[Update 5-14-2025] Mr. Brandon Austin died on May 14. The details of his death remain undisclosed. [4-29-2025] A feeling of excitement rushes through Geography teacher Mr. Brandon Austin as he steps foot back onto campus.  After Mr. Austin taught at many various schools, he returned to the first high school he opened as the first teacher of the year. “I...

Sophomore Piper Lipscomb makes her way down the fine arts hallway for the second time in one day, dragging her French horn and choir binder with her. Lipscomb plays in the varsity Wind Symphony and sings in the varsity mixed Chamber choir. “Music is one of the most important things in my life, and I’ve been so lucky to be able to express myself through it,” Lipscomb said. “I love both band and choir, and I think the two go hand and hand, even though it’s uncommon. I can’t imagine a world where I couldn’t do one of them.” Lipscomb has participated in choir since third grade and band since fifth grade....

The second semester of every school year brings dread and stress among students as testing arrives. STAAR, TSI, SAT and ACT tests consume the spring months and become the subject of lessons in classrooms. These tests aim to measure student’s knowledge and readiness on a subject, providing standardized questions and grading on a general scale. Standardized tests do not accurately measure intelligence and should not pose as an indicator of student comprehension and progress.  All standardized...