Л. Д. Белл Жоғары Мектебі: Тарихы мен Қазіргі Күні

Lawrence Dale Bell High School (generally known as L. D. Bell High School and also known as Hurst Bell) is an American high school located in the cities of Hurst and Bedford, Texas and part of the Hurst Euless Bedford Independent School District. The school is named for Lawrence Dale Bell, the founder of nearby Bell Helicopter Textron, and was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School for 1994–96. E. Don Brown, a former president of both the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP). In 2002, the school was at the center of a national zero tolerance debate when an honor student was expelled for having a non serrated bread knife in his truck bed. A combination of federal, state, and school district rules led the Texas Education Agency to advise that the student must be expelled for one year. The superintendent then reduced the expulsion to "time served". In November 2023, voters approved an HEB ISD bond package that included plans to replace L. D. Bell High School with a new building at the same campus.

L. D. Bell High School moved to its present location in 1965. Venues on the L. D. Bell High School campus include Nathan F. Danford field (baseball); a softball field; the Raider Bowl a football field with permanent bleachers, a track, a field house, and an observation deck; a practice football field for the marching band with an observation deck; several other large football fields; and four parking lots (faculty, student, band hall and Bell Freeway Entrance (B. F. E.) / Raider Bowl). An activity center named for former principal E. Don Brown opened in 2013 with a 60 yard indoor field, offices, and locker rooms. The northern section of the campus grounds, including all buildings, is within the Hurst City limits. The baseball diamond and most of the Raider Bowl and track are located within Bedford city limits. L. D. Bell shares the use of district facilities such as Pennington Field for soccer, football, and marching band events and the HEB athletic field located at Central Junior High.

During the 2014–2015 school year, L. D. Bell High School enrolled 2,143 total students in grade 10 (35.5%), grade 11 (32.5%), and grade 12 (32.0%). Ethnicities represented include white (49.5%), Hispanic (27.7%), Asian and Pacific Islander (6.7%), African American (13.3%), and Native American (0.6%). Forty percent were economically disadvantaged. There were 600 graduates in the class of 2014. The annual dropout rate is 0.2% (in 2013–2014). L. D. Bell students carry on many traditions, including "head banging" to the drumline during pep rallies and at football games, as well as Seniors storming the gym floor at the beginning of the fight song at the end of each pep rally.

Despite not having freshmen on campus, the 9th graders at each feeder campus are technically eligible for varsity sports programs, and on rare occasion make the teams and participate with the high school attendees.

L. D. Bell has three football teams: varsity, JV, and freshman. For the game with rival Trinity High School, the teams alternate between home and visitor every year. The varsity football team had lost against Trinity High School in each of their last 24 games, but in 2023, after 25 years, L. D Bell defeated Trinity 24 21. The 1982/83 varsity football team had an undefeated season and playoffs, (beating Trinity twice), before being defeated in the state championship game by West Brook Senior High (Beaumont, TX).

Men's Gymnastics State Championships: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1993, 2007. The men's gymnastics team has won 16 state titles since it was founded in 1966. The Bell men's team won their sixteenth state title in 2007, their first title in 14 years. Women's Gymnastics State Championships: 1967, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2016, 2018. The women's gymnastics team has won 21 state championships since 1967. The team claimed state titles from 2002 to 2005.

Men's baseball is played on campus at Nathan F. Danford field, located along Pleasantview Dr. on the northwest corner of campus. The head baseball coach is Paul Gibson who is in his 28th year at LD Bell since 1993. He has led the Blue Raiders to District Championships in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2019 with additional playoff appearances in 2000, 2001, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014 (celebrating his 400th career win) and 2018. Coach Gibson's 2011 team set new school records finishing the season 33 11 and as a Region 1 5A Finalist. He was named “Coach of the Year” in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2018. A winning tradition: 1969 District Champions, 1972 Regional Finalist, 1983 Quarter Finalist, 1990 Bi District Champions, 1995 District Champions, 1996 District Champions, 1999 District Champions, 2000 Bi District Finalist, 2001 Bi District Champions, 2002 Quarter Finalist, 2004 District Champions, 2005 District Champions, 2007 Bi District Finalist, 2008 District Champions 14–0, 2011 6 5A District Champions, 2011 Regional Finalist (33 11), 2012 Regional semifinalist, 2013 Regional semifinalist, 2014 Bi District Finalist, 2018 Area Finalist, 2019 3 6A Co District Champions, 2019 Area Finalist.

The ice hockey team plays at area ice rinks, including the Dr. Pepper Star's Centers in Euless, Grapevine, and Coppell.

The school has a full complement of tennis courts located between the new Don Brown Activity Center and the parking lot at the rear of the school building. The Varsity team accepts 9th graders from the two Junior High Schools that feed L. D. Bell Bedford Junior High and Hurst Junior High. The JV team also plays home and away games with select high schools.

L. D. Bell High School also fields teams in volleyball, soccer, softball, golf and men's and women's basketball. The men's and women's soccer teams' home games are typically played at Pennington Field. Softball home games are played at the softball field on the south end of campus near the Raider Bowl.

