Ross Shaw Sterling High School, also known as Sterling Aviation High School, is a secondary school located in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Sterling, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the ci ...

. The school was named after Ross S. Sterling. Sterling has Houston ISD's magnet program for Aviation Sciences.

History

Ross S. Sterling High School opened as a junior/senior high school (grades 7–12) in the fall of 1965. This unique, three-building campus featured designed-in air-conditioning which was a new, yet essential, feature for HISD facilities. The Sterling campus had a mirror twin sister campus, James Madison Jr./Senior High School, that opened at the same time as Sterling. The first principal of Sterling was A.P. (Pete) Dowling, an experienced educator and administrator with HISD. During the 1967 school year, local radio station

KILT A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...

staged an enormous promotion contest between area high schools. The contest was simple: Each school had to submit as many individual paper entries as possible with the name of the high school on each sheet. The winning school would be the one that submitted the most pounds of paper. The contest created a lot of non-value added time in many classrooms as reams of copy paper and thousands of boxes of computer punch cards were submitted. Ross Sterling was the winner. The primary prize for winning was a school dance sponsored by KILT featuring a regional band named Southwest F.O.B. Sterling became a senior high school (grades 10–12) exclusively with the 1968–1969 school year. The Blue Raider football team made its first playoff appearance during the 1970 season when it emerged as district champion. The Raiders then defeated

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

in bid-district play but were then victims to the Sam Houston High juggernaut in the area round of the playoffs. Sterling's Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (

NJROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US mil ...

) Detachment was first established on-campus in May 1970. Graduating NJROTC Cadets incur no military service obligation, however many have chosen to serve in every branch of the United States Armed Forces. During the 1984-1985 school year, the percentages of Fs at 23 of 26 HISD high school campuses decreased in the spring semester because of the state-implemented

No Pass No Play No Pass No Play is a Texas public education policy that came about as a result of the passage of House Bill 72 by the Texas Legislature in 1984, and became effective in 1985. Under No Pass No Play, students must pass all their school courses to ...

rule, which requires students in high school athletic programs to attain passing grades. At Sterling and Barbara Jordan High School for Careers, the percentages of Fs remained the same. Linda Turner, the president of the Sterling High School PTO, stated that HISD promised to revamp Sterling after the 1998 and the 2007 bond elections passed, but that nothing improved. Her group accused the school of misleading the people by stating that Sterling and Jones High School would both receive new school campuses.Downing, Margaret. "Sterling High School: Keeping It All Together." ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely ...

''. Wednesday May 8, 2013. p
1
Retrieved on February 23, 2014. After the 2012 bond, the district began indicating that Jones would be consolidated into Sterling.Downing, Margaret. "Sterling High School: Keeping It All Together." ''

''. Wednesday May 8, 2013. p
2
Retrieved on February 23, 2014. As of 2010 about half of the HISD students zoned to Sterling did not attend that school. In 2011 the Class of 1971 was to celebrate its 40th anniversary. A 2011 report from Magnet Schools of America had recommended closing the Sterling aviation magnet, saying there was a lack of interest. In response, several graduates of the program told HISD that the program was beneficial.Morris, Mike.
Hundreds drawn to magnet discussions

Archive
. ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

''. Wednesday January 26, 2011. Retrieved on December 6, 2015. In January 2012 E. Dale Mitchell, who previously served as the principal of Hutto Middle School in

Hutto, Texas Hutto is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan area. The population was 42,326 at the 2024 census. History Hutto was established in 1855 when the International-Great Northern R ...

and worked in the

Stafford Municipal School District Stafford Municipal School District (SMSD) is a school district based in Stafford, Texas, Stafford, Texas, United States in Greater Houston. The district covers all of the city of Stafford and is controlled by the city, making it the only schoo ...

, became the principal of Sterling.

Houston Airport System Houston Airport System (HAS) is a department of the Houston, City of Houston, Texas, United States that manages city airports. Its administrative offices are on the property of George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

established an aviation club at Sterling and Carnegie Vanguard High School in the fall of 2012. As of 2013, the school had 900 students, and 1,100 HISD students living in the school's attendance zone opted not to attend Sterling. The school had its third principal in a five-year period. Mitchell stated that there were 61-66 students combined who transferred to Sterling to attend the aviation program or the Futures Academy. Margaret Downing of the ''

'' argued that the figure was not "an impressive number". Downing wrote that "Whoever erected it, there's a rather sizable wall of distrust between HISD and the Sterling community."Downing, Margaret. "Sterling High School: Keeping It All Together." ''

''. Wednesday May 8, 2013. p
3
Retrieved on February 23, 2014. As part of the 2014-2015 rezoning, residents of

Southcrest Southcrest is an urban community in the southeastern section of San Diego, California. It is bordered by Mountain View to the north and east, Interstate 5 and the neighborhoods of Barrio Logan and Logan Heights to the west, and Shelltown t ...

, residents of

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

located east of Martin Luther King Boulevard, and some residents of the East EndMap
." East End Management District. Retrieved on March 8, 2010. will be rezoned from Jones High School to Sterling. In 2015 Mitchell became the principal of

Waltrip High School Stephen Pool Waltrip High School is a public high school located at 1900 West 34th Street in Houston, Texas, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Houston Independent School District. The school's namesake is a former ...

