History
In 1974, Highland Park Middle School was renamed for Arch H. McCulloch, HPISD’s longest-serving trustee.
The McCulloch Middle School cheerleading squad in 1987.
Middle school students practice the French horn in 1968.
Superintendent Dr. Dawson Orr and MIS/HPMS Cafeteria Manager Brenda Vardell cut the ribbon during the opening of the remodeled cafeteria in 2014.
The history of McCulloch Intermediate School and Highland Park Middle School dates back more than a century. The site originally served as the location of Highland Park High School, which opened on Normandy Avenue in 1922 as the district's first dedicated high school campus. For nearly two decades, generations of Highland Park students attended high school on this site before a new Highland Park High School campus opened on Emerson Avenue in 1937.
Following the opening of the new high school, the Normandy campus became Highland Park Junior High School and served secondary students for decades. As enrollment continued to grow, the campus evolved to meet the changing needs of the district.
In 1974, Highland Park Junior High School was renamed Arch H. McCulloch Middle School in honor of Arch H. McCulloch, who served on the HPISD Board of Trustees for 22 years, making him the longest-serving trustee in district history.
A major milestone occurred in 1995 when Highland Park ISD opened the current shared facility for McCulloch Intermediate School and Highland Park Middle School. The new campus was the district's first new school building constructed in more than 40 years and created a dedicated learning environment for students in grades 5–8. At that time, McCulloch became the district's intermediate school serving fifth and sixth grades, while Highland Park Middle School served seventh and eighth grades.
In 2026, the HPISD Board of Trustees voted to change the mascots of both McCulloch Intermediate School and Highland Park Middle School from the Raiders to the Scots, creating a unified district identity from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Today, McCulloch Intermediate School and Highland Park Middle School continue a tradition of academic excellence, leadership development, athletics, fine arts, and student involvement while serving as an important bridge between elementary school and high school.
Key Milestones
- 1922 — Highland Park High School opens on the Normandy Avenue campus.
- 1937 — Highland Park High School moves to its current Emerson Avenue location; the Normandy campus becomes Highland Park Junior High School.
- 1974 — Highland Park Junior High School is renamed Arch H. McCulloch Middle School.
- 1995 — Current McCulloch Intermediate School and Highland Park Middle School campus opens.
- 1995 — McCulloch begins serving grades 5–6 and HPMS serves grades 7–8.
- 2026 — McCulloch and HPMS adopt the Scots mascot.