Cypress Creek High School (Texas)

Cypress Creek High School, also known as Cy Creek, is a secondary public school located in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States.[2][3] Cypress Creek, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.

Cypress Creek High School
Location
9815 Grant Road
Houston, TX 77070

United States
Coordinates29.966597°N 95.565292°W / 29.966597; -95.565292
Information
TypePublic high school
MottoYou Just Can't Hide That Cougar Pride
Established1977
School districtCypress-Fairbanks Independent School District
PrincipalVicki Snokhous
Faculty208.11 FTE (2018-19)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment3,209 (2018-19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio15.42 (2018-19)[1]
Color(s)    Blue and Silver
AthleticsUIL 6A
Athletics conferenceUniversity Interscholastic League
MascotCougars
NewspaperCougar Connection
WebsiteCypress Creek High School website

Cypress Creek High School opened in the fall of 1977. The first graduating class was in 1980. Over the years, several additions were made to expand the building. In 2004, a major renovation project was passed by Proposition 1 from the 2004 Bond Referendum.[4] All of the interior and much of the exterior is to be remodeled, and new classrooms are to be added. The project was expected to cost approximately $51 million and was completed in 2010. The new renovations, included a new wing in the building, made room for 50 to 100 additional classes and renovated the old parts of the school dating back to the 1970s. As well, a "Black Box Theatre", a Multi-Purpose Room (nicknamed the "Lego Gym") and 6 Assistant Principal/Counselor offices, which were spread around the school, were included in the additions.[5]

Cypress Creek features a CISCO Networking Academy class. Students may commute from other Cypress-Fairbanks high schools to take the course. Additionally, in the school year 2010-2011, an ROTC program was finally added to the school after years of students commuting to other high school campuses to participate in the programs.

Academics

For the 2018-2019 school year, the school received a B grade from the Texas Education Agency, with an overall score of 89 out of 100. The school received a B grade in two domains, School Progress (score of 88) and Closing the Gaps (score of 86), and an A grade in Student Achievement (score of 90). The school received five of the seven possible distinction designations for Academic Achievement in Science, Academic Achievement in Mathematics, Academic Achievement in English Language Arts/Reading, Top 25% Comparative Academic Growth, and Top 25%: Comparative Closing the Gaps. The school did not receive distinction designations for Academic Achievement in Social Studies and Post-Secondary Readiness.[6]

Academy system

Along with the renovations in the 2010–2011 school year, Cypress Creek HS implemented a new "Academy" System based on 16 career pathways as deemed by the organization Achieve Texas, and based on different high schools around the state of Texas and the Country (including nearby Atascocita High School). Administration at Cy Creek combined many of these academies to form 6 that students can choose from. They include:

  • Academy A: AIM (Agriculture, Architecture, Industrial and Manufacturing)
    • Programs of Study: Architectural Designer, Interior Design, Agriculture Welding, Animal Science, Transportation Servicing and Maintenance, Heavy Industrial Metal (welding), Environmental Service Systems, Veterinary Science, Warehousing and Distribution, Plant and Animal Technology
  • Academy B: Business and Finance
    • Programs of Study: Administrative and Information Support, Advertising & Sales Promotion Marketing, Banking & Related Services, eMarketing, Financial Management and Accounting, Management, Marketing.
  • Academy C: Education and Human Services
    • Programs of Study: Culinary Arts, Education-Teacher (Small Children and School-Age), Personal Care Services, Restaurant and Food Services (management), Therapeutic Services.
  • Academy D: Government, Law and Public Administration
    • Programs of Study: Law Enforcement, Legal Services-Technical, Pre-Law, National Defense & Public Administration.
  • Academy E: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) (the most popular academy)
    • Programs of Study: Engineering Technician, Pre-Engineering, Health Science Biotechnology, Health Science Diagnostic Services and Health Information, Medical Support Services, Health Science Therapeutic Service/ Patient Care.
  • Academy F: Arts, Communication and Information Technology
    • Programs of Study: Arts and Animation, Fine Arts (including Dance, Dramatic Arts, Musical, Vocal), Visual Arts (including Artist and Fashion Design), Interior Design, Journalism, Web and Digital Media, Computer Information Systems, Computer Systems Technician, Network Systems Engineering, Software Engineer, Technology Engineer, Radio/Television, Sound/Video/Film Production.