. Justin Fuentes, formerly a high school support officer, became the principal of Sterling. In the 2015-2016 school year the enrollment was 1,142. Circa 2016 over 57% of high school students living in the Sterling attendance boundary attend other high schools in the school district. In the 2016-2017 school year the school had 450 9th grade students, compared to 300 in the 2015-2016 school year. In the 2020-2021 school year the enrollment was at 1,642. By that year more students living outside of the Sterling attendance area were choosing to attend the school, while fewer students in the Sterling boundary chose to attend other schools.

Campus

The current campus, which opened in 2016, has of space and had a cost of $72 million. The onsite hangar has of space.New year, new school for Sterling Aviation HS students
"

. January 4, 2017. The three-story building was scheduled to have a capacity of 1,600–1,800 students.New Sterling High will emphasize aviation
" ''

Houston Defender The ''Houston Defender (Network)'' is a Black digital information source that originated from the African American newspaper of the same name based in Houston, Texas. Established in 1930 by C.F. Richardson Sr., the newspaper has been a strong v ...

''. May 7, 2014. Retrieved on December 7, 2015.

Demographics

As of 2013, according to Mitchell, about 40% of Sterling graduates will go directly to the workforce and the remainder would go to the military and/or to universities and colleges. Mitchell stated that "For a large number of people ''this'' is their college experience" citing that large number of Sterling students, dating to the 1960s, never went to colleges or universities after graduation. He stated that this is why some alumni of Sterling have a strong passion for the school. In the 2022-2023 school year, approximately 92% of the students were classified as being from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. The racial demographics consisted of: * 46.2%

Hispanic American Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to the ...

* 52.0%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

* 0.5%

White American White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person having ...

* 0.4%

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

* 0.1%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

* 0.7%

Multiracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races (human categorization), races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicity, ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used ...

Curriculum

Sterling is the home of HISD's high school aviation magnet program; students must take

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

(FAA) approved-based courses before being eligible to take up to 30 hours of flight time. Students may then take the FAA written examination. As of 2001 Lentz Enterprises and Raiders Tiger Flying Club provides flight instruction to Sterling students; it had done so since circa 1999, and the HISD board of education renewed the club's contract in 2001. In 2000 the magnet program had 200 students. As of 2011 the annual magnet program funding was $46,363.

Culture

Mitchell stated that the student body enjoys Homecoming since "It's like

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

for a week long." The school is composed of Hispanic, Latino, and African American Students. The students all actively participate during Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, and Cinco De Mayo. With parties, festivals, fashion shows, committee pot lucks, and much more.

Neighborhoods served by Sterling

Houston neighborhoods served by SterlingSterling High School Attendance Zone
"

. Retrieved on January 2, 2019. include Autumn Gle

South Park, Houston, Texas, South Park, Crestmont Park,

Garden Villas Garden Villas is a subdivision in Houston, Texas, United States. Garden Villas is north of Hobby Airport on the banks of Sims Bayou. - Section ThisWeek, Page 1 () The lots range from one-half acre to over . Most homes in the subdivision were ...

, Wayside, Sterling Lake

King Estates, Edgewood, El Tesor

Panay Par

Houston Skyscraper Shadows, Gulf Meadows, Airport Gardens, a portion of South Acres, a portion of South Acres Estates, a portion of Minnetex, Houston, Texas, Minnetex Place, Mykawa, and a portion of Santa Rosa. Two

Houston Housing Authority Houston Housing Authority (HHA), formerly Housing Authority of the City of Houston (HACH), is the public housing authority in Houston, Texas. The Mayor of Houston appoints the board of directors of the HHA, but it itself is not a department of th ...

(HHA) public housing complexes, Long Drive Townhomes and Sweetwater Point, are zoned to Sterling.

School uniforms

Sterling requires

school uniform A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution. They are common in primary school, primary and secondary schools in various countries and are generally widespread in Africa, Asia, O ...

s. The

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

specified that the parents and/or guardians of students zoned to a school with uniforms may apply for a waiver to opt out of the uniform policy so their children do not have to wear the uniform; parents must specify "

bona fide In human interactions, good faith () is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with , which is ...

" reasons, such as religious reasons or philosophical objections.

Feeder patterns

Elementary schools that feed into Sterling include: *Codwell *DeAnda *Frost *Mitchell (partial) *Alcott * Cornelius *Gregg *Law *Mading *Seguín *WoodsonWoodson Elementary Attendance Zone
" ''

''. Middle schools that feed into Sterling include: *Albert Thomas Middle School (partial) *Hartman Middle School (partial)

Notable alumni

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albu ...

- gospel singer, radio personalityDistinguished HISD Alumni
." ''

''. * Tomur Barnes - former NFL player * Sedrick Curry - former CFL player *

Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Bask ...

- NBA Hall-of-Fame basketball player for the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

and

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

(1995 NBA Champion with Rockets). *

Zina Garrison Zina Lynna Garrison (born November 16, 1963) is an American former professional tennis player. Garrison was the runner-up in singles at the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, a three-time major mixed doubles champion, and an Olympic gold and bronze ...

- former tennis player * Carlette Guidry-White - two time Olympic track and field gold medalist. * John Hilliard - former NFL player * Jason Phillips - former NFL player * Howard Sampson - former NFL player * Johnny Thomas - former NFL player *

John Washington John Washington (1633 – 1677) was an English-born merchant, planter, politician and military officer. Born in Tring, Hertfordshire, he subsequently immigrated to the English colony of Virginia and became a member of the planter class. In add ...

- former NFL player

References

External links

Sterling High School

Sterling High School
(Archive) {{authority control Houston Independent School District high schools Magnet schools in Houston Public high schools in Houston