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Western Hills High School (Benbrook, Texas)
Encyclopedia
Western Hills High School (WHHS) is a secondary school
located in Benbrook, Texas
, United States, serving the city of Benbrook, portions of western Fort Worth
, and unincorporated portions of southwestern Tarrant County
. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Fort Worth Independent School District
(FWISD).
or Arlington Heights High School
and its junior high schools to J.P. Elder or William Monnig Junior High. Western Hills was first opened on the campus of Arlington Heights High School in the fall of 1968 with 714 students crowded into thirteen temporary buildings. In January 1969, this student body moved into its new home on the twenty-five acre tract in West Fort Worth at 3600 Boston Avenue.
The creation of General Dynamics
Fort Worth Division in nearby White Settlement
spurred an increased enrollment from the original 714 to 2,243 in 1972. At that time the student body was housed not only in the main building with one level but also in 23 portable buildings. With a decreasing student enrollment of 2,052 in the fall of 1980, the school building was expanded to two floors and eliminated the portable buildings.
On October 23, 1989, a briefcase containing a firebomb
was found. During an attempt to disarm the device it exploded causing mostly smoke damage and no injuries. In 1991, the decline of student enrollment had tapered off to 1,503, reflecting of job losses from the sale of General Dynamics' Fort Worth division to Lockheed
.
In recent years, school enrollment has ranged between 1,461 and 1,503. Recently, 14 portable buildings have been added to the campus.
The school mascot
is the cougar. Official school colors are forest green and gold
and throwback colors reflecting early years are yellow
and green
.
The WHHS student newspaper is The Mountain Line, (a cougar is also known as a mountain lion) begun in the spring of 1970. The paper won the best-in-city award in its first year in a contest sponsored by the Fort Worth press.
Western Hills High School's school annual yearbook is named The Catamount. The name was chosen by the new school's annual staff after suggestions made by annual staff members.
State baseball championship.
, but the team also frequently plays in Herman Clark Stadium
and Scarborough-Handley Field when facing opponents that also belong to the school district.
In its inaugural year, the school's football team lost every game. The school years 1969 and 1970 saw the school's football team make a complete turn around and go on to win bi-district both years.
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
located in Benbrook, Texas
Benbrook, Texas
Benbrook is a city located in the southwestern corner of Tarrant County, Texas, in Texas's 12th congressional district, and a suburb of Fort Worth...
, United States, serving the city of Benbrook, portions of western Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, and unincorporated portions of southwestern Tarrant County
Tarrant County, Texas
Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, it had a population of 1,809,034. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County is the sixteenth most populous county in the United States and the third most populous in Texas. The county is named in honor...
. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Fort Worth Independent School District
Fort Worth Independent School District
Fort Worth Independent School District is a school district based in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is currently the fifth largest school district in Texas ....
(FWISD).
History
The Western Hills community encompasses the urban area surrounding the school, the Benbrook city area, southwest Fort Worth, and the rural section west to the Tarrant County line. The city of Benbrook school system once served students in Benbrook and surrounding rural areas. In 1954, all Benbrook students above the sixth grade were transferred to the Fort Worth ISD. In 1962, the Benbrook School District was consolidated into the Fort Worth system, busing the high school students to North Side High SchoolNorth Side High School (Fort Worth, Texas)
North Side High School is a public secondary school located in Fort Worth, Texas.The school serves about 1,600 students in the Fort Worth Independent School District.- History :...
or Arlington Heights High School
Arlington Heights High School
Arlington Heights High School is a secondary school located in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A.. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Fort Worth Independent School District...
and its junior high schools to J.P. Elder or William Monnig Junior High. Western Hills was first opened on the campus of Arlington Heights High School in the fall of 1968 with 714 students crowded into thirteen temporary buildings. In January 1969, this student body moved into its new home on the twenty-five acre tract in West Fort Worth at 3600 Boston Avenue.
