Carnegie Vanguard may lose its sports teams

Although Carnegie Vanguard High School is known for its elite academics, parents and students are urging Houston ISD officials to keep UIL sports at the campus, saying the athletic opportunities bolster a top-notch education.

The Houston Independent School District is considering stripping Carnegie of its teams that play in the University Interscholastic League. The league governs competitive high school sports in Texas.

Carnegie, a magnet school for gifted students, is HISD’s only specialty high school with its own UIL teams. At the other campuses, such as DeBakey High School for Health Professions and the Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men, interested students have to play for the neighborhood school to which they are zoned.

HISD spokeswoman Holly Huffman released a

statement that said no decisions had been made regarding athletic changes. It said a committee of high school principals, including the leader of Carnegie, was expected to discuss the issue. A meeting could

take place as early as Friday and should be open to the public, Huffman said.

“HISD is working to address inconsistencies related to non-comprehensive high school partic-

ipation in University Interscholastic League sports,” the statement said.

As of Monday morning, more than 730 Carnegie supporters had signed an online petition urging HISD’s athletic director, Marmion Dambrino, to keep UIL sports at the school.

“Our athletes are not willing or likely to play for any other schools,” the petition says. “We are a smaller atmosphere, so students interested in sports are more likely to make our teams. We have worked hard to build a competitive athletics program, and in doing so two of our UIL teams made it to playoffs!”

Being well-rounded

Carnegie’s girls’ volleyball team advanced to playoffs this year, and cross-country athletes reached the regional meet. The school also has boys’ baseball and co-ed tennis.

Carnegie has had a volleyball team for roughly a decade, since shortly after the school broke from the Jones High campus. Baseball followed, and the other sports started more recently.

The district, however, has not allowed its newer specialty schools, including the all-boys and allgirls campuses that opened in 2011, to offer UIL sports.

One problem, according to district officials, is that if a school has some UIL teams, the league does not allow students to play at other campuses for those sports not offered. In addition, the specialty schools must participate in the 6A conference for the largest high schools, even though they typically are smaller.

Ari Purcell, whose daughter runs cross-country at Carnegie, said he never would have chosen the school if it did not have UIL athletics. He said he liked that it offered a wellrounded high school experience.

He also questioned whether it would be practical for students to leave the campus, near downtown, and make it to other schools for practice.

“Additionally,” he wrote in an email, “no Carnegie student wants to compete for another high school. They want to compete for their school, the school they have pride in. If HISD strips UIL athletics from Carnegie, the result will be that no Carnegie students participate in competitive sports programs, and we believe this creates an unfair/unequal access situation.”

‘Makes no sense’

Purcell added that parents are frustrated that district officials have not responded to their questions, though at least one school board member has been sympathetic to their concerns.

“I hope this is a misunderstanding,” trustee Anna Eastman wrote to another Carnegie parent. “I cannot imagine why anyone would want to eliminate the vibrant UIL sports programs at Carnegie for all the reasons you mention and simply because it makes no sense to stop something that works and is good for children.”