Top Houston Schools

Two Houston schools crack top 100 in list of America's Best (Public) High Schools

When it comes to helping shape your child's future, selecting a high school is tantamount only to choosing a reproductive mate, but don't let the pressure get to you.

Newsweek and The Daily Beast have done the hard work for parents across the nation, looking at public school graduation and college acceptance rates, plus participation in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs, to determine America's Best High Schools.

Carnegie Vanguard High School in Houston was counted among those that best prepare students for college, ranking near the top for the third consecutive year. The school took No. 28 in this year's rankings, compared to No. 13 in 2012 and No. 11 in 2011.

A selective magnet school that draws gifted and talented students from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds from across the Houston Independent School District, Carnegie Vanguard boasts a 100 percent graduation rate (with 93 percent of those students college-bound) and an average SAT score of 1883.

Houston's Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, the first of its kind in the nation, took No. 85 on the list, also citing a 100 percent rate of graduation and a 93 percent rate of college attendance, with an average SAT score of 1844.

Other Houston schools ranking among the top 1,000 included

Clear Horizons Early College High School at No. 201
Memorial High School, No. 254
YES Prep Public Schools — North Central, No. 370
Clear Lake High School, No. 392
Harmony Science Academy, No. 414
Energized for STEM Academy, No. 434
the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, No. 597
KIPP Houston High School, No. 601
Stratford High School, No. 774
YES Prep — Southeast, No. 849
Westchester Academy for International Studies, No. 924.

Dallas had two schools in the Top 10: The School of Science Engineering (No. 4) and The School for the Talented and Gifted (No 5.)

In Austin, the highest ranked public school is the Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School, which came in at No. 33.

DeBakey High School

Photo by WhisperToMe Wikipedia

DeBakey High School

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Historic Houston air terminal museum closes due to budget shortfall

Photo courtesy of 1940 Air Terminal Museum

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A beloved Houston museum has closed its doors — at least for now. The 1940 Air Terminal Museum announced this morning (Monday, March 2) that it has ceased operations.

Located next to Hobby Airport, the 1940 Air Terminal Museum showcases Houston’s aviation history. Designed by local architect Joseph Finger, the museum’s Art Deco building is a protected landmark that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Museum president and director Karen Nicolaou tells CultureMap that the problem is simple. The museum’s revenues don’t match its expenses. Previously, the museum raised $100,000 or more per year from raffles on Facebook, but that stream dried up.

It generates some money from admissions and more from hosting private events, but it hasn’t been enough. Being far away from the Museum District means it doesn’t get the cross traffic that its more centrally-located peer institutions do.

Still, the museum occupies a unique space in Houston. “It’s one of the coolest places for kids to see airplanes,” Nicolaou says. “There’s no other place where someone can walk onto the ramp and take a picture of plane taking off with nothing in the way.”

While the museum is closed for now, Nicolaou says its board has been in contact with the Texas Historical Commission about taking over operations. One issue is that the commission would want to take ownership of the building from Houston Airports, according to Nicolaou.

“That’s going to take coordination between the city, the airport system, and the Texas State Senate. There’s a lot of politics involved,” Nicolaou says.

Of course, she has a simple proposal for Houston Mayor John Whitmire that would move the process along.

“Mr. Mayor, sell the historical commission the building for a dollar and be done with it,” she says with a laugh.

Whether it’s operated by the City of Houston, the Texas Historical Commission, a university, or some other entity, Nicolaou hopes the public will be able to visit the museum again soon and for many years to come.

“We want a permanent solution. We’ve tried for one for years,” she says. “It belongs to the city. It belongs to the residents of the city of Houston. They should have it to go to for years.”

CultureMap has contacted Mayor Whitmire’s office for comment about the museum’s future and will update this article when we receive a reply.

museums transportation 1940 air terminal museum