Colleyville Heritage High School

Campus

It has a coffeehouse.

• Panther Field at Colleyville-Heritage

Controversy over principal

On September 1, 2021, James Whitfieldthe high school's first Black principalwas suspended for allegedly promoting Critical Race Theory (CRT), an accusation that Whitfield has repeatedly denied. In support of Whitfield, students held walkouts, then joined their parents and 3 dozen teachers to meet with the school district's board of trustees, pleading with them to reinstate the popular principal. At a July 26 school board meeting, Stetson Clarka former school board candidateaccused Whitfield of promoting CRT, while several people in attendance yelled, "Fire him." Clark based his accusation on an open letter Whitfield wrote in the summer of 2020 about his concerns over the murders of Ahmoud Arbery and George Floyd, and the killing of Breonna Taylor. One of the same parents has previously attacked Whitfield for posting a photograph on his personal social media accounts depicting him and his wife on a beach. Whitfield, whose wife is white, viewed the criticism as predicated on their status as an interracial couple. Whitfield removed the photo after a formal request from the school district. On June 15, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott became the third state governorfollowing Idaho and Tennesseeto pass legislation making the teaching of CRT illegal. The Texas House Bill 3979 and the follow-up legislationSenate Bill 3authored by Senator Bryan Hughes, came into effect on September 1, 2021. Whitfield's suspension is set against the backdrop of debates on the impact of similar legislation in a number of states across the country.

On November 8, the school district announced a “settlement and separation agreement” with Whitfield. He was placed on paid administrative leave until August 2023. Whitfield is not allowed to discuss the details of the settlement.

Notable alumni

• Jaimie Alexander, actress
• Maxx Crosby, NFL football player
• Annie Ilonzeh, actress
• Kyle Kubitza, MLB third baseman
• Stephen Lambdin, Olympian in Tae Kwan Do
• DJ McKinney, college football cornerback for the Colorado Buffaloes
• Christian Ponder, NFL quarterback
• James Russell, MLB pitcher
• AJ Smith-Shawver, MLB pitcher
• Cody Thomas, MLB outfielder
• Jay Valai, college football coach
• Bobby Witt Jr., MLB player
• Adam Zimmer, NFL coach

References

References

1. "Colleyville Heritage High School History".
2. "COLLEYVILLE HERITAGE H S". National Center for Education Statistics.
3. "The Roaring Red". theroaringred.com.
4. "2017-18 School Report Card Colleyville Heritage High School". [[Texas Education Agency]].
5. "Error reading SAS output".
6. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Tarrant County, TX". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
7. "High School Boundaries". [[Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District]].
8. (2017-09-14). "Calculus and caffeine: More high schools are adding a coffee shop". [[Fort Worth Star Telegram]].
9. Shepherd, Katie. (September 21, 2021). "Families beg for Black principal to be reinstated after critical race theory dispute: 'Nothing short of a witch hunt'". Washington Post.
10. "Texas principal officially loses job over critical race theory allegations".
11. (10 November 2021). "North Texas principal resigns to end fight over whether he was teaching "critical race theory"". The Texas Tribune.
12. Shepherd, Katie. (September 1, 2021). "Texas parents accused a Black principal of promoting critical race theory. The district has now suspended him.". [[Washington Post]].
13. Carter, Wayne. (August 2, 2021). "District Calls Anniversary Photo of High School Principal and His Wife 'Questionable'". NBC 5.
14. McGee, Kate. (June 15, 2021). "Texas 'critical race theory' bill limiting teaching of current events signed into law". The Texas Tribune.
15. "Texas principal fights for his job as race roils school district". NBC News.
16. (11 November 2021). "Black principal of mainly white Texas school forced to quit over critical race theory". The Independent.
17. Martindale, David. (September 18, 2015). "Colleyville Heritage grad Jaimie Alexander inks starring role in NBC's 'Blindspot'". [[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]].
18. Newby, John. (April 27, 2019). "Oakland Raiders select defensive end Maxx Crosby in NFL Draft". [[247Sports]].
19. Martindale, David. (June 13, 2017). "Tarrant actress Annie Ilonzeh goes all-in on Tupac film, 'a story that needs to be told'". [[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]].
20. Pleskoff, Bernie. (February 17, 2014). "Braves have versatile corner prospect in Kubitza". MLB.com.
21. "Stephen Lambdin: USA Taekwondo". United States Olympic Committee.
22. [https://www.dallasnews.com/high-school-sports/football/2021/07/04/colleyville-heritage-cb-dylahn-mckinney-commits-to-oklahoma-state/ Colleyville Heritage CB Dylahn McKinney commits to Oklahoma State]
23. (April 28, 2011). "Minnesota Vikings take Colleyville Heritage-ex Christian Ponder in first round". Dallas Morning News.
24. (June 12, 2013). "Cubs' Russell grew up in big league parks". MLB.com.
25. "Smith-Shawver earns his first MLB win ... at age 20".
26. "After long journey, former Dodgers prospect makes MLB debut with Oakland A’s".
27. Schreiner, Craig. (2010-08-26). "Jay Valai, UW captains story".
28. "MLB.com 2019 Prospect Watch".
29. (February 3, 2010). "Dad helps Saints assistant Adam Zimmer with coaching and loss". [[The Dallas Morning News]] SportsDay.