J. J. Pearce High School Information & J. J. Pearce High School Links at HealthHaven.com

**J.J. Pearce High School**
	J.J. Pearce High School
Location
Coordinates	32°58′21″N 96°45′58″W / 32.972559°N 96.766106°WCoordinates: 32°58′21″N 96°45′58″W / 32.972559°N 96.766106°W
Information
Type	High School/secondary school
School district	Richardson Independent School District
Grades	9-12
Color(s)	Red and Blue
Mascot	Mustangs
Website	School Website

J.J. Pearce High School is a high school located in Richardson, Texas, United States. It is one of two Richardson Independent School District high schools to have a natatorium. In 2005, it had an enrollment of 2,015 and a student:teacher ratio of 22:1.^{[citation needed]}

Pearce was established in 1967 with a group of tenth graders housed at Richardson North Junior High School. Prior to 1967, all high school students in the Pearce area attended Richardson High School. In 1968 the school moved to its current home on Coit Road; the campus has been expanded several times since.

Newsweek has also ranked Pearce at #528 in the top 1,000 high schools in the nation. Schools were ranked based on the number of students who signed up for Advanced Placement courses and AP tests. Pearce was named a 1988-89 National Blue Ribbon School. ^[1]

Pearce High School also has a Academic Decathlon team. The school holds the record for the most national wins in United States Academic Decathlon history claiming five first place titles, and has also succeeded in being in the top ten schools in the state competition since its founding.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Fine Arts

J.J. Pearce has a choral program. The A Cappella Choir was selected as the 2008 TMEA (Texas Music Educators Association) State Honor Choir, and performed at the TMEA convention in February in San Antonio, Texas. This is the second time the Choir had been selected to perform at TMEA, the time before being 1988. More recently, the entire choral department was invited to perform at the Vatican in Italy. The group will perform there in June 2009.

The J.J. Pearce band has performed at such prestigious institutions as The Meyerson in Dallas and Carnegie Hall in New York. The band has been named the Texas Honor Band twice, once in 1984 in the 5A category and again in 2001 in the 4A category. J.J. Pearce is also one of only four schools nation wide to receive the coveted Sudler Flag of Honor twice from the Sousa Foundation.

The graduating class of 1987 was reunited on the TV Land original program High School Reunion, which premiered March 5, 2008.

Lynn Shaw, the famed Pearce Theatre director who had been the theatre teacher for 25 years and had also taught Jessica Simpson during her days at Pearce, died on August 7th, 2009.

The school has had a number of students who have pursued and are pursuing careers in the arts.

==

' Athletics ==

The high school has had successful teams in all sports with state championships in team Gymnastics, Swimming, Tennis, Golf, and Soccer.

Individuals athletes have succeeded as state champions in Track, Tennis, Swimming, Gymnastics, and Golf.

The traditional team sports of football, basketball, volleyball, and baseball/softball have been popular with participation and school support that is within the norm for a suburban public high school, there have been district championships with postseason play in all of the above with individual players and coaches honored. '

[edit] Notable alumni

Jeff Agoos (b. 1968), World Cup veteran soccer player who played in Germany, England and the U.S.
Ray Childress (b. 1962), class of 1981, NFL Pro Bowl defensive lineman.
Dennis DeShazer (b. 1963), Writer, producer for Barney.
Lane Garrison (b. 1980), Actor on Prison Break sentenced 40 months in prison for vehicular manslaughter.
Chris Jacke (b. 1966), class of 1984, NFL kicker
Kin Shriner (b 1953) , class of 1972, actor
Wil Shriner (b. 1953), class of 1972, television and movie actor.
Jessica Simpson (b. 1980), recording artist, actress, dropped out of Pearce junior year.
Scott Turner (b. 1972), NFL defensive back and politician.
Anthony Dorsett (b. 1973), Son of Hall of Fame running back for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos, Tony Dorsett. Former defensive back for the Tennessee Titans and Oakland Raiders.
Julie Cypher (b. 1964) motion picture director, ex wife of Lou Diamond Phillips and ex of Melissa Etheridge

[edit] References

^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)

[edit] External links

[0] Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)

[1]

Contents

[edit] Fine Arts

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

[edit] External links