School of Science and Engineering

The School of Science and Engineering Magnet (known as the School of Science and Engineering or SEM) is a magnet college preparatory high school located in the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center, home of six magnet high schools in the Dallas Independent School District. SEM's mascot is an eagle, and its school colors are maroon and white. Its current principal is Andrew Palacios. Past principals include: Tiffany Huitt (who was promoted to DISD Executive Director), Jovan Carisa Wells, and Richard White.

School of Science and Engineering
Address
1201 East Eighth Street

Dallas
,
Texas
75203

United States
Coordinates32.7522°N 96.8068°W / 32.7522; -96.8068
Information
TypePublic, Secondary
MottoSEM...where the possibilities are endless!
Founded1982
School districtDallas Independent School District
PrincipalAndrew Palacios
Faculty26[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment413 (2015-16)[2]
Color(s)Maroon  
MascotEagle
USNWR rankingNo. 13 (2018)[3]
Trustee dist. 5, Lew Blackburn[4]
Websitewww.townviewmagnet.org
Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center, which houses this school

Academics

On admission, each student is placed into one of three math and science "tracks" based on your middle school—a Regular Track, a Fast Track, and a Super Fast Track. Each track doesn't really matter when college comes and completes a different number and difficulty of math and science courses.

SEM stresses a philosophy of hands-on science education, and specializes in offering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. Its mathematics courses range in complexity from Pre-AP Algebra II (the lowest-level course offered) to AP Calculus BC and its own unique Advanced Topics of the Theory of Applied Mathematics (A. T. T. A. M.) course. Science courses range from basic-level courses such as Pre-AP Biology to higher-level courses such as AP Physics C and AP Chemistry. Of special note is SEM's unique "SuperLab" class, a laboratory-based course which combines the material of both AP Physics C and AP Chemistry. Tech courses that instruct students in Computer Science concepts and the Java programming language are also available in the form of Pre-AP Computer Science A and AP Computer Science A.

Recognition

In both 2005[5] and 2011,[6] SEM has received the Blue Ribbon School award by the U.S. Department of Education.

SEM was ranked as second best high school in the United States in 2007 according to the survey "The 1200 Best Public High Schools in the USA", it was eighth in 2006 and sixth in 2005. In 2007, SEM was ranked as the 18th best public high school in America by U.S. News & World Report.[7]

The College Board announced that SEM is number 1 in the world for passing minorities in Calculus AB and number one in the United States for passing Hispanics in Computer Science. In 2006, SEM was visited by President George W. Bush for excellence in education and the school's philosophy of emphasising math and science,[8][9] something he stressed in his 2006 State of the Union address. The school consistently ranks number one in D Magazine's Best Public High Schools in Dallas and has been named the Academic UIL District Champion for District 9-5A and 11-5A in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

In 2011, SEM was ranked the number 1 high school in America by the Washington Post.[10] The school was also ranked number 1 in the Newsweek list of America's Best High Schools.[11] In 2012, it was ranked the number one high school in the North Texas area by Children at Risk, a research and advocacy institute dedicated to helping children.

  • 2012 - SEM wins the Intel School of Distinction Award for the Best High School Math Program in the Country.
  • 2012 - SEM Ranked #2 (out of 1900 public high schools) -Washington Post High School Challenge
  • 2012 - SEM Ranked #4 (out of 1000 public high schools) -Newsweek.com [1]

In 2018, SEM was ranked as the 13th best public high school in America by U.S. News & World Report.[3]

In 2019, SEM was ranked as the number 1 best public high school in Texas by the U.S. News & World Report. SEM also ranked 12th place as the best public high school in America.

Extracurricular activities

Due to rules and regulations involving magnet schools, SEM has no sports teams (although students may participate in those of their home schools). However, it does provide a wide variety of extracurricular activities and UIL teams:

  • Orchestra
  • UIL Calculator Team
  • UIL Journalism Team
  • Academic Decathlon
  • "Big D" Marching Band
  • UIL Number Sense Team
  • Townview Theatre Company
  • Choir
  • UIL Current Issues & Events Team
  • Intergirls
  • French Club
  • Environmental Science/Volunteering Club
  • Chess Club
  • Latin Club
  • Robotics
  • UIL Literary Criticism
  • National Honor Society
  • National Latin Honor Society
  • UIL Math Team
  • SEM Yearbook
  • UIL One Act Play
  • UIL Current Events
  • UIL Science Team
  • Finance/Economics Club
  • Debate
  • UIL Social Studies
  • UIL Computer Science Team

SEM won the AAAAA individual UIL Computer Science event at the UIL State competition in Austin, Texas in 2001, and also won the AAAAA team UIL Computer Science competition in both 2000 and 2001. SEM also won the 2012 and 2013 Academic UIL Region 2 5A competition. At the 2015 UIL State competition in Austin, SEM put up the highest team score in UIL Calculator Applications in all of Texas.

References
  1. "My Data Portal - Dallas ISD". mydata.dallasisd.org. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  2. "SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING". National Center for Education Statistics. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  3. "Science and Engineering Magnet School (SEM)". US News. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  4. "Board Members, Lew Blackburn". Dallas ISD. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  5. "NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS PROGRAM - Schools Recognized 1982 Through 2018" (PDF). p. 202. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 9, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  6. "2011 National Blue Ribbon High Schools" (PDF). p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "President Visits Science and Engineering High School in Texas". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  9. Pickett, Steve (February 3, 2006). "President Bush Heads To North Texas School". cbs11tv.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  10. "Ranking America's High Schools 2011". The Washington Post. May 23, 2011. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011.
  11. "The Best High Schools in America". The Daily Beast. July 19, 2011. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
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