Alice High School
Alice High School serves the students of Alice, Texas and surrounding communities in Jim Wells County.
History
The City of Alice originated from the defunct community of Collins, which was located three miles east. Around 1880 the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway attempted to build a line through Collins. The townspeople did not want to sell their land to the railroad company; consequently, the railroad site was moved three miles west, and in 1883 a depot called Bandana was established at its junction with the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande Railway. Bandana soon became a thriving cattle-shipping point, and application for a post office was made under the name Kleberg in honor of Robert Justus Kleberg. The petition was denied because a town named Kleberg already appeared on the post office list, so residents then chose the name Alice, in honor of Alice Gertrudis King Kleberg, Kleberg's wife and the daughter of Richard King. The Alice post office opened for business in 1888, and within a few years the remaining residents of Collins moved to Alice.The first school began in 1887 in the attic of the old Sedwick House. In 1930, the Alice School Board contracted to build a school containing thirteen classrooms and a library. Classes in this facility first commenced in January 1931 as the new Alice High School located along 3rd Street. When Mr. William Adams celebrated his 88th birthday on January 3, 1933, a public announcement, based on unanimous vote of the school board paid homage to Mr. Adams for his many contributions to the city by renaming the school after him. The School Board voted to change the name of the High School back to Alice High in 1969. Construction of Alice High was completed in time for 1970 school year, and the first graduating class was in 1971.
Academics
Alice High School is part of the Alice Independent School District, which Met Standards under TEA Assessment and Accountability Division of Performance Reporting ratings as of 2014.Alice High School itself Met Standards under the TEA rating system, and earned distinctions in Reading/ELA and Math as of 2014.
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School Songs and Traditions
- Hail! Alice High. The school we love so dear. Where friends we've met. We'll not forget. Throughout the coming years. So here's to the Orange and the White. The colors for which we fight. Let's pledge anew and all be true to Dear Old Alice High.
- On ye Coyotes, On ye Coyotes Forward against the foe. We will win thru thick or thin. Forever as we go, go, go, go. Orange and White forever fight. We're Coyotes 'til the end. Fight Coyotes fight, fight, fight. And win, win, win. GO!!! FIGHT!!! WIN!!!
- Traditionally played during football games
Logo
Traditional logo ________________ logoFan Support
- Alice has a great tradition of filling up the stands at high school sporting events. Especially during the post-season, do not be surprised to see a line of cars behind the school buses transporting the team.
- After every football game, the team, cheerleaders, trainers, and fans stand in front of the band, interlock pinkies, and sway side to side to the sound of the school Alma Mater.
- For over 100 years, Alice athletics and academics have consistently represented South Texas well in local and state competitions. The school has earned its nickname as "The Pride of South Texas" because of this consistency.
- Each school year ends with a lock-in at the High School for graduating seniors.
Athletics
Cross Country, Volleyball, Football, Basketball, Swimming, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, Track, Softball, Baseball, Power-lifting, and Cheerleading.
The home football games, soccer games, and track meets are held at Memorial Stadium, which has a capacity of 10,500.
The 2014-2015 season has the Coyotes playing in conference 30-5A along with Calallen High School, Flour Bluff High School, Victoria East High School, Victoria West High School, Foy H. Moody High School, Tuloso-Midway High School, Roy Miller High School, and Gregory-Portland High School.
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Football
Alice High School's rival is Henrietta M. King High School. The first meeting between the teams was in 1909, and matchup is known as "The Brush County Shootout." The Alice Football team and their fans rode 20 miles in horse drawn buggies to Kingsville. Alice won the game 38-0. Since then, the two teams have played each other 81 times. Alice leads the series 43-35-3 as of 2010.
