The only new high school in the 2002 bond program, Emmett J. Conrad High School was opened to students for the 2006-2007 school year. Located in northeast Dallas between Fair Oaks Park and White Rock Lake Park, the new school is 333,000 square feet, and includes 46 core classrooms, an art classroom, a science classroom, space for performing and visual arts, an instructional technology classroom, a media center, and outdoor athletic fields.
One unique element of this new school is a full-service restaurant that enables students to gain hands-on experience in many aspects of food service. The restaurant is part of an initiative called Entrepreneur 101, a joint venture of Dallas ISD, the Texas Restaurant Association, the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association, and Outback Steakhouse.
Biography of Emmett J. Conrad
The school is named for local doctor and civic leader Dr. Emmett J. Conrad, who was the first African-American elected citywide to the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees and later served on the State Board of Education. He completed pre-med studies at Stanford University and graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1955, he moved to Dallas and began his medical career at St. Paul Hospital, where he was the first African-American surgeon admitted to the staff. In 1981, he was named the first black president of the Greater Dallas Community of Churches. Conrad served in the U.S. military during both World War II and the Korean War. Although recognized for his commitment to medicine, Conrad also distinguished himself for his sense of humor, commitment to family, and involvement in the community.
A true coalition builder, Conrad ventured into the civic and political arenas and applied this skill to promote education in Dallas and throughout Texas. In 1967, he became the first African American elected citywide to the Dallas Independent School District Board of Trustees, a position he held until 1977. In 1984, then Gov. Mark White appointed Conrad as one of the first members of a newly formed State Board of Education. Extending the reach of his service to education, he also served on the Texas Senate Committee for Financing Public Education. One of Conrad's key initiatives was to promote free lunch programs for low-income students and the integration of administrative staff.
Emmett J. Conrad died April 24, 1993, at age 69. Without diminishing his great achievement in medicine, Conrad will be most remembered for his concern and work for the community.
Biography of Emmett J. Conrad