Spring Independent School District is a school district

School district

School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...

 based in the Gordon M. Anderson Leadership Center in unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 Harris County

Harris County, Texas

As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The Spring Independent School District will serve over 32,100 prekindergarten through twelfth-grade students this fall in a diverse and growing district located 20 miles (32.2 km) north of downtown Houston in a suburban area of Harris County that spans 57 square miles (147.6 km²). The District's ethnic breakdown is 38.9 percent African American, 37.6 percent Hispanic, 18.6 percent white, 4.6 percent Asian and Pacific Islander and 0.2 percent Native American.

Spring ISD serves a small portion of Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 and portions unincorporated Harris County including the community of Spring

Spring, Texas

Spring, Texas is a census-designated place within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States, north of Downtown Houston. The population was 54,298 at the 2010 census...

.

In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable

Texas Education Agency accountability ratings system

The Texas Education Agency accountability ratings system rates all public schools, charter schools, and school districts in the State of Texas.The criteria are the same for schools and districts, and are discussed below...

" by the Texas Education Agency

Texas Education Agency

The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas in the United States responsible for public education. The agency is headquartered in the William B...

.

History

Spring ISD formed in 1935 from the combination of the Harrell Common School District and the Spring Common School District.

The district's demographics changed as time passed. In the 1995-1996 school year the district had 28% low income students. Its racial demographics were 56% White, 20% Black, and 18% Hispanic. In the 2005-2006 school year the district had 55% low income students. The demographics included 39% Black, 33% Hispanic, and 23% White.

In 2006 its two high schools, Spring and Westfield, had a combined population of 7,500. Dr. Robert Sanborn, the president and CEO of the organization Children at Risk, said that Spring ISD should have had schools in the top ten high schools featured in the Houston Press

Houston Press

The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....

article "These Kids Go to the Best Public High School in Houston" as Humble ISD and Spring Branch ISD did. Instead, both Spring ISD schools ranked in the "Tier Two" list.

In 2008 Spring ISD's virtual school opened.

Northgate Forest secession proposal

Northgate Forest

Northgate Forest

Northgate Forest is a golf course community in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States, in Greater Houston. It is located directly off of Farm to Market Road 1960, west of George Bush Intercontinental Airport and north of Downtown Houston....

, a subdivision, garnered attention all over the Houston area when 190 residents filed a petition to withdraw from Spring Independent School District and join neighboring Klein Independent School District

Klein Independent School District

Klein Independent School District is a school district that covers of land in Harris County, Texas, United States. Almost all of the territory is unincorporated; a small portion of Houston is within the district's limits. 41,800 students attend Klein ISD Schools for the 2007-08 school year. Klein...

. The petition for detachment began circulating in December 2006, after Northgate residents helped defeat a bond issue for the district that November. Northgate Forest's primary complaints were that the district's SAT

SAT

The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...

 and TAKS scores had been declining consistently in recent years, that the district was spending money inefficiently, and that taxes were too high. Residents cited a section of the Texas Education Code that allows a given area to secede from the school district they are zoned to if another district will agree to absorb them. Jim McIngvale

Jim McIngvale

Jim McIngvale is a businessman from Houston, the founder of the Houston furniture store Gallery Furniture....

, an area resident and salesman also known as "Mattress Mac," said that he disagreed with the proposal.

In April 2007, the Klein ISD Board of Trustees denied Northgate's petition for detachment, shortly after Spring ISD unanimously rejected the proposal. Klein ISD stated that the petition did not fulfill all the legal requirements stipulated by the Texas Education Agency

Texas Education Agency

The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas in the United States responsible for public education. The agency is headquartered in the William B...

 for the detachment to be valid. A small contingent of Northgate residents filed a new claim immediately after. Both school districts involved have declared they view the matter as closed.

The spokesperson for the group, Tom Mathews, said in 2007 that 45 school aged children reside in the community. 7 attend Spring ISD schools, and the rest attend private schools. According to Mathews, the schools are low performing, so most parents do not send their children to the zoned schools.

Elementary schools

• George E. Anderson Elementary School
  George E. Anderson Elementary School
  George E. Anderson Elementary School is a primary school at 6218 Lynngate Drive in the Spring CDP in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States.Anderson opened in 1979. The school was named a 1989-90 National Blue Ribbon School.-Feeder patterns:...
  
