Sunset High School (Texas)

History

Opened in 1925, Sunset was the second high school in the Oak Cliff area, preceded only by Adamson High School. The origin of the school's name is uncertain; however, it may be due to its location, at the time it opened Sunset was the westernmost school in the DISD, and the subdivision surrounding the school on the western side of Dallas was called 'Sunset Heights'.

The school opened in 1925 with 1,400 students and 39 teachers as southwest Oak Cliff became increasingly developed. At the time it was the high school with the largest capacity in DISD; it had the same general architectural plan as Forest Avenue, North Dallas, and Oak Cliff (now W. H. Adamson) high schools. Its opening relieved Oak Cliff High.

The mascot is the American Bison; it was chosen since early students had to cross open fields to get to school.

Sunset is the only high school in the DISD to win the State Football Championship, having won the now-discontinued "Big City" State Championship in 1950. The School was also State Runner Up in 1942 and 1949. They were State Semi-Finalists in 1940, 1941 and 1955.

Sunset won the State Basketball Championship in 1944, coached by Stanley Thomas with notable players such as Hank Foldberg and Bobby Folsom.

Sunset won the State Track and Field Championship in 1953, led by Coach Hermann Scruggs.

Future USA Olympic Silver Medalist Eddie Southern (1956) won four State Championships - 120 yard hurdles in 1954 and 1955 and 220 yard (20.7) and 440 yard dash (47.2) in 1955, setting State and National High School Records in the latter two.

Sunset's Ross Bush won the State Championship 880 yard run in both 1932 and 1933, estabslihing the National High School Record of 1:55.4 in 1933. Other Sunset Bison winning the State 880 yard Championship, include Jim Hoff in 1942 and John Robertson in 1966.

Bill Hamman of Sunset won the State Championship 220 yard hurdles in both 1941 and 1942 and set a National High School Record of 22.1 in 1941.

Billy Foster of Sunset was a dominant force in Track and Field in the 1960s, winning the State Championship in the 100 yard dash, 220 yard dash and long jump in 1961, as well as the long jump in 1960. Sunset's James White won the State Title in the 220 in 1963.

In Field Events, Sunset's Carl Self won the 1953 State Shot Put Championship and Don Randell threw 67 feet 11.5 inches to capture the same State Title in 1969. Bison Tom Kelly won the State High Jump Championship in 1953 and 1954.

Lauren Blackburn of Sunset won the State Championship in the Girls' 100 meter hurdles in both 2009 and 2010 and the 300 meter hurdles in 2010.

The Sunset Golf Team won the State Championship in 1938, 1943, 1944, 1945 and 1952. Future PGA Touring Pro and Home Pro at the Oak Cliff Country Club, Earl Stewart, Jr. would win the State Golf Championship in 1937, 1938 and 1939. In 1952, Sunset's Jimmy Powell won the Individual State Championship in Golf.

The Sunset Girls' Tennis Doubles Team of Doris O'Neal and Betty Burson won the State Tennis Doubles Championship in 1948.

Sunset also won two State Titles in UIL One Act Play in 1944 and 1947.

In 1929, Sanger Brothers Department Store donated the Sanger Trophy to the Dallas Independent School District to be awarded annually to one of the six original DISD High Schools accumulating the most points in athletics. The Sanger Trophy was eventually awarded to Sunset for having won the Trophy more than any other of the Schools. The Sanger Trophy was restored in 2011, and now resides in the Old Red Museum of Dallas Culture and History, representing all six original Dallas High Schools.

In the summer of 2006, Anthony Tovar, a Mexican American raised in Dallas who was previously an assistant principal at W. H. Adamson High School and Moises Molina High School, began work as the principal of Sunset. He gained a reputation of being an excellent principal partly due to his hands-on, involved approach in which he actively communicated with other students. In 2013 he planned to resign due to frustration with DISD central office reforms, but he later rescinded his resignation. That year Tovar had been placed on a "growth plan" (a DISD notice asking the principal to improve his school's metrics or face termination). Tovar left DISD in 2013 but stated that he was not forced to resign; in 2015 he returned as an interim assistant principal at Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy.

In 2009 the school had 155 teachers and 2,200 students.

On May 28, 2014, Sunset High School was designated a Dallas Historical Landmark by vote of the Dallas City Council. The City of Dallas Historical commission, and DISD supported the nomination.

In April 2015, the Texas Historical Commission named Sunset High School a Texas Historical Landmark.

On September 26, 2015, Sunset High School Celebrated the 90th Anniversary of the School and Officially unveiled and Dedicated its "Texas Historical Landmark" Marker, "Dallas Historical Landmark" Marker and formally Dedicated the Sunset Byron Rhome Football Fieldhouse with a huge Ceremony at the School attended by some 700 people.

Academic performance

In 2006 53% of the students passed the TAKS math test and 56% passed the science test. In 2008 57% passed the math test and 62% passed the science test; in 2008 the reading/language arts pass percentage was 82 and the social studies pass percentage was 91.

In 2005 the school's graduation rate was 38%. In 2013 it was 57%.

Feeder patterns

As of the 2007-08 school year, [1], the following elementary schools feed into Sunset High School:

PK-5

Margaret B Henderson

One middle school, W.E. Greiner, feeds into Sunset.[2]

Athletics

The Sunset Bisons compete in the following sports:

Fundraising

Sunset High School Alumni Association is a 501(c)3 Non-profit that raises money in support of teachers, students and the school.

Sunset Foundation Inc. is a group of alumni who raise money and award college scholarships to Sunset High School students.

Alumni Associations