Thomas Jefferson High School (San Antonio)

High school in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, United States

Thomas Jefferson High School

Address

723 Donaldson Avenue

San Antonio

Bexar County

Texas

78201

United States

Coordinates| 29°27′55″N 98°32′17″W﻿ / ﻿29.46528°N 98.53806°W﻿ / 29.46528; -98.53806
Information
School type| Public, High School
Motto| "In Omni Uno!"
Founded| 1932
Locale| City: Large[1]
School district| San Antonio ISD
NCES School ID| 483873004368[1]
Principal| Gregory Rivers
Faculty| 117.12 (on an FTE basis)ref name="NCES"/>
Grades| 9–12
Enrollment| 1,686[1] (2022–2023)
Student to teacher ratio| 14.40[1]
Color(s)| Red, White and Blue

Nickname| Mustangs
Newspaper| The Declaration
Feeder schools| Whittier, LongFellow, Fenwick, Woodlawn
Website| www.saisd.net/schools/jefferson007/
[2]

Thomas Jefferson High School

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark

Location in Texas

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Thomas Jefferson High School (San Antonio) (the United States)

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Built| 1932
Architectural style| Mission/Spanish Revival
NRHP reference No.| 83003093
RTHL No.| 5470
Significant dates
Added to NRHP| September 22, 1983[3]
Designated | June 29, 1983
Designated RTHL| 1983

Thomas Jefferson High School is a public high school in San Antonio, Texas and is one of ten high schools in the San Antonio Independent School District. Completed in 1932 at a cost of $1,250,000, it was the third high school built in the city.[4] During 2022–2023, Jefferson High School had an enrollment of 1,686 students and a student to teacher ratio of 14.40.[1] The school received an overall rating of "B" from the Texas Education Agency for the 2021–2022 school year.[5]

## History

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This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2016)

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The SAISD school board paid $94,588.75 to buy "Spanish Acres," a 32-acre (13 ha) property, to develop the third high school in San Antonio. Construction began in the fall of 1930 and ended in January 1932.[6] It was built for over $1.25 million.[7]

In 1983 it became a part of the National Register of Historic Places. It was also designated a Texas historic landmark.[7]

## Campus and architecture

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The school was designed by the company Adams and Adams. The entrance has two towers of different heights and is designed in the Baroque style.[8] The towers are topped with silver. The school uses wrought-iron balconies and Spanish-tiled roofing. The school has two courtyards,[7] both landscaped, bordered by portales.[9] One courtyard has a hexagonal pond with decorative tiling.[7] Hannibal and Eugene Pianta, an Italian immigrant and his son,[6] decorated the main entrance columns and balconies with cast-stone ornamentation.[7] Jay C. Henry, the author of Architecture in Texas: 1895-1945, stated that the architecture is similar to that of Lubbock High School.[9]

In 1938 the school had an armory, a cafeteria, a drill ground, two gymnasiums, and a theater.[10]

A music facility and the East Wing, a three-story addition, were built at a later time.[7]

Its Moorish/Spanish architecture make it a visually distinct element in what was the old Woodlawn district.[11]

## Recognition

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In 1983 Jefferson was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[12] In 1995, it was included in the Local Historic District by the City of San Antonio.[13] In 2010, Jefferson was selected as Grammy Signature Award Winner.[14]

## Demographics

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The demographic breakdown of the 1,829 students enrolled in 2012-2013 was:

* Male - 52.7%
* Female - 47.3%
* Native American/Alaskan - 0.1%
* Asian/Pacific islanders - 0.2%
* Black - 2.1%
* Hispanic - 95.4%
* White - 2.1%
* Multiracial - 0.1%

86.6% of the students were eligible for free or reduced lunch.[2]

In 1938 the school had 2,394 students. At the time over 60% of the students were scheduled to matriculate to universities and colleges.[10] In addition there were 89 teachers, including 56 female teachers. The student-teacher ratio at the time was 25 to 1.[15]

## Student life

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In 1938 the school had an ROTC unit, multiple school-recognized clubs including the girls' pep squad "Lassos", and fraternities and sororities unrecognized by the school.[10] As of 1938 the "Lassos" were made up of 150 female students.[16]

In 1938 the ROTC had 33 student officers, all male; each were allowed to choose a female student to accompany him.[17]

The 1940 Twentieth Century Fox film High School used exteriors and back-projection footage shot at TJHS.[18]

## Athletics

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The Jefferson Mustangs compete in the following sports:[19]

* Baseball
* Basketball
* Cross Country
* Football
* Golf
* Soccer
* Softball
* Swimming and Diving
* Tennis
* Track and Field
* Volleyball

## Notable alumni

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This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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### Athletics

