Stratford High School (Houston)
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| Principal Administrator | Ann Kucera |
| School type | Public school (U.S.) |
| Religious affiliation | None |
| Location | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Enrollment | 2,100 students |
| Campus surroundings | Suburban |
| Mascot | Spartans |
| School colors | Green, White |
Stratford High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas.
The school is a part of the Spring Branch Independent School District and serves grades 9-12. It is located in the western portion of Houston, in the region known as the "Memorial area." Stratford High School serves several neighborhoods, including Westchester, Sherwood Oaks, Nottingham Forest VIII, Nottingham West, Wilchester, Gaywood, Wilchester West, Rustling Pines, Memorial Plaza, the SBISD portion of Thornwood, and the SBISD part of Ashford Forest. Stratford is recognized as one of the top high schools in the Houston metropolitan area. In 2005, Newsweek named Stratford one of the best high schools in the nation. In 2006, the school was ranked as 187th in the U.S. [1].
Stratford provides courses in the traditional academic subjects, as well as several foreign languages, technology, vocational education, athletics, and fine arts. Several different Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered at Stratford, and consistently over 95% of seniors attend college after graduating.
Stratford High School has been named a National Exemplary School, as well as a Texas Exemplary School by the Texas Education Association. In 1978, Stratford's football team won the state championship, and the team returned to the state championship game in 1987. In the 2006 season the football team won its first District Championship since 1988 with a undefeated season, also winning them the first Playoff berth for the Spartans since 1993. The women's volleyball team advanced to the state championship game in 2001 and 2002. In the 2006 season the Lady Spartans swept the district and advanced to the playoffs. The Stratford Orchestra has been named the Texas State Honor Orchestra for multiple years. The Stratford Playhouse puts on award-winning theater productions that attract patrons from throughout the Houston area.
In the 2006 Football season the Spartans clinched the District Champion spot and won its rivalry game against Memorial High School 17-0, defeating the mustangs and heading to the Texas 5A Division 2 Playoffs.
In 2004, it was found that the Stratford High School building had structural problems, so the Stratford campus was closed and the students were moved to the Westchester Academy for International Studies while repairs went on at the Stratford campus.
In keeping with the theme of its mascot, Stratford's student newspaper is The Oracle while its yearbook is Mnemosyne.
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[edit] Feeder patterns
Elementary schools that feed into Stratford include Meadow Wood, Nottingham, Rummel Creek, Sherwood, Thornwood, and Wilchester.
Middle schools that feed into Stratford include Memorial and Spring Forest.
[edit] History
Stratford was opened with its first graduating class in 1975 to relieve the overflow of students at the nearby Westchester High School. The overflow was caused because of the rapid development of subdivisions like Yorkshire, Wilchester, and Nottingham. The school district quickly decided to open a new school when the student population at Westchester nearly tripled to 4000. The opening of Stratford was not completed on schedule due to construction delays, causing students to continue to languish in cramped quarters.
In the 80's, the population of Spring Branch Independent School District fell drastically, attributed to jobs lost to the oil bust that affected the Houston area. Many Houston residents left, causing an underutilization of campus space. Spring Branch faced a tough decision. The district was forced to close four schools: Westchester High, Spring Branch High, Northbrook Jr High, and Westchester Jr High. In recent history, Stratford has maintained its enrollment at around 2000 students. Stratford also has improved its athletics programs recently, including a number of teams that are ranked at the state level and regularly advance to playoff rounds. In the 2006-2007 Football season, the Spartans won the district title. (For the first time in 18 years)
[edit] Notable alumni
- Bill Hicks, comedian, satirist, and social critic
- Clint Black, country singer
- Kelly Emberg, former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model
- Craig James, former college and NFL standout running back and current ESPN/ABC sports commentator
- Mark Morton, world-class double bass musician
- Marc Ostrofsky, CyberSquatter, sold the domain name "Business.com" for a record 7.5 Million Dollars.