  
  • Anderson, which opened in 1979, was named after a board member. It was a 1989-90 National Blue Ribbon School.
• Bammel Elementary School
  • Bammel, the second Spring ISD elementary school, opened in 1965. It was named after the Charly Bammel family. In 2010 the school's current two story facility opened.
• Joseph S. Beneke Elementary School
  • Beneke, which opened in 1986, was named after a former board member.
• Carolee Booker Elementary School
  • Booker, which opened in 2008, is named after Carolee Booker Jordan King, a teacher.
• Chet Burchett Elementary School
  • Opened in August 2005, Burchett is named after a former board member.
• B. F. Clark Primary School (PreK-2)
  • Clark Elementary School opened in 1991. It was named after a former SISD employee who served as a bus driver, coach, counselor, textbook custodian, principal, and teacher.
• B. F. Clark Intermediate School (3-5)
  • Opened in 2003, Clark Intermediate is across the street from and has the same namesake as Clark Primary.
• Milton Cooper Elementary School
  • Cooper, which opened in 2005, is named after a former SISD administrator.
• Ralph Eickenroht Elementary School
  • The school, which opened in 2009, is named after a former music teacher.
• Heritage Elementary School
  • Opened in 2000, Heritage is SISD's 15th elementary school. Heritage was named to reflect upon the ethnic heritages of the students and to honor the surrounding community.
• Pearl M. Hirsch Elementary School
  • Hirsch opened in 1978 and was named after a Spring ISD teacher.
• R.J. Hoyland Elementary School (opening August 2009)
  • Hoyland, which opened in 2009, is named after Dr. R.J. Hoyland III, a board member.
• Mildred I. Jenkins Elementary School
  • Jenkins, which opened in 1976, was named after a school nurse.
• Donna C. Lewis Elementary School
  • Lewis, which opened in 2006, is named after a longtime volunteer.
• Joan Link Elementary School
  • Link opened in 1982. It was named after the secretary of the SISD superintendent and board of trustees.
• Helen Major Elementary School
  • Major, which opened in 2009, is named after a teacher.
• Gloria Marshall Elementary School
  • Marshall, which opened in 2011, was named after a Spring ISD administrator who served as a teacher and principal. It is the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
    Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
    Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
    
     gold-certified school in SISD.
• Ginger McNabb Elementary School
  • McNabb, which opened in 2006, is named after a teacher.
• Otto H. Meyer Elementary School
  • Meyer, which opened in 1976, was named to honor Otto H. Meyer and Avalt H. Meyer, who served on the SISD board of trustees.
• Northgate Crossing Elementary School
  • The school, which opened in 2008, is named after the Northgate Crossing neighborhood.
• Ponderosa Elementary School
  • Ponderosa, which opened in 1970, is named after its subdivision. As of 2010 it is one of three two-story elementary schools in SISD.
• Pat Reynolds Elementary School
  • The school opened in 1972 as Oak Creek Elementary School, after the subdivision. It was renamed in 2005 after an SISD administrator.
• Salyers Elementary School
  • Opened in 1959 as Spring Elementary School, it was the first dedicated elementary school of Spring ISD. It was also the first Spring ISD facility to be air conditioned. It was renamed in 1986, after J.O. Salyers, a board member, and Gertie Mae Salyers, a PTA member.
• Lewis Eugene Smith Elementary School
  • Smith opened in 1986. Its namesake served as a business teacher, the principal of Spring High School
    Spring High School
    Spring High School is a public secondary school located in the Spring CDP in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States.Spring High School, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Spring Independent School District. Spring High School's mascot is the lion. School colors are...
    
    , and an assistant superintendent.
• Deloras E. Thompson Elementary School
  • Thompson opened in 1996. It was named after a board member.
• John A. Winship Elementary School
  • Winship, which opened in 1972, was named after former superintendent John Winship. Winship Elementary School's classes began in the northern hemisphere fall 1972; the Winship campus opened on December 15 of that year.

