Eanes Independent School District

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eanes Independent School District (EISD) (pronounced EEN-ss) is a school district in West Lake Hills, Texas (USA), which is part of the Austin metropolitan area. Its enrollment is approximately 7,100, distributed among nine schools.

The school district encompasses one of the wealthiest locales in the State of Texas.

Contents

[edit] Schools

[edit] Westlake High School

Westlake High School's Fine Arts Facility
Westlake High School's Fine Arts Facility

Westlake High School has an enrollment of about 2,400 students. The school is a U.S. Blue Ribbon School and has won the Texas Successful Schools Award for Outstanding Performance. Its principal is Linda Rawlings. The school is a member of the Model Schools initiative.

The school is known for its academics, ranked 37th in the Newsweek Magazine's 2003 list of the nation's top schools [1] and frequently winning district UIL competitions. The AP Physics program was recognized as the best in the world by the college board in 2005, earning recognition for the Physics teachers in the Texas legislature. Over 90% of graduating seniors every year continue on to college. Westlake is neither a private school nor a magnet school, yet it consistently outperforms private schools and magnet schools state- and nationwide. Westlake was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 1988-89. [1] Every year, approximately 20% of 5's earned on the AP Physics Exams Statewide are earned by Westlake students. Westlake also owns about 5% of all AP Physics 5's Nationwide.

Westlake has a rich athletic program. Since its inception in 1969, Westlake has won 26 state championships in 9 different sports. In addition to winning state championships, Westlake's football team holds a national record of 71 consecutive district victories. Recently, Westlake's most successful team has been its volleyball team. Having qualified for the playoffs 20 years straight, the team has won 6 Regional Championships and 4 State Championships. The 2006 football team advanced to the state finals as well. Chaparral Stadium is also home to a "JumboTron" video screen.

The school also has on-campus clubs devoted to a wide variety of interests, including community service (such as C.U.T.E [Cleaning Up the Environment]), political representation (such as the Gay Straight Alliance), and special interests (such as the Japanese Pop Culture Club).

Westlake has a strong fine arts program. Both visual and musical arts are well practiced throughout the school in classes such as Multimedia Animation, Ceramics, Photojournalism, Orchestra, Band, Choir, Theatre, and Technical Theatre.

[edit] School pride

School pride is especially high in this district. School colors are red, white, and blue. Many of the athletics and academic teams are nationally ranked. The High school news magazine, "The Featherduster" (the name comes from the school mascot, the chaparral), was ranked second in the nation (as of Spring 2005) and is known for covering controversial issues. As is typical in Texas, football is highly popular.

[edit] Middle schools

  • Hill Country Middle School has an enrollment of about 850 students. The school was named a U.S. Blue Ribbon School in 1990-91 [2] and has won the Texas Successful Schools Award for Outstanding Performance. Its principal is Mrs. Kathleen Sullivan. (as of 2006). The Vice Principals are Mr. Charles Moffat and Mr. Andy Paulson. The Hill Country Middle School Band is a Nationally Recognized Band that performed in Chicago for the Midwest Clinic in December 2006.
  • West Ridge Middle School has an enrollment of about 890 students. The school was named a U.S. Blue Ribbon School in 1992-93 [3] and has won the Texas Successful Schools Award for Outstanding Performance. Its principal is Karl Waggoner. (as of 2005) It's athletic program is very good, winning many championships.

[edit] Primary schools

[edit] Controversy

EISD has been the subject of controversy with regard to whether it is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This controversy has become entwined with concerns about EISD's willingness to produce in a timely manner documents requested under the Texas Public Information Act.

EISD parent Dianna Pharr asked the district in September 2005 for its Facilities Assessment Review to determine whether the district's buildings and procedures were in compliance with the ADA. EISD did not comply with the request. Pharr again requested the documents in January 2006; EISD again withheld the documents. In April 2006, at Pharr's request, the Texas Attorney General ordered EISD to produce the documents. In spite of this order, EISD withheld the 2003 SHW Facilities Assessment Review for sixteen more months, finally producing it at the behest of Travis County Attorney David Escamilla in compliance with the prior order from the Texas AG.[9]

In May 2007, after EISD had produced under official pressure the 2003 facility report that had first been requested in 2005, EISD Assistant Superintendent Bill Bechtol initiated an attempt to ban Pharr from attending meetings of its Americans with Disabilities Task Force.[10]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  2. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  3. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  4. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  5. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  6. ^ Microsoft Word - list-2003.doc
  7. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  8. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  9. ^ Ada Advocacy
  10. ^ Ada Advocacy

[edit] External links

v • d • e
2007 Texas Education Agency Accountability Rating