A. Maceo Smith High School
Encyclopedia
A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School is a four-year public high school serving grades 9-12 in the Oak Cliff
area of Dallas
, Texas
(USA). It is part of the Dallas Independent School District
, where it was founded in 1978. As of 2011 it is now a technology magnet school.
The school is named for Antonio Maceo Smith (1903–1977), a pioneer civil rights leader in Dallas.
shifted, with students zoned to Stone Middle School and Zumwalt Middle School, except for students also zoned to Bushman Elementary, moving from SOC to Smith, and students zoned to Storey Middle School, except for those who began their educations at Marshall and Oliver elementaries, would be zoned to SOC.
After the closing of the Wilmer-Hutchins Independent School District
, Smith took in students from the former school district boundary and continued to serve former WHISD areas until its repurposing.
For several years, while it served as a zoned school, A. Maceo Smith was a Texas Education Agency
"unacceptable" ranked school.In 2011 the district converted A. Maceo Smith into a technology magnet. Many students in its attendance zone were re-assigned to Wilmer-Hutchins High School
. Some areas were re-assigned to South Oak Cliff. Since Smith was reconstituted as a magnet school, it avoided the possibility of the TEA reconstituting or closing the school itself due to its poor performance as a zoned school.
to provide tutoring for Smith students and arrange motivational visits from the NFL's Dallas Cowboys
and the NBA's Dallas Mavericks
. Another program, Young Men of Distinction, provides mentor
ing and leadership development to male students.
s, poison
ous snake
s, bobcat
s, coyote
s, and other dangerous animals took over the practice football field after beaver
s dammed a nearby waterway during the summer.
On May 25, 2007, the Dallas school board voted 6-0 to uphold the firing of Smith principal Dwain Govan over spending on his DISD credit card, in an investigation that indicated 93 district employees had made questionable purchases or in other ways had abused the program. As of the board's vote — from which one board member abstained out of concerns the card's rules had been ill-defined — Govan had yet to account for purchases that included two sets of gold-plated flatware, four portable DVD player
s, four digital camera
s, a flat-screen TV
, a printer
, $8,747 in Wal-Mart
gift card
s and approximately $4,650 in restaurant gift cards. A Texas Education Agency
hearing examiner recommended upholding the proposal for Govan's termination, but noted that there had been no accusation or evidence that he took district property for his personal use.
Around March 2008, while Dallas ISD prepared for a bond election, some parents felt concern that the district may move the students at Smith to a school in the area formerly controlled by Wilmer-Hutchins ISD.
Oak Cliff
Oak Cliff is a community in Dallas, Texas, United States that was formerly a separate town located in Dallas County; Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1903...
area of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(USA). It is part of the Dallas Independent School District
Dallas Independent School District
The Dallas Independent School District is a school district based in Dallas, Texas . Dallas ISD, which operates schools in much of Dallas County, is the second largest school district in Texas and the twelfth largest in the United States.In 2009, the school district was rated "academically...
, where it was founded in 1978. As of 2011 it is now a technology magnet school.
The school is named for Antonio Maceo Smith (1903–1977), a pioneer civil rights leader in Dallas.
History
Originally located in the Nolan Estes Educational Plaza, the school was moved in 1989 due to complaints about the unsuitability of the physical plant at the plaza, a former shopping center. After the school moved, the attendance boundaries between Smith and South Oak Cliff High SchoolSouth Oak Cliff High School
South Oak Cliff High School is a public secondary school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas...
shifted, with students zoned to Stone Middle School and Zumwalt Middle School, except for students also zoned to Bushman Elementary, moving from SOC to Smith, and students zoned to Storey Middle School, except for those who began their educations at Marshall and Oliver elementaries, would be zoned to SOC.
After the closing of the Wilmer-Hutchins Independent School District
Wilmer-Hutchins Independent School District
Wilmer-Hutchins Independent School District was a school district in southern Dallas County, Texas serving the cities of Wilmer and Hutchins, a portion of Dallas , and a small portion of Lancaster. The district served urban, suburban, and rural areas...
