W. B. Ray High School is a 5A secondary school centrally located in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States, and is part of the Corpus Christi Independent School District. The school is named in honor of CCISD school board president, William Benton Ray. W. B. Ray High School opened in 1950. Ray High School is noted for its Socratic method, a system based on teacher and student interaction that promulgates discussion and inquiry-based learning in the classroom.[citation needed]
W. B. Ray High School one of 46 high schools in Texas designated as a World School by the International Baccalaureate Programme. W. B. Ray High School is the only high school in CCISD which offers the International Baccalaureate Program and is the district's only program for Gifted and Talented students at the high school level, offering higher level academic courses that surpass Honors and AP courses in both rigor and difficulty.
Demographics
With a student enrollment of approximately 2,100 students, Ray High School has an ethnic distribution of 62% Hispanic, 32% White, 5% Black, & 1% other (including Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Asians). The school's boundary area is varied in socioeconomic strata, ranging from extremely affluent multi-million-dollar homes to multi-family complexes.
Ray High School participates in a variety of extracurricular activities. Clubs and organizations are available in academics, service, performing arts, publications, and special interests. Competitive sports for young men and women include basketball, baseball, track, soccer, softball, wrestling, football, cross-country, swimming and diving, golf, volleyball, tennis, and recently water polo. The school's award-winning Academic Decathlon and Mock Trial teams regularly advance to the state level.[citation needed] The Ray Speech and Debate team is a regional powerhouse and a frequent competitor at prominent national contests, such as NIETOC, NSDA, and Tournament of Champions.[citation needed] Additionally, the Speech and Debate team is recognized on the state level by the Texas Forensic Association, and has had a student compete for Team USA in Debate.[2]
School uniform
This school has a simple dress code: any color shirt and pants, but can not be showing (stomach, etc.) anything. Assistant principals and armed police officers guard the main hallways in search of dress code offenders. In 2000, there was a push in the administration (led by Dr. Scott at the time) to ban flip-flops, but student and parent outcry and lack of support from teachers led to this being dropped.
Athletics
1951-52 Set Texas state record in 440 yard relay at 42.64 seconds.[3]
1959-60 Won Texas State Football 4A Championship defeating Katy 20–6.[4]
Notable alumni
David Baxter, class of 1955, World Series of Poker winner
Some areas are within Aransas Pass ISD; its high school is not in Nueces County Driscoll ISD does not operate any high schools La Gloria Independent School District was initially of Nueces County when it was established in 1909, but moved to Jim Wells County with its new name as of 1911.
