Fort Bend Independent School District

Administration building
FBISD Athletic Facility

The Fort Bend Independent School District, also known as Fort Bend ISD or FBISD, is a school district system in the U.S. state of Texas based in the city of Sugar Land.

The district spans 170 square miles (440 km2) covering almost all of the city of Sugar Land, the city of Meadows Place, the Fort Bend county portion of Missouri City, Arcola, small sections of Houston, small sections of Pearland (including some of Shadow Creek Ranch),[1] the unincorporated communities of Clodine, Four Corners, Juliff, and Fresno, and the Fort Bend County portion of Mission Bend.

Fort Bend Independent School District was created by the consolidation of the Sugar Land ISD and Missouri City ISD in 1959. The school district is the seventh largest public school system in the state of Texas and third largest within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown Metropolitan Area. The school district is currently the largest employer in Fort Bend County with more than 9,000 district employees, and encompasses some of the wealthiest locales in the State of Texas.

Fort Bend ISD is distinguished by its honors. In 2010, the school district was rated "recognized" by the Texas Education Agency.[2]

The district is the only school district in the nation to be named a 2011 National School District of Character by the National Schools of Character Program in Washington DC—and only one of two districts in Texas to be honored with this designation. The Washington Post ranked Clements, Austin, Kempner, Travis, Dulles, Hightower and Elkins High Schools as seven of the Top 2011 High Schools in the Nation.

History

Clements High School

Fort Bend ISD was formed when Sugar Land ISD and Missouri City ISD merged after an election on April 18, 1959.

In 1963, FBISD had 600 students. In 1969 the school district had 1,000 students, and its enrollment was increasing. Dulles High School was the district's sole high school until Willowridge High School opened in 1979. Between 1979 and 1997, a new high school opened at intervals no more than five years apart. The district became the fastest growing school district in the State of Texas. In August 1997 the district had over 14,400 students at its high schools, then numbering six.[3]

A portion of Stafford was formerly a part of Fort Bend ISD, but it broke away and formed the Stafford Municipal School District. In 1977, the FBISD portions of the city of Stafford left FBISD for the Stafford MSD, and the move was found to be constitutional in 1981. Residents in Stafford's ETJ are served by Fort Bend ISD, not Stafford MSD.

Divisions

The Fort Bend ISD Police Department is headquartered in Stafford. Its current headquarters was the former FBISD Administration Building located off FM1092 which was later converted into a vehicle maintenance facility after the administration HQ was moved to Sugar Land. [4]

Recognitions

Seventy percent of the district’s campuses received an Exemplary or Recognized rating from the Texas Education Agency in 2002. That same year, the district was named a Recognized District by the Texas Education Agency for the second consecutive year, making it one of the largest public school districts in Texas to receive that rating. Currently the district is ranked "academically acceptable" and has been for the last several years.

Austin High School and Clements High School, both in Sugar Land, have been recognized by Texas Monthly magazine in its list of the top 10 high schools in the state of Texas. In addition, Clements, Austin, and Elkins high schools ranked 313th, 626th, and 702nd, respectively, among the top 1000 schools in the United States by Newsweek.

Fort Bend ISD has been named one of the top 100 School Districts in the Nation for a Fine Arts Education, according to a nation-wide survey of public and private school programs.

Governance

The current Superintendent is Charles Dupre and was hired earlier this year, after Dr. Jenney retired and left. Charles Dupre previously served in PISD, and in June 2008, The University Council for Education Administration, housed at The University of Texas at Austin, awarded Charles Dupre the Excellence in Education Leadership Award for his dedication to improving the training and development of school leaders.

FBISD is served also by a school board which is periodically elected and each seat represents a respective region of the school district.

Schools

High schools

John Foster Dulles High School

Middle schools

Missouri City Middle School in Missouri City

Elementary schools

Dulles Elementary School
Arizona Fleming Elementary
E. A. Jones Elementary School
Heritage Rose Elementary School
Meadows Elementary School

NOTE: Fort Bend ISD plans to build an elementary school for the Fort Bend County section of the Shadow Creek Ranch subdivision in the City of Pearland

Other schools

Academies

Fort Bend ISD opened several magnet programs over the last 6 years to foster small learning communities with a career based focus. Several Academies are housed at different schools, and are magnet programs that require an applications. The District provides busing throughout the district for Academy students, irrespective of which school they choose to attend. A few of the Academies were shut down due to low application and attendance rates.

Middle School Academies

High School Academies

Former schools

See also

References

  1. ↑ "City of Pearland School Districts." (Archive) City of Pearland. Retrieved on March 21, 2014.
  2. ↑ "2010 Accountability Rating System". Texas Education Agency.
  3. ↑ Solomon, Jerome. "FOOTBALL 1997/HIGH SCHOOLS/FORT BEND BONANZA/Phillips, Dulles in hunt to add to town's memories." Houston Chronicle. Thursday August 28, 1997. Special 33. Retrieved on December 31, 2011.
  4. ↑ "FBISD Police." Fort Bend Independent School District. Retrieved on December 31, 2011. "13600 Murphy Road Stafford, Texas 77477"
  5. ↑ Blue Ribbon Award
  6. ↑ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  7. ↑ Microsoft Word - 2007-schools.doc
  8. ↑ Mark Odintz: Arcola, Tx from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved December 23, 2008.

External links

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