now occupies that site. A historical marker is on the south side of that block. In meetings it had been proposed as a new location for the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Sam Houston has Texas' oldest high school newspaper, the Aegis, started in 1889. In addition, the world's first girls' Military Drill Squad (formerly known as the Black Battalion, but now called the Tigerettes) originated at the school. Sam Houston was previously reserved for white children (Hispanics being categorized as white prior to 1970) but it desegregated by 1970. Today, it has a mostly Hispanic student body. The names of the individual schools currently occupying the Sam Houston campus were chosen in 2008. On Saturday February 12, 2011, a state historic marker was dedicated at Sam Houston. The Oran M. Roberts Chapter 440 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy organized the event. Lynna Kay Shuffield, the president of the chapter, wrote a historical narrative about the school and its former location in Downtown. The Reconstruction of the Campus started in late 2016 and its estimated completion would be in 2019. The Sam Houston Tiger football team holds the distinction of having the both the longest active and all time district game losing streak in the entire state of Texas with 99 consecutive losses in district play as of 2021. Rating Sam Houston, with Jack Yates High School and Kashmere High School, are the three high schools in Houston ISD that were consistently low-performing in test scores from 2001 to 2004. Because of this problem, there were movements to have the state or another organization take over the schools for a period so the test scores will be at acceptable levels. While Yates got an acceptable rating in 2005, Houston and Kashmere continued to get unacceptable ratings. Abelardo Saavedra, the superintendent of HISD, described Houston as being "close" to getting an acceptable rating. In August 2006 the school learned that it again got an unacceptable rating from the Texas Education Agency. HISD threatened to close Sam Houston. Sam Houston was not closed and it received another unacceptable rating from the TEA. Houston ISD, stated that the board would consider spending $300,000 to find a method to improve Sam Houston's marks from the TEA. In 2008 the Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott ordered the closure of Sam Houston; the Houston Chronicle said that HISD would likely