The creation of General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
Fort Worth Division in nearby White Settlement
White Settlement, Texas
White Settlement is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a northwestern suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 16,116 at the 2010 census.-Geography:White Settlement is located at ....
spurred an increased enrollment from the original 714 to 2,243 in 1972. At that time the student body was housed not only in the main building with one level but also in 23 portable buildings. With a decreasing student enrollment of 2,052 in the fall of 1980, the school building was expanded to two floors and eliminated the portable buildings.
On October 23, 1989, a briefcase containing a firebomb
Incendiary device
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus....
was found. During an attempt to disarm the device it exploded causing mostly smoke damage and no injuries. In 1991, the decline of student enrollment had tapered off to 1,503, reflecting of job losses from the sale of General Dynamics' Fort Worth division to Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
.
In recent years, school enrollment has ranged between 1,461 and 1,503. Recently, 14 portable buildings have been added to the campus.
Spirit
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
is the cougar. Official school colors are forest green and gold
Gold (color)
Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....
and throwback colors reflecting early years are yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
and green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
.
The WHHS student newspaper is The Mountain Line, (a cougar is also known as a mountain lion) begun in the spring of 1970. The paper won the best-in-city award in its first year in a contest sponsored by the Fort Worth press.
Western Hills High School's school annual yearbook is named The Catamount. The name was chosen by the new school's annual staff after suggestions made by annual staff members.
Elementary
- Benbrook Elementary
- Luella Merrett Elementary
- Waverly Park Elementary
- Western Hills Elementary
- Western Hills Primary
- Westpark Elementary
Middle School
- Benbrook Middle School (as of Fall 2011)
- Leonard Middle School
- Applied Learning Academy
Languages
WHHS offers classes in American Sign Language, English, French, German, and Spanish.Baseball
In 2001 Western Hills won the Texas Class 4AUniversity Interscholastic League
The University Interscholastic League is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, music, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the American state of Texas....
State baseball championship.
Football
The Cougars' home games are usually played in the FWISD's Farrington FieldFarrington Field
Farrington Field is an 18,500-capacity multi-use stadium located in Fort Worth, Texas. The stadium was completed in 1939 and was named in memory of E.S. Farrington, a long time superintendent of the Fort Worth Independent School District...
, but the team also frequently plays in Herman Clark Stadium
Herman Clark Stadium
Herman Clark Stadium Paul Galvan Field is a 12,000-capacity multi-use stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. The stadium is mostly used for High school football where it hosts teams from the Fort Worth Independent School District but is also used for track & field contests. Built in 1970 adjacent to Tarrant...
and Scarborough-Handley Field when facing opponents that also belong to the school district.
In its inaugural year, the school's football team lost every game. The school years 1969 and 1970 saw the school's football team make a complete turn around and go on to win bi-district both years.
