DALLAS — There was a lot of energy around South Oak Cliff High School, as the SOC Golden Bears prepared to head to Round 5 of the 5-A Division II UIL Playoff semi-finals on Friday.
”You know, by winning State last year, we want to do a repeat this year,” said JoAnn Neal-Williams.
The school’s principal, Willie Johnson, said there’s so much more fueling the positive momentum at the campus, which some call a community hub.
“Kids don’t attend an institution if it’s failing. We went from 798 students to over 1500. That just tells you some of the great things, academic things that’s going on around here,” Johnson explained.
The SOC Golden Bears’ 2021 State Championship put South Oak Cliff, its students, and its community in the spotlight. SOC is a school that emerged from an F-rated campus years ago, to one that is currently growing, making academic distinctions, and meeting state expectations.
Some Football Booster parents said their teens are not only athletes, they are scholars.
“We tell our son football is second nature. Because there’s no such thing as a degree in football. We tell him that you have to have your academics first,” one parent explained.
When the SOC Golden Bears hit the field on Friday night in Fort Worth, they will be playing Argyle. It’s that powerhouse team’s first year in Class 5-A. It’s a team that hasn’t lost a game this year.
Back in Dallas, supporters arranged a big semi-finals send-off for the SOC Golden Bears. As the team buses left campus, they were escorted by a motorcade that included officers from Dallas ISD Police and the Dallas Police Department.
Supporters say the culture around South Oak Cliff High School is about family.
“We’re all very adamant about equity and fighting for what’s best, not just for the kids at South Oak Cliff, but this whole community,” explained Natashia Gerard, President of SOC Alumni Bear Cave.