Midland High School (Midland, Texas)

Midland High School (officially Midland Senior High School) is a public high school located in Midland, Texas and is part of Midland Independent School District. The original Midland High School was built in 1926 and was moved twenty-three years later to a new building in 1949 where it currently sits today. In recent years, Midland High School has received major renovations including complete asbestos removal and new science wing. Also, renovations to their large gym including new floors and new bleachers. The practice field of the Midland High football team Memorial Stadium has also received a new turf.

Midland High School hosts only high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors (10th-12th grades) as Midland Freshman High School serves as a feeder school hosting freshman high school students. Both Midland High School and Midland Freshman High School use the same school mascot, the Midland High Bulldog.

The current principal is Mr. Carlin Grammer.

History

Midland High School's history goes back to the establishment of Midland County back in 1885. It was the first school in Midland County. The one room school house was for all grades. Sixty-four students attended the first school in Midland County. In 1893, a two story brick schoolhouse was built and the top floor was for the secondary students. In 1907, Midland Independent School District was established. The first building to be officially named Midland High School was built in 1926 on the site of what is now Fasken Center, at 600 Texas Street. After 23 years in the Texas Street location, in 1949 Midland High School moved to its present location at 906 West Illinois. The land which Midland High was based on was donated by the Cowdens. The legendary bulldog mascot was chosen for Midland High in 1925 and in 1929 purple and gold were chosen for the school colors.

Academics

Over the course of 2003–2004, Midland High produced 5 National Merit Finalists, 11 National Merit Commended Scholars, 3 National Hispanic Scholars, and 2 National Hispanic Honorable Mention Scholars.

The school has frequently been criticized for abysmal academic performance, scoring in the bottom quartile in nearly every metric. In 2014 the school of 2,000 students produced only three National Merit Finalists, one of whom had already enrolled in a university the previous year.

Traditions

CATOICO, Midland High School's equivalent of prom, was first established in 1929 and stands for Midland's three major commodities: CAttle, OIl, and COtton. CATOICO – pronounced commonly as cuh TOY cuh – is one of the oldest traditions in the state of Texas. The first CATOICO Queen was Martha Louise Nobles Black. Originally, the title went to the girl who was the most successful yearbook fundraiser. Since 1939, the CATOICO court has been chosen by the student body. The first CATOICO coronation activities were in 1936.^[1]

The CATOICO court still exists to this day (April 14, 2015), and the means of the election process are different. Contrary to the title going to the person with the most successful yearbook sales, the election process has become more tedious. Students have to complete a CATOICO packet that includes: teacher recommendations, grades, extra-curricula, etc. Then when that is completed the students are then expected to do a video that will be presented in front of the whole student body, where they will then decide the CATOICO court, king and queen.

Sports

• In 1973 and 2001, Midland High School's baseball team won the state championship.
• In 1998, Midland High School's boys basketball team won the state championship.
• In 1965 and 1966, Midland High School's woman's swim team won two consecutive state titles.

Notable alumni

• Christi Craddick, member of the Texas Railroad Commission
• Tom Craddick, former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, state representative from Midland since 1969
• Antwan Goodley, wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks
• J. Evetts Haley, historian of the American West, political activist
• Michael Loren Mauldin, founder of Lycos
• Thurber T. Mingus (A.K.A. Kyle Merren), Singer and guitarist of southern metal band Pumpjack and soupergroup Gasoline
• Jayson Nix, utility player for the New York Yankees
• Laynce Nix, outfielder that is currently a free agent
• Sean Roden, former NASA flight surgeon
• Doug Russell, 1968 Olympic gold medalist
• Mike Stanton, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds
• Mike Timlin, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
• Wahoo McDaniel, professional football for the Dallas Texans, Houston Oilers, Denver Broncos, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, professional wrestler.
• James Zachery, Canadian Football League player

References

External links

• Midland High School website
• Midland Freshman High School website
• Midland High School profile provided by schooltree.org