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Katy Independent School District

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File:Katy ISD.gif
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Katy School 1899-1909 Elementary School 1909-1927
Katy High School building 1909-1947
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Elementary School addition 1927-1951

The Katy Independent School District is a public school district based in Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas, (USA). The district enrolls over 50,000 students.

The district serves 181 square miles (469 km2) in parts of Harris County, Fort Bend County and Waller County. Most of the district lies within the boundaries of the City of Houston, the City of Katy or the City of Fulshear or their municipalities' extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).

All residential areas of the district are assigned to an elementary school, a junior high school, and a high school by subdivision.

History

1898: The Katy Common School District (CSD) was formed to serve the town and surrounding communities. A high school and elementary school were established in a home at Avenue A and Sixth Street in Katy.

1899: The city constructed a wooden one-room school house at the site of the current Katy Elementary School's playground, the school served all grade levels.

1900: The Galveston Hurricane damaged the building, but repairs were made, and classes continued at the home of W.H. Featherston. The first class graduated from Katy High School (10th Grade).

1909: A permanent brick building was constructed adjacent and south of the wooden building, for the secondary grade levels.

1918: The Katy Independent School District (ISD) was established by voters, by divorcement election from the City of Katy, and incorporated the common school districts in Dishman, Schlipf, Sills and a school for African-Americans.

1927: Improvements to the 1909 building were competed, included indoor plumbing and heat. The wooden school was dismantled and sold, and at the site a new classroom addition was constructed for the elementary grades, a combination auditorium and cafeteria were included.

1931: The size of Katy ISD was increased to 126 square miles (326 km2), when KISD annexed two small common school districts at the South Mayde and Stockdick communities. Two school buses purchased, one transported students in from Waller County and the other from Harris County. A female community member drove her vehicle daily and picked-up six students from the Fort Bend County portion of the school district.

1934: High school age students from Brookshire began attending Katy High School. A gymnasium was erected (at the site of the current Katy Elementary School cafeteria), so that basketball and volleyball could be played at night under light, instead of on open courts on Friday afternoons.

1935: A larger wooden-school house was completed on Danover Street for African-American students.

1943: First Katy Rodeo held at Avenue D and 10th Street, northwest of the Katy school buildings.

1947: Construction was completed of the new Katy High School site on Highway 90 in Katy (the building also housed Katy ISD's seventh and eight graders). High school students from the Addicks Independent School District (ISD) joined Brookshire high school students attending Katy High.

1951: A new elementary school opened next to Katy High School (currently serves as Katy High School's West Campus). The 1909 building and the 1927 elementary addition was razed, only the 1934 "Old Gym" was left standing and used as a community center, storage, junior high basketball practice and for the school district offices. The original school bell and the 1927 building plaque was stored at the "Old Gym".

1953: Odessa Kilpatrick School was completed on Danover Street, to serve African-American students in the district, this facility replaced the 1935 wooden school house on the same site. The district began transporting African-American students above the eighth grade to Ralph Bunche School in Brookshire, this arrangement would continue until desegregation was completed.

1959: The movie picture "Tomboy and the Champ" was filmed in Katy and at the "Old Gym".

1960: Students from Brookshire began attending high school in the newly formed Royal Independent School District.

1961: Voters in Katy ISD and in the Addicks community, agreed to consolidation of the defunct Addicks ISD with Katy ISD, and the present boundaries of the district were increased by 55 square miles (142 km2).[1].

1962: During the Cuban Missile Crisis the 1934 "Old Gym" was used as headquarters for the local civil defense organization.

1964: New agriculture and rodeo arena constructed behind Katy High School.

1965: A new Katy Elementary was completed at the site of the district's first permanent school along with a full-service cafeteria, the building next to Katy High School was renamed Katy Junior High and served sixth through eighth grades. The administration office was located at Katy High School, the staff included the superintendent, business director and three clerical workers. Bus Barn completed on Franz Road (current West Transportation Center).

1968: A new Addicks Elementary School, replaces the former Addicks ISD building (name changed to Wolfe Elementary in the 1980's).

1970: Katy ISD completed desegregation of its schools. Odessa Kilpatrick School used to house Katy Elementary's fifth grade and the district's six graders.

1972: New administration building was completed on South Stadium Drive, also West Memorial Elementary School was finished in the new West Memorial subdivision.

1976: District's sixth graders moved back to junior high schools, when West Memorial Junior High opens.

1978: Zelma Hutsell Elementary, Memorial Parkway Elementary and Bear Creek Elementary Schools open, fifth graders moved from Kilpatrick school to elementary schools. Alternative education program set-up at Kilpatrick school.

1979: James E. Taylor High School opens to 9th and 10th graders.

1980: Bond election passed. Mayde Creek Junior High and Cimarron Elementary schools open.

1981: Nottingham Country Elementary and Winborn Elementary Schools open. A new band hall and improvements at Katy Junior High were completed.

1982: Katy ISD Stadium opened for varsity football games (name later changed to Jack Rhodes Memorial Stadium). Alternative education program moved to new classroom facility, next to stadium (Kilpatrick School used as storage facility). Memorial Parkway Junior High and Sundown Elementary School opens.

