Martin High School (Arlington, Texas)

James Martin High School (Martin) is a secondary school serving grades 9 through 12 in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is part of the Arlington Independent School District. The school's mascot is the Warrior, and its colors are black, red, and silver.

James Martin High School
Address
4501 West Pleasant Ridge Road

Arlington
,
Texas
76016

United States
Coordinates32°41′02″N 97°10′48″W
Information
TypePublic
Established1982
School districtArlington Independent School District
PrincipalMarlene Roddy
Teaching staff203.45 (FTE)[1]
Number of students3,459 (2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio17.00[1]
Color(s)Black, red and silver
   
NicknameWarriors
Websiteaisd.net/schools/seniorhigh/martin/index.html
[2]

History

Martin opened in 1982. As a result, the former James Bowie High School closed in 1983.[3] The relative proximity of Bowie to Sam Houston high school was a factor as was the shifting demographics and resulting graduation class sizes that necessitated the new school and the transition of Bowie to Workman Junior High School. Cathy Brown of The Dallas Morning News said that Sam Houston High School and Lamar High School were "relatively unaffected" by the opening of Martin, located in southwest Arlington.[4] Brown explained that the attendance zone of Arlington High School lost substantial area that included a significant number of new residences in the more affluent Southwest part of the city adjacent to Lake Arlington.

Martin High School is one of only two high schools in the district not named for a historical figure in Texas.[5] The trustees broke with the Arlington tradition of naming high schools in this manner when naming the school in its planning in the earlier 1980s. Only Martin High School and Arlington High School, the town's first high school, are the only exceptions. AISD trustees chose to honor James W. Martin, superintendent of schools from 1955–1976, who oversaw the integration (racial desegregation) of Arlington schools in 1965, which occurred without the violence or hysterics that had occurred frequently nationwide, and notably in nearby Mansfield. This was not shared at the time of the school's opening however.

The school opened with grades 10 through 12, grew to quickly become the city's largest high school within a decade. It was enlarged in the early 2000s to maintain suitable space for the considerable number of students. The school now houses grades 9–12.

In July 2020, Principal Roddy announced the discontinuation of the native American mascot at the school, citing the reasoning was "...to adapt the school to modern standards of cultural sensitivity.",[6] which has been a contentious topic in many communities and in professional sports, notably the NFL's Washington (former) Redskins and the Cleveland Indians major league baseball team. The change was met with opposition, primarily from alumni, but it was implemented. The Warrior would remain in writing but the modern definition of the term is being embraced and will no longer refer to the native American iconography, specifically the headdress and finalized. The school's 'rocking M' would become its primary graphic. The "Native American Tribal Chieftain hat" logo had been in use at the school since its opening in 1982, having been illustrated by one of its students. The headdress was formed by shaping the letters comprising 'Warriors' and the face was in the same manner using the letters MHS, both in red, forming an Indian chief in profile. Similar changes occurred later at nearby South Grand Prairie High School, which coincidentally are known at the Warriors.

Demographics

The demographic breakdown of the 3,298 students enrolled in 2013-14 was:

  • Male - 52.1%
  • Female - 47.9%
  • Native American/Alaskan - 0.5%
  • Asian/Pacific islanders - 6.8%
  • Black - 13.4%
  • Hispanic - 16.8%
  • White - 59.9%
  • Multiracial - 2.6%

24.9% of the students were eligible for free or reduced lunch.[2]

Extracurricular activities

Academic extracurriculars

Martin competes in Academic Decathlon and fills out teams in nearly all of the UIL academic activities.

Fine arts

The Department of Fine Arts at Martin High School includes Band, Choir, Orchestra, Theatre, Speech, and Visual Arts departments.

In 2009, the Martin Fine Arts department was the 1st-place winner in the "Grammy in the Schools" nationwide competition, giving them a $10,000 grant to the Music Department, and naming the Martin High School Fine Arts department the #1 fine arts high school in the contest.[7][8]

Martin’s Chorale choir performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 14, 2006 for the Carnegie Hall National High School Choral Festival.[9][10] The performance included the world premieres of Introit and Epilogue by Mack Wilberg.[11] Martin’s Chorale, Wind Symphony, and Symphony Orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 21, 2016 with Distinguished Concerts International New York.[12][13][14]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "MARTIN H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  2. "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Martin H S". ed.gov. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  3. "About Us". James Bowie High School. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  4. Brown, Cathy (editorial columnist). "No blackboard jungles despite changing demographics." The Dallas Morning News. Wednesday, October 14, 1998. Opinions Arlington 7A. Retrieved on October 25, 2011.
  5. "James W. Martin". Arlington Independent School District.
  6. Hartley, James (July 2, 2020). "Arlington's Martin High wants to remove Native American mascot. Some petition to keep it". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  7. "Grammy in the Schools web site". June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  8. "Grammy in the Schools, 2009 list of schools" (PDF). June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  9. "Performance History Search". www.carnegiehall.org. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  10. Mattison, Ben (2005-09-26). "Carnegie Hall Picks High School Choirs for Festival". Playbill. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  11. Wadley, Carma (2008-04-04). "Music vital in bringing comfort". DeseretNews.com. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  12. "SOUNDS OF A NEW GENERATION". DCINY. 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  13. "Martin High School Symphony Orchestra | New York Concert Review, Inc". Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  14. "Arlington Martin High School Plays Carnegie Hall". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  15. "Matt Blank Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  16. "What Happens When A Rape Is Reported, But No One Is Prosecuted". Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  17. "Arlington Martin alum, fearsome Texas A&M pass-rusher Myles Garrett much more than backfield buster". www.dallasnews.com. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
  18. "Pentatonix's road to musical success didn't follow usual drumbeat". Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  19. "Ben Grieve Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  20. "Nathan Karns Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  21. "Randi Miller named 2008 Women's Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling". themat.com. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  22. "Blake Mycoskie Designs Custom TOMS Shoe for Hockaday Girls - D Magazine Frontburner". D Magazine, April 30, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  23. "Chris Odom". astateredwolves.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. "MARTIN PLAYERS ALUMNI IN THE SPOTLIGHT". Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  25. "Gene Watson Peer Quotes from Tim Rushlow". Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  26. "Boone Stutz NFL Draft Profile - NFLDraftScout.com". cbssports.com. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  27. "Boone Stutz Statistics and History - NFL.com". NFL.com. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  28. "Arlington Martin product Lane Taylor wins Packers left guard job". star-telegram.com/. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  29. "Todd Van Poppel Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  30. "Emily Warfield's Biography from IMDB.com". imdb.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
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