Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools

Group of private schools in Texas, United States

Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools
PredecessorTAPPS
Formation1978
TypeState Trade Association
HeadquartersFort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Executive Director
Bryan Bunselmeyer
Websitehttps://www.tapps.biz

The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, or TAPPS, is an organization headquartered in the Lone Star Tower at Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas.[1] It was formerly headquartered at the Salado Civic Center in Salado, Texas.[2][3]

Founded in 1978, TAPPS governs athletic, fine arts, and academic contests for the majority of non-public high schools in Texas.[4]

As of 2021 TAPPS organizes competitions for over 230 private schools in Texas.[5]

History

TAPPS was chartered in 1978 with a membership of 20 schools. As of 2022 TAPPS lists their school membership at 230 with a combined enrollment of over 40,000 students. [6] As early as 2013, TAPPS was using a proprietary software called TAPPSter to provide schools with online management tools for athletics and fine arts departments.[7] In 2019 TAPPS signed a State Management contract with Rank One to serve schedules and game results to schools in their membership. [8]

Controversies

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In 2004, Darul Arqam, a Muslim school in Houston, submitted an application to join TAPPS. Khaled Katbi, who represented the school, had a meeting with TAPPS on November 4, 2004, and did not report any unusual questions. However the school subsequently received a letter which included a questionnaire with "Why do you wish to join an organization whose membership is basically in total disagreement with your religious beliefs?" and "Why do you think that the current member schools of TAPPS will not be biased against your school, based on the fundamental difference in your religion and Christianity, since about 90% of TAPPS schools embrace Christianity?" In response the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas stated that TAPPS should be investigated.[9]

In 2010, Iman Academy Southwest, another Muslim school in Houston, submitted an application to join TAPPS. TAPPS responded by asking Iman to complete a questionnaire with questions like "Historically, there is nothing in the Koran that fully embraces Christianity or Judaism in the way a Christian and/or a Jew understands his religion. Why, then, are you interested in joining an association whose basic beliefs your religion condemns?" Iman Academy SW did not fill out the questionnaire and the attached application, and TAPPS denied Iman SW admission into the league. Iman SW did not appeal the decision.[5]

In 2012, TAPPS came under harsh criticism after it refused to reschedule a semifinals basketball game scheduled for 9 p.m. on Friday March 2 despite the fact that Robert M. Beren Academy, an Orthodox Jewish school, asked that its players not play on Jewish Sabbath.[10] The school had won the regional championship to advance for their first trip to the semi-finals.[11] An appeal was made by Beren academy but denied by TAPPS under its bylaws set in the 1970s. TAPPS received legal pressure and pressure from Mayor Annise Parker of Houston as well as hundreds of letters.[10] TAPPS eventually relented and allowed the game to be rescheduled under this pressure.[5][12]

The controversies with the Muslim schools and Beren drew attention to the point where the Texas Catholic Conference called for a review of the association.[13]

In 2015, the TAPPS Winter Division 1 Soccer State Championship Game was stopped by Trinity Christian Academy coaches and Athletic Director to protest a yellow card that was issued by the referee to a John Paul II player. The TCA AD left the field of play and met with the TAPPS Executive Director. They walked back to the JPII bench together and the TAPPS Executive Director issued an Administrative Red card to the player, over ruling the referee in charge of the game. This violates TAPPS section 134 "NO PROTESTS. A protest base on a game or contest official's decision will not be considered" and TAPPS section 27 "...may not protest a contest judge's / referee's or other official's decision". The cause of the controversy was that after scoring a goal to go up 1-0 with 32 minutes left in the game the player removed his jersey on the way to the bench and was issued a yellow card for this unsportsmanlike behavior. JPII was forced to play 10 v 11 for the remainder of the game and lost 1-2.[14][15]

Groupings

Like the UIL, TAPPS aligns member schools into districts by geography and enrollment size for various contests. Each contest has a slightly different alignment based on the participating schools, but most follow the same basic framework. The districts are mostly decided behind closed doors by TAPPS every even year (in February, around the same time as the UIL's biannual redistricting), and are an attempt to keep schools within a certain distance of their home town when attending competitions. Like the UIL, the districts are the first progression to the state championship.

Schools are further broken down with a letter classification to separate them from other schools of varying sizes. The purpose is ensure that schools compete only with others with similar size talent pools and resources.

