LEANDER SCHOOL INFORMATIONAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Tuesday, October 16, 2007 More than 20 new campuses might be needed in the Leander school district in the next decade to keep up with student growth. Student enrollment is expected to be 58,618 by 2017. The district, which has 30 campuses, expects 28,954 students in 2008. An additional 29,664 students are expected by 2017, which means the district could need 16 new elementary schools, four middle schools and two new high schools. One of the fastest-growing districts in the state, Leander is a victim of its own success, analysts said. Its reputation for good schools has lured home buyers to the area and helped to insulate the districtfrom the current downturn in the housing market, resulting in continued enrollment growth, according to a study by Population and Survey Analysts, the largest demographics firm in Texas. Leander school board President Jim Sneeringer said the numbers were pretty much expected. Sneeringer has seen the district's enrollment almost quadruple in his 14 years on the board. High-growth districts have used various strategies to manage the population explosion, such as meeting early with developers about proposed projects and buying land before it's needed. Municipalities across the country, including suburbs in Illinois, Colorado and New York, have required developers to donate a certain amount of land for schools or parks. "We want to talk to them in advance and make sure they are anticipating the needs of the school as well," said Karen Rue, chairwoman of the Fast Growth School Coalition, a group of 124 Texas school districts. "We've got to be able to work with developers as they roll out 4,000- and 10,000-home communities." The amount of assistance that developers can offer school districts depends on the project's size, said Dick Rathgeber, who has developed communities throughout Central Texas. "If you only have 50 or 100 acres, then you can't afford to donate land," he said. But developers should try to sell land to the district at a reduced price when possible, Rathgeber said, adding that potential home buyers are lured by a new elementary school. "You can certainly make it available at an attractive price (to the district) because it does benefit your development," Rathgeber said. Leander officials said they work with city officials to stay on top of coming developments. "It's been more than a decade since anyone has donated land," said Bill Britcher, a spokesman for the Leander district. "It's helpful to at least have those conversations with the cities and developers early on so they can consider we may need to purchase land." Officials in other Central Texas districts are also grappling with growth. Pflugerville's enrollment is expected to double in the next decade. Manor's is expected to triple. Hays school district officials hope the housing downturn will give them some relief. The district's enrollment grew more than 12 percent, to nearly 13,000 students in the past year. "A little downturn will be a good thing," Hays Superintendent Kirk London said last week. "When we grow 800 to 1,000 students, we're in good shape." In the meantime, Hays will need two new elementary schools and a middle school by 2010; other middle and high schools will be needed shortly thereafter. The Manor school district has grown 14 percent since 2006-07, to 5,878 students this year. It expects to have 19,000 students by 2017. Since 1994, Manor voters have approved five bond programs totaling more than $230 million. "Growth has been a huge benefit for our district as well as a challenge," Manor Deputy Superintendent Andrew Kim said. Tougher state standards affect school ratings By Laura Heinauer AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, August 02, 2007 Tougher standards made it harder for campuses to earn the highest grades on the state's report card this year, Texas Education Agency officials said Wednesday, and harder for struggling schools to win their way free of the threat of closure triggered by earning the state's lowest rating. The annual ratings -exemplary, the highest rating; recognized; academically acceptable; and academically unacceptable -are given to campuses and districts based on student performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills as well as graduation and dropout rates. Wednesday's results were preliminary; campuses and school districts can appeal the ratings. Statewide, 43 percent of schools were exemplary or recognized, compared with 37 percent last year. Of 8,061 Texas campuses, 3.7 percent were unacceptable. Last year, there were seven schools that had been unacceptable for three or more years, which means they could be closed by the state. This year, there were 15. Robert Scott, acting Texas education commissioner, said a 5 percentage point increase in TAKS passing standards for the recognized and acceptable ratings was the main reason many schools saw their ratings slip. In 2005, the last time standards increased, the number of schools rated unacceptable more than doubled. The following year, scores improved. "The system was designed . . . to gradually drive student performance up," Scott said. "As we raise standards . . . we're hopeful that school districts will rise to the challenge in the future." In Austin, seven campuses were rated exemplary, up from six last year; 18 schools earned recognized ratings this year. Ten Austin schools were rated unacceptable, including Johnston High, which has been rated unacceptable for four years, and Perez Elementary, which opened last fall. Last year, Austin had eight schools that were rated unacceptable. Pearce Middle School, which got an unacceptable rating for the third straight year, faces a campus overhaul. It will open this year with a new principal and many new teachers. Webb Middle School, which had fallen short of state standards for three consecutive years, was rated acceptable this year. Crockett High School, Dobie Middle School and the International High School for immigrant students also got off the low-performing list. Superintendent Pat Forgione said he was pleased that six of the district's recognized schools had large numbers of students from low-income families. "If they can do it, then we can do it for all kids," Forgione said. Among suburban Central Texas districts, Eanes and Wimberley in Hays County held on to their recognized ratings, and another Lake Travis school was rated exemplary. But other districts lost ground. For the first time under the current state accountability system, campuses in Del Valle and Pflugerville received unacceptable ratings. In Caldwell County, the Luling school district received an overall unacceptable rating. Del Valle officials said they would increase resources and personnel at Baty Elementary, where passing rates fell on the science test. The district did have a low-performing campus under the previous rating system, which ended in 2002. Pflugerville Superintendent Charles Dupre attributed River Oaks Elementary School's drop in writing scores to systemic issues at the district and campus levels. Six Pflugerville campuses received a recognized rating, including Timmerman Elementary School, which was rated exemplary last year. In Manor, two of three underperforming campuses improved to earn acceptable ratings. Only Decker Elementary School stayed unacceptable. Lago Vista's overall rating dropped to acceptable from recognized as did two campuses. Ratings for some schools could have been worse. For this year only, the Texas Education Agency agreed not to lower a school's rating if too many students drop out or too few graduate, to give districts time to transition to a stricter method of calculating dropout and high school completion rates. |
School Listings
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Elementary Schools
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Pond Springs Elementary School7825 Elkhorn Mountain Trail
Austin, TX 78729
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Middle Schools
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Deer Park Middle School8849 Anderson Mill Rd.
Austin, Texas, 78729
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High Schools
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McNeil High School5720 McNeil Drive
Austin, TX 78729
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School Districts
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Round Rock ISD1311 Round Rock Avenue
Round Rock, TX 78681
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