Kempner High School
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| Principal | James May |
| School type | Public |
| School district | Fort Bend Independent School District |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Location | Sugar Land, Texas |
| Mascot | Cougar |
| School colors | Maroon and Silver |
| Logo |
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I. H. Kempner High School is a secondary school in Sugar Land, Texas and a part of the Fort Bend Independent School District. It was named after Isaac Herbert Kempner, the founder of Imperial Sugar, through which the city of Sugar Land received its name.
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[edit] History
In 1984, Fort Bend ISD authorized a bond issue. This allowed the construction of the fourth high school in Fort Bend ISD.
The school board chose Wayne Emerson to be the first Kempner principal. Kempner opened its doors to the first Open House on August 30, 1988. The $15,522,300 school contained 55.88 acres of pecan trees, a 750 seat auditorium, and 100 faculty and staff members.
In 1990, Kempner's first senior class graduated.
In 1992, the school made national headlines when four students committed suicide in a short period of time. All four were considered to be good friends and rumors quickly spread of a "suicide pact". Three other students also committed suicide later in the same year. The 1991-1992 yearbook pays respect to those students.
When Kempner first opened, the area surrounding it was isolated. Highway 6 was only two-laned. Since then, the school has witnessed immense growth. Now, with houses across the street, Kempner is a neighborhood school.
[edit] Student body
At one point (1995) Kempner had 3,000 students.
In the 2005-2006 school year, Kempner had a population of 2616 students. This was compromised of 723 freshmen, 683 sophomores, 597 juniors, and 613 seniors.
As compared with other schools in the district, Kempner's student body features a diverse group of ethnicities, where not just one race predominates. According to the 2004-2005 Texas Education Agency, the students are classified as 37% non-Hispanic White, 30% Asian/Pacific Islander, 19% Hispanic, 13% African American, and <1% American Indian/Alaskan Native.
In terms of student subgroups, the students are categorized as follows: 19% Economically disadvantaged, 10% Special education, 13% Gifted and talented, and 6% Limited English proficient (2004-2005).
[edit] Boundaries and feeder patterns
Kempner, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Fort Bend Independent School District. Kempner serves portions of Sugar Land and a very small section of Houston. Highlands Elementary, Barrington Place, Drabek, Lakeview, Meadows, Sugar Mill, Townewest, and Walker Station Elementary Schools feed into Kempner.
Garcia and Sugar Land Middle Schools feed into Kempner. Some students of First Colony Middle School also feed into Kempner.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Winslow Oliver, Class of 1991, Played in NFL from 1996-2000 for the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons.
- Carl Grady "Tre" Thomas III, Class of 1993, played for the N.Y. Giants in 1999.
- William Dominic "Billy" Austin, Class of 1993, Played for the Indianapolis Colts 1998-2000.
- James Fortune, Class of 1996, Gospel Singer
- Shannon Hobbs, Class of 1996, Perfect 10 model
- Asa George, Class of 1997, TV Reporter for Fox45/ABC22 in Dayton, OH
- Steven Lopez, Class of 1997, two-time Taekwondo Olympic Gold medalist.
- Ethan Kelley, Class of 1998, Drafted by the New England Patriots in 2003, and currently (2006) plays for the Cleveland Browns.
- Akarika Dawn, Class of 2002, plays for the Tennessee Valley Vipers of the Arena Football League
- Cody Lubojasky, Class of 2004, starting linebacker for the Houston Cougars
[edit] External links
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| High schools | Austin | Bush | Clements | Dulles | Elkins | Hightower | Kempner | Marshall | Travis | Willowridge |