Due to the wide variety of sports that some schools do and do not offer, and because some schools are single-sex, TAPPS uses several different classifications for sports (generally the larger the number the larger the school):

  • Volleyball, basketball (boys and girls): 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A
  • Football: Divisions I/II and III for six-man football (in I/II the schools are grouped together into districts, but in the playoffs they have separate brackets); Divisions I, II, III/IV (in III/IV the schools are grouped together into districts, but in the playoffs they have separate brackets), plus League (divided into two zones) for the 11-man game
  • Baseball Divisions I through V
  • Soccer: Division I for Fall, Divisions I through III for Winter
  • Softball: Divisions I through IV

2022-2024 alignment

Sources: [16] [17] [18]

6A schools

District 1

District 2

  • Antonian College Prep (San Antonio)
  • Central Catholic High School (San Antonio) (boys only)
  • Concordia Lutheran High School (Tomball)
  • Incarnate Word Academy (Houston) (girls only)
  • Incarnate Word High School (San Antonio) (girls only)
  • St. Agnes Academy (Houston) (girls only)
  • St. Pius X High School (Houston)
  • St. Thomas High School (Houston) (boys only)
  • The Village School (Houston)

Independent

  • Cathedral High School (El Paso) (boys only)


5A schools

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5

4A schools

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

Independent


3A schools

District 1

  • Covenant Classical School (Fort Worth)
  • Calvary Academy (Denton)
  • Fellowship Academy (Kennedale)
  • Lubbock Christian School (Lubbock)
  • San Jacinto Christian Academy (Amarillo)
  • Temple Christian School (Fort Worth)
  • Trinity School (Midland)
  • Weatherford Christian School (Weatherford)

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5


2A schools

District 1

  • Abilene Christian School (Abilene)
  • All Saints Episcopal School (Lubbock)
  • Ascension Academy (Amarillo)
  • Christ the King Catholic School (Lubbock)
  • Kingdom Prep Academy (Lubbock)
  • Southcrest Christian School (Lubbock)

District 2

  • Bethesda Christian School (Fort Worth)
  • Christian Life Preparatory School (Fort Worth)
  • Harvest Christian Academy (Keller)
  • Mercy Culture Preparatory (Fort Worth)
  • Nazarene Christian Academy (Crowley)
  • Ovilla Christian School (Red Oak)
  • Sacred Heart Catholic School (Muenster)

District 3

District 4

  • First Baptist Academy (Dallas)
  • Greenville Christian School (Greenville)
  • Heritage Christian Academy (Rockwall)
  • Longview Christian School (Longview)
  • Poetry Community Christian School (Terrell)
  • Trinity School of Texas (Longview)

District 5

District 6

1A schools

Note: Schools that are crossed-out in the TAPPS district list for both boys and girls basketball are not included on this list

District 1

  • Accelerate Christian School (Amarillo)
  • Christ Academy (Wichita Falls)
  • Holy Cross Catholic Academy (Amarillo)
  • Holy Cross Catholic High School (Midland)
  • Wichita Christian School (Wichita Falls)

District 2

  • Azle Christian School (Azle)
  • Cornerstone Christian Academy (Granbury)
  • Eagle Christian Academy (Waco)
  • Selwyn School (Argyle)
  • StoneGate Christian Academy (Irving)
  • Victory Baptist Academy (Weatherford)
  • Waxahachie Preparatory Academy (Waxahachie)

District 3

  • Cambridge School of Dallas (Dallas)
  • Fairhill School (Dallas)
  • Kingdom Collegiate-DeSoto (DeSoto)
  • Prestonwood Christian Academy-North (Prosper)
  • Providence Academy (Rockwall)
  • Texoma Christian School (Sherman)
  • The Westwood School (Dallas)
  • The Winston School (Dallas) [a]

District 4

  • Athens Christian Preparatory Academy (Athens)
  • Christian Heritage School (Longview)
  • Regents Academy (Nacogdoches)
  • St. Boniface Catholic High School (Nacogdoches)
  • St. Mary's Catholic School (Longview)

District 5

  • Faith Academy (Victoria)
  • First Baptist Academy (Universal City)
  • Legacy Christian Academy (San Antonio)
  • River City Believers Academy (Selma)

District 6

  • Atonement Academy (San Antonio)
  • Cornerstone Christian School (San Angelo)
  • The Heritage School (Fredericksburg)
  • Hill Country Christian School (San Marcos)
  • Living Rock Academy (Bulverde)
  • Trinity Lutheran School (San Angelo)
  • Waterloo School (Austin)

District 7

  • First Baptist School (Brownsville)
  • Harvest Christian Academy (Edinburg) [a]
  • Juan Diego Academy (Mission) [a]
  • Macedonian Christian Academy (Alamo)