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* Rick Bullock, All-American basketball player, Texas Tech University
* Ruth Lessing, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
* Corky Nelson, football coach, University of North Texas
* Tommy Nobis, All American football player, University of Texas; 5-time Pro Bowl selection for Atlanta Falcons
* Gabriel Rivera, All American football player, Texas Tech University
* Kyle Rote, All American football player, Southern Methodist University; 4-time Pro Bowl selection for New York Giants

### Arts and entertainment

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* Ben Dorcy (1925–2017), first roadie to be inducted into the Roadies Hall of Fame in 2009[20]
* Holly Dunn, country music artist
* Philip Krumm, composer and pioneer of modal, repetitive pattern music
* Chris Pérez, Grammy Award-winning artist
* "Blue" Gene Tyranny, avant-garde composer and pianist

### Communications

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* Jim Lehrer, television journalist, MacNeil/Lehrer Report, PBS
* Allen Ludden, television personality

### Education

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* John Silber, President, Boston University

### Government

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* John H. Wood, Jr. (deceased), Federal Judge
* Ed Garza, former mayor of the City of San Antonio
* Julian Castro, United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, former mayor of the City of San Antonio
* Joaquin Castro, United States House of Representatives and represented Texas's 20th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2013 and currently sits on the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
* Henry B. Gonzalez (deceased) Class of 1935, former United States congressman. The San Antonio Convention Center is named after him.
* John W. Goode (deceased) (Class of 1939), lawyer and Republican political figure of the 1950s and 1960s
* Leticia Van de Putte, former Texas state senator
* George C. Windrow, member of the Wisconsin Assembly

### Military

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* Lt. Col. Robert G. Cole (deceased), a Commander in the Invasion of Normandy, World War II, Medal of Honor recipient; Cole High School is named for him
* Major Gen. Alfred Valenzuela, commanded the U.S. Army South (USARSO) at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico.

### Philanthropy

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* Edith McAllister, San Antonio civic leader and philanthropist

### Physical science

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* Aaron Cohen, former NASA Deputy Director
* Robert Floyd Curl, Jr., Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996
* William E. Moerner, Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014[21][22]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e "Search for Public Schools - Jefferson High School (483873004368)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
2. ^ a b "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Jefferson H S". ed.gov. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
4. ^ "History of Thomas Jefferson High School". Thomas Jefferson High School Historical Preservation Society.
5. ^ "TEA". Texas Education Agency. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
6. ^ a b "School History Archived 2016-09-09 at the Wayback Machine." Thomas Jefferson High School. Retrieved on September 13, 2016.
7. ^ a b c d e f Guzman, René A. (June 23, 2012). "Cityscape: Thomas Jefferson High School". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
8. ^ Henry, p. 178.
9. ^ a b Henry, p. 177.
10. ^ a b c "One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." Life. Time, Inc., March 7, 1938. Vol. 4, No. 10. ISSN 0024-3019. Start: p. 22. CITED: p. 22.
11. ^ "TJHS HPS: Thomas Jefferson High School Historical Preservation Society - History of TJHS". tjhshps.org. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
12. ^ "National Register of Historic Places - State Listing". National Park Service.
13. ^ "List of Local Landmarks" (PDF). City of San Antonio.
14. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.grammy.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2022.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
15. ^ "One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." Life. Time, Inc., March 7, 1938. Vol. 4, No. 10. ISSN 0024-3019. Start: p. 22. CITED: p. 26.
16. ^ "One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." Life. Time, Inc., March 7, 1938. Vol. 4, No. 10. ISSN 0024-3019. Start: p. 22. CITED: p. 25.
17. ^ "One American High School: The Thomas Jefferson of San Antonio." Life. Time, Inc., March 7, 1938. Vol. 4, No. 10. ISSN 0024-3019. Start: p. 22. CITED: p. 23.
18. ^ "School Film Planned." The Longview (TX) Daily News, 13 March 1938.
19. ^ The Athletics Department
20. ^ "Ben Dorcy Day". Willie Nelson and Family. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017.
21. ^ "TJHS HPS: Thomas Jefferson High School Historical Preservation Society - Home". tjhshps.org. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
22. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014 - Press Release". nobelprize.org. Retrieved September 2, 2015.

General references

* Henry, Jay C. Architecture in Texas: 1895-1945. University of Texas Press, 1993. ISBN 0292730721, 9780292730724.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Jefferson High School (San Antonio).

* Official School Website
* Jefferson Architecture
* "Historic Marker Application: Thomas Jefferson High School" - at the University of North Texas
* Thomas Jefferson High School Historical Preservation Society

* v
* t
* e

San Antonio Independent School District

Bexar County, Texas

High schools|

* G.W. Brackenridge High School
* Luther Burbank High School
* Center for Applied Science & Technology High School
* Thomas Edison High School
* Fox Technical High School
* Highlands High School
* Sam Houston High School
* Thomas Jefferson High School
* Sidney Lanier High School
* Phoenix Middle College
* St. Philip's Early College High School
* Travis Early College High School

Authority control databases: Geographic |

* NCES

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