Trinity High School (Euless, Texas) Explained

Trinity High School
Logo Alt:Trinity High School logo
Motto:Responsibility, Pride, and Determination Make Trinity Different
Established:1968
Type:Public
Principal:Ronald Pugh
Address:500 North Industrial Boulevard
City:Euless
State:Texas
Zipcode:76039
County:Tarrant County
Country:United States
District:Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District
Grades:10–12
Students:2,710 (2023–2024)[1]
Grade10:914
Grade11:922
Grade12:874
Faculty:156.39 (FTE)
Ratio:17.33
Rival:L.D. Bell High School
Conference:UIL Class 6A
Mascot:Trojan
Yearbook:Triune
Newspaper:Palantir
Colors: Scarlet and Black

Trinity High School (also known as Euless Trinity in sports) is a public high school in Euless, Texas. The school serves grade levels 10–12 and is a part of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District.

The school is named "Trinity" as an homage to the three cities comprised by the school district in which it is located: Hurst, Euless, and Bedford (and also as a reference to the nearby Trinity River, which forms the southern border of the school district). The school's mascot is a Trojan. The Trinity High School football team has won the Texas 5A Division 1 State Championship three times (2005, 2007, 2009).[2] [3]

Trinity High School is also notable as the most diverse public high school in Texas and the fifth most diverse public high school in the country.[4] In 2017, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency, with a 5-Star Distinction for Academic Achievements in ELA/Reading, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Post Secondary Readiness.[5]

History

Trinity was established as the second high school in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District. The first HEB ISD high school was L.D. Bell High School, which opened in 1957 in Euless, but moved to its current site in Hurst in 1965. The Trinity campus sits on a hillside in west central Euless, less than 500 feet from the Euless-Bedford city limit.

In November 2023, voters approved an HEB ISD bond package that included plans to replace Trinity High School's current buildings with a new building at the same campus.[6]

Campus

Trinity High School is made up of eleven distinct buildings, most of which are named for the department they house (often abbreviated to just the first letter). The nine original buildings were: the Fine Arts Building, the Academics Building, the Library, the Science Building, the Physical Education Building, the Cafeteria, the Driver's Education Building, a small two-story building called D-Building, and an Administration Building. The Physical Education building formerly included a natatorium that was mothballed and eventually demolished in the 2010s. The late 1990s brought three major changes to the campus: a system of covered walkways was built to connect most of the school's buildings, a new band hall was added to the Fine Arts Building, and a wing was added to the Academics Building. This new wing became the new face of the campus because of its large and prominent façade and provided new offices for the principal, assistant principals, and secretaries. The original Administration Building was converted to house the counselors' offices.

In the first few years of the new millennium, two new buildings were added to the Trinity campus. The two-story N-Building lies on the campus's southern edge and houses the Foreign Language Department and many classes of and the office of the coordinator of the International Baccalaureate program. Just a little further into campus from the D-Building is the new W-Building. The W-Building houses special education classrooms and is specifically designed to accommodate the needs of students with physical disabilities. An activity center named for former principal B.J. Murray opened in 2013 with a 70-yard indoor field, offices, locker rooms, and a weight room dedicated after Trinity alum Ryan McBean.[7] The center is colloquially referred to as "the Mac".[8]

Student body

During the 2016–2017 school year, Trinity High School enrolled 2,574 students in grade 10 (34.4%), grade 11 (34.0%), and grade 12 (31.6%). Ethnicities represented include white (31.3%), Hispanic (29.2%), African-Americans (21.4%), Asian and Pacific Islander (9.9%), Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander (3.2%), two or more races (4.3%), and Native American (0.8%). Forty-eight percent were economically disadvantaged.

Euless is home to one of the largest Tongan populations outside of Tonga; the school is known for welcoming and celebrating students from diverse backgrounds.[9] [10] [11] [12] One of the school's most visible cultural celebrations is the varsity football team's performance of the Sipi Tau before and after each game.[13]

Trinity High School receives students from three feeder schools: all students from Euless Junior High school and Harwood Junior High school attend Trinity along with roughly half of the students from Central Junior High school. Students in the attendance zones for Bell Manor, Lakewood, Meadow Creek, Midway Park, North Euless, Oakwood Terrace, Shady Brook, South Euless, Spring Garden, Viridian, and Wilshire elementary schools attend Trinity High School.[14]

The State of Texas defined "college readiness," or readiness to undergo university studies, by scores on the ACT and SAT and in the 11th grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests. Holly Hacker of The Dallas Morning News said that the school was "high-performing" in that regard.[15]

