J.J. Pearce High School | |
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Address | |
1600 North Coit Road Richardson, Texas, Dallas County 75080 United States |
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Information | |
Type | High School/secondary school |
Established | 1967 |
School district | Richardson Independent School District |
Principal | Michael Evans |
Grades | 9-12 |
Color(s) | |
Mascot | Mustang |
Website | http://www.edline.net/pages/PearceHS |
J.J. Pearce High School is a high school located in Richardson, Texas, United States. It is named after Joseph Jones Pearce, who served as superintendent for the RISD from 1946 to 1977. It is one of two Richardson Independent School District high schools to have a natatorium. In 2013, it had an enrollment of 2,167 and a student:teacher ratio of 20:1.
Pearce was established in 1967 with a group of tenth graders housed at Richardson North Junior High School. Prior to 1967, all high school students in the Pearce area attended Richardson High School. In 1968 the school moved to its current home on Coit Road; the campus has been expanded several times since.
Newsweek ranked Pearce at #528 in the top 1,000 high schools in the nation. Schools were ranked based on the number of students who took Advanced Placement courses and AP tests. Pearce was named a 1988-89 National Blue Ribbon School.
In 2009, the state classified 81% of Pearce's graduates as "college ready," or ready to undergo university studies. The State of Texas defined "college readiness" by scores on the ACT and SAT and in the 11th grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests. During the same year, the school's student body had 22% poor students, and 27% of its students had a risk of dropping out. Holly K. Hacker of The Dallas Morning News said that the readiness rate was about 20 points higher than statistics would predict, and that the school "far exceeds what is expected." The racial mix of the neighborhood has remained relatively constant- there are students bussed in from outside neighborhoods, mainly from southern Dallas county. Many families move to the Pearce area for the high caliber RISD schools. Teachers enjoy working at Pearce, and the school employs a well-qualified staff, including multiple Teacher of the Year recipients. Academic success is the primary emphasis of Pearce, with high levels of parent involvement and relatively high student participation in extra-curricular activities, displaying a proactive community.