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Westlake High School (Texas)

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Public high school in Austin, Travis County, Texas, United States

Westlake High School
Address
4100 Westbank Drive Austin , Travis County , Texas 78746 United States
Coordinates	30°16′33″N 97°48′56″W / 30.27583°N 97.81556°W / 30.27583; -97.81556
Information
Type	Public high school
Opened	1971
School district	Eanes Independent School District
Superintendent	Jeff Arnett[1]
Principal	Steve Ramsey[2]
Teaching staff	199.50 (FTE)[3]
Grades	9–12
Gender	Coeducational
Enrollment	2,825 (2022–23)[3]
Student to teacher ratio	14.16[3]
Color(s)	Red, Blue and White
Athletics conference	UIL 6A
Team name	Chaparrals
Newspaper	Featherduster
Yearbook	El Paisano
Website	Official Website

Westlake High School is a public high schoolinunincorporated territoryofTravis County, Texas, west of and adjacent to Austin.^[4][5] The school is a part of the Eanes Independent School District. Westlake High School is the only high school in the Eanes ISD and serves West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, parts of Southwest Austin, as well as parts of unincorporated Travis County. The school was established in 1969 and opened in 1970.

InNewsweek Magazine's list of America's top High Schools Westlake was ranked #72 in 2011,^[6] #160 in 2012,^[7] #93 in 2013,^[8] and #117 in 2014.^[9]

In high school rankings by The Washington Post, Westlake was #52 in 2010,^[10] #59 in 2011,^[11] #106 in 2012,^[12] #136 in 2013,^[13] and #136 in 2014.^[14]

In the U.S. News & World Report's 2023-2024 rankings, Westlake is listed as #299 out of 17,680 schools.^[15]

Extracurricular activities[edit]

Westlake was moved to the state's highest classification in 2014 when Texas added a 6A classification.^[16]

Academics[edit]

• UIL Academic Meet Champions ^[17]
  • 1993(4A)

Athletics[edit]

The Westlake Chaparrals compete in volleyball, cross country, football, basketball, powerlifting, wrestling, swimming, soccer, lacrosse, golf, tennis, track, water polo, baseball, softball, dance, and cheerleading.^[18]

State titles[edit]

• Baseball
  • 1980(3A),^[19] 1984(4A)^[20]
• Girls basketball
  • 1993(4A),^[21] 1995(5A),^[22] 1996(5A)^[23]
• Boys cross country
  • 1979(B),^[24] 1981(4A)^[25]
• Girls cross country
  • 1975(B),^[26] 1976(B),^[27] 1977(B),^[28] 1985(4A),^[29] 1990(4A)^[30]
• Football
  • 1996(5A),^[31] 2019(6A/D2),^[32] 2020(6A/D1),^[33] 2021(6A/D2)^[34]
• Boys golf^[35]
  • 1980(3A), 1996(5A), 1999(5A), 2001(5A), 2009(5A), 2010(5A), 2014(5A), 2017(6A), 2018(6A), 2019(6A)
• Girls golf
  • 2019(6A)
• Boys swimming^[36]
  • 2006(5A)
• Girls swimming^[37]
  • 1980(All), 1996(All), 1997(All), 2007(5A), 2008(5A), 2014(5A), 2015(5A)
• Team tennis^[38]
  • 1984(4A), 1985(4A), 1992(4A), 2006(5A), 2007(5A), 2009(4A)
• Volleyball^[39]
  • 1991(4A), 1993(4A), 2002(5A), 2004(5A)
• Rugby
  • 2015, 2016

Orchestra[edit]

The orchestra program currently has three full orchestras competing in UIL each year.

Band[edit]

The Westlake High School Chaparral Band has been named the Texas State Honor Band three times (AA, AAA, and AAAA) in its 30-year history.^[40] A select group of Chap Band student musicians performed at the bi-annual conference of the internationally recognized World Association for Symphonic Bands (WASBE) in Cincinnati, OH in July 2009. The invitation to perform at WASBE is the first ever extended to a high school band organization.

State titles[edit]

• Marching Band Sweepstakes Champions ^[41]
  • 1979(3A), 1982(3A)

Cheerleading[edit]

The Westlake Cheer Program's Red Team has won the 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2019 UCA Super Varsity Division 1 National High School Cheerleading Championships.^[42][43]

Notable alumni[edit]

Controversies[edit]

On the morning of Oct. 13, 1989, an effigy was found hanging by a noose from a tree on campus. The effigy was dressed in a football jersey that read "fish." That same day, Westlake High School was set to play the Homecoming football game against Lyndon B. Johnson High School, who had a Black quarterback named "Fish." Controversy over the meaning of the effigy ensued. Some insisted that the lynched effigy was racially motivated. Others thought the word "fish" on the jersey was an unfortunate coincidence, drawing parallels to the nickname "fish" that was often given to freshmen at the school. Another scandal would ensue the same day as the words『Go Home, N——』were found painted on the bleachers for the visiting team. Following the incidents on October 13, the University Interscholastic League put Westlake High School on probation for the 1990-91 school year. The school was also required to institute a plan to improve diversity, inclusion, and sensitivity.^[57]

Public controversy around racism at Westlake High School resurfaced in 2020 with the creation of the Instagram account @racismatwestlake. The account documents firsthand experiences with discrimination at Westlake High School. Media attention garnered by the account has led to conversations surrounding diversity at the school, the actions of administrators, and the general culture at Westlake.^[58][59]

In popular culture[edit]

Neptune High, the high school in Veronica Mars, is partially based on Westlake, where the father of writer-producer Rob Thomas once served as vice-principal.^[60]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Westlake High School
• Westlake High School (whschaps.com) at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
• Westlake High School (eanes.k12.tx.us/whshome.htm) at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
• Westlake High School (webclub.org/whs/) at the Wayback Machine (archive index) - From the WHS Webmastering Class, prior to 2000