Westchester Academy for International Studies
Encyclopedia
The Westchester Academy for International Studies (WAIS) is a public charter school in the Spring Branch Independent School District
in Houston, Texas
. It serves grades 6-12 and is a part of the International Baccalaureate program. The principal (or "director") of WAIS is Dr. Natalie Blasingame, and the assistant principals are Kathy Menotti and Mechiel Rozas.
the school district built Westchester High School in 1967. The school opened with an enrollment of one thousand eight hundred students. After seven years the school had increased to nearly four thousand students. The campus could not support the numbers, and as such Stratford High School
was built in close proximity to Westchester, opening in 1974.
Due to the oil bust in the early '80s, the destruction of nearby apartment complexes, and many original home owners keeping their homes after their children had grown, enrollment in all SBISD high schools dropped dramatically. By 1985, the resulting decreases in enrollment forced the school board to close Westchester and relocate its former students to Memorial and Stratford High Schools. Most Westchester students ended up attending Stratford High School, which for many years kept a permanent display case dedicated to Westchester memorabilia.
In 1987 about 30 students from SBISD and the Houston Independent School District
gathered at Westchester High to study Japanese
on every Saturday.
The campus of WAIS is divided into two wings with courtyards, auditorium, and a cafeteria, with classrooms on each side of the campus.
Spring Branch Independent School District
Spring Branch Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States. The district serves portions of western Houston. It also serves several small municipalities known as the Memorial Villages in its jurisdiction, such as Hedwig Village and Spring...
in Houston, Texas
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 ...
. It serves grades 6-12 and is a part of the International Baccalaureate program. The principal (or "director") of WAIS is Dr. Natalie Blasingame, and the assistant principals are Kathy Menotti and Mechiel Rozas.
Westchester High School (1967-1985)
Due to the expanding enrollment of Memorial High SchoolMemorial High School (Hedwig Village, Texas)
Memorial High School is a secondary school located at 935 Echo Lane in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States.Memorial serves students in portions of the Memorial and Spring Branch regions of Houston and several enclaves within the portions...
the school district built Westchester High School in 1967. The school opened with an enrollment of one thousand eight hundred students. After seven years the school had increased to nearly four thousand students. The campus could not support the numbers, and as such Stratford High School
Stratford High School (Houston)
Stratford High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas, United States. The school is one of four high schools in the Spring Branch Independent School District , the district's westernmost secondary school...
was built in close proximity to Westchester, opening in 1974.
Due to the oil bust in the early '80s, the destruction of nearby apartment complexes, and many original home owners keeping their homes after their children had grown, enrollment in all SBISD high schools dropped dramatically. By 1985, the resulting decreases in enrollment forced the school board to close Westchester and relocate its former students to Memorial and Stratford High Schools. Most Westchester students ended up attending Stratford High School, which for many years kept a permanent display case dedicated to Westchester memorabilia.
Westchester Campus of Houston Community College (1987-2000)
During a thirteen-year period the campus was leased to Houston Community College.In 1987 about 30 students from SBISD and the Houston Independent School District
Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District is the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities...
gathered at Westchester High to study Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
on every Saturday.
Westchester Academy for International Studies (2001-Present)
After this duration Spring Branch ISD made plans for the campus that resulted in a massive amount of construction and improvement on the pre-existing campus. In 2001 it reopened its doors as Westchester Academy for International Studies. The school would eventually cap at one thousand students spanning across grades 6-12th. During the 2004-05 school year, the campus was shared with Stratford, due to renovations occurring on Stratford's campus. It is notable for being the only high school in Spring Branch ISD to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma program for high school students and will soon begin the Middle Years IB Program for grades 6-10.The campus of WAIS is divided into two wings with courtyards, auditorium, and a cafeteria, with classrooms on each side of the campus.
National Blue Ribbon School
WAIS was named a 2011 National Blue Ribbon School. This award does not mean anything. It is one of only 304 schools nationwide to be honored for overall academic excellence and for success in closing student achievement gaps. Only 10 schools in Texas were named Blue Ribbon Schools in 2011.Famous alumni
- David ClydeDavid ClydeDavid Eugene Clyde is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played all or part of five seasons for the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians...
(BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
) - Berkeley BreathedBerkeley BreathedGuy Berkeley "Berke" Breathed is an American cartoonist, children's book author/illustrator, director and screenwriter, best known for Bloom County, a 1980s cartoon-comic strip that dealt with sociopolitical issues as understood by fanciful characters and through humorous analogies...
(CartoonistCartoonistA cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
) - Tilman J. FertittaTilman J. FertittaTilman Joseph Fertitta is an American businessman and the founder, chairman of the board, President, CEO and primary shareholder of Landry's Restaurants...
- Diane Pamela WoodDiane Pamela WoodDiane Pamela Wood is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School....