John Marshall High School (Leon Valley, Texas)

John Marshall High School
Address
8000 Lobo Lane Leon Valley (San Antonio suburb), Texas 78240
Information
School type	Public, high school
Founded	1949
School district	Northside Independent School District
Principal	Anthony Jarrett
Assistant principals	Albert Castillo
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	Approximately 2,600  (2007-2008)
Language	English
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Maroon and white
Mascot	Ram
Feeder schools	John B. Connally Middle School Pat Neff Middle School Coke R. Stevenson Middle School Earl Rudder Middle School
Athletic conferences	5A Division I
Website	http://www.nisd.net/marshall/

John Marshall High School (commonly Marshall, Marshall High, or JMHS) is a free public secondary school in the San Antonio suburb of Leon Valley in northwest Bexar County. The school serves students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Northside Independent School District, with admission based primarily on the locations of students' homes. The campus serves most of the city of Leon Valley and large portions of northwest San Antonio. Marshall was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 1992-93.^[1]

In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency.^[2]

History

The oldest high school in the Northside Independent School District, the school was known as Northside High School from 1949 until 1960, when it was renamed John Marshall High School (starting the trend among Northside high schools, all of which are named after U.S. Supreme Court Justices).

The school was once particularly known for its vocal music department, which has made sweepstakes in UIL for the past few decades.

Vocal music isn't the only outstanding fine arts program at Marshall, the Ram Band too has been consistent sweepstakes winners. In 1976 the band set a world's record for continuous concert, performing 52 hours and 3 minutes in Wonderland Mall(now known as Crossroads Mall) That same year, the band became the first band from the state of Texas in 20 years to be invited to march in the 1977 Tournament of Roses Parade. The Ram Band also appeared in the 1977 feature film "Rolling Thunder". The first and second band directors at Marshall have had Northside Schools named for them; Mr Bob Lewis, band director from 1957 to 1975 and Mr. Charles Kuentz Jr., band director from 1975 into the 1980s.

Namesake, mascot and school colors

The school is named in honor of the fourth Supreme Court Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall. The school mascot is the Ram, which was picked by students in 1950 and was based on the then-NFL Los Angeles Rams mascot. The school colors are maroon and white.

Attendance zone changes through the years

Because it's the oldest and the original high school for the Northside ISD, its original huge attendance zones have been split through the years to form many of the current high schools including Holmes H.S. to the south in the early 1960s. Jay H.S. a few years later although part of its area was also formed from the fairly new Holmes H.S. zones. In 1978, Marshall was split again with the creation of Clark H.S. to the east and then yet again in 1985 when Taft H.S. was opened further west. Recently, the Marshall attendance zone was split off when the Helotes and north Loop 1604 areas were switched to the new O'Connor High in 1998. The latest attendance zone change was in 2008 for the new Brandeis High School. Though its attendance zones are much smaller than they ever were, Marshall H.S. still posts high academic scores and is still competitive in sports with the varsity football team winning the District Title for the 06-07 school year. The new Brandeis H.S., which opened in 2008, is mostly made up of large areas of the former Clark and O'Connor attendance zones with a smaller area of Marshall's zone. Marshall's attendance zone has been realigned to include many former Clark H.S. neighborhoods (some older areas that were initially zoned to Marshall High years ago) around the South Texas Medical Center, Prue Road, Fredericksburg Road and areas near the Wurzbach and I-10 intersection. Former O'Connor H.S. neighborhoods on Bandera Road have also been rezoned back to Marshall H.S. due to realignment of the other H.S. boundaries to accommodate record growth.

Notable alumni

• John Hagy, played for the University of Texas and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills.^[3]
• Priest Holmes, NFL running back and Super Bowl Champion with Baltimore Ravens and NFL Rushing Leader in 2001, NFL TD Record with 27 in 2003 with Kansas City Chiefs. 3-Time NFL Pro Bowler. , JMHS ^[4] ,Wiki^[5]
• Will Hurd, Former CIA Officer and Republican Candidate for US House of Representatives District 23^[6]
• N.D. Kalu, defensive end with Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, and Houston Texans ^[7]
• Alan D. Valentine, President and CEO of Nashville Symphony.^[8]
• Patrick Bass, Author and Stand-up Comedian.

References

1. ^ "History: Northside Independent School District". Northside Independent School District. 1999-04-23. http://www.nisd.net/community/history/90s.php. Retrieved 2007-10-10. 
2. ^ "2009 Accountability Rating System". Texas Education Agency. http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/2009/index.html. 
3. ^ sportsline.com
4. ^ Class of 1992
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ Garcia, Gilbert (March 3, 2010). "Rodriguez rolls in District 23". San Antonio Express-News. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/elections/Rodriguez_rolls_in_District_23.html. Retrieved March 4, 2010. 
7. ^ N.D. Kalu bio with Houston Texans
8. ^ nashvillesymphony.org (PDF)

External links

• John Marshall High School official website
• John Marshall High School - NISD.Net
• MarshallClassmates.com Marshall alumni website by Bill Woodland.

Coordinates: 29°30′49″N 98°37′12″W / 29.513646°N 98.619869°W / 29.513646; -98.619869