30°03′53″N 94°54′19″W / 30.0647°N 94.9052°W / 30.0647; -94.9052

Dayton High School is a public secondary school located in Dayton in Liberty County in southeastern Texas, United States founded in 1895. In 2022 the school served 1,581 students in grades 9-12.

Dayton High School is the only high school in the Dayton Independent School District, serving the cities of Dayton, Dayton Lakes and Kenefick, and the unincorporated communities of Eastgate, Stilson, as well as a significant portion of Old River-Winfree.^[5]

The school has over 100 classroom teachers, 20 office and support staff, 4 principals, 4 counselors, and 2 curriculum coordinators. Its dual enrollment students are serviced by Lee College, a community college located 27 miles away, in Baytown, Texas.^[6]

The current head principal is Geoff McCracken. Chris Conner serves as the assistant principal for students in the 9th grade, with Shayann Johnson, Thomas Swagger, and Savannah Zinter being the assistant principals for students in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades with surnames beginning with A-Gr, Gu-Pe, and Pi-Z respectively. Travis Young served as head principal for many years prior to McCracken's placement in his current position.

History

In 1895, the schools met in sessions of four months each. By 1934, the school met in an 8-room building; in 1935 an additional 6-room building was added.^[7]

It was founded in 1895.^[7][8] A building was constructed in 1923 for a cost of $17,000.^[9] In 1952 an $800,000 building, with a 1,000-seat auditorium and 75-seat gymnasium was opened.^[10][11] The football field was constructed in 1940.^[12] In 1972 a large explosion caused $6,000-$7,000 in damage.^[13]

That school stood on the site of the current Woodrow Wilson Junior High from September 1952 to May 1999, when the new building on Texas State Highway 321 was built and inaugurated in the 1999-2000 school year after the passing of a 16.9 million dollar bond in 1996. The building would have a capacity of 1,600 students to address overcrowding^[14][15] Mexican joint venture Mission-Bufete secured an initial contract for 14.6 million dollars with Dayton ISD. Construction of the new building was set to be completed May 1998 after groundbreaking occurred in August 1997.^[14][16][15] In November of the same year, district officials reported construction was "on schedule" or even ahead of schedule.^[15] The 1999-2000 school year began late, as the facility was not yet completed,^[17] though members of the public were allowed to tour the school May 1999.^[18] 48 new staff members were hired upon the opening of the new school.^[19]

In 2008, the Dayton High School football team reached the football state championship.^[20]

Notable alumni

• John Otto (Class of 1966), member of the Texas House of Representatives 2005-2017 representing Liberty, San Jacinto, and Walker counties
• Don Brown (Class of 1955), football player who played one season as a running back in the American Football League^[12]
• Aaron Ripkowski (Class of 2011), American football fullback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL).^[21]
• Julie Kocurek (Class of 1983), Texas state court judge, having served as the presiding judge of the 390th District Court in Austin, Texas since 1999.
• Frances Northcutt (Class of 1961), first female engineer to work in NASA's Mission Control during Apollo 8. Lunar crater Poppy was named in her honor for her work and pioneering in the Apollo Program.
• Mike Mabry (Class of 1998), American football center

References