Welcome to the Park Cities
Two small Dallas suburbs — University Park and Highland Park — anchor this area a few miles north of downtown Dallas. Self-governing and with their own joint school district, together they comprise the wealthiest patch of real estate in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The Park Cities are largely affluent and have some of the highest per capita incomes in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as well as the state of Texas.
You won’t want to miss popping into Highland Park Village. Highland Park Village is America’s first shopping center and the prototype for shopping centers all over the country. This unique Mediterranean Spanish-style development was constructed in 1931. According to the Urban Land Institute, Highland Park Village was the first planned shopping center in the United States with a unified architectural style and stores facing in toward an interior parking area, all built and managed under a single ownership.
Prominent architects Marion Fooshee and James Cheek created this Mediterranean Spanish masterpiece, which today truly has become the “heart of the town.” Located at the corner of Mockingbird Lane and Preston Road, it’s often referred to today as “Downtown Highland Park.” (Courtesy Highland Park Village)
SCHOOLS
The Highland Park Independent School District is located immediately north of downtown Dallas in the 6.21-square-mile suburban area of Highland Park, University Park and a small part of North Dallas. HPISD serves approximately 33,640 residents who are predominantly college-educated professionals and business leaders in the Dallas community. Since HP schools were founded in 1914, there has been a consistent effort to build a tradition of excellence in both academic and extracurricular activities.
Dallas is home to the State Fair of Texas, some of the finest museums in the Southwest and professional sports teams. Southern Methodist University, one of the largest and most prestigious universities in the South, is located in the Park Cities and offers a variety of concerts, lectures and athletic events to the surrounding area.
The Highland Park Independent School District first opened its doors in October of 1914 with a four-room building on Cornell Avenue. Since then, it has grown to a district comprised of seven campuses: four elementary schools, one intermediate school, one middle school and one high school. The district has an enrollment of approximately 7,090 students and employs nearly 800 people, including more than 450 teachers.
HPHS students consistently score above the national and state average on the ACT and SAT. In the 2013-14 school year, HPHS students scored a composite 27.2 on the ACT, compared to the Texas average of 20.9 and the national average of 21.0. HPHS students recorded a composite score of 1792 on the SAT, higher than the Texas average of 1432 and the national average of 1497.