Memorial serves students in portions of the Memorial and Spring Branch regions of Houston and several enclaves within the portions. Memorial is part of the Spring Branch Independent School District (SBISD) and serves grades 9 through 12. As of 2005, the district was granted a $500 million education grant, $150 million of which belongs to Memorial High School.
Memorial Senior High School opened in 1962 to relieve overcrowding at Spring Branch High School.[3] Memorial was the second high school to open in SBISD. At the time, students living north of Old Katy Road attended Spring Branch and students living south of Old Katy Road attended Memorial. This arrangement lasted until Spring Woods High School opened in 1964.
The design of the school was classic early 1960s in the South, with a large, open campus. Each classroom building opened into an outside breezeway, to maximize air flow as the school did not have air conditioning.
When Memorial first opened, the area surrounding the school was largely forest and rice fields, but it rapidly grew as new subdivisions were built, and by the mid-1960s, Memorial's enrollment exceeded 3,000 students, a number much larger than the school was meant to hold.[citation needed] This problem was resolved with the opening of Westchester Senior High School in 1967,[4] and later Stratford Senior High School in 1974.[citation needed]
At the time, Memorial's main rivals were the Spring Branch Bears and Westchester Wildcats. However, by the mid-1980s, the enrollment of nearly every school across the district had dropped precariously, and it was decided that Westchester and Spring Branch High Schools would be closed. Memorial remained open, and took in students from both Westchester and Spring Branch High Schools.[citation needed]
Today, Memorial is the oldest high school still operating in Spring Branch ISD. The school has received extensive renovations, which began during the 1996–1997 school year. Every building in the school was gutted and refurbished, outdated facilities were replaced and the campus was made more secure.
In 2011, Memorial High School was named the #10 most posh public school in the country, as it pulls from a very wealthy area of Houston.[5]
In January 2017 a vandal sprayed graffiti of a racist character on the school property.[6]
Memorial also has a formerly successful football team, which went to the state semifinals in December 2010 in the Division II bracket. The 1979 Mustangs went all the way to the state finals, a school record as of yet unbeaten.[citation needed]
As of 2012, the Memorial tennis team had a district record of 73-0 and has finished in the state finals for 2010, 2011, and 2012.[citation needed] As of 2019 for Memorial has participated in 11 back to back trips to the UIL Team Tennis State Tournament.[18][19] Of these tennis tournaments Memorial has won the state championship twice.[20]
However, in 2024, the Memorial tennis team was beaten in the regional finals by Seven Lakes High School, thus ending their 15 year streak of competing in the state championship.
Memorial has a men's basketball team that has had some success historically although it has not seen success in recent years.[21] Under the school's original basketball coach, Don Coleman, they were able to win a state title in 1966.[3] Memorial also has a girls' basketball team.[22][23]
Memorial has both a boys' and girls' soccer team.[17] The girls' team has had much success, most recently winning a state championship title in 2018.[24][25]
Memorial also has track & field,[26][27] cross country, swimming/diving, golf,[28] baseball,[29] softball, and volleyball teams.[30] The school also has a club field hockey team for girls, and club lacrosse and rugby for both boys and girls.
The school was ranked 258th,[33] 133rd,[34] 103rd,[35] 126th,[36] 225th,[37] 307th,[38] and 254th[39] in Newsweek's 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2013 lists, respectively, of top high schools in the United States since the list's inception in 2003.[note 1] It was also ranked 239th[40] and 233rd[41] in U.S. News' 2012 and 2013 lists, respectively, of top high schools in the United States.
Memorial was given the College Readiness Award by the Texas ACT Council in 2008 and 2010. The school was awarded the Just 4 The Kids (NCEA) High Performing School award in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, it was named an Honor Roll School by the Texas Business & Education Coalition.[42] Memorial was named one of the Top 10 Best High Schools in the Area by Children at Risk in 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012. It was also given the TAKS Gold Performance Award in 2012.[43]
The school achieved "recognized" status in the accountability ratings system by the Texas Education Agency in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.[44][45][note 2]
It was awarded five stars and ranked in the top ten high schools in Texas by Texas Monthly magazine in 2002.[46]
Feeder patterns
Feeding from public schools
Elementary schools that feed into Memorial High School include:[47]
Bunker Hill
Frostwood
Hunters Creek
Memorial Drive
Valley Oaks
Housman (partial)
Rummel Creek (partial)
Wilchester (partial)
Middle schools that feed into Memorial High School include:[47]
H. M. Landrum (partial)
Memorial Middle School (partial)
Spring Branch Middle School (partial)
Feeding from private schools
Some private schools, such as First Baptist Academy,[48] Grace School,[49] Presbyterian School,[50] River Oaks Baptist School,[51] St. Francis Episcopal Day School,[52] and The Regis School of the Sacred Heart,[53] have students that matriculate into Memorial.[54][55][56][57][58][59]
Koby Clemens — former Catcher, First Baseman, and Third Baseman, and son of Roger Clemens[79][80]
Controversies
2017 Graffiti
Memorial was shocked in January 2017 when vandals broke into the school over winter break and vandalized the campus with racist graffiti.[6][81][82] The vandalism included a crudely drawn swastika, multiple uses of the n-word, pentagrams, the phrase "white power," sexually explicit phrases and offensive symbols.[83] The Anti-Defamation League would take notice of this event and comment on it, bringing notoriety to the event.[84]
Thug Day
Memorial would face controversy in May 2019 over a spirit week tradition of "Thug Day' which was tweeted out by an upset student and went viral.[85][86][87] Critics would claim that the event was racially insensitive to African-Americans and was an example of cultural appropriation due to the utilization of basketball jerseys, cornrows, do-rags, gang signs, and fake tattoos.[85][88] Critics would range from media organizations and alumni to the local chapter of the NAACP.[88] Memorial High would go on to cancel the 'spirit week' over the racist undertones of 'thug day' which the school claimed was an unofficial extension of the spirit week's 'jersey day.'[89][90] Students went on to claim that campus tension increased as a result of the fallout, alongside mixed reception from alumni.[88][91]
Sexual misconduct
In December 2023, a teacher at Memorial High School was placed on administrative leave after being accused of having inappropriate sexual misconduct with a former student.[92] The teacher is facing felony charges for their relationship with a former student.[93]
Notes
^Note that Newsweek did not compile a list in 2004.
^Note that no state accountability ratings were assigned in 2003 and 2012.
References
^ abc"MEMORIAL H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
^"Home". Memorial High School. Retrieved 2022-01-24. 935 Echo Lane Houston, TX 77024 Compare address to the map: "City of Hedwig Village Zoning Districts"(PDF). City of Hedwig Village. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
This list is incomplete. This list only includes schools in the Houston city limits. Multiple schools with "Houston, Texas" addresses are not in the city limits.
