Of 143 valedictorians in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Rockwall and Denton Counties, only nine plan to attend Ivy League Universities – and only three of those graduated from private schools.
Harriett Patterson, Woodrow class of ’94 valedictorian, will join other recent Woodrow graduates in the Ivy League (including siblings) when she enrolls at Princeton later this fall.
It is interesting to note that such schools as St. Mark’s, Ursuline Academy and Highland Park High are not in this category.
McBride Raises the Tide
Patterson and Shannon McBride, 1994 salutatorian (who will attend Texas A&M) are also National Merit Scholars, from a class of about 200.
In the last decade, Woodrow has averaged two to four such scholars.
This is comparable to Dallas’ most elite private schools, such as St. Mark’s and Greenhill, which produced the same number of scholars as Woodrow, Hockaday, Episcopal School of Dallas, Trinity Christian Academy and First Baptist Academy produced half as many scholars as Woodrow – only one each.
Suburban Scholars?
Some suburban schools, with class sizes from two to five times that of Woodrow, did not fare as well, except for Highland Park, which had four students selected.
By district: Garland produced five merit scholars, Grand Prairie produced two scholars, Irving produced five scholars and Mesquite managed three scholars – of course, a recent graduate of a Mesquite high school asked me, “Who was Woodrow Wilson High School named for?”
Your Alumni Association Wants to Know What’s Going On?
The Woodrow Alumni Association is assembling its annual newsletter. Please send news by July 15 to P.O. Box 180008, Dallas 75218. Items sent in for this column that have not been published will be used in the newsletter.
Upcoming Reunions
Class of ’64 will be Aug. 6. Call Jennie Gray Nance at 681-8161 for information.
Class of ’69 will be July 1-3. For information call D’ann Smith Carpenter at 240-1125.
Class of ’74 will be Oct. 21-22. For information call Susan Towne Russell, 341-7777.
