Recall the year 2000 when Westside High School opened its doors for the first time. Westside High School is located at 14201 Briar Forest in Houston. It stands in the 77077 zip code. This suburban public secondary school serves grades 9 through 12.
Westside High School became a part of the Houston Independent School District. The school was built at a cost of $50 million. Westside High School was created to relieve overcrowding at Lee High School. Lee High School is now Margaret Long Wisdom High School. Westside took about 1000 students from Lee that year.
Westside High School wanted to compete with Bellaire and Lamar high schools. These schools are also in Houston ISD. Westside aimed for premier status. The school gained a reputation for attracting private school students to public education.
Scott Van Beck was the first principal of Westside. In 2005, he became the West District head. Paul Castro then became the principal. He was only 29.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina displaced many people. About 300 students from New Orleans enrolled at Westside. This caused overcrowding. The student population grew to over 3000.
Westside High School is HISD’s Magnet School for Integrated Technology. This program lets students explore technology. They can focus on Fine Arts, Business, Media Relations, Applied Science/Health Science, or Computing Sciences. All magnet students take a technology survey course in their first year. In the second year, they choose a specific strand.
Westside athletics compete as the Westside Wolves. Wesley the Wolf is the school’s mascot. The school’s newspaper is “The Howler”. The Westside High School yearbook is called “Canidae”.
Westside High School has a campus that spans 50 acres. It is located near Texas State Highway 6. Several gated communities are close to the school.
The campus includes many facilities. There is one auditorium and two theaters. Westside High School provides four athletic fields. It also has 11 music practice rooms. You can find an orchestra hall and a band hall at Westside. The school also provides a broadcast studio and a ceramics studio. Computer labs are available too. Melissa Hung of the Houston Press noted its unique eating area. She wrote that it resembles a college food court. It does not resemble a typical high school cafeteria.
Westside High School offers many sports. These include American football and baseball. Students can participate in basketball for both boys and girls. Cheerleading and cross-country are also options. Golf, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, softball, swimming, and diving are offered too. You can play tennis, track and field, volleyball, and water polo. Wrestling is also available for boys and girls at Westside High School.
Westside boasts about 50 clubs and organizations. These complement the athletic programs. The school provides many special interest clubs. Students can join the Asian Cultural Society or the Bike Club. The Black Student Union and Chinese Club are available. Other clubs include the Drone Club and Ecology Club.
Westside has a three-year entrepreneurship program. The National Restaurant Education Foundation designed the program. It teaches students how businesses operate. Outback Steakhouse sponsors the program. They helped build a full-scale commercial kitchen and dining hall in the school. The school uses the restaurant for an entrepreneurship course. It is titled “Entrepreneur 101: Realizing the American Dream.”
Westside High School continues to educate and inspire students. It provides many opportunities for academic and personal growth.