Communications Arts High School prides itself in being a hub of creativity and rigorous academics. With this year being the one that celebrates the big 2-5, it seemed like a good time to reminisce 25 of the milestones and achievements that Comm Arts has had since its founding.
1. Comm Arts was founded in 1995. (First day of school 1995.)
Photo Courtesy of April (Padron) Bennett
2. Comm Arts students attended classes in portables on the Taft High School campus.
Photo Courtesy of April (Padron) Bennett
3. Comm Arts had its first graduating class in 1999.
Photo Courtesy of April (Padron) Bennett
4. In 2003, the Comm Arts building was built to replace the portables the school was originally held in.
5. Every year Comm Arts has a festival called Commstock which is a showcase of students’ musical talents.
6. Comm Arts has an annual event the day before Thanksgiving Break called Turkey Fest. Turkey Fest is a celebration where everyone gets together to hang out in the Comm Arts halls and enjoy different snacks and food provided by different classes and clubs.
7. Comm Arts hosts an annual Comm Banquet in the spring. It is a dinner and dance for all of the students.
8. In 2005, admission to Comm Arts became a lottery based system.
9. Comm was named as the 26th Top American Public School by Newsweek in 2008.
10. Comm Arts was named as the 17th Top American Public School by Washington Post in 2009.
11. Comm Arts was named as the 19th Top American Public School by Newsweek in 2010.
12. Comm Arts was named as one of America’s 100 most challenging high schools by the Washington Post since 2011.
13. In 2011, Comm Arts was recognized by the Texas Education Agency.
14. In 2012, Comm Arts had its first Grass Roots event where students share their poetry, music, comedy and more.
Photos Courtesy of Carey McCarthy
15. Dr. Baker became the principal in 2016.
16. Comm was named as the 57th most challenging American high school by the Washington Post in 2017.
17. In 2019, CAHS student, Anh Adams received the Princeton Book Award.
18. In 2019, Comm was named as a “Kindness Certified School.”
19. In 2019, it was discovered that Comm was infested with a colony of bats which were later on removed.
20. In 2019, Mrs. Frias was selected for the Kens 5 Excel Award.
21. In 2019, CAHS journalists got to participate in the first of many visits from international visitors to receive new opportunities to develop their interviewing skills.
Photos Courtesy of Carey McCarthy
22. In 2019, the Spanish 6 class started an online newspaper, “Familia CAHS.” This year they are producing a blog.
23. In 2020, Comm turned 25-years-old.
24. In 2021, Comm Arts Media (the journalism program) launched its news site.
http://studentnews.nisd.net/comarts/
25. In February 2021, Comm Arts changed their 25th Anniversary celebration plans from in-person to virtual, due to the restrictions made by COVID-19. Be sure to watch it live on www.nisd.net/live Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 6:30 p.m.!
While these events don’t cover the half of what has been accomplished and seen at Comm Arts in the last quarter of a century, they are still pretty impressive, and none of them could have been done without the supportive students, teachers, and parents that make up this COMMunity. Happy 25th birthday CAHS!