Tom C. Clark High School

Tom C. Clark High School is a public high school, in the Northside Independent School District, in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Built in 1978 with five main buildings surrounding a courtyard, this school has over 120 classrooms and is one of the largest schools in NISD. As with all Northside ISD schools, Clark is named for a former or current United States Supreme Court Justice, in this case Tom C. Clark.

Clark serves the NISD portion of Scenic Oaks.^[2]

In 2017, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency, with a 5-Star Distinction for Academic Achievements in Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Top 25 Percent Student Progress and Top 25 Percent Closing Performance Gaps.^[3] Also in 2017, Clark was ranked 7th out of 75 Greater San Antonio high schools in Children at Risk's School Rankings.^[4]

Programs

Clark is home to an award-winning fine arts department, which offers programs in Concert and Marching Band, Colorguard and Winterguard, Orchestra, Choir, Theatre, and Art.

Clark also offers athletic programs sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League. These include Football, Boys and Girls Basketball, Boys and Girls Soccer, Baseball, Volleyball, Track and Field, Swimming and Diving, Softball, Tennis, Golf, and Cross Country. Waterpolo was discontinued in 2012.

Clark also offers most, if not all, of the Academic UIL events, including Academic Decathlon, Social Studies, Science, Current Issues, One Act Play, Computer Science, Computer Applications, Calculator Applications, Literary Criticism, CX Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debates, various speaking competitive events, various journalistic competitive events, and Air Force Junior ROTC. Advanced Placement Courses: English Literature, World History, U.S. History, European History, Environmental Science, U.S. Government, Microeconomics, Psychology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics 1 & 2, Physics C, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Statistics, Computer Science, Art History, Studio Art, Spanish, French, German, Latin.

Academic Awards

• In 2013, Newsweek Magazine named Tom C. Clark High School one of their top 2,000 schools in the country; schools that have proven to be the most effective in turning out college-ready grads.^[5]

• The Junior Class won Best Journalism Team at UIL Regionals in 2008 and placed twice at State.

• Yearbook (The Witness) was named Honorable Mention by Taylor Publishing.

• Newspaper (The Chronicle) was awarded the Silver Crown from the Columbian Scholastic Press Association (Columbia University, New York City) for 2007–2008.

• The Mighty Cougar Marching Band of 2012–2013 was the first at Clark to make finals in UIL Area G Marching competition. The 2014–2015 marching band returned to finals in the UIL Area G Marching competition, and advanced to the 6A UIL State Marching Competition for the first time.

• Clark Art Students have been honored with Congressional District Awards, and were State Finalists at VASE.

• Clark Debate Students were invited to attend the National Tournament of Champions.

• Clark Latin Students were State Champions 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 and National Champions 2005–2006.

• Clark Forensics Students qualified to State.

• Academic Decathlon received 5th place at regionals.

• Economics classes placed 1st in Section 1 of the Fall 2006 Stock Market Game.

• Model UN received Best School, Honorable Mention, Best Delegation Awards, GCIMUN-2011 and 2013.

• Students have placed nationally at Science Fair, National Spanish Exam, National French Exam, National Science Exam, and National Latin Exam.

• In 2011 the school was awarded top honors for work by a student group collaborative to develop a software navigation system to help improve spacecraft travel through the solar system.

Athletics

The Clark Cougars compete in these sports:^[6]

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross Country
• Football
• Golf
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming and Diving
• Tennis
• Track and Field
• Volleyball
• Water Polo
• Marching Band

Notable alumni

• Matt Beech (Class of 1990) — Former MLB baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies^[7]
• Jessica Collins (Class of 2001) — Actress^[8]
• Pilar Lastra (Class of 1999) — Model and Actress; Playboy's August 2004 Playmate of The Month^[9][10]
• Wane McGarity (Class of 1995) — Former professional football player for the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints in the NFL, and the Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2005) of the CFL.^[11]
• Trent Plaisted (Class of 2005) — Professional basketball player, drafted 46th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft.^[12]
• Jason Brickman (Class of 2010) — Professional basketball player. NCAA fourth all-time in assists.^[13]

References

External links

• Clark High School
• Clark High School band: "The Mighty Cougar Band"
• Clark Theatre website
• School sports website