Lamar High School is a comprehensive public secondary school located in Houston, Texas, United States. It is a part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Lamar High School, was established in 1936 in memory of Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), a leader in the Texas Revolution and the second President of the Republic of Texas. Lamar has a four-year program, serving grades 9 through 12. The school is located in the Upper Kirby district, serving the Houston neighborhoods of River Oaks and Montrose, the incorporated city of West University Place, a portion of the city of Southside Place, and other Houston subdivisions. Lamar offers neighborhood, Advanced Placement, and IB Diploma (International Baccalaureate) programs. It also hosts a business magnet program offering business management courses that works in conjuncture with the Houston business community to provide internships and university scholarships. Lamar's IB Diploma programs is one of six in HISD, and consistently graduates the largest number of IB Diploma diploma candidates in Texas. History Founding and early history In the 19th century Michael Louis Westheimer, a German immigrant who arrived in Houston in 1859, bought a farm at an auction for $2.50 per acre. On his property Westheimer established a school for local children, including some of his relatives from Germany. The path to the school became "Westheimer's Road," now called Westheimer Road. The Houston Independent School District built and established Lamar on the former site of Westheimer's farm. Earlier the Southampton Civic Club attempted to persuade Houston ISD to build Lamar at a lot along Kirby and West Alabama; the attempt failed and Lamar was built across from River Oaks. Lamar officially opened in 1937 as "Southwest High School" along Westheimer Road before changing its name soon after. The opening relieved pressure on San Jacinto High School in what is now Midtown. When the school opened it had 1,310 students, mostly from Bellaire, West University Place, Montrose, Southampton, and Southgate. In 1938 10% of the students resided in River Oaks. William Broyles of the Texas Monthly wrote that in its pre-desegregation history Lamar was the public equivalent of an exclusive prep school and Houston's "society school". In that period Lamar was the designation of children of Houston's most prominent families who attended public high schools. Many students in the 1950s had referred to River Oaks Boulevard as the only street with a country club at both ends: one being the