About Bowie High School
Bowie High School, one of 11 comprehensive high schools in Austin Independent School District, serves grades 9-12 from a campus at 4103 W Slaughter Lane, Austin, TX 78749. The mascot is the Bulldogs; school colors are Black, Red, and Silver. The principal is Mark Robinson. The school enrolled approximately 2,876 students for the most recent reporting year, with a pupil-teacher ratio of approximately 18:1.
James Bowie High School opened in 1988 in southwest Austin and is the largest comprehensive high school in Austin ISD by enrollment (~2,869 students for 2025-26). The campus serves the Circle C / Avana / Shady Hollow / Slaughter Creek area in southwest Austin.
The campus offers Advanced Placement courses, dual credit, fine arts (band, choir, orchestra, theatre), CTE pathways, and a UIL Class 6A athletics slate. Bowie High School competes in UIL Class 6A. Notable Bulldog alumni include former NFL players Marcus Griffin and Michael Griffin, former MLB and NPB pitcher Stephen Randolph, and NFL tight end Elijah Higgins.
Austin ISD operates 114 schools serving approximately 69,251 students as of the 2025-26 school year, including 11 traditional comprehensive high schools plus magnet/specialty campuses such as LASA, the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, and Garza Independence HS. International High School closed at the end of 2025-26 under the same consolidation plan. AISD holds a "B" overall TEA accountability rating (81 of 100) for the 2025-26 accountability year — the most recent year TEA has rated. District administration is at 4000 South IH-35 Frontage Road in Austin (78704). AISD covers most of the city of Austin plus Sunset Valley, San Leanna, and portions of unincorporated Travis County.
Living in Bowie High School
James Bowie High School at 4103 W Slaughter Lane is the largest comprehensive HS in Austin Independent School District (~2,869 students for 2025-2026), serving SW Austin's master-planned and Hill Country residential growth corridor. The campus opened in 1988 to add capacity along Slaughter Lane / MoPac as Circle C Ranch and the surrounding SW Austin neighborhoods grew. UIL Class 6A; mascot Bulldogs; colors black, red, and silver. Principal Mark Robinson.
The Bowie attendance zone is fed by three middle schools — Bailey MS (inside Circle C Ranch at 4020 Lost Oasis Hollow), Gorzycki MS (at 7412 W Slaughter), and Small MS (at 4801 Monterey Oaks Boulevard) — and a dozen elementaries including Mills, Patton, Boone, Casey, Cowan, Cunningham, Galindo, Houston, Kocurek, Langford, Odom, Sunset Valley, and others.
The zone covers SW Austin's largest master-planned and residential communities: Circle C Ranch (one of Austin's largest master-planned developments with the Circle C Country Club), Avana, Shady Hollow, Tanglewood Forest, Western Oaks, the city of Sunset Valley (a small incorporated city with its own City Hall on Ernest Robles Way), and Maple Run. Slaughter Creek runs east-west through the zone; the Veloway (Texas's only car-free park road, 3.1 miles paved cycling-only) sits inside Circle C.
Bowie's notable alumni include former NFL safety brothers Marcus Griffin and Michael Griffin (both Tennessee Titans), former MLB / NPB pitcher Stephen Randolph, and NFL tight end Elijah Higgins (Miami Dolphins, then Green Bay Packers). The Bulldogs compete in UIL Class 6A across all sports; the campus's size and the SW Austin growth corridor make it one of the largest single feeders into UT Austin and Texas State University.
Day-to-day retail centers on Slaughter Lane between MoPac and Brodie (HEB Slaughter, Costco, Walmart, the Sunset Valley shopping district), the Brodie Lane / William Cannon corridor, and the MoPac southbound frontage. Sunset Valley's Brodie Lane retail clusters add Whole Foods, Sprouts, REI, and Cabela's adjacent. Healthcare access centers on St. David's South Austin Medical Center on Ben White and Ascension Seton Southwest on US-290 / Loop 1.
Outdoor recreation defines the area beyond the Veloway. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (a UT-affiliated 284-acre botanical garden and research center, founded 1982 by Lady Bird Johnson) sits inside the Bowie zone on La Crosse Avenue. Slaughter Creek Trail runs through Slaughter Creek Metropolitan Park (~150 acres of nature trails). Dick Nichols District Park inside Circle C offers playgrounds, sports fields, and a public pool. The Barton Creek Greenbelt's southern access points (Spyglass, Twin Falls) sit at the northern edge of the Bowie zone with swimming holes when the creek is flowing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What grades does Bowie High School serve?
Bowie High School serves grades 9-12 in Austin ISD. The school enrolled approximately 2,876 students for the most recent reporting year, with a pupil-teacher ratio of approximately 18:1.
Where is Bowie High School located?
Bowie High School is at 4103 W Slaughter Lane, Austin, TX 78749.
What is Bowie High School's mascot?
The Bowie High School mascot is the Bulldogs; school colors are Black, Red, and Silver.
What is Bowie High School known for?
James Bowie High School opened in 1988 in southwest Austin and is the largest comprehensive high school in Austin ISD by enrollment (~2,869 students for 2025-26). The campus serves the Circle C / Avana / Shady Hollow / Slaughter Creek area in southwest Austin.
What programs does Bowie High School offer?
Bowie High School offers Advanced Placement courses, dual credit, fine arts (band, choir, orchestra, theatre), CTE pathways, and a UIL Class 6A athletics slate.
Who are some notable Bowie High School alumni?
Notable Bulldog alumni include former NFL players Marcus Griffin and Michael Griffin, former MLB and NPB pitcher Stephen Randolph, and NFL tight end Elijah Higgins.
