Cypress Creek High School

History

Cypress Creek High School opened in the fall of 1977. The first graduating class was in 1980. Over the years, several additions were made to expand the building. In 2004, a major renovation project was passed by Proposition 1 from the 2004 Bond Referendum. All of the interior and much of the exterior is to be remodeled, and new classrooms are to be added. The project was expected to cost approximately $51 million and was completed in 2010. The new renovations, included a new wing in the building, made room for 50 to 100 additional classes, and renovated the old parts of the school dating back to the 1970s. As well, a "Black Box Theatre", a Multi-Purpose Room (nicknamed the "Lego Gym"), and 6 Assistant Principal/Counselor offices, which were spread around the school, were included in the additions.

Cypress Creek features a CISCO Networking Academy class. Students may commute from other Cypress-Fairbanks high schools to take the course. Additionally, in the school year 2010–2011, an ROTC program was finally added to the school after years of students commuting to other high school campuses to participate in the programs.

Academics

For the 2018–2019 school year, the school received a B grade from the Texas Education Agency, with an overall score of 89 out of 100. The school received a B grade in two domains, School Progress (score of 88) and Closing the Gaps (score of 86), and an A grade in Student Achievement (score of 90). The school received five of the seven possible distinction designations for Academic Achievement in Science, Academic Achievement in Mathematics, Academic Achievement in English Language Arts/Reading, Top 25% Comparative Academic Growth, and Top 25%: Comparative Closing the Gaps. The school did not receive distinction designations for Academic Achievement in Social Studies and Post-Secondary Readiness.

Academy system

Along with the renovations in the 2010–2011 school year, Cypress Creek HS implemented a new "Academy" System based on 16 career pathways as deemed by the organization Achieve Texas, and based on different high schools around the state of Texas and the Country (including nearby Atascocita High School). The administration at Cy Creek combined many of these academies to form 6 that students can choose from. They include:

Academy A: AIM (Agriculture, Architecture, Industrial and Manufacturing)

Programs of Study: Architectural Designer, Interior Design, Agriculture Welding, Animal Science, Transportation Servicing and Maintenance, Heavy Industrial Metal (welding), Environmental Service Systems, Veterinary Science, Warehousing and Distribution, Plant and Animal Technology

Academy B: Business and Finance

Programs of Study: Administrative and Information Support, Advertising & Sales Promotion Marketing, Banking & Related Services, eMarketing, Financial Management, and Accounting, Management, Marketing.

Academy C: Education and Human Services

Programs of Study: Culinary Arts, Education-Teacher (Small Children and School-Age), Personal Care Services, Restaurant and Food Services (management), Therapeutic Services.

Academy D: Government, Law and Public Administration

Programs of Study: Law Enforcement, Legal Services-Technical, Pre-Law, National Defense & Public Administration.

Academy E: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) (the most popular academy)

Programs of Study: Engineering Technician, Pre-Engineering, Health Science Biotechnology, Health Science Diagnostic Services and Health Information, Medical Support Services, Health Science Therapeutic Service/ Patient Care.

Demographics

The demographic breakdown of the 3,374 students enrolled for 2020–21 was:

African American:' 27.4%

Hispanic: 37.4%

White: 21.3%

Native American: 0.5%

Asian: 10.5%

Pacific Islander: 0.1%

Two or More Races: 2.8%

55.7% of students attending Cypress Creek High School were eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.

Attendance zone

Willowbrook, Houston is in the school's attendance zone.

Notable alumni

Chris Hutchinson (1988), college football player (University of Michigan)

Sam Adams (1991), NFL football player (Texas A&M University, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos)

Dan Neil (1992), NFL football player (Denver Broncos)

Ike Nwankwo (1993), NCAA/International basketball player, University of California, Los Angeles

Martha Madison (1995), Actress, Days of our Lives

Artemis Pebdani (1995), Actress, Scandal, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Josh Williams (1995), NFL football player (Indianapolis Colts)

B. J. Symons (1999), football player (Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, Texas Tech University, Frankfurt Galaxy, Berlin Thunder, Tampa Bay Storm)

Paul Janish (2001), Major League Baseball player (Cincinnati Reds)

Matt Kingsley (2004), basketball player

Brian Puspos (2004), choreographer, recording artist, and member of SoReal Cru

Chris Brooks (2005), Olympic gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics (USA)

Tam Dinh (2008), professional basketball player in Vietnam

Cameron Fleming (2010), NFL football player (New England Patriots)

Feeder patterns

Schools that feed into Cypress Creek include:

Elementary schools: Hancock, Matzke, Moore, Yeager, Danish (partial), Francone (partial), Hamilton (partial), Millsap (partial), Willbern (partial)

Middle schools: Bleyl, Campbell (partial), and Hamilton (partial)

Scandals

Brian Drake, the Cypress Creek High School band director in 2017, is accused of having sex with a former student and was removed from campus.

Court records show the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District Police Department received a tip on Sept. 16 that Brian had "manipulated" a former Cypress Creek High School student into an inappropriate relationship while she was still enrolled as a student at the school. Police said the tipster claimed Brian was threatening the student by saying he would kill himself if his wife or anyone else found out about their relationship.

"We were outraged to learn that a Cypress Creek high school teacher was accused of conduct inconsistent of that of a CFISD employee. Due to the seriousness of the allegations, he was immediately removed from the campus, and we will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation by law enforcement. Any compromise to student safety will not be tolerated."