Oliver Wendell Holmes High School is a public high school that is part of the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas. It was established in 1964 and is known for its circular architecture, in which several buildings are completely cylindrical. As with all Northside ISD schools, Holmes is named for a former or current United States Supreme Court justice, in this case Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. It is the parent school for Northside School of Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, a magnet school in NISD.

In 2017, Holmes was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency, with a 6-Star Distinction for Academic Achievements in ELA/Reading, Mathematics, Social Studies, Top 25 Percent Student Progress, Top 25 Percent Closing Performance Gaps, and Postsecondary Readiness.^[2]

Areas served by the school

Holmes serves a little more than 2,000 students in grades 9-12 from neighborhoods and subdivisions along the IH-410 Loop corridsor. An additional 800-850 students (grade levels 9-12) are served by Business Careers High School, the "sister" magnet school of Holmes. The students at Business Careers counts as part of Holmes, making the student population of Holmes almost 2,900.

During the 2006–2007 year, the Northside Board of Trustees changed the attendance zones of Earl Warren High School and Holmes, moving several neighborhoods from the Warren attendance zone to the Holmes attendance zone, to go into effect in 2007–2008. This added approximately 300 students to the school.

Programs offered

Holmes offers athletic programs sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League.

Holmes also offers most of the Academic UIL events, including Social Studies, Science, Current Issues, One Act Play, Computer Science, Band, Computer Applications, Calculator Applications, Literary Criticism, various speaking competitive events, and various journalistic competitive events, AFJROTC drill teams and core/unit. Business Careers students compete as part of the Holmes teams. The school has a dual credit college program in conjunction with Northwest Vista College where eligible students earn both high school and college credit for the same course.

In the 2007–2008 school year The Husky Band received a Division 1 at UIL during marching season for their performance "Sketches of Spain. The Husky Band received a Division 1 at UIL during the 2009-10 marching season for "The Quest." During 2015-2016 they won their 5th straight 1st division with the program called "Genesis – A Simple Gift to Life." This was preceded by the band reaching the UIL state competition in 1999 under the direction of Dr. Abel Ramirez, as well as winning the 'Drums along the Medina' competition in that same year.

Members of the Holmes fine-arts programs have also been selected to participate in the Texas Music Educators Association’s (TMEA) All-State ensembles. All-State is the highest honor a Texas high school music student can receive. These musicians are commonly referred to as, “The best of the best”. According to the TMEA website, 1,830 students are selected through a process that begins with over 70,000 students from around the state vying for the honor to perform in one of 18 ensembles sponsored by the Band, Orchestra, and Vocal Divisions. A total of 56 individuals have been selected from Holmes by TMEA to perform in the aforementioned ensembles. The first Holmes All-State musician was Danny Armstrong (Percussion) in 1970 and, most recently, Ian Morrison (Flute) of the attached magnet school Business Careers High School in 2013 and 2014.

Athletics

The Holmes Huskies compete in these sports:^[4]

Notable alumni

• Keith Cash (Class of 1987) — Former professional American football tight end in the NFL. Played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs.^[5]
• Kerry Cash (Class of 1987) — Former professional American football tight end in the NFL. Played for the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, and Oakland Raiders.^[6]
• John Cornyn (Class of 1970) — Senior United States senator for Texas, serving since 2002^[7]
• Trey Martinez Fischer (Class of 1988) — Former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives who represented the San Antonio-based 116th District from 2000 through 2017.^[8]
• Cedric Griffin (Class of 2001) — Former professional American football defensive back in the NFL. Played for the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings.^[9]
• Jennifer Gutierrez (Class of 1985) — Women's Triathlete, 2000 Summer Olympics^[10]
• Anjanette Kirkland (Class of 1992) — Women's Track & Field, Gold Medalist, 2001 World Championships in Athletics, 100-meter Hurdles; Gold Medalist, 2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 60-meter Hurdles^[11]
• Brandon Larson (Class of 1994) — Former professional baseball player in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds.^[12] College World Series MVP for 1997 National Champions, LSU.^[13]
• Dan Morales (Class of 1974) — American politician. Served as the 48th Attorney General of Texas from January 15, 1991 through January 13, 1999, during the administrations of Governors Ann Richards and George W. Bush.
• Michael Morales (musician) (Class of 1981) — Grammy award-winning American musician, producer, and sound engineer, most known for the Top 40-charting song, "Who Do You Give Your Love To?", (#15 Billboard Hot 100).^[14]
• Robert Quiroga (Class of 2000) — Former American football wide receiver who played eight seasons in the Arena Football League and one season in the Canadian Football League.^[15]

Other schools on campus

The Northside School of Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship is a business and technology "school within a school" located on the campus of Oliver Wendell Holmes High School. Notable alumni include Darold Williamson (class of 2001; men's track and field gold medalist and anchor leg, 2004 Summer Olympics, 1,600-meter relay).^[16]

References

External links

• Official site