Each academy includes one Counselor and one Assistant Principal to guide the students (that total approximately 400-600 in each academy) toward the career that interests them. Additionally, each staff member will follow approximately 15 students during the year to help the students if needed. However, changes to academies may be made at the end of each school year if the student feels like his/her future lies in a different pathway.

With the new academies and the administration of Cy Creek trying to steer the campus into a new way of teaching to better prepare the students for their future, a new bell schedule was implemented in the 2010–2011 school year. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, the students attend their regular 7 classes with 6 minutes in between each class. However, Wednesdays and Thursdays implement a "Block Schedule" in order to get more information to the students in a longer class period. Wednesdays include 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th periods as well as an advocacy period in which a teacher advises a group of students (all students share gender, grade and academy) in their high school career. On Thursdays, students attend 2nd, 4th and 6th periods and are released from the campus at 12:58 (instead of the normal 2:30). This new schedule was implemented in order to include the advocacy time, and to allow for training of teachers during the extra time after school on Thursdays, without extending teacher's working hours. Although the plan had been met with a surprise liking from the students and parents, the bell schedule was eventually reverted back to 7:20AM – 2:40PM for 5 days a week during the 2016-2017 school year.

During the 2010–2011, 2011–2012, and 2012–2013 school years, the school will be expanding the academy program and changing it so that it fits the school the best. With the plan's implementation, the school has been awarded a grant for $500,000 in order to nurture the new program, and has been named a "High School that Works" (one of about 1000 nationwide and the only in Cy-Fair ISD).

Newsweek rankings

Cy Creek has repeatedly been rated as one of the top 1500 schools in America by Newsweek, with the 2009-2010 school year bringing it the rating 1487, just behind fellow Cy-Fair ISD school Langham Creek, the first time Langham Creek has ranked higher than Cy Creek in the Newsweek ratings.[7]

Attendance zone

Willowbrook, Houston is in the school's attendance zone.[8][9][10]

Notable alumni

Feeder patterns

Schools that feed into Cypress Creek include:[11]

  • Elementary schools: Hancock, Matzke, Moore, Yeager, Danish (partial), Francone (partial), Hamilton (partial), Millsap (partial), Willbern (partial)
  • Middle schools: Bleyl, Campbell (partial), and Hamilton (partial)

Scandals

Brian Drake, the Cypress Creek High School band director in 2017, is accused of having sex with a former student and was removed from campus.

Court records show the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District Police Department received a tip on Sept. 16 that Drake had "manipulated" a former Cypress Creek High School student in an inappropriate relationship while she was still enrolled as a student at the school. Police said the tipster claimed Drake was threatening the student by saying he would kill himself if his wife or anyone else found out about their relationship.[12]

"We were outraged to learn that a Cypress Creek high school teacher was accused of conduct inconsistent of that of a CFISD employee. Due to the seriousness of the allegations, he was immediately removed from the campus, and we will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation by law enforcement. Any compromise to student safety will not be tolerated."

— statement released by Cypress Fairbanks ISD officials

References
  1. "Search for Public Schools - CYPRESS CREEK H S (481611001183)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  2. "City of Houston City limits" (PDF). City of Houston. Retrieved 2019-05-23. - The school is not in the Houston city limits.
  3. Home. Cypress Creek High School. Retrieved on May 24, 2019. "Physical Address 9815 Grant Road Houston, TX 77070"
  4. CFISD. "Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Bond Election Passes with Overwhelming Support From Voters". Archived from the original on June 23, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2004.
  5. "Transforming Tradition" (PDF).
  6. "CYPRESS CREEK H S". Texas Education Agency. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  7. "Newsweek.com ranks top high schools".
  8. "No. 1 Willowbrook Super Neighborhood Resource Assessment" (PDF). City of Houston. Retrieved 2020-03-11. - Note where residential areas are on the map and match those to zoned schools
  9. "High School Attendance Zones 9th-11th Grade 2019-2020". Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  10. "High School Attendance Zones 12th Grade 2019-2020". Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  11. "High School Feeder System." Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  12. Staff, Click2Houston.com. "Cypress Creek High School band director accused of having sex..." www.click2houston.com. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
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