Palo Duro High School


Palo Duro High School is a school located in the city of Amarillo, Texas, United States, and is one of four high schools in the Amarillo Independent School District. As of the 2016–17 school year, it has 2,075 students.
The school was named after Palo Duro Canyon, a canyon system in the Texas Panhandle.
Property:PDHSAMAISDSTATEWIDE
average teacher experience9.3 yrs.12 yrs.10.9yrs
students per teacher14.914.615.1
four-year graduation rate89.4%92.8%89.1%
dropout rates2.9%-24%

Classified as a 5A school by the UIL. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
ProgramPDHSAMAISDSTATEWIDE
Bilingual/ESL17.8%15.3%18.8%
Career and Technical66.9%26.6%25%
Gifted and Talented3.9%5.5%7.8%
Special Education9.8%10.3%8.8%

Heritage, Traditions, and Other Customs.

Palo Duro High School or maybe known by its nickname "the Pride of the Northside". With the motto "Virtute Et Labore" meaning power and labor in Latin. Palo Duro is one of the most ethnically diverse in the city, with students ranging from Hispanic to Asian, and African students.
Race:TOTALPDHSAMAISDSTATEWIDE
Hispanic1,17356.5%45.7%52.4%
African-American35717.2%10.2%12.6%
American Indian20.1%0.4%0.4%
Asian29714.3%5.6%4.2%
White1999.6%34.9%28.1%
Pacific Islander10.1%0.1%0.1%
Two or More races462.2%3%2.2%

Athletics

The Palo Duro Dons compete in these sports -
Cross Country, Volleyball, Football, Wrestling, Basketball, Swimming, Soccer, Golf, Bowling, Tennis, Track, Softball & Baseball

State Titles

On September 11, 1992, then 17-year-old Randy Earl Matthews who transferred to the school from Memphis High School in Memphis, Texas at the start of the school year, shot and wounded 6 students with a.22-caliber pistol inside a hallway after a morning pep rally for a football game against Hereford High School. Luckily, all 6 students survived the shooting. Police quickly caught him and another student who attempted to flee the scene. Matthews was charged with one count of attempted murder, five counts of aggravated assault and one count of unlawfully carrying a weapon onto school grounds, in which he served 8 years. The other student who was with him was also arrested. The shooting was believed to be a "gang shooting", all stemming from a fight in which a student had punched Matthews in the face.

Feeder schools (Palo Duro Cluster)

Middle schools