Academics

Among Tarrant County high schools, Trinity High School ranks eighth (of forty-six) in average points above passing on the 11th grade TAKS test.[16]

On The Washington Post's 2016 list of America's most challenging high schools, Trinity High School is ranked 1497th out of approximately 22,000 public high schools, based on a ratio of 1.886 college-level exams taken per graduate.[17] Using similar criteria, the school was ranked 304th in the nation (and 6th within Tarrant County) on Newsweek's 2007 list of the top 1,200 high schools in the country[18]

Among Trinity's class of 2016, the average Old SAT score was 1442 (Texas state average was 1375), and the average ACT score was 21.8 (Texas state average was 20.3). In 2016, the school had 7 National Merit semifinalists[19] and 2 semifinalists in 2017.[20]

Trinity High School is an International Baccalaureate World School. The program graduated its first group of seniors in 2004.

Athletics

Trinity High School has been ranked in the top 1% of "Best High Schools Sports" at the local, state-wide, and national levels.[21] Trinity hosts its home football games at Pennington Field, which they share with L.D. Bell High School. Most athletic activity at Trinity occurs in the "P" building, as well as the activity center.

Championships

Rodeo

Speech & Debate

Boy's Gymnastics

Drama

Journalism

Girl’s soccer

Football

Girls Lacrosse

Cheerleading

Criminal Justice

Girls Wrestling

Fine arts

Band program

In January 1972, Trinity's symphonic band was invited to represent the United States by Mexico's Department of Cultural Exchange, performing at Three Rivers High School before playing three concerts in Monterrey, Mexico.

The band continues to participate in UIL competitions. In 2017, they resumed membership in Bands of America and participated in the Super-Regional Championship in Atlanta at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where they placed 15th.[31]

Drama

The Trinity Drama Department has also had its share of success, advancing to the State finals for UIL One Act Play in 1987, 1990, 1991, and 1992. They won the State Championship in 1992.

Photography

The Trinity Photography Department is a 6 time State Champion program. In 2008 Trinity had at least 9 finalists in the Best of College Photo Contest. At the Texas A&M Photo Shootout and the Association of Texas Photography Instructors Winter Conference in Arlington the Trojans brought home 33 awards. In 2008 alone the Trinity Photo Department won over 100 awards. They also had a special appearance in the nationally broadcast Dallas Cowboys End of Year Special in 2008.[32] The Trinity Photography Department won State Championships in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2019.

Choir

The Trinity Choir program has seen success after success in National Competitions and at home. In 2007, the Trinity High School Choirs won 10 out of the 11 awards at the Disney Festival and received Sweepstakes ratings in the UIL Competition. The show choir, Harmony, is a 14-16 member auditioned ensemble and perform throughout the Metroplex including places such as The Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Nationalization Ceremony for immigrants, and the Ft. Worth Petroleum Club.

Yearbook

Trinity's Triune Yearbook has received National Awards for its 2007 publication. Including the Gold Medalist from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the highest ranking category. They have been nominated to receive the prestigious CSPA Crown Award presented only to the top 30 yearbooks in the Nation. They received the All-American rating with 5 marks of Distinction from the National Press Association, the NSPA's highest ranking. Triune has been selected as an elite NSPA Pacemaker Finalist recognizing the top 25 books nationally. They have also been selected by Taylor Publishing as a top 5% outstanding yearbook that will be shared with yearbook staffs around the country.[33]

Trojan Crew

Formerly called Trojan Men, the now co-educational Trojan Crew waves the schools banner during football games, the school scores a touchdown, the Crew runs the letter flags and Nike flags down the field in support, raising the spirits of the players and the student section.[34]

