# Cinco Ranch High School

Cinco Ranch High School (CRHS) is a public school located in an unincorporated area in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States that serves grades 9 through 12 as part of the Katy Independent School District. It is located off Cinco Ranch Boulevard within the community of Cinco Ranch; it is in the Cinco Ranch census-designated place. The school opened in 1999. The principal is Dr. Kaye Williams.
The school was rated the 3rd best high school in 2007 tied with Clements High School in the Houston region by the Houston Chronicle. In 2010, Cinco Ranch High School was ranked 478th out of America's top 2,000 public high schools.
The school was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2008.

## History

Cinco Ranch High School opened in the fall of 1999 after a $143 million bond issue was passed in the spring of 1996 and another $324 million bond was passed in 1999 allowing for funding. In the initial years, the school played host to displaced students from other Katy ISD schools including 8th graders displaced by overcrowding at Beck Junior High School in the 1999-2000 school year. Other re-locations include students from West Memorial Elementary that moved to Cinco Ranch after the elementary encountered mold related issues in 2002.
The original building, built in 1999, has been expanded. It consists of a central rotunda, where the cafeteria, offices, and library are located. Attached to this are two long hallways running in opposite directions, which house classrooms. At the end of one of the hallways are the athletic facilities, including a natatorium, workout facility, gymnasiums, fields, and a stadium. At the end of the other hallway, on the opposite end of the school, are the fine arts rehearsal facilities, black box theatre, and the freshman center. The original facility was built on a 66-acre (270,000 m$^2$) site by PBK Architects to support a maximum of 2,800 students. The school has a net building area of 433,000 sq ft (40,200 m$^2$). and cost of $37,507,000.
The school benefited from the expanding budgets of KISD, which could be attributed to rapid growth in the surrounding areas and the addition of Katy Mills Mall, which, through taxes, gave a large boost to KISD funds. In 2001, many of the KISD high schools received renovations, and all received new performing arts centers (PACs). The KISD high schools also received additions of ninth grade centers, which may be attributed to the belief by the district that younger students benefit from an eased transition into high school. The PAC and 9th Grade Center were added to the fine arts end of the hallway at a cost of $11,356,050. The addition of the Performing Arts Center has improved the quality of both theatrical and musical productions. The department includes the orchestra, choir, band, visual arts, and theater productions.
The secondary expansion, along with 9th grade gyms and offices, made for a very long and narrow two-story building with a total length of one quarter mile. This "tunnel effect" creates an environment for indoor running in the summer. Another large athletic accoutrement, added in 2004, is a hill more than 30 feet (9.1 m) tall with a paved running track paved to facilitate track runner training.

## State championships

* 2004 Texas 5-A Boys' Track & Field State Champions
* 2005 Texas 5-A Boys' Track & Field State Champions
* 2006 Texas 5-A UIL Lincoln Douglas Debate Champion
* 2007 Texas 5-A UIL Lincoln Douglas Debate Champion
* 2007 Texas 5-A Wrestling State Champions
* 2010 Texas 5-A UIL News Writing Champion, also winning Tops of Texas
* 2016 Texas 6-A Women’s Wrestling State Champions
* 2020 Texas 6-A D1 UIL Spirit State Champions.

## Academics

In April 2007, Cinco Ranch was rated by the Houston Chronicle as the third best high school in the Houston area, preceded only by the High School for Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) and YES College Preparatory. Included in this ranking were TAKS scores, graduation rates, ACT, SAT, and AP testing rates and scores, class size, teacher experience, and percentage of students from poor families.
In 2008, Cinco Ranch was named a National Blue Ribbon School.

## Extracurricular activities
### Athletics

In 2007, the Cinco Ranch Wrestling team won the University Interscholastic League Texas State Championships for high school wrestling.

### Cheerleading

Cinco Ranch High School's cheer team won the Class 6A Div 1 UIL State Championship in 2020.

### Debate

The Cinco Ranch Debate Team won the 5A UIL State Championship in Lincoln-Douglas Debate in both 2006 and 2007. Now, the team is centered around Public Forum.

### Journalism

The 2001-2002 yearbook, Panorama, made news. When the yearbook publisher agreed to reprint the book with various corrections, school administrators asked that some essays be removed. These included an essay about a homosexual student “coming out”. A school administrator said that the yearbook was not an appropriate platform for the story. The yearbook was printed without the essay.

### Robotics

The Cinco Ranch FRC Robotics Team 624, CRyptonite, has consistently been the top Katy ISD team. They have over 10 Blue Banners, consistently remaining in the top 10 teams in Texas. In 2015, CRyptonite finished 9th in the World by the end of the season.

