Sandra Day O'Connor High School is a public high school in Helotes, Texas, United States, in the San Antonio metropolitan area. It is a part of the Northside Independent School District.
Overview
Opened in 1998, O'Connor High School followed the tradition of all the Northside high schools in being named after a Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, who served from 1981 to 2006, and was the first female justice on United States Supreme Court. The school colors are navy blue, white, and old gold, and the mascot is the Panther. The first principal was Dr. Ken Patranella, who served from 1998 to 2003. He was succeeded by Mr. Larry Martin, who served as principal from 2003 to 2009. The O'Connor library is named in Mr. Martin's honor. Mr. Robert Martinez is the current principal. O'Connor High School serves the entire town of Helotes along with parts of unincorporated Bexar County and the larger central city of San Antonio. In 2022, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
In keeping with a low building scale with respect to the rural surroundings, the campus was designed by Marmon Mok, LLP with a "village concept" and now consists of 15 separate main buildings connected by covered walkways, and 7 buildings for the FFA program. Metal roofs, limestone colored split face CMU, and steel siding were used to follow the German Hill Country vernacular style. The campus features a 990-seat auditorium and an 1800-seat competition gymnasium. The electrical feeders and chilled/hot water piping to the buildings are located above the soffits of canopies connecting each building, avoiding costly trenching. To meet an aggressive construction schedule, pre-engineered steel frames were used for all common buildings while classroom buildings G, H, J, and F use a combination of structural steel and reinforced concrete.
To accommodate a student population larger than the 2,400 designed for, a new building including a band hall and dance studio and the multipurpose AG building was built and the cafeteria expanded in 2003. New walkway and bus loop canopies, a canopy to create a covered eating area, and the stair tower for building H were also built in 2003, along with the blacktop marching pad, expansion of the brick-paved courtyard area, and the addition of another chiller. Two new AG barns were built in 2007, and a new two-story classroom building (F) was built in 2012. Despite the additions and the construction of Louis D. Brandeis High School, O’Connor has experienced overcrowding since its opening and has always had over 30 classes in portable buildings.
Athletics
Students can participate in a wide variety of UIL 6A school sports including: Baseball Basketball Cheerleading Cross Country Football (Freshman, JV, & Varstiy) Goldusters Dance Team Dazzler Drill Team Starduster Pep Squad Golf Soccer Softball Swimming & Diving Tennis Track Volleyball
Most school sports have practices and home games at O'Connor High itself. However, the football team, soccer team, and swimming & diving team uses the Dub Farris Athletic Complex off of Loop 1604 and Bamberger Trail for practice and home venues.
Agriculture Science & Technology Academy (ASTA) In 2021, Northside ISD opened its 7th Magnet High School at Sandra Day O'Connor HS. Previously, students residing in NISD, but not in the O'Connor Zone could apply to a very selective amount of spots for the Agriculture Endorsement. The Northside Board unanimously voted to establish the Agriculture Science & Technology Academy at O'Connor HS. Every year, a class of 250 Freshman residing outside of O'Connor are permitted to attend O'Connor through a lottery system. O'Connor offers 9 Industry Based Certifications through the new magnet school:
Texas Beef Quality Assurance Certification
Texas Certified Nursery Professional Certification
Texas State Floral Certification
American Welding Society Certification
Southwest Airlines Professional Communications Certification
Professional Financial Literacy Certification
Hunter Safety Certification
Boater Education Certification
Certified Veterinary Assistant Certification.
ASTA has its own Administration Team Chad Bohlken serves as the Principal, Thomas Johnson is the Associate Principal, and Bryan Hawkins is the Program Coordinator. The Northside Bond of 2022 allocated $19,100,000 for Agriculture Science Expansion including new barns.