Playoff appearances
The Cougars have competed in the post-season playoffs toward the state title fifteen times, advancing to the second round three times. They have never advanced beyond the second round.| Year | Class | Division | Round | W/L | Opponent | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 4A | Bi-district | W | Fort Worth Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and... O.D. Wyatt Chaparrals O. D. Wyatt High School Oscar Dean Wyatt High School is a secondary school in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The school is located at 2400 East Seminary Drive. The school is a part of the Fort Worth Independent School District.... |
28 | 7 | |
| Regional | L | 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... Woodrow Wilson Wildcats |
20 | 48 | |||
| 1970 | 4A | Bi-district | L | Fort Worth I.M. Terrell Panthers | 8 | 9 | |
| 1982 | 5A | Bi-district | W | Wichita Falls Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,... S.H. Rider Raiders S. H. Rider High School S.H. Rider High School is a public school in Wichita Falls, Texas . It is part of the Wichita Falls Independent School District and is one of the district's three high schools.... |
14 | 6 | |
| Area | L | Hurst Hurst, Texas Hurst is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. Hurst is one of the Mid-Cities between Fort Worth and Dallas, but is a suburb of Fort Worth. The city was founded by William Letchworth Hurst... L.D. Bell Blue Raiders |
7 | 23 | |||
| 1985 | 5A | Bi-district | L | Wichita Falls Coyotes Wichita Falls High School Wichita Falls High School or WFHS is a public school in Wichita Falls, Texas . It is part of the Wichita Falls Independent School District and is one of the district's three high schools.... |
20 | 21 | |
| 1990 | 5A | Big school | Bi-district | L | Arlington Colts Arlington High School (Arlington, Texas) Arlington High School, located in Arlington, Texas, is a secondary school serving grades 9-12. It is one of the six high schools comprising the Arlington Independent School District. The current principal is Jennifer Young; the mascot is the Colt and the schools’ colors are Kelly Green and White... |
29 | 40 |
| 1991 | 5A | Division 1 | Bi-district | L | Arlington Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex... Sam Houston Texans Sam Houston High School (Arlington, Texas) Sam Houston High School is a secondary school serving grades 9-12 students who live in the eastern part of Arlington, Texas and the western part of Grand Prairie, Texas. It is part of the Arlington Independent School District, in Arlington, Texas... |
34 | 45 |
| 1992 | 5A | Division 1 | Bi-district | L | Euless Euless, Texas Euless, known as "Tree City USA," is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. Euless is part of the Mid-Cities between Dallas and Fort Worth... Trinity Trojans Trinity High School (Euless, Texas) Trinity High School is a public high school in Euless, Texas. It administers grade levels 10–12 and is a part of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District.... |
6 | 35 |
| 1993 | 5A | Division 2 | Bi-district | L | Haltom City Haltom City, Texas Haltom City is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. Haltom City is an inner suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 42,409 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Haltom City is located at .... Haltom Buffaloes Haltom High School Haltom High School is a grade 9-12 high school located in Haltom City, Texas with over 2500 students.-History:Haltom High School completed expansions in 2010 that began in 2007... |
12 | 30 |
| 1996 | 4A | Division 1 | Bi-district | W | Weatherford Kangaroos | 24 | 22 |
| Regional | L | Azle Hornets | 14 | 24 | |||
| 1997 | 4A | Division 1 | Bi-district | L | Brownwood Lions Brownwood High School Brownwood High School is a 3A high school located in Brownwood, Texas . It is part of the Brownwood Independent School District located in central Brown County... |
7 | 48 |
| 2000 | 4A | Division 2 | Bi-district | L | Stephenville Yellow Jackets Stephenville High School -Athletics:SHS has been one of the most successful football programs in the state of Texas in recent years. Though it did not make the playoffs from 1952 to 1989, the arrival of Art Briles finally turned the program around. Briles got the Yellow Jackets to the playoffs from 1989 until his departure... |
43 | 45 |
| 2002 | 4A | Division 2 | Bi-district | L | Stephenville Yellow Jackets | 45 | 63 |
| 2003 | 4A | Division 2 | Bi-district | L | Aledo Bearcats Aledo High School (Texas) Aledo High School is a 4A high school located in Aledo, Texas . It is part of the Aledo Independent School District located in south central Parker County... |
26 | 52 |
| 2005 | 4A | Division 2 | Bi-district | L | Springtown Porcupines Springtown Independent School District Springtown Independent School District is a public school district based in Springtown, Texas .Located in Parker County, a small portion of the district extends into Wise County.... |
27 | 35 |
| 2010 | 4A | Division 1 | Bi-district | L | North Richland Hills North Richland Hills, Texas North Richland Hills is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 63,343 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Tarrant County. In 2006, North Richland Hills was selected as one of the "Top 100 Best Places to live in America"... Birdville Hawks Birdville High School Birdville High School is a public high school located in the city of North Richland Hills, Texas and is the second youngest school in the Birdville Independent School District. Established in 1999, it was the third high school built into the Birdville Independent School District... |
3 | 41 |