McAllen High School

McAllen High School (McHi) is one of three high schools serving the McAllen, Texas area as a part of the McAllen Independent School District. It houses over 2,200 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 District 30-6A.

History

McAllen High School began with a class of only fourteen students in 1909, its first graduating class, consisting of only four students, received their diplomas in 1913. 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.

Built to accommodate 2,000 students in grades 9 through 12, 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.

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.

Sports

The McHi Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs compete in the following sports:

Notable alumni

• 1941: George Strohmeyer, football All-American at Notre Dame
• 1951: Johnny Economedes, firefighter and rescue worker; Edinburg's Johnny G. Economedes High School is named for him
• 1956: Col. James Nicholas "Nikki" Rowe, Vietnam POW; James "Nikki" Rowe High School is named for him
• 1957: Ted Uhlaender, Major League Baseball player and coach
• 1960: Charles P. Nemfakos, Deputy Under Secretary of the U.S. Navy
• 1963: Susan Elizabeth Norris (Moon), best-selling science fiction writer
• 1965: Pete Benavides, United States federal judge
• 1972: Robert Roy Pool, Hollywood screenwriter
• 1973: Catherine Hardwicke, movie director and production designer ( The Nativity Story, Thirteen, and Twilight)
• 1976: Michael E. Fossum, NASA Space Shuttle astronaut; Fossum Middle School is named for him
• 1999: Rolando Cantu, NFL football player, Arizona Cardinals

McHi Band

In the 1960s, under the direction of L.M. Snavely, 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 with Gary Zook^[1] as head band director. McAllen High School split into two high schools in 1980 with Darrell Anderson becoming the head band director in 1981. Sweepstakes Awards continued starting in 1982 until a third high school opened in 1992 at which McHi band performed opening day at the World’s Fair in New Orleans in 1983, Texas State UIL Marching Contest, Area Marching Contest, Florida’s Disney World five times and won the New Orleans Ovation Band Festival in 2001.

The McHi Band is currently under the direction of Jason Dunn who has taught within the McAllen Independent School District since 2015^[2]

Feeder patterns

McAllen High's feeder schools include:^[3]

• 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.^[4]
• Fossum (partial),^[5] Morris^[6] and Travis middle schools^[7]

References

External links

• McAllen HS Reunion Site with interesting facts
• McAllen HS Official Band Site