, Smith took in students from the former school district boundary and continued to serve former WHISD areas until its repurposing.
For several years, while it served as a zoned school, A. Maceo Smith was a Texas Education Agency
Texas Education Agency
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas in the United States responsible for public education. The agency is headquartered in the William B...
"unacceptable" ranked school.In 2011 the district converted A. Maceo Smith into a technology magnet. Many students in its attendance zone were re-assigned to Wilmer-Hutchins High School
Wilmer-Hutchins High School
Wilmer-Hutchins High School is a public secondary school in Dallas, Texas . A part of the Dallas Independent School District, Wilmer-Hutchins High was formerly part of the now defunct Wilmer-Hutchins Independent School District....
. Some areas were re-assigned to South Oak Cliff. Since Smith was reconstituted as a magnet school, it avoided the possibility of the TEA reconstituting or closing the school itself due to its poor performance as a zoned school.
Students and programs
Smith's students are predominately African-American and from low income families. Local companies such as Frito Lay work with students at Paul Quinn CollegePaul Quinn College
Paul Quinn College is a private, historically black college located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas . Paul Quinn College holds the distinction as the oldest historically black college in the country west of the Mississippi River...
to provide tutoring for Smith students and arrange motivational visits from the NFL's Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
and the NBA's Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
. Another program, Young Men of Distinction, provides mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
ing and leadership development to male students.
Smith in the news
The school made the news around the world in 2002 when alligatorAlligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s, poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ous snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
s, coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s, and other dangerous animals took over the practice football field after beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
s dammed a nearby waterway during the summer.
On May 25, 2007, the Dallas school board voted 6-0 to uphold the firing of Smith principal Dwain Govan over spending on his DISD credit card, in an investigation that indicated 93 district employees had made questionable purchases or in other ways had abused the program. As of the board's vote — from which one board member abstained out of concerns the card's rules had been ill-defined — Govan had yet to account for purchases that included two sets of gold-plated flatware, four portable DVD player
DVD player
A DVD player is a device that plays discs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. These devices were invented in 1997 and continue to thrive...
s, four digital camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
s, a flat-screen TV
Flat panel display
Flat panel displays encompass a growing number of electronic visual display technologies. They are far lighter and thinner than traditional television sets and video displays that use cathode ray tubes , and are usually less than thick...
, a printer
Computer printer
In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a...
, $8,747 in Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
gift card
Gift card
A gift card is a restricted monetary equivalent or scrip that is issued byretailers or banks to be used as an alternative to a non-monetary gift....
s and approximately $4,650 in restaurant gift cards. A Texas Education Agency
Texas Education Agency
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas in the United States responsible for public education. The agency is headquartered in the William B...
hearing examiner recommended upholding the proposal for Govan's termination, but noted that there had been no accusation or evidence that he took district property for his personal use.
Around March 2008, while Dallas ISD prepared for a bond election, some parents felt concern that the district may move the students at Smith to a school in the area formerly controlled by Wilmer-Hutchins ISD.
External links
- A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School at Dallas Independent School DistrictDallas Independent School DistrictThe Dallas Independent School District is a school district based in Dallas, Texas . Dallas ISD, which operates schools in much of Dallas County, is the second largest school district in Texas and the twelfth largest in the United States.In 2009, the school district was rated "academically...
- A. Maceo Smith High School official web site (Archive)
- Wilonsky, Robert. "An Early Look at "Repurposing" Plans for A. Maceo and North Dallas High Schools." Dallas ObserverDallas ObserverThe Dallas Observer is a free alternative weekly newspaper distributed around the Dallas, Texas . At its inception, it was conceived as a weekly local arts and cinema review publication, with the credo "Advocate for Excellence in the Arts" on the cover. For a time during the early years, the paper...
. Tuesday January 21, 2011.