Stephen F. Austin High School (Houston)

Stephen F. Austin High School is a secondary school located at 1700 Dumble Street in Houston, Texas, United States. The school handles grades nine through twelve and is a part of the Houston Independent School District. In 2013, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.The school, named after Stephan F. Austin, is located in the Eastwood area in the East End. The neighborhood was developed in the 1920s, and the school's Art Deco architecture reflects this. The school has HISD's magnet program for Teaching Professions. The Port of Houston Maritime Academy was scheduled to come to Austin High School in August 2009.The school is about 2mi southeast from Downtown Houston.HistoryAustin was first built in 1936.In 1984 Mimi Swartz of the Texas Monthly wrote that Austin High School was "not considered particularly dangerous" in comparison to other HISD schools.By 1989 the school had experienced issues related to student absenteeism and dropouts. On Monday, October 16, 1989 two students, 16-year-old Alma Rincon and 18-year-old-Cedric Smith watched an episode of 21 Jump Street about students who protest and walk out of school. The following day the two discussed the show during an American history class; Austin High School had a lack of textbooks and scheduling conflicts. The students decided that a protest could help change this. Before the walkout, the administration learned that there would be a walkout on Monday, October 23 and principal Otila Urbina warned students to not participate. The organizers tricked the administration by rescheduling the walkout to Friday. On Friday, October 20, 1989 up to 1,000 students walked out of class and talked to reporters. One week later, on Friday October 27, HISD superintendent Joan Raymond announced that Urbina would be reassigned to administrative duties. After the incident, students received additional books. Macario Garcia, a spokesperson for the students, said that he believed that school officials may "review everything but are not going to take immediate action."