The school was established in 1964 and named for the superintendent then in office, Dr. Warren Travis White. The current principal is Elena Bates. Newsweek magazine ranked W. T. White in 2006 as one of the bestpublic high schools in the United States. Holly K. Hacker of The Dallas Morning News described it as one of several "high-performing schools" in 2011.
Campus
The original school building was designed for 1,600 students. By 2015 W.T. White had over 2,300 students, which meant that the school was at 160% of its capacity. The campus had portable buildings installed to handle excess students. In 2015 the DISD board approved a $21 million renovation and expansion of the campus as part of a school improvement program worth almost $130 million; the renovation will add of space. WRA Architects is in charge of the project and a graduate of W.T. White is the head architect. The project is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2017.
W. T. White historically had a school rivalry with Thomas Jefferson High School. David Seeley, a senior editor of the Dallas Observer, wrote in Texas Monthly that the rivalry was "at its peak" in the mid-1970s with fistfights occurring regularly at Loos Field during the homecoming games where Thomas Jefferson was playing against W.T. White; Jefferson students perceived W.T. White students as snobby while W.T. White students perceived Jefferson students as low class. By 1982 the schools no longer competed at homecoming games and they had been placed in separate athletic districts. This rivalry, however, continued into the 2010s. A 2014 vandalism incident at W.T. White involved the words "TJ" being spraypainted, but the administration of W.T. White expressed a belief that the vandals were W.T. White students.
Demographics
In 2009, the state classified almost half of White's graduates as "college ready," or ready to undergo university studies. The State of Texas defined "college readiness" by scores on the ACT and SAT and in the 11th grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests. Holly K. Hacker of The Dallas Morning News said that the rate "is higher than expected for the school where about two-thirds of students are poor or at risk of dropping out." In 2019 80.00% of the student body consisted of diversity students.
Service area
Parts of North Dallas are zoned to W. T. White, as well as sections of Addison, Carrollton, and Farmers Branch. Communities served as of 1967 include:
Crestpark Club Estates
Communities served as of 1969 include:
Willow Park Square
Athletics
The W.T. White Longhorns compete in the following sports:
Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Football
Golf
Soccer
Softball
Swimming and Diving
Tennis
Track and Field
Volleyball
Wrestling
Sports achievements
Football City Championship-Dallas 1977 District Championships 1971 11-4A, 1974 11-4A, 1976 11-4A, 1977 11-4A, 1978 11-4A, 1979 11-4A, 1990 11-4A, 1994 12-4A
Johnny Simmons — actor, Dylan Baxter in Evan Almighty, Young Spirit in The Spirit, Dave in Hotel for Dogs, Chip in Jennifer's Body, Young Neil in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World