J. W. Nixon High School

J. W. Nixon High School

Forever Green and Gold
Address
2000 Plum Street
Laredo, Texas, 78043
United States
Information
Type Public
Established 1964
Renovated 2015
School district Laredo Independent School District
Superintendent Dr. Marcus Nelson
Principal Dr. Gerardo Cruz
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 2007
Color(s) Green      and Gold     
Mascot Mustang
Newspaper The Pony Express
Website J. W. Nixon High School
Previous J. W. Nixon High School campus design.
Viola M. Moore Band Hall is named after a former J. W. Nixon principal.
The former First Baptist Church building in Laredo, since razed, was acquired in 2004 as part of the J. W. Nixon campus; the site is now the location of the Vidal M. Treviño School of Communications and Fine Arts.

Joseph W. Nixon High School is a public high school located in South Texas. It was built in 1964 as the second high school in Laredo, Texas. The original high school in Laredo is Raymond & Tirza Martin High School, previously known as Laredo High School. Both are part of the Laredo Independent School District (LISD).

Over a period of two years (2014-2015), J. W. Nixon underwent a forty million renovation. Several older campus buildings were demolished to create a reconfigured two-story building centered about a U-shaped courtyard. Funds for the project were mostly derived from a construction bond package approved by voters. As of 2016, J. W. Nixon has a new Tennis Complex and Track & Field Complex, along with new classrooms.[1]

History

J. W. Nixon first opened its doors in September 1964 with W. E. Lockey serving as Nixon's first principal. The first class to graduate was the Class of 1965. Initially, J.W. Nixon served as a junior high/high school with grades seven through twelve. The original school property consisted of 20 acres (81,000 m2) and the cost of construction was $151,047,568. In 2007 J.W. Nixon had a record breaking with more than 400 students graduating.

About 2 a.m. on December 7, 2012, arsonists torched three portable buildings at Nixon High School. Three other classrooms sustained smoke damage. No individuals were physically harmed in the fire.[2]

In 2014, Nixon and Martin fell short on minimum state standards and were placed on the Public Education Grant list. Similarly impacted is (LBJ) Lyndon B. Johnson in the neighboring United Independent School District.[3]

Among the original faculty is Cecilia Cantu. Another member, Laura Garcia Magnon (died 2012). retired after forty-five years of continuous service to J. W. Nixon. The Nixon science building is named in her honor.[4]

Pedro "Pete" Solis of Nixon High School was named "Texas Coach of the Year" for Class 5A in 2015 by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. The Nixon Mustangs finished the season, 20-4 but lost, 86-82, in the regional quarterfinals. The team had some injuries and went through four different point guards during the season.[5]

Extracurricular activities

Clubs

Golden Spurs | An Established Legacy of High Kicks

Laredo's First High Kick Dance Team was established in 1964, the Golden Spurs were the vision of Mrs. Estela Zamora Kramer. With their motto of "An Established Legacy of High Kicks". The Golden Spurs are an Award-Winning dance team from Laredo, Texas. They are Internationally known having performed throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. In 2010, the Golden Spurs won 3 National Titles. They are National winners in High Kick, Pom and Production. The J.W. Nixon Cheerleaders attended NCA Nationals for three years in a row.

Fall Sports

Winter Sports

Spring Sports

Notable alumni

References

  1. "History - Joseph W. Nixon High School". nixonhs.elisd.org. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  2. JJ Velasquez, "Arson ruled, suspects sought: Surveillance footage under investigation", Laredo Morning Times, December 12, 2012, pp. 1, 14A
  3. Judith Rayo, "17 schools fall short", Laredo Morning Times, January 15, 2015, p. 1
  4. Laura Magnon obituary, Laredo Morning Times, November 16, 2012, p. 17A
  5. Jason Mack, "Coach of the Year: Pete Solis earns 5A honor, Laredo Morning Times, April 19, 2015, pp. 1B-2
  6. Valerie Godines Fitzgerald, "Historic Path: Judge Ender retires from post," Laredo Morning Times, December 31, 2012, pp. 1, 14A
  7. "Meet Tano". tanoforcountyjudge.com. Retrieved April 27, 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.