S. H. Rider High School

S.H. Rider High School was a public school in Wichita Falls, Texas, United States. It was part of the Wichita Falls Independent School District. The school opened in 1961 and served students in grades nine through twelve.

History
The school opened for classes in the fall of 1961. It was named for Stephen H. Rider, a long-time educator in the Wichita Falls Independent School District. He was principal of Wichita Falls High School from 1919 to 1949.

Although Rider did not open until seven years after the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, none of Wichita Falls's high schools integrated their classes until the late 1960s.

As of January 2023, WFISD was nearing completion of two new high schools – Legacy and Memorial – which are scheduled to open for classes in the Fall of 2024. This means Rider High will shut its’ doors permanently at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, with students moving to one of the two new high schools. The campus will sit vacant until a potential school bond election in 2027 is proposed to convert it into a middle school.

Demographics
In the 2016–2017 academic year, 59.3% of Rider's graduates were white, 22.3% were Hispanic, 9.8% were African American, 4.3% were Asian, 1.6% were American Indian, 0.3% were Pacific Islander, and 2.4% were multiracial.

Academics
During the 2016–2017 school year, 8.2% of Rider students were in the school's gifted and talented education program. Another 10.4% of Rider students were in the school's special education program.

In 2016, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) gave Rider an academic accountability rating of "Met standard". In 2018, the TEA began grading schools in five key areas of performance. In 2017, four "preliminary" grades were given to Rider: a B, two Cs, and a D.

Sports


In 1970, Wichita Falls Independent School District built Memorial Stadium, the first high school stadium in Texas with AstroTurf. Seating capacity is over 14,500.

Notable alumni

 * Chase Anderson, MLB pitcher
 * J. T. Barrett, NFL coach and former NFL player
 * Ryan Brasier, MLB pitcher
 * Taliyah Brooks, professional track & field athlete
 * Joe Cutbirth, journalist and educator
 * James Frank, member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 69 in Wichita Falls
 * Ty Harrelson, NBA guard and college coach
 * Khari Long, former professional football player (NFL, CLF, UFL)
 * Markelle Martin, former NFL football player
 * David Nelson, former NFL football player
 * Dean Prater, former NFL football player
 * Steve Railsback, actor
 * Jaret Reddick, lead singer, guitarist for Bowling For Soup
 * Mark Satin, anti-Vietnam War activist, political theorist, and author
 * Aaron Taylor, former NFL player
 * Eric Ward, former NFL player
 * Ronnie Williams, former NFL player