1983: Mayde Creek Elementary School opens.

1984: Mayde Creek High School opens and new bus barn completed north of the school (current East Transportation Center).

1988: The "Old Gym" was torn-down at Katy Elementary, in anticipation of construction of a new combination gym and cafeteria, as part of the renovated and expanded Katy Elementary.

1988: James E. Taylor High School seniors were the last to graduate from Rhodes Stadium (future KISD graduations ceremonies would be held at the Astro Arena in Houston.

1989: Work completed at Katy Elementary, a new office area and library was added. Historical items from the original buildings were incorporated with the reconstruction, such as the 1909 school bell placed over the entrance of the school, and the 1927 building plaque displayed in the front entry way.

1989: Galbow Elementary and Pattison Elementary Schools open.

1991: T.W. McDonald Junior High opens.

1993: Fielder Elementary open.

1994: Bond election passed.

1995: New Katy Jr. High opens, former building converted to Katy High School West Campus. Hayes Elementary School opens. Leonard Merrell appointed superintendent of schools. A "new addition" of classrooms was completed on Avenue C at Katy Elementary.

1996: Bond election passed. Beck Junior High opens.

1997: McRoberts Elementary School opens.

1998: Alexander Elementary School opens.

1999: Bond election passed. Cinco Ranch High School opens.

2000: McMeans Junior High, Creech Elementary and Williams Elementary open.

2001: Cinco Ranch Junior High opens.

2002: Bond election passed.

2003: Morton Ranch Junior High opens.

2004: Morton Ranch High School, Beckendorff Junior High, Exley Elementary, Franz Elementary, Rhoads Elementary and Rylander Elementary Schools open. A new Katy Rodeo arena replaced old facilities and new agriculture barns finished north of Katy. Both sites named for former ag teachers in Katy, L.D. Robinson and Gerald Young. Katy ISD Law Enforcement and District Maintenance building open adjacent to Morton Ranch High School. Preforming Arts Center and renovations completed at Katy High School.

2005: Seven Lakes High School opens, Hutsell Elementary expansion completed. Merrell Center opens, and holds high school graduations ceremonies (first held inside the district since 1988).

2006: On February 13, several parents filed a lawsuit against KISD regarding religion. They accused KISD of religious discrimination in several incidents. KISD has released an official statement.

2006: In May, a bond election failed

2006: In August, Griffin Elementary School opens.

2006: In November, a bond election passed, providing for construction of three elementary schools and two junior high schools, along with improvements at twenty-four of the districts facilities. Funds are also provided for updated technical equipment, buses, temporary buildings and future school sites.

2007: Alton Frailey becomes the superintendent of Katy I.S.D., upon the retirement of Leonard Merrell. Stephens Elementary and Woodcreek Elementary open.

2007: On July 18, the Katy ISD school board reversed the punishment of 12-year old Mayde Creek Junior High School student who wrote "I Love Alex" on a school bleacher with a Sharpie, who had received three months of alternative school assignment [2]

Facilities

High Schools

Junior High schools

Elementary schools

Support Facilities

Alternative Education Campus

Future Schools

The Katy Independent School District is a fast growing school district in Texas, and the district has a staff architect. KISD has funding authorization for two new junior high schools, one located north of Mayde Creek High School and the other at Wood Creek Reserve south of Katy, along with three elementary schools (one adjacent to Morton Ranch High School and the other two west of Cinco Ranch.

Katy I.S.D. has done an extensive study and maintains and updates a District Growth and Facilities Planning Study.[3]

The school district owns three large pieces of property for future high schools, one is located at Katy-Gaston Road and Greenbusch Road and is master-planned for a football stadium, another future high school site is located on 140-acres at the southwest corner of Peek Road and Stockdick School Road, and a third high school site is located on 123.09 acres, purchased in 2006, near Cross Creek Ranch (a future 3,000 acre (12 km²) master-planned community east of Fulshear). [4] [5] [6] [7]

Four additional junior high schools and 13 more elementary are planned until the district is built-out, currently expected around 2016; however, the new school sites are only speculated until land and funding is authorized from bond elections.

Enrollment

1934- 263 Students

1954- 615 Students

1961- 727 Students

1971- 1,671 Students

1976- 4,244 Students

1980- 9,762 Students

1981- 10,865 Students

1985- 15,455 Students

1995- 25,336 Students

1996- 26,766 Students

1997- 28,230 Students

1998- 30,126 Students

1999- 32,338 Students

2000- 33,474 Students

2001- 37,195 Students

2002- 39,867 Students

2003- 41,687 Students

2004- 44,483 Students

2005- 47,788 Students

2006- 50,585 Students

2007- 53,634 Students [8]

Demographics

The face of Katy ISD is changing rapidly, with steady increases in minority, non-English-speaking, and low-income students.

The percentage of white students has dropped from 80.6% in 1993-94 to 60.6% in 1995; demographers project that KISD will be a majority-minority district by the 2010-2011 school year.

Percentages of low-income students has increased from 10.7% to 20.2%, while the Limited English-proficient enrollment has grown from 3.9% to 10.5%, by 2007.

See also

Template:TEA district rating

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