## Feeder patterns

The following elementary schools feed into Cinco Ranch High School:
* Fielder Elementary School
* Williams Elementary School
* Creech Elementary School
* Exley Elementary School (partial)
* Griffin Elementary School (partial)
* Rylander Elementary School (partial)
* Cimarron Elementary School (partial)
The following junior high schools feed into Cinco Ranch High School:
* Beck Junior High School
* Cinco Ranch Junior High School (partial)
* West Memorial Junior High School (partial)

## Enrollment trends

After opening, Cinco Ranch High School steadily grew to over 3,600 students due to the rapid expansion of the Katy area. However, enrollment has decreased due to the opening of nearby Seven Lakes High School in 2005. .
* 1999-2000 = 828
* 2000-2001 = 1,541
* 2001-2002 = 2,300
* 2002-2003 = 2,745
* 2003-2004 = 3,235
* 2004-2005 = 3,601
* 2005-2006 = 3,288
* 2006-2007 = 3,070
* 2007-2008 = 2,788
* 2008-2009 = 2,840
* 2009-2010 = 2,872
* 2010-2011 = 2,989
* 2011-2012 = 3,056
* 2012-2013 = 3,101
* 2013-2014 = 3,194
* 2014-2015 = 3,167
* 2023-2024 = 3,793

## Demographics

For the 2023-24 school year:
* Black: 9.63%
* Hispanic: 33.38%
* White: 38.09%
* Native American: 0.8%
* Asian: 14.39%
* Pacific Islander: 0.1%
* Two or More Races: 4.3%

## Newsweek ranking

Newsweek annually ranks the top 2,000 public high schools in the nation out of the approximately 27,000 that exist in the country. Cinco Ranch has made this list for at least the past five years.
* 2017 = 971th
* 2014 = 298th
* 2013 = 477th
* 2012 = 354th
* 2011 = unranked
* 2010 = 500th
* 2009 = 468th
* 2008 = 968th
* 2007 = 515th
* 2006 = 676th

## Notable alumni

* Spencer Arrighetti – American baseball player (born 2000)
* Stefan Crichton – American baseball player (born 1992)
* Louis Head – American baseball player (born 1990)
* Logan Henderson – American baseball player (born 2002)
* Brant Kuithe – American football tight end (born 1999)
* Nic Wise – American professional basketball player (born 1987)

## References and footnotes

* 1 2 3 "Career_Profile-CRHS" (PDF). Katy Independent School District. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
* ↑ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Cinco Ranch CDP, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
* ↑ "YES charter high school ranked as Houston's best (W/Video) | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle". 130.80.29.3. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
* ↑ "Twenty-six Texas public schools named NCLB- Blue Ribbons Schools Archived September 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine." Texas Education Agency. September 9, 2008.
* ↑ "Feds award 26 Texas schools with 'blue ribbon' Archived 2008-12-16 at the Wayback Machine." Houston Chronicle. September 9, 2008.
* ↑ Sandra Bretting (2005). Katy Might Call Bond Election, Houston Chronicle, February 17, 2005
* ↑ America's Schoolhouse Council (1998-2005). Cinco Ranch High School
* ↑ PBK Architects. Cinco Ranch High School Primedia Business Magazines & Media
* ↑ PBK (Houston). Ninth Grade Centers & Performing Arts Centers at Four High Schools, Primedia Business Magazines & Media
* 1 2 UIL Boys Track & Field State Champions Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
* ↑ "UIL Wrestling Results 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 11, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
* ↑ http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2008/2008-schools.pdf
* ↑ "Cinco Ranch High School". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
* ↑ "UIL Spring Meet 2006 - Meet Composite". University Interscholastic League. Retrieved May 4, 2008.
* ↑ "UIL Spring Meet 2007 - Meet Composite". University Interscholastic League. Retrieved May 4, 2006.
* ↑ "Two Houston area schools censor stories about gay students". Student Press Law Center. May 24, 2002. Archived from the original on June 17, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
* ↑ KISD. "KISD Feeder Patterns". KISD. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved December 13, 2006.
* 1 2 "Career_Profile-CRHS" (PDF). Katyisd. August 31, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
* ↑ America's Best High Schools: The List - Newsweek and The Daily Beast
* ↑ "America's Top Schools 2014". Newsweek. September 13, 2014.
* ↑ "Armed with new-found confidence, Spencer Arrighetti ready to shine for Cajuns". February 24, 2021.
* ↑ "Stefan Crichton - Baseball". TCU Athletics.
* ↑ "Louis Head - Baseball". Texas State Athletics.
* ↑ Marrion, Jack (July 17, 2021). "Cinco Ranch poised to double pro baseball representation".
* ↑ "Brant Kuithe - Football". University of Utah Athletics.
* ↑ LOPEZ, JOHN P. (April 29, 2003). "Hightower's Wise goes with Arizona". Chron.