Wichita Falls High School (WFHS) is a public school in Wichita Falls, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls Independent School District (WFISD) and is one of the district's three high schools. Located at 2149 Avenue H and Coyote Blvd., the school serves students in grades nine through twelve.
History
As the first high school in the city, Wichita Falls High School is locally known as "Old High." The school was founded in 1891, with a new building built on Broad Street in 1909. In 1924 the school moved to new building on Avenue H, and the old building became Reagan Junior High.[2] The 1909 building now serves as the WFISD Administration Building, and is a state historic landmark.[3]
As of January 2023, WFISD was nearing completion of two new high schools – Legacy and Memorial – which are scheduled to open for classes in the Fall of 2024. This means Wichita Falls High will shut its doors permanently at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, with students moving to one of the two new high schools.[4] The campus will sit vacant until a potential school bond election in 2027 is proposed to convert it into a middle school.[5]
Student demographics
As of the 2013–2014 school year, Wichita Falls High School had a total of 1,473 students (47.41% White, 35.2% Hispanic, 15.6% African American, 1.8% Asian, and 0.3% Native American).[6]
The WFISD also awarded Wichita Falls High School with an award for the district's highest GPA, every year from 1991 to 2002. The award was discontinued in 2002.
Wichita Falls had one of the most predominant football programs for more than 30 years, from the late 1930s to the early 1970s. Under the guidance of head coaches Ted Jeffries (1931–43), Thurman Jones (1944–46), Joe Golding (1947–61), and Donnell Crosslin (1965–79), the Wichita Falls Coyotes made the state finals ten times between 1937 and 1971, winning six times.[9]
Through the 2022 football season, Wichita Falls High School has made playoffs 45 times, winning eight Quarterfinal Championships, seventeen Regional Championships, twenty-one Area Championships, twenty-three Bi-District Championships, and thirty-six District Championships since 1923.
In September 2007, Texas Monthly Magazine named Wichita Falls High School as the top high school football program in state history.[10]
Student journalism
Wichita Falls High School's journalism program publishes the school's newspaper and yearbook.
Mrs. Anetta Reusch managed the award-winning program for numerous years until her retirement in 2013. Mr. Jason Byas has since taken the reins of the organization as the faculty adviser.
In 2013, the organization was reevaluated and the two publications were restructured to publish under the entity WFHS Publishing. The move was meant to save cost for the newspaper and yearbook and improve communication throughout the program and the publications it publishes.
Since the restructuring, the newspaper, The Coyote News, for the first time in over five years, made a profit and the yearbook increased yearly sales.
The newspaper runs an online edition of the paper. WFHS Publishing has also published a history guide to Wichita Falls High School that is available on their website.
The Wichita Falls High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Army program was established in 1951. The battalion is officially recognized as the Coyote Battalion. Since its establishment the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp program has competed statewide and nationally as well as hosting the annual "The Wichita" JROTC Drill meet during November every year. They have an average participation body of 130 cadets per year. The Battalion received the gold level presidential service award in 2019, and are considered an honor unit with distinction (Yellow Star) by the U.S. Army JROTC.
Rivalry
Wichita Falls High School has participated in the rivalry against Rider High School since the completion of Rider in 1961. Beginning the week of the infamous game, the Wichita Falls Police Department reports an increase in vandalism, theft, and attacks from both sides.
^Cashion, Ty (1998). Pigskin Pulpit: A Social History of Texas High School Football Coaches. Austin: Texas State Historical Association. pp. 164–165. ISBN0-87611-168-1.
