – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved December 12, 2021.
12. Incorporated, Prime. "National Academy of Public Administration". National Academy of Public Administration. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
13. Rostker, Bernard D.; Nemfakos, Charles; Leonard, Henry A.; Axelband, Elliot; Doll, Abby; Hale, Kimberly N.; McInnis, Brian; Mesic, Richard; Tremblay, Daniel; Yardley, Roland J.; Young, Stephanie (July 28, 2014). "Building Toward an Unmanned Aircraft System Training Strategy". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
14. "SFE: Moon, Elizabeth". sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
15. "Elizabeth Moon". www.fantasticfiction.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
16. "Fortunato Benavides". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
17. "Robert Roy Pool". IMDb. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
18. "Catherine Hardwicke". IMDb. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
19. Mars, Kelli (March 21, 2016). "Michael E. Fossum (Colonel, U.S. Air Force, Ret.) NASA Astronaut". NASA. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
20. "The inside story of Mexican Rolando Cantu's one-game NFL career". ESPN.com. November 19, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
21. "Shaine Casas – McAllen, Texas – Bio". USA Swimming. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
22. "RGV native Shaine Casas finishes third at U.S. Olympic swimming time trials finals". KVEO-TV. June 15, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
23. 1 "Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
24. "High School Zones > McAllen High School." McAllen Independent School District. Retrieved on March 11, 2017.
25. "McISDMap_ES.pdf." McAllen Independent School District. Retrieved on March 11, 2017.
26. "Middle School Zones > Fossum Middle School." McAllen Independent School District. Retrieved on March 11, 2017.
27. "Middle School Zones > Morris Middle School." McAllen Independent School District. Retrieved on March 11, 2017.
28. "MISD_MS_Map.pdf." McAllen Independent School District. Retrieved on March 11, 2017.

External links

• Official Website
• McAllen HS Official Band Site