“The more things change, the more they remain the same,” When our oldest child, Danielle, was in the eighth grade, we had to determine where she would go to high school. She took the entrance exams to several private high schools just in case the public school thing didn’t work.
Our friends and neighbors expressed concern about the social and academic “problems” at the public high school – Woodrow.
Sixteen years later, we frequently hear the same concerns as Merritt, our youngest child graduated, from Woodrow last month.
Since making that decision in 1981, we have reviewed our decision every two or three years as another one of our seven children began high school. We feel the same in 1997 as we did in 1981, when we decided Woodrow was the best place to be.
We’ve seen changes in demographics – from Hispanic, Anglo and African-American populations of 33 percent each to a Hispanic population of 62 percent.
We have seen athletic changes – from winning few district honors to winning more than any 4A school in the area.
We have seen leadership changes – from the legendary Wayne Pierce to Robert Giesler to Dr. Eduardo Torres – each bringing a unique style to the campus, each a principal for his time.
We’ve seen academic change – more honors course choices, more science and math courses, the adoption of block scheduling and more participation in academic competition – Woodrow recently swept the district UIL academic competition and a foreign language competition.
The debate and Odyssey of the Mind teams advanced to Austin for the state meets in their respective competitions.
Woodrow continues to have students post perfect scores on the SAT (three students made perfect 800s on a section of the examination in 1997) and have National Merit honorees garner collegiate scholarships.
The ROTC is an integral part of student life, as is the spring musical. This was true in 1981 and continues to be true in 1997. Woodrow students then and now are accepted at academically competitive universities and U.S. military academies. Today, students must pass the TAAS to graduate, and Woodrow has had its share of challenges, as do many public schools in this regard.
In true community fashion, Woodrow students, faculty and parents came together to meet the challenge, and Woodrow’s recent TAAS scores point to the can-do attitude that has always prevailed on campus.
Faculty, students and parents, today more than ever, are in partnership for the benefit of Woodrow students. The Ballet Folklorica and Jazzy Cats are new performing groups on campus, indicating the diversity of student interest. Woodrow continues to be an exciting campus to be involved with in 1997 as it was in 1981.
So “keep thy heart with diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” Woodrow has been a positive time in our lives.
My husband Veldon and I aren’t moving, so we plan to continue to be a small part of Woodrow’s life as we graduate our youngest.
All of the Drurys have expressed benefits other than education they consider having received from Woodrow – an appreciation of cultural differences, an understanding of socio-economic differences, an appreciation of fine arts, including what it takes to participate in choral and theatrical activities, and an understanding of diverse values.
Danielle ’85 serves on the faculty at Woodrow and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Administration. Gail ’86 is in management at Pappadeaux in San Antonio.
Eric ’88 is in events promotion with Street Hoops in Europe and makes his home in Geneva. Erin ’90 is nursing at St. Paul Hospital in Dallas.
Clay ‘92 is touring Eastern Europe as part of the Nike 5-on-5 Basketball road crew. Josh ’95 is studying at Southwest Texas State University, and Merritt, who graduated in May, will enroll at LSU in the fall.
We all enthusiastically promote and support public education and, most specifically, Woodrow.
