Ground for Furr High School was broken in 1960. The school itself opened in the fall of 1961. The Brahman Bull was chosen as the school mascot. Red, black, and white were chosen to represent the school colors. Forty-two years later Furr is re-thinking the curriculum.

In the 2001-2002 school year, Furr High School competed for inclusion in a 20 million dollar grant from the Carnegie Foundation. After being chosen as a Carnegie grant recipient, teachers and administration began a process of evaluating our high school. Using "breaking ranks" a publicaton of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), commitees addressed several areas of reform.

In the 2002-2003 Academic year, implementation of our accepted grant has led to both structural and substantive changes at Furr High School. Today Furr High School is organized into a magnet school, four academies, a traditional high school and a seperate charter school for dropouts who wish to continue their education.

Our reform efforts are part of a district-wide effort called Schools a New Society. Providing training and guidance, the Houston-Annenberg challenge helps individual high schools identify needs and helps implement campus reform plans.

Furr High School is utilizing the experience of two national experts on school reform, Bena Kallick and Marianne Leibowithz, experts on creating small learning communities and project-based learning.