Odessa High School

Odessa High School (OHS) is a public high school located in Odessa, Texas, United States. It is one of three high schools in the Ector County Independent School District. The full name of the school is Odessa Senior High School. This name was originally to differentiate it from Odessa Junior High School (now known as David Crockett Middle School). Normally, the school is commonly referred to as Odessa High or just OHS. In 2011, the school was rated "Academically Acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency.[2] On April 17, 2014 Odessa High School was named an AVID National Demonstration School.

This article is about Odessa High School in Odessa, Texas. It is not to be confused with Odessa High School in Odessa, New York or Odessa High School in Odessa, Washington.
Odessa High School
Address
1301 N Dotsy

Odessa
,
TX
79763-3576

United States
Coordinates
Information
TypePublic
Established1909
School districtEctor County Independent School District
PrincipalMauricio Marquez
Staff222.81 (FTE)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment3,807 (2017-18)[1]
Student to teacher ratio17.09[1]
Campus typeAVID Demo. School
Color(s)    Red(Scarlet) and White
Athletics conferenceUIL Class 6A
MascotBroncho
RivalPermian High School
WebsiteOdessa High School

The student body of Odessa High School is composed of freshmen (grade 9) through seniors (grade 12). Freshmen are allowed to compete in varsity athletics with upper grades in all sports. However, this mainly happens in such sports as cross country, swimming, golf, gymnastics, tennis, volleyball, softball and baseball. To date, only one freshmen has competed on the varsity football team.

Athletics

The Odessa Bronchos compete in the following sports:

Cross country, volleyball, football, basketball, powerlifting, swimming, soccer, gymnastics, golf, tennis, track, softball, and baseball.

State Titles
  • Baseball [3]
    • 1950(All)
  • Football [4]
    • 1946(2A)
  • Boys Track [5]
    • 1950(2A), 1951(2A), 1952(2A), 1992(5A)

Odessa Blackshear - State Runners-up: Basketball - 1953(PVIL-3A), 1954(PVIL-3A), 1955(PVIL-3A)

AVID Program

The AVID program at OHS is a college preparation course for students. This program was recognized as a National Demonstration School as of April 17, 2014. The AVID committee decided unanimously on this decision. OHS is now a highly ranked AVID school. AVID has an on campus site team along with the AVID faculty.

  • AVID Coordinator- Rita Woodall
  • AVID Teacher/Asst. Coordinator - Naomi Fuentes
  • AVID Teacher - Tracey Borchardt
  • AVID Teacher - Kerina Joy

Mascot

The mascot for Odessa High School is the Odessa Bronchos, with all female teams referred to as "Lady Bronchos." This unique spelling of "Broncho" has resulted in Odessa High being the only high school in Texas with this particular mascot.[6] The original mascot for the team was the Yellowjackets and the team colors were purple and gold. In 1929, the student body voted 113-0 to change to the "Bronchos". The Bronchos colors were changed to scarlet and white.

Band

The Odessa High School band has the longest consecutive streak of first division rating in marching contests in the State of Texas, going back 81 years.[7] The band has also been invited to various music festival and contests across the nation. In March 2007, the band was invited to play their marching season selections "Letters from the Front" at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. In 2004, The Odessa High School Band combined with the band from Permian High School in Odessa to form one of the largest bands ever to march in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California (over 500 members).

The OHS Band was started in 1932 under the direction of G. Ward Moody. Directors Robert L. Maddox and Bill Dean have been the longest tenured directors of the band with 13 years and 22 years respectively. As of July 2018, John Mayo is the director of the band.[8][9] The Instrumental Music Building at OHS is named in honor of Maddox and the main band hall is named in honor of Dean.

From 1981 through 2006, the band has had at least one member make the Texas All State Band each year. In the 1998-99 school year, eight members were accorded All State honors. Band members also consistently do well at UIL Solo and Ensemble contest.

Culture

Odessa High School students reported ghost sightings and paranormal phenomena at the school for decades, up to 2006, centering around Betty Williams, who was killed during the "Kiss and Kill" homicide in 1961. Mack Herring, her killer, was ruled not guilty by grounds of temporary insanity by a Texas jury as she had asked Herring to kill her. Odessa High's administration applied paint to the school auditorium's windows to counter the ghost story culture.[10] In 2019 CBS 7 Odessa stated "Many believe her ghost still haunts the halls of Odessa High School to this day."[11]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "ODESSA H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  2. "2011 Accountability Rating System". Texas Education Agency. Archived from the original on 2012-06-28.
  3. UIL Baseball Archives Archived 2013-12-10 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Lone Star Football Network
  5. UIL Boys Track Archives Archived 2015-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Mascot School List A-B
  7. . Plainview Daily Herald http://www.myplainview.com/articles/2009/10/18/breaking_news/doc4ada824865bf6440230887.txt. Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. "OHS band director is familiar face". OA Online. AIM Media TX LLC. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  9. "OHS band optimistic about marching season". AIM Media TX LLC. OA Online. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  10. Colloff, Pamela (February 2006). "A Kiss Before Dying". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
  11. "FIRST ON CBS7: "Kiss and Kill" killer has died". CBS 7. 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
  12. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BabbGe20.htm
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2010-06-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Ronnie Goodwin stats
  14. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/ShepDe00.htm
  15. "Representative G.E. Buddy West". Texas House of Representatives. Archived from the original on 2007-06-11. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  16. "In Memoriam". Odessa High School — Class of 1967. Archived from the original on February 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
  17. "Private First Class Alfred M. Wilson, Medal of Honor recipient". Who's who in Marine Corps history. History Division, United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
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