McCallum High School (San Antonio, Austin, Bowie: 2010, credit, house)

[sanmiguelena]

I tried asking this before but didn't receive ANY responses! Thought I'd try again. Does anyone have any experience/opinions about McCallum High school in general and specifically, the fine arts program? Thanks!

[another_hot-day]

Just so you don't feel ignored..
I don't, sorry.

[achtungpv]

The Fine Arts program is supposedly great. Dunno about the rest of the school. A friend taught English there for 2 years and it caused him to quit teaching for good since he spent every day heading off fights between area kids and bused in kids. My wife moved from CA before her freshman year and went for one week and was scared to death. She entered the IB program at Anderson so AISD would allow her to transfer.

[Trainwreck20]

I know a lady who had both her daughters go there as part of the fine arts magnet program, and they did very well w/o any real problems that aren't common at most public schools. All the magnet schools have bused in/local mixes, and I think the McCallum is one of the less volatile ones.

[Tarrytown]

Lots of drugs

[mimimomx3]

Not specifically...but the best public high schools are Austin, Anderson, Westwood, Bowie. Not AISD, but also Westlake. The best private high schools are St. Andrew's, St. Stephens and St. Michaels. I don't thing McCallum is even close. Just my ,02.

[JimmyFred]

I graduated from McCallum in '68 when it was a regular public high school. I thought it was great. It was built about the same time and almost identically designed with Travis High. Is Travis still there? I'm in San Antonio now and drive to Austin via 281/290, so I don't ever go by it. Our arch rival was Austin High. Prior to my class arriving as Sophomores (3 year HS then), McCallum had a pretty good football team, consistently making it to the playoffs. I know that by at least 1963. McCallum stopped playing their football games at their home stadium. It was a practice field and a junior high game field as long as I can remember. Our games were played at either House Park at Austin High or the Reagan Field at the new Reagan HS. Anderson HS was a predominately black HS in south Austin, Years after I graduated, the new Anderson HS was built in a rock quarry in NW Austin, that I used to play in as a kid. I drove my McCallum last year and barely recognized it. So many more buildings have been attached to it.

[Doug Lasswell]

Umm, no. McCallum is NOT an AISD magnet school, as defined by AISD. It has a self-defined Fine Arts Academy, which is good, but it is not a formal magnet. The magnet high school (pretty much now just LASA/LBJ) includes a cover letter with transcripts to colleges stating that grades in magnet courses there can be considered to have a one grade point advantage over other non-magnet schools. McCallum can't do that.

I don't mean to be critical of MCallum. It's one of the better schools in AISD. But it isn't a magnet school, and the AP course enrollment and National Merit Scholar numbers bear that out.

[angel18]

Im a student coming from reagan HS- academically low performing school and went to transfer to Mc Callum HS - a high academically performing school and I was told that the school is frozen! and the percentage of me getting accepted into Mc Callum for this upcoming 2009-2010 school year is 0% Mc Callum has everything I want and need concerning dual credit courses, great advisory and counseling and an awesome environment. As well as elegibility into getting off periods concerning your classes which i need to study for the SAT.Unlike other public schools they are trying to stuff you into all this unecessary classes in order to give you a full schedule, when you dont need them at all. im very sad and overwhelmed.....is there really no chance of me getting my trasfer request approved before this school year starts..... if you know of any information that can keep my hopes up please let me know. Thank you

[texastea]

Hi angel18, I'm sorry you're having difficulty getting into McCallum (and I hope you do). I don't understand why you can't get the schedule and dual credit courses you want at another high school? My child just graduated and she spent a lot of time with counselors trying to get what she wanted (even requesting to talk to a different one when she didn't feel listened to.) As long as you double & triple check that you'll have the credits you need to graduate (at least) on the Recommended plan, you should be able to take (or NOT take) what you want.