Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions is a medical secondary school located in the Medical Center area of Houston, Texas, United States.Falkenberg, Lisa. (commentary) "Let's thank DeBakey for school, too." Houston Chronicle. Tuesday July 15, 2008. Retrieved on November 20, 2011. It is a part of the Houston Independent School District.
It has been named the number one public high school in Houston by the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Press, and Children at Risk and number 26 in best high schools in the United States by US News in 2013. DeBakey High School, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Houston Independent School District and is west of the Texas Medical Center. It is the only Houston magnet high school for health professions. The school was named after Michael E. DeBakey, a famous heart surgeon. DeBakey does not automatically take in students from the surrounding neighborhood; the surrounding neighborhood is zoned to Lamar High School."Lamar High School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on July 1, 2017.
DeBakey was a 2018 recipient of the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award.
The school has a campus in Qatar. It is located in Al Messila, Doha, Qatar. The school offers a U.S. curriculum with a focus on science, mathematics, and medical science, preparing students for careers in medicine and science.Official Qatari website http://debakeyatqatar.org
History
With an initial student body of 45, the High School for Health Professions opened in 1972 as part of a partnership between the Houston Independent School District and the Baylor College of Medicine."DeBakey principal taking school's premise abroad." Houston Chronicle. May 28, 2008. The curriculum was shaped in its early years as DeBakey was the world's first high school to specialize in medical professions.Roberts, Marnie. "Rigor and Vigor: Three Schools Reap Results." Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers, 1999, Vol.74(6), p. 20–23. Cited: p. 22. Perry Weston was the first principal.
In the 1984–1985 school year, DeBakey had the lowest percentage of failing grades in the Houston Independent School District. In the fall semester, 7% of grades were failing, while in the spring semester, 6% of grades were failing.Hunt, Dianna. "Fewer failing grades since start of no-pass rule". Houston Chronicle. Saturday June 29, 1985. Section 1, Page 22. Retrieved on December 8, 2011.
The school was renamed after Michael E. DeBakey in 1996.
The school was a National Blue Ribbon School award winner in 1997–98Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982–1983 Through 1999–2002 (PDF) and 2003.Microsoft Word – list-2003.doc In 1998 the U.S. Department of Education named DeBakey as one of ten "New American High Schools".
Plans for the school to be relocated within the Texas Medical Center were made but soon canceled because the Houston Independent School District decided to renovate instead. Renovations started August 2006 and ended in 2008.
In 2006 the Houston Independent School District board considered moving the Kay On-Going Education Center, a special school for pregnant girls, to an unused area within DeBakey High School. DeBakey had around 30 unused classrooms, and district administrators argued that the Texas Medical Center location would be of use to pregnant students.Radcliffe, Jennifer. "HISD offers plan to save school for pregnant teens." Houston Chronicle. Tuesday May 9, 2006. Retrieved on December 8, 2011. Jennifer Radcliffe of the Houston Chronicle said that the proposed plan yielded a "mixed" reaction in DeBakey parents and students. Some signed a petition asking the district not to merge Kay On-Going into DeBakey.Radcliffe, Jennifer. "Communities & Neighborhoods / School won't relocate to DeBakey High / HISD will move the program for pregnant teens elsewhere after controversy ensues". Houston Chronicle. Saturday, June 24, 2006. B2. Retrieved on December 8, 2011. The district did not go forward with the plan. Instead it moved into Kay On-Going into the Carter Career Center in the Fifth Ward.
The Supreme Education Council of Qatar opened a branch version of DeBakey, DeBakey High School for Health Professions at Qatar, in its country, with Charlesetta Deason, formerly principal of the Houston school, as the head of the Qatar school. Deason began her term as the Houston DeBakey principal in 1989.Roberts, Marnie. "Rigor and Vigor: Three Schools Reap Results." Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers, 1999, Vol.74(6), p. 20–23. Cited: p. 21.
In 2012, four DeBakey juniors qualified for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, two of them placed second in their respective categories detailing chitosan nanoparticles.
On December 15, 2014,"HISD breaks ground on four new campuses, celebrates first project to ‘go vertical’." Houston Independent School District. December 18, 2014. Retrieved on December 21, 2014. groundbreaking for a new DeBakey campus occurred."DeBakey HS breaks ground for new school in Texas Medical Center." Houston Independent School District. December 16, 2014. Retrieved on December 21, 2014. This campus opened in 2017.
The former DeBakey campus on Shenandoah hosted students from Braeburn Elementary School after Hurricane Harvey occurred in 2017.