Notable alumni

External links

32.8429°N -97.0964°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: TRINITY H S. National Center for Education Statistics. December 17, 2024.
  2. News: Lunsford . J. Lynn . A Tongan War Dance Enlivens Football in Euless, Texas . Wall Street Journal . November 16, 2006 . May 8, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061202090738/http://www.trinitytrojanfootball.com/SB116364486631624627.html . December 2, 2006 . dead . (WSJ link)
  3. Web site: Trinity wins 2nd title in 3 years . Verdejo . Angel . December 22, 2007 . January 3, 2008 . Ft. Worth Star-Telegram . live . https://archive.today/20080103213852/http://www.star-telegram.com/highschools/story/375069.html . January 3, 2008 .
  4. Web site: 2017 Most Diverse Public High Schools in America. Niche. April 28, 2017.
  5. Web site: 2016-17 Texas Academic Performance Report. Texas Education Agency. November 26, 2017. 1–20. PDF.
  6. News: HEB ISD proposes $1 billion bond to upgrade aging schools. Matthew. Sgroi. Fort Worth Report. 2023-09-25. 2024-02-05.
    News: Voters approve combined $1.5B in school upgrades for Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, HEB districts. Jacob. Sanchez. Matthew. Sgroi. Fort Worth Report. 2023-11-08. 2024-02-05.
    Web site: What's Proposed -- HEB ISD Bond 2023. HEB ISD. 2024-02-05.
  7. Web site: Hundreds turn out for activity center ribbon cuttings. Hurst Euless Bedford Independent School District. May 16, 2013. September 10, 2015.
  8. Web site: B. J. Murray Activity Center. Trinity Trojans. Trinity Trojan Football Booster Club. November 26, 2017.
  9. Web site: An island for Tongans in a Texas high school. Jere. Longman. The New York Times. October 9, 2008. October 12, 2018.
  10. Web site: Texas Football Team Thrives On Tonga Connection. October 4, 2008. October 12, 2018. Wade. Goodwyn. Wade Goodwyn. All Things Considered (NPR).
  11. Web site: At Euless' Trinity High School, known for winning football, students champion tolerance. Laurie. Fox. December 18, 2018. October 12, 2010. The Dallas Morning News.
  12. Web site: They moved from Venezuela to DFW for a better life. Now they're starring at Euless Trinity. Rick. Mauch. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 17, 2018. October 12, 2018.
  13. Web site: Trinity Trojans' Tongan Advantage. Nick. Walters. The Old Coach, 247Sports. October 16, 2018. October 17, 2018.
  14. Web site: HEB ISD:Map & Attendance Zones. Hurst Euless Bedford Independent School District. September 20, 2017.
  15. Hacker, Holly K. "Analysis shows true Texas high school performance, stripping away socioeconomic factors." The Dallas Morning News. September 3, 2011. Retrieved on February 10, 2012.
  16. News: May 16, 2007 . Another way to gauge high school quality . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930185227/http://media.star-telegram.com/smedia/2007/05/16/12/Ratings.source.prod_affiliate.58.pdf . 2007-09-30 . Fort Worth Star-Telegram . B9. In: News: Brock . Katherine Cromer . Claassen . Jeff . May 16, 2007 . [<!-- was at http://www.star-telegram.com/229/story/103586.html, but that link is now dead --> Identical ratings hide differences / School ratings can hide disparities / School: Change to ratings is considered / Schools: Push to modify ratings system is under way / Schools: Push is under way to modify the ranking system for Texas schools [depends on page and edition; may not be exhaustive] ]. Fort Worth Star-Telegram . Measuring up: a guide to Tarrant County schools [in some editions] . 1A, 1B, 9B, 10B, 11B [multiple parts, and depends on edition; may not be exhaustive] . Fort Worth, Texas . Newspapers.com . .
  17. Web site: America's Most Challenging High Schools: Trinity. The Washington Post. 2016. April 27, 2016.
  18. News: May 22, 2007 . [<!-- http://www.star-telegram.com/407/story/110470.html is a dead link --> Tarrant schools make the grade ]. Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Northeast edition).

    andWeb site: 2007 . America's Top Public High Schools / America's Best High Schools / The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,200 top U.S. schools . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070523054940/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18757087/site/newsweek/ . May 23, 2007 . May 22, 2007 . MSNBC . MSN . Newsweek Education.

