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PrintBooker T. by the numbers
Fast-facts about the high school.
Booker T. fast-facts
Founded: 1913
Became integrated magnet high school: 1973
Grades: 9-12
Number of students: 1,268 (2009-2010)
Principal: Micheal Johnson, second year
Newsweek magazine ranking: 74 (2009)
Student/teacher ratio: 17.4-to-1
For 2008, Race composition (students): African American, 40.3%; Caucasian, 43.2%; Hispanic, 7.1%; Indian, 6.8%; Asian, 2.5%
For 2009, the statistics are (roughly): African American, 40%; Caucasian, 40%; other, 20%.
Race composition (faculty):
African American, 10
Native American, 4
Unspecified, 5
Teachers with: doctorates, 4; master’s degrees, 30; bachelor’s, 40
Average ACT score: 22.4 (2008)
National scholarships (2008-2009): National Merit Finalists, 2; National Merit Semi-Finalists, 8; National Merit Commended Scholars, 5; National Achievement Semifinalist, 1
Academic Bowl championships: 14 (state); 2, (national)
State athletic championships: 46
A few notable graduates:
John Hope Franklin, historian
Kenny Monday, Olympic wrestling gold medalist
Dan Piraro, cartoonist (“Bizarro”)
Amber Valletta, model
Allan Heinberg, TV writer
Heather Langenkamp, actress
Ashli Sims, TV reporter
Jabar Shumate, politician
Maxine Horner, politician
R.W. McQuarters, NFL player
Mark Anderson, NFL player
Wayman Tisdale, NBA player and musician
Melvin Gilliam, two-sport Oklahoma State University athlete
A foundation for excellence
One of the reasons why Booker T. continues to offer such innovative educational approaches is the Booker T. Washington High School Foundation. A 501(c)3 organization, the foundation’s mission is to “enhance all aspects of academic endeavors for the students, faculty and administration at Booker T. Washington High School through grant-making, fund-raising and human resource support.”
Each year, the foundation offers an opportunity for teachers to submit grants for funding, which are reviewed three to four times a year. During the 2008-2009 school year alone, the foundation approved approximately $87,000 in grants, foundation President Susan Walker says.
Approved grants included everything from calculators for the math department to startup funds for a school newspaper to funding for a Japanese exchange program.
The foundation board comprises 26 current and former school parents, alumni, former teachers and others with a connection to the school. Walker says a grants committee works with teachers to answer questions and help them through the grant-application process. Very few grants go unfunded, she says.
“We just try to enhance the entire Booker T. classroom experience in ways that otherwise we (the school) wouldn’t be able to afford,” Walker says.
Funding for the foundation is raised through a fall campaign and the annual “Gospel, Grits and Gershwin” event, a Saturday brunch held in early spring.
Walker, who is serving her fourth year on the foundation board, is also a Booker T. parent. Her oldest daughter graduated from the school, and her twin daughters are seniors this year. She says she has appreciated Booker T.’s commitment to academic, athletic and cultural excellence, and the opportunities the school has afforded her children.
“There’s a community of people in Tulsa who care so much about this school and have cared so much about this school for decades, and that really comes through in the school spirit,” she says. “It’s a special place and people want to take care of that.”