Campus The campus, with five stories and of space,"Construction at new DeBakey HS quickly moving along." Houston Independent School District. May 6, 2016. Retrieved on February 5, 2017. is located on the ex-Hornberger Conference Center site, in the western side of the Texas Medical Center,"Building Programs DeBakey High School." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on February 5, 2017. near Holcombe Boulevard (which turns into Bellaire Boulevard). The campus's land was donated to the school district.
It has a price tag of $65 million, and the planned capacity is about 900–1,000 students. In addition to science laboratories, the facility includes mock hospital rooms and patient care, dentistry, and rehabilitation laboratories. The current campus opened in June 2017.
There is also a campus located in Doha, Qatar.
Admissions Like many HISD magnet schools, DeBakey High School uses a lottery system for admission, though students must have a minimum matrix score of 80 to apply. "" Students rank their school choice before being either accepted, waitlisted, or denied. As of 2024, 1441 students applied for 250 seats. generalacademic.com ""
Academics DeBakey offers pre-advanced placement classes in mathematics, science, social sciences, foreign languages, and English in 9th and 10th grade, as well as 25 Advanced Placement classes: AP English Literature and Composition, AP English Language and Composition, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP World History: Modern, AP US History, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Macroeconomics, AP US Government and Politics, AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, AP Seminar, AP Research, AP Statistics, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, AP Psychology, AP Human Geography, AP Music Theory, and AP Studio Art, which includes 2-D Design and Drawing.
The school requires students to fulfill these class requirements to graduate as DeBakey scholars: 5 years of mathematics (culminating in AP Calculus or AP Statistics) 5 years of science (culminating in an AP-level course) 4 years of health sciences 4 years of social studies 3 years of a foreign language (same language for all 3 years) 1 year of fine arts or theater 1 year of physical education
William G. Ouchi, author of Making Schools Work: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children the Education They Need, wrote that the large number of course requirements make it so that "virtually all of the courses are required, and every class is full."Ouchi, William G. Making Schools Work: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children the Education They Need. Simon & Schuster, June 24, 2008. , 9781439108109. p. 45. Its required coursework, as of 2008, includes four years each of health sciences, English, mathematics, science, and social studies.
DeBakey has been widely recognized for its performance in academics, particularly in math and science. The students score an average of a 3.7/5 on their AP examinations, which is higher than the typical average of 3.03. In 2011, DeBakey was ranked as the number 11 best school for math and science by the USNews Rankings, and it has been recognized each year for black student performance on the AP Calculus AB examination by the College Board.
Academic performance and funding Typically students score higher than average schools on the SAT and the ACT, scoring an average composite 1340 and 31 respectively Niche.com. ".", and perform exceptionally well on state tests. Almost all students attending DeBakey graduate from high school. As of 2011 DeBakey's per-pupil spending was $8,807 per student, $1,450 over the Greater Houston average, $7,355.Mellon, Ericka. "Big spending may not spell school success in Houston." Houston Chronicle. Monday April 18, 2011. Retrieved on December 30, 2011.
In 2000 $8 million in university scholarship funds, with a per-student average of $47,059, was distributed to 170 students in the DeBakey class of 2000.Ouchi, William G. Making Schools Work: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children the Education They Need. Simon & Schuster, June 24, 2008. , 9781439108109. p. 46.
As of 2008 98% of its students of each class matriculate to colleges and universities. Typically the University of Houston and Baylor College of Medicine give scholarships covering all tuition expenses to about ten students per class.Ouchi, William G. Making Schools Work: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children the Education They Need. Simon & Schuster, June 24, 2008. , 9781439108109. p. 45-46. About 4% of the graduates of DeBakey in the 1975–1988 period attended medical school while the national percentage is 0.6%.
According to the 2014 accountability rating by the Texas Education Agency, DeBakey high school met the standard, and had academic achievements in Reading/English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. DeBakey was also in the top 25 percent in closing performance gaps.
Health science Each year, students are required to complete a Health Science class, which serve as the principle magnet program for the school. The course selection includes: 9th grade- A full year course on medical terminology, moral action as a health practitioner, and medical jobs. This is intended to act as a primer for the future course work. 10th grade- A full year course on anatomy and physiology. 11th grade- 3 sets of 2 month programs rotating around dentistry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and medical laboratory, through which students gain hands-on experience with activities such as performing reflex tests, making mouth molds through plaster, and performing urine and blood specimen exams. This class is 2 periods long. 12th grade- 3 sets of 2 month programs rotating around biomedical-engineering and world health, physiology, and preceptorship. The preceptorship program revolves around 3 sets of 6 day shadowing opportunities around the Texas Medical Center, with programs such as research at Rice University, neurology at the Veteran's Affair Hospital, nutritional research at the Children's Hospital, and a look into the Houston Veterinarian Society. This class is 2 periods long.