District 8

  • Baytown Christian Academy (Baytown)
  • Brazosport Christian School (Lake Jackson)
  • Divine Savior Academy (Missouri City)
  • Family Christian (Houston)
  • King’s Academy (Houston)
  • Living Stones Christian School (Alvin)
  • Memorial Lutheran School (Houston)
  • Robert M. Beren Academy (Houston)
  • Second Baptist University Model-Memorial (Houston)

District 9

  • The Briarwood School (Houston) [a]
  • Calvary Baptist School (Conroe)
  • Covenant Academy (Cypress)
  • Covenant Prep (Kingwood)
  • Founders Christian School (Spring)
  • Houston Adventist Academy (Cypress)
  • Lifestyle Christian School (Conroe)

Independent

  • Jesus Chapel School (El Paso)

See also

  • flagTexas portal
  • iconSchools portal


Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i School moved down one classification level for special circumstance. This is mostly done for schools serving low-income students and for special education schools

References

  1. ^ "About TAPPS". Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. Retrieved October 25, 2019. Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools 3575 Lone Star Circle #320 Fort Worth, Texas 76177
  2. ^ "Administration." Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. Retrieved on March 9, 2012. "Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools 601 North Main P.O. Box 1039 Salado, TX 76571"
  3. ^ "Contact Information." Salado Civic Center. Retrieved on March 9, 2012. "Salado Civic Center 601 North Main in Downtown Salado, Texas 76571"
  4. ^ Texas, unlike most states, has separate organizations for public and private schools (excluding two very large all-male parochial schools which have been allowed to join the University Interscholastic League, the governing body for public schools. However, public and private schools may schedule each other in competition.
  5. ^ a b c Pilon, Mary (March 2, 2012). "Before Games, Religious Questions". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  6. ^ "About TAPPS | TAPPS". tapps.biz. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  7. ^ "Rank One Schedules and Results | TAPPS". tapps.biz. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  8. ^ "Rank One Schedules and Results | TAPPS". tapps.biz. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  9. ^ Hegstrom, Edward (December 23, 2004). "Local Muslim school, TAPPS at odds over letter". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Pilon, Mary. "Texas Association Criticized for Ruling on Jewish Team." New York Times. The New York Times Company, 29 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
  11. ^ Pilon, Mary. "In Texas, the Sabbath Trumps the Semifinals." New York Times, 27 February 2012. Web. 15 February 2014
  12. ^ Pilon, Mary. "Game Time Is Adjusted; Jewish School Will Play." New York Times, 1 March 2012. Web. 15 February 2014
  13. ^ Pilon, Mary. "Review of Texas Association Sought", New York Times, 23 March 2012. Web. 15 February 2014.
  14. ^ "John Paul II appeals loss to TCA-Addison in TAPPS boys soccer state final, saying red card was incorrectly issued after TAPPS executive director told referee to change call". SportsDay HS.
  15. ^ "Boys soccer: JPII appeals title game loss, TAPPS upholds ruling following red card controversy". PlanoStar Courier.
  16. ^ 22-24 Boys Basketball TAPPS. November 2021
  17. ^ 22-24 Girls Basketball TAPPS. November 2021
  18. ^ Overall Classification Breakout Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS). 19 November 2021