Middle schools

Zoned schools

• Rickey C. Bailey Middle School
  • Bailey opened in August 2006 and was dedicated on October 15 of that year. Named after a board member, Bailey is across the street from Burchett Elementary.
• Bammel Middle School
  • Bammel was the second middle school in SISD. It was named after the Charly Bammel family. In January 2004 the school moved to a new location. After the move, the previous location became the Westfield Ninth Grade Center. In 2009 that facility became Dr. Edward Roberson Middle School, A Math, Science and Fine Arts Academy.
• Stelle Claughton Middle School
  • Claughton, which opened in 2003, is SISD's fifth middle school. It was named after Stelle Claughton Lacefield, an administrator and teacher.
• O. B. Dueitt Middle School
  • Dueitt opened in 1980. It was named after a board member who was a member of a family that first settled in Spring around 1876.
• Twin Creeks Middle School
  • Twin Creeks opened in 1984. It is named because of the fact that it is located between two creeks, the Cypress Gully and Spring Creek. It replaced Wunsche Middle School.
• Edwin M. Wells Middle School
  • Wells opened in 1977 and was named after an SISD school board member.

Magnet

• Dr. Edward Roberson Middle School, A Math, Science and Fine Arts Academy
  • Roberson opened in 2009. Its facility was the home of Bammel Middle School and later the Westfield Ninth Grade Center.

High schools

Zoned schools

• Andy Dekaney High School
  Dekaney High School
  Andy Dekaney High School is a public secondary school located at 22351 Imperial Valley Drive at Bammel Road in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States, with a ZIP code of 77073....
  
  
• Spring High School
  Spring High School
  Spring High School is a public secondary school located in the Spring CDP in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States.Spring High School, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Spring Independent School District. Spring High School's mascot is the lion. School colors are...
  
  
• Westfield High School
  Westfield High School (Harris County, Texas)
  Westfield High School is a high school located in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States.The school, which serves grades 9-12, is a part of the Spring Independent School District. The school, in the Westfield community, has a Houston, Texas postal address...
  
  

School of Choice

• Carl Wunsche Sr. High School
  Carl Wunsche Sr. High School
  Carl Wunsche Sr. High School is a career academy magnet high school in unincorporated Harris County, Texas which opened in mid August 2006.Wunsche is in the Spring Independent School District and serves grades 10 through 12...
  
   - Career Academy of Spring ISD (opened fall 2006)
• Early College Academy at Southridge - Early College High School of Spring ISD (opened fall 2011)

Former schools

• Southwell School - A segregated school for African-Americans, Southwell operated on the property of what is now B. F. Clark Park from 1925 to 1945.
• Wunsche School - The Wunsche family donated 13 acres (5.3 ha) of land along Spring-Cypress Road for a school site in 1935; the donation required that the district name the school after Carl Wunsche, a family ancestor. Wunsche served middle and high school. An addition serving elementary school students opened in 1947. In 1958 the elementary school students were moved out. In 1969 Wunsche became the district's first middle school in 1969. In 1983 the campus closed, and it was replaced by Twin Creeks Middle School. The facility was renovated to serve as a multipurpose campus.

Other facilities

• Gordon M. Anderson Leadership Center - The district's administration building, Anderson received its current name in 2001. It was named after a former superintendent.
• L. C. Nagy Exhibition Pavilion - The district's show barn, Nagy opened in 1997. It was named after the L.C. Nagy family.
• Leonard George Stadium - Opened in 2000, the stadium is located behind Spring High School
  Spring High School
  Spring High School is a public secondary school located in the Spring CDP in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States.Spring High School, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Spring Independent School District. Spring High School's mascot is the lion. School colors are...
  
  . It was named after the coach.
• James C. Leo Drive - An access road between Bailey Middle School and Burchett Elementary School, Leo was named in 2005 after a former SISD administrator.

Spring ISD Department

The Spring Independent School District Police Department opened in 1991. Its current command facility opened in 2003.

ZANGLE ParentConnect

Parents in the Spring Independent School District can now see their children's grades and assignments by internet access.

PIV

Spring ISD began using the Pinnacle Internet Viewer

Pinnacle Internet Viewer

Pinnacle Internet Viewer is real-time grade reporting software created by Excelsior Software. It can be used to request grade reports and semester reports. It is widely used in schools for students to check their school progress and any assignments they missed....

 software in Spring 2005 at Westfield Ninth Grade Center and the following school year district-wide. This software enabled students and parents to view their grades at home through the access of the internet. Beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, Spring ISD no longer uses the Pinnacle Internet Viewer (PIV) software.

Alumni Organizations

• Spring High School Alumni Association
• Westfield High School Alumni Association

Other

• Spencer, Jason. "A new kind of white flight?" Houston Chronicle
  Houston Chronicle
  The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
  
  . March 12, 2007.
• http://www.northgatecountryclub.com/