The band program at L. D. Bell splits students into four concert season bands: Sub Non Varsity 2, Sub Non Varsity, Non Varsity, and Varsity. The marching band consists of members from all four concert season bands and totals 310 students. The marching band won the UIL State championship in 2004 and 2000. In addition to the University Interscholastic League (UIL) competitions, the band regularly competes in independent contests (usually run by schools) and Bands of America (BOA) contests at both the regional and national levels. In November 2007, the Bell marching band won the BOA Grand National Championship and additional awards for Outstanding Music Performance and Outstanding General Effect. In 2006, the marching band was awarded "Outstanding Musical Performance" and placed 2nd overall at the BOA Grand Nationals. In 2004, the band won the BOA St. Louis Super Regional and captured all captions (specific categories of judgment music, marching, and general effect). In other BOA Grand National competitions, the band placed 4th in 2001, 5th in 2003, 3rd in 2005, 2nd in 2006, 1st in 2007, 2nd in 2008, 2nd in 2009, 3rd in 2010, and 10th in 2013. Since 2000, the band has medaled at 22 BOA events and 4 of 4 times at the UIL State Marching Band Contest. From 1998 to 2013, the L. D. Bell Marching Band placed in the top 5 of every contest entered.

The theatre department participates in several activities each year. Registered #949 The UIL One act plays are competitive and advance through district, area, and state rounds. There are also senior directed one act plays that allow students the opportunity to direct and produce their own play. L. D. Bell Theatre won the 1995 state championship with the UIL One Act play "Black Angel".

The Raiderettes dance team performs at football games, basketball games, and in competitions. Consisting only of sophomore, junior and senior girls, the Raiderettes are known for their entrance onto the field to the song, "Grand Entry Swing March", and for their traditional kick/dance to the song, "Hey, Look Me Over!" The step team performs at all pep rallies, in addition to competing locally & nationally. The boys' step team G phi Smooth, also known as "The Hollywood Steppers" outside of school competition, consists of sophomore, junior, and senior boys. Always known for their elaborate entrances and outros as well as themes, G Phi Smooth has won multiple state competitions and has competed on national television, going as far as Top 35 on America's Got Talent, where they competed with the dance group "The Jabbawockeez".

The choral program includes the Bell System show choir, an exclusive group that combines singing with dance steps and choreography. This group performs around the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex, especially around the holiday season, when they perform at various venues such as the Fort Worth Petroleum Club, Cooks Children's Hospital, HEBISD conferences, Santa USA, Noteboom Injury Lawyers, and many others. Along with the nearly 30 shows in December alone, Bell System has its annual Showtime performance located in the L. D. Bell auditorium. In 2010, the show choir was featured on the front page of the Fort Worth Star Telegram prior to the show in February. The choral program is continuously recognized throughout the region and country. The choirs often receive the Sweepstakes award at UIL competitions, as well as bring home awards from annual out of state competitions. In 2010, the A Cappella choir was named Grand Vocal Champions in The Windy City Classic in Chicago. In October 2009, the A Cappella choir was featured on KERA Television in the Dallas Fort Worth Area. By invitation, the choirs often perform with local orchestras and outside organizations such as the Northeast Tarrant County Orchestra. In March 2012, the choirs traveled to Italy, where they performed at St. Peter's Basilica. The program is expected to nearly double in participation in the next several years.

L. D. Bell also features a vibrant speech and debate program that was revitalized in 1995. The speech and debate organization at the school had been largely non competitive since the early 1980s. The team has competed in Lincoln Douglas debates and several speech events at competitions run by the Texas Forensics Association, National Forensics League, and UIL. The Mock Trial team at L. D. Bell advanced to the Mock Trial state competition in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

The Orchestra program at Lawrence Dale Bell High School is a recent and fast growing program. With three Orchestras, Symphony, Philharmonic, and Concert, the program is quickly becoming renowned. Most notable is the Symphony Orchestra which has been nationally recognized twice and has been invited to play at Carnegie Hall.

The UIL Math program at L. D. Bell has competed in various UIL Math and Science competitions, most recently on February 16, 2020, at Valley View High School (Valley View, Texas). The Math Club is a growing program at L. D. Bell.

Notable alumni are listed in chronological order by graduation (or expected graduation) year. Name Distinction Graduated John T. Montford Former Texas state senator (1983–96) and Texas Tech chancellor (1996–2007) 1961 Bill Line American football player with the Chicago Bears c. (circa) 1966 James L. Haley Author (Texas history and fiction) 1970 Karen Tandy Administrator of U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration 2003 1971 Buddy Whittington Guitarist and blues musician 1975 Ron Faurot American football player with New York Jets c. (circa) 1980 Cary Blanchard NFL placekicker (1992–2000) with Jets, Colts, Redskins, Giants and Cardinals 1987 1999 Kenneth Farrow American football player with the Seattle Dragons 2010 Destiny Vélez Miss Puerto Rico 2015; Miss America Finalist 2016; Miss Fort Worth 2014; Miss Trujillo Alto 2015; SWAC Bowling Championship Winner 2014