External links

  • Official website Edit this at Wikidata
  • Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (tapps.net) at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
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TAPPS 6A (2022-2024)
District 1
District 2
Girls
  • Antonian Prep (San Antonio)
  • Concordia Lutheran (Tomball)
  • Incarnate Word (Houston)
  • Incarnate Word (San Antonio)
  • St. Agnes Academy (Houston)
  • St. Pius X (Houston)
  • Village (Houston)
Boys
  • Antonian Prep (San Antonio)
  • Central Catholic (San Antonio)
  • Concordia Lutheran (Tomball)
  • St. Pius X (Houston)
  • St. Thomas (Houston)
  • Village (Houston)
Independent
  • Cathedral High School (El Paso) (boys only)
Sources:
22-24 Boys Basketball 22-24 Girls Basketball
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  • e
TAPPS 5A (2022-2024)
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
  • Providence High School (San Antonio) (girls only)
  • Saint Mary's Hall (San Antonio)
  • San Antonio Christian (San Antonio)
  • St. Anthony (San Antonio)
  • St. Augustine (Laredo)
  • St. Joseph-Brownsville (Brownsville)
  • St. Joseph-Victoria (Victoria)
  • TMI Episcopal (San Antonio)
District 5
Sources:
22-24 Boys Basketball 22-24 Girls Basketball
  • v
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TAPPS 4A (2022-2024)
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Independent
Sources:
22-24 Boys Basketball 22-24 Girls Basketball
  • v
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  • e
TAPPS 3A (2022-2024)
District 1
  • Covenant Classical (Fort Worth)
  • Denton Calvary (Denton)
  • Fellowship Academy (Kennedale)
  • Lubbock Christian (Lubbock)
  • San Jacinto Christian (Amarillo)
  • Temple Christian (Fort Worth)
  • Trinity School (Midland)
  • Weatherford Christian (Weatherford)
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
Sources:
22-24 Boys Basketball 22-24 Girls Basketball
  • v
  • t
  • e
TAPPS 2A (2022-2024)
District 1
  • Abilene Christian (Abilene)
  • All Saints Episcopal (Lubbock)
  • Ascension Academy (Amarillo)
  • Christ the King (Lubbock)
  • Kingdom Prep (Lubbock)
  • Southcrest Christian (Lubbock)
District 2
  • Bethesda Christian (Fort Worth)
  • Christian Life Prep (Fort Worth)
  • Harvest Christian (Keller)
  • Mercy Culture (Fort Worth)
  • Nazarene Christian (Crowley)
  • Ovilla Christian (Red Oak)
  • Sacred Heart Catholic (Muenster)
District 3
District 4
  • First Baptist Academy (Dallas)
  • Greenville Christian (Greenville)
  • Heritage Rockwall (Rockwall)
  • Longview Christian (Longview)
  • Poetry Community Christian (Terrell)
  • Trinity School of Texas (Longview)
District 5
  • Austin Waldorf (Austin)
  • Bracken Christian (Bulverde)
  • Concordia Academy (Pflugerville)
  • Our Lady of the Hills (Kerrville)
  • Sacred Heart (Hallettsville)
  • Juan Diego Catholic (Austin)
  • St. Paul (Shiner)
  • Summit Christian (Cedar Park)
District 6
Sources:
22-24 Boys Basketball 22-24 Girls Basketball
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TAPPS 1A (2022-2024)
District 1
  • Accelerate Christian (Amarillo)
  • Christ Academy (Wichita Falls)
  • Holy Cross-Amarillo (Amarillo)
  • Holy Cross-Midland (Midland)
  • Wichita Christian (Wichita Falls)
District 2
  • Azle Christian (Azle)
  • Cornerstone Christian (Granbury)
  • Eagle Christian (Waco)
  • Selwyn (Argyle)
  • StoneGate Christian (Irving)
  • Victory Baptist (Weatherford)
  • Waxahachie Prep (Waxahachie)
District 3
  • Cambridge (Dallas)
  • Fairhill (Dallas)
  • Kingdom Collegiate (DeSoto)
  • Prestonwood Christian-North (Prosper)
  • Providence Academy (Rockwall)
  • Texoma Christian (Sherman)
  • Westwood (Dallas)
  • Winston (Dallas)
District 4
  • Athens Christian (Athens)
  • Christian Heritage (Longview)
  • Regents Academy (Nacogdoches)
  • St. Boniface (Nacogdoches)
  • St. Mary's Catholic (Longview)
District 5
  • Faith Academy (Victoria)
  • First Baptist Academy (Universal City)
  • Legacy Christian Academy (San Antonio)
  • River City Believers (Selma)
District 6
  • Atonement Academy (San Antonio)
  • Cornerstone Christian (San Angelo)
  • Heritage School (Fredericksburg)
  • Hill Country Christian (San Marcos)
  • Living Rock Academy (Bulverde)
  • Trinity Lutheran (San Angelo)
  • Waterloo (Austin)
District 7
  • First Baptist (Brownsville)
  • Harvest Christian (Edinburg)
  • Juan Diego Academy (Mission)
  • Macedonian Christian (Alamo)
District 8
  • Baytown Christian (Baytown)
  • Beren Academy (Houston)
  • Brazosport Christian (Lake Jackson)
  • Divine Savior (Missouri City)
  • Family Christian (Houston)
  • King’s Academy (Houston)
  • Living Stones Christian (Alvin)
  • Memorial Lutheran (Houston)
  • SBSUM-Memorial (Houston)
District 9
  • Briarwood (Houston)
  • Calvary Baptist (Conroe)
  • Covenant Prep (Kingwood)
  • Cypress Covenant (Cypress)
  • Founders Christian (Spring)
  • Houston Adventist (Cypress)
  • Lifestyle Christian (Conroe)
Independent
  • Jesus Chapel (El Paso)
Sources:
22-24 Boys Basketball 22-24 Girls Basketball