Hightower High School

Hightower opened on August 13, 1998 and was dedicated on October 11 of the same year. The $35 million school campus, when opened, had fewer than 600 students and 50 teachers. The school only served freshmen and sophomore classes during its first year. Hightower was FBISD's seventh comprehensive high school. In the 2005–2006 school year, Paquin gave over 1,800 suspensions. Spivak said "This would appear to indicate the work of a strict disciplinarian. But many teachers and parents say student behavior at Hightower is getting only worse, with fights breaking out on a regular basis." Karnezis was sentenced to a boot camp. Viretta West was principal from 2008 to 2016. Frederick Richardson was an interim principal for the Fall semester of 2016, and Thomas Wallis was the interim principal for the Spring semester of 2017. The current principal is Andre Roberson. By 2006, Hightower had over 2,600 students and 140 teachers. ==Academies==

In 2006, Hightower High School was one of the district's only two high schools with block scheduling. Todd Spivak of the Houston Press said during that year that the school "is considered the most innovative of the district's seven public high schools". Hightower has specialized academies that offer specialized education for gifted and ambitious students. The academy has merged with the Telecommunications Media Academy as the Digital Media Academy. The current coordinator of the Digital Media Academy is Laine Skelton. ==Athletics==

In 2006, Todd Spivak of the Houston Press said that Hightower's athletic facilities were "state-of-the-art" and "rival those of some colleges." Hightower is adjacent to the District owned Hall Stadium and Hopson Field House, resulting in a decrease of transportation for football games. As of February 1, 2016, Hightower is one of the eight 6A schools in the District. In UIL terms, they are in district 6A-20, alongside Austin, Bush, Clements, Dulles, Kempner, Ridge Point, and Travis High Schools, all of which are in Fort Bend ISD. For a brief moment, they had moved down to 5A but have since returned to district 6A-20. File:FBISD Hopson Field House.jpg|Hopson Field House is on campus. File:Hightower High School cheerleaders.jpg|HHS cheerleaders in parade (2012) File:Hightower High School's girls basketball team qualifying for the UIL state tournament; conference 5A.jpg|Hightower girls basketball team qualified for 5A UIL state tournament. ==Student bodies==

In 2016, 72% of the school's student body was African American and Hispanic. ==Associations==

In 2006, Hightower qualified 16 students for the National HOSA competition in Anaheim, of which all 16 placed top 4 or higher in their respective categories. In addition, 2 students qualified for the FBLA national competition in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2007, Hightower High School qualified 31 students for the National HOSA Conference in Orlando, Florida, the most out of any school in the nation. They will compete in mid-June, 2007. In 2008, Hightower High School qualified 38 students for the National HOSA Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas. The team earned one gold, nine silver and eight bronze medals. Team members Jonathan Vo and Matthew Lei were also named to the mastery level of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Current Events Roster based on their placement in the top 10 in the United States. In 2010, Hightower High School qualified 34 students for the National HOSA Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida. The team earned 2 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze medals along with 15 other finalists that placed top 10 or higher. Hightower High School originally had a Robotics team, which has placed in several local and statewide competitions. This program has since ended. On the final week of 2015 (Dec 27-Jan 1), the Hightower High School "Hurricane" Marching Band was invited to perform at the 2015 Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl on New Year's Eve, including a mass band, parade, and other competitions. They returned with (in Category 3) 3rd place Silver for field show, 1st place Gold for marching percussion, Honorable mention for parade, and Best Drum Major award. In 2019, Hightower High School qualified 9 students for the National HOSA Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida. The group consisting of Saeed Ahmed, Gayathry James, Gisela Mathew, Yasamine Shehni, Susan Varghese, and Natasha Verghese earned second place in the Secondary-Division event of Public Health Emergency Preparedness. Contender Isabella Gándara received a 'Highest Overall Score' award in the Secondary-Division of the Health Care Issues Exam. ==Feeder patterns==

The following elementary schools feed into Hightower: • Burton • Goodman • Palmer (partial) • Parks The following middle schools feed into Hightower: • Lake Olympia (partial) ==Notable alumni==

• Matthew Adams – Current NFL football player for the New York Giants. • Bralon Addison • D. J. Augustin – Former point guard for the University of Texas Longhorns and drafted to the Charlotte Bobcats. (Class of 2006) • Caleb Douglas – College football wide receiver for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Class of 2022) • Garlon Green • Alonzo Highsmith Jr. - Area Scout for the Buffalo Bills • Christopher G. Hollins – Harris County clerk, involved in the 2020 U.S. elections • Danuel House Jr. – Professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the NBA (class of 2012) • Sebastien Ibeagha – Current soccer player for FC Dallas of the MLS (Class of 2010) • Eric Moreland • Cory Rodgers – Former football player for the NFL Green Bay Packers, and current player for the CFL BC Lions. (Class of 2002) • Herbert Taylor – Former NFL Football player for the Kansas City Chiefs. (Class of 2002) • Sauce Walka – Houston Rapper ==References==