  19. News: Smith. Diane. National Merit semifinalists: 108 Tarrant-area seniors make list. November 26, 2017. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 14, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20171126174040/http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article101797592.html. November 26, 2017.
  20. Web site: Semifinalists: 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program. Thesis Magazine. November 26, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171126174257/http://www.thesismag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2018-National-Merit-Semifinalists-Texas.pdf. November 26, 2017. 5.
  21. Web site: 2019 Trinity High School Rankings - Niche. Niche. November 28, 2018.
  22. Web site: Texas High School Gymnastics Coaches Association Past Champions: Division I . thsgca.org . January 22, 2025.
  23. Web site: One Act Play State Champions . 2016 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040450/http://uil100.org/archives/academics/one-act-play.php . March 4, 2016 . dead . November 28, 2016.
  24. Web site: ILPC Awards 1991-92 . uiltexas.org . January 22, 2025.
  25. Web site: All-Time Girls High School Team Academic Award Recipients . unitedsoccercoaches.org . January 22, 2025.
  26. Web site: 2005-2006 UIL State Champions . uiltexas.org . January 22, 2025.
  27. Web site: 2007-2008 UIL State Champions . uiltexas.org . January 22, 2025.
  28. Web site: 2009-2010 UIL State Champions . uiltexas.org . January 22, 2025.
  29. Web site: Trophy Case . tghsll.org . January 22, 2025.
  30. Web site: 2019-2020 UIL State Champions . uiltexas.org . January 21, 2025.
  31. Web site: BOA Atlanta Financial Agreement. Casanova. Mario. Trinity High School Band. April 13, 2018.
  32. Web site: Trinity Photography Awards. March 19, 2008.
  33. Web site: Trinity Triune Awards. March 23, 2008.
  34. Web site: Trojan Crew Trinity Trojans . Trinity Trojan Football . April 13, 2018.
  35. Web site: Euless Trinity Trojans; Famous Alumni . WFAA.com . May 15, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928045201/http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/highschools/leaderboard/schoolhome.html?page=alum&sid=1222 . September 28, 2007 . dead.
  36. News: Mack Beggs: 'Change the laws and then watch me wrestle the boys' . March 2, 2017 . . January 23, 2025.
  37. Layzie Bone . LayzieBTNH . 471523295628894208 . May 28, 2014 . Went to this school 1990-91 Trinity High School Euless TX http://instagram.com/p/oh11YRouD5/ . April 9, 2019 .
  38. Web site: Texas 2022 RB Ollie Gordon commits to Oklahoma State . Nagel . Cody . February 2, 2022 . 247sports.com . January 21, 2025.
  39. News: Colts sign rookie OL Robert Griffin . December 12, 2012 . . . January 23, 2025.
  40. Web site: Meet Erik Hansen . November 26, 2003 . January 21, 2019 . University of Iowa.
  41. Web site: Miami Dolphins 2022 undrafted free agent tracker . Masala . Mike . April 30, 2022 . Dolphins Wire . USA Today . January 23, 2025.
  42. Web site: Bethany Joy Lenz Biography, Age,Net Worth, Wiki, Real Name, Children, Instagram, Parents, partner . March 18, 2024.
  43. News: Utah football: Texas lineman Hiva Lutui picks the Utes . Lya . Wodraska . January 30, 2012 . . January 23, 2025.
  44. Web site: 'SNL 1975' Movie Finds Its Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin & Laraine Newman . Justin . Kroll . January 26, 2024 . . January 23, 2025.
  45. Web site: Former Montana State All-American DeNarius McGhee joining Utah State coaching staff . January 16, 2025 . montanasports.com . January 21, 2025.
  46. Web site: 1993 Awards for Student Work - Gold Circle Awards: Scholastic Recipients . 1993 . . 3 . January 23, 2025.
  47. Web site: Michael Muhney Biography.
  48. Web site: THS Football Star Returns to Play in Super Bowl . . January 29, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111001025855/http://www.hebisd.edu/news/article.asp?ArticleID=1107 . October 1, 2011.
  49. News: North Texas actress Sarah Shahi to play Nancy Drew . Jay . Betsill . February 29, 2016 . . January 18, 2025.
  50. Web site: Garth Ten Napel. Pro-Football-Reference.com. September 6, 2014.
  51. Web site: Aggie defense playing as well as Melvin Robertson's 1970s units . Thomas . Warner . December 26, 2020 . . January 20, 2025.
  52. Web site: Sam Tevi Recruiting Profile . . January 23, 2025.
  53. Web site: Schools Turning Up Heat For Turner . Steve . Helwagen . October 22, 2013 . 247sports.com . January 21, 2025.
  54. Web site: 2010 Football Roster: Trevor Vittatoe . utepminers.com . January 23, 2025.
  55. Web site: The Ugly Duckling: The story of how Bedford's Sara Grace Wallerstedt became a globe-trotting cover model—and went to prom . S. Holland . Murphy . September 19, 2017 . . January 23, 2025.
  56. Web site: 2006 Men's Soccer Roster: Daniel Wollard . msumustangs.com . January 23, 2025.
  57. Web site: The ABC show 'Kevin (Probably) Saves the World' is full of Texas connections . Michael . Granberry . February 6, 2018 . Guide Live . February 7, 2018.