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Student activities
Clubs
Current clubs at Alice High School include Art, Auto Mechanics, BPA, Band Council, Building Trades, Cheerleaders, Chorale, Cosmetology, DECA, Decathlon, Drama, Drill Team/Strutters, Environmental Club, FCCLA, FFA, Graphics, HOSA, Interact/Rotary, JETS, Junior Class, Law Enforcement, Newspaper, NHS, ROTC, Senior Class, Spanish, Student Council, TAFE, UIL, and Yearbook.Academic Decathlon
Alice Academic Decathlon is the most successful program at the high school under the tutelage of coach Dr. Joseph Eberhard. While the individual results in the 10 different topics examined in the competition are too numerous to mention, Alice High School has won the Regional Championship in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Medium School Division Texas Super Quiz State Champions in 2005, 2008, 2012, and 2015. In the Medium School Division, Alice High School has finished as high as 2nd Overall State Team. In 2011, Alice High School won the National Title in the Medium School Division. Students on the teams have gone on to graduate from Harvard University, Yale University, Duke University, Stanford University, Fordham University, Rice University, Dartmouth College, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas-Austin, and Texas A&M.Alice High School Band
The Alice High School band was organized in 1933. In 1960, Bryce Taylor was hired on as Band Director in Alice. He spent the next fifty years as music supervisor and high school band director for the Alice ISD. In his tenure, the Alice High School band earned 29 consecutive UIL Sweepstakes awards and placed in the top five TMEA Honor Band auditions for Class 5A twelve times. The Alice High School band was one of the first five schools to be awarded the Sudler Flag of Honor by John Philip Sousa Foundation and is listed on their national Roll of Honor for high school bands in existence between 1960 and 1980. The band is now under the direction of Arnold Garza who himself was a student of Bryce Taylor.-
Theatre Department
In 2007 and 2016, the thespian troupe 5191 was chosen to perform The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds at Lincoln, Nebraska, for the International Thespian Festival. The students were given a standing ovation by thousands of drama students from around the world. They were also invited to bring Crimes of the Heart for the Chapter select performance the following year. The play was directed by a student, Sylvia Gonzalez. They did not perform because one of the cast members had emergency surgery just before the trip to Nebraska. Darleen Totten also led Alice High School Drama club on an outstanding UIL OAP journey in 2011, with their production of Turandot which was also presented at the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska. This performance has been featured on the EdTA website. Clips of the school's production of Turandot are used in promotional videos for Thespians created by EdTA. In January 2014, they were invited to perform She Kills Monsters at the Alabama State Thespian Festival. Pictures of their trip to Alabama were shared by the Samuel French publishing company.
Notable alumni
- James P. Allison - Cancer researcher at the University of Texas who won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Tommy Aycock - A longtime PGA professional golfer. He was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 1996.
- Manuel Barrera - Jr. College All American won national jc championship at Henderson. All American at Kansas State, co-captain and played in Blue-Gray all star game. He was drafted 6th round by the Pittsburg Steelers in 1970. Injuries forced him to retire. He later became a very successful high school coach.
- Marv Brown - He was drafted in the 25th round by the Detroit Lions in 1953. He was part of the Detroit team that won the championship in 1957.
- Sonny Brown - Ex NFL Player and Member of the 1985 National Champions Oklahoma Sooners.
- Chris Brazzell - CFL and ex NFL player with the Dallas Cowboys.
- Lois Chiles - American actress and former fashion model known for her roles as Dr. Holly Goodhead in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker, and as a hit and run driver in 1987's Creepshow 2.
- Bobby Cuellar - bullpen coach of the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. He is a former professional baseball player who played briefly with the Texas Rangers in 1977 as a relief pitcher.
- J. Frank Dobie - Was a professor at Cambridge University and the University of Texas. He is also an award-winning author and political activist. He is credited with helping to save the Longhorn Cattle from extinction. The Dobie Center in Austin is named after him.
- Joe Pate - He was a left-handed pitcher with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1926 and 1927.
- Jim Tyrone - Professional baseball player for the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics during the 70s.
- Wayne Tyrone - Professional baseball player for the Chicago Cubs in 1976.
- Walter F. Woodul - Lieutenant Governor of Texas from 1935-1939.
- Shane Fling - Top selling fake Christian artist. 1997-1999
Miscellaneous
The Year 1933
- Cost of education in Alice amounted to.27 cents per student per day.
- 160 students enrolled in Senior High.
- 119 students enrolled in Junior High.
Memorial Stadium
- Construction of Memorial Stadium was completed in 1947.
- The first game played at the stadium was on October 17, 1947.
- This grand old stadium has seen and been a part of many historic games in South Texas football lore. Home of The Pride of South Texas, The Alice Coyotes. The grounds crew at Alice takes pride in having one of the best playing surfaces in South Texas, as voted on by many area coaches, and turf builders around the State of Texas.
- Alice Memorial Stadium was nicknamed, The Skydome back in 1980 by then Coach Bob Boyd. Alice was going to play Stafford Dulles in the bi-district round of the playoffs. Dulles wanted The Astrodome, we wanted Alice, well we won the flip. Coach Boyd called the coaches and kids back at Alice and said, We're playing in the dome, everyone started jumping around because they thought he meant the Astrodome, he then said, 'The Skydome they are coming to Alice. Alice won that game 14-10.
- Memorial Stadium has a capacity of 10,500.
The Year 1950
- Alice hosts the first annual "Hub City Relays." The track meet still takes place today.