Plano Independent School District

Plano Independent School District

Teamwork for Excellence
Location
Plano, Texas
United States United States
District information
Type Public
Superintendent Matthew Fortenberry
Budget 479 million USD
Students and staff
Students ≈55,000
Teachers ≈7,000
Other information
Website www.pisd.edu

Plano Independent School District (PISD or Plano ISD) is a public school district in southwestern Collin County, Texas, with its headquarters in Plano.[1][2] Plano ISD serves about 100 square miles (260 km2) of land, with 66 square miles (170 km2) of it within the City of Plano. The district also takes students from northern portions of Dallas and Richardson, and portions of Allen, Carrollton, Garland, Lucas, Murphy, Parker, and Wylie.[2]

Led by Superintendent of Schools Richard Matkin, PISD serves over 55,000 students and employs approximately 6,400 faculty members spread across 65 schools and 3 special and early education centers.[1] The district is known for its high academic standards. PISD has a 2012–13 operating budget of 434.5 million U.S. dollars. This size of the budget is due to the high property values in the city of Plano, though a large amount of the budget is redistributed to less affluent districts.

In 2010, the school district was rated "recognized" by the Texas Education Agency.[3]

Educational Structure

Plano ISD has an educational structure that differs from the typical U.S. educational pattern. Primary education in PISD, following the typical U.S. structure, consists of 44 elementary schools that serve the kindergarten through fifth grades. However, PISD's system of secondary education consists of 13 middle schools that serve the sixth through eighth grades, 6 'high schools' that serve the ninth and tenth grades, and 3 'senior high schools' that serve the eleventh and twelfth grades. The 'high school' and 'senior high school' system is a departure from the standard U.S. high school that serves the ninth through twelfth grades.

PISD students attend schools based primarily on the geographic location of their homes. Schools of a lower level feed into specific schools at the next highest level. The one exception to the feeder system is for students wishing to participate in the International Baccalaureate program, which is only offered at Plano East Senior High School. Parents of students may also request transfers out of their students' assigned schools for various reasons (such as to take classes unique to a particular school).

This system leads to very large graduating classes and overall student populations. At Plano Senior High School, Plano East Senior High School, and Plano West Senior High School, the current student populations are listed as 2,567, 2,795, and 2,160 students, respectively. Each year's graduating class is approximately half of each number. Previous years' Graduation Commencement Ceremonies have taken place at Reunion Arena and the Dallas Convention Center.

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees includes seven at-large elected members that oversee the district. Elections are held in May in odd-numbered years for either three or four candidates.[4] The next election is May 9 for seats 4, 5, and 7.[5] The Board elects a President, Vice President and Secretary. Nancy Humphrey, David Stolle, and Micheal Friedman are the officers respectively. The trustees conduct official business at the district administrative building.

Academics and Honors

All three of PISD's senior high schools were recently listed in the top 250 of Newsweek's list of 1000 top high schools in America.[6] In the 2012 list, Plano West Senior High School was ranked as 63rd in the country, Plano Senior High School was ranked 108th, and Plano East Senior High School was ranked 243rd.[6] In 2011, Plano West Senior High had been ranked 98 on Newsweek's "America's Best High Schools," and Plano East Senior High had been ranked 461.[7] Plano ISD schools reportedly administer more Advanced Placement tests than any other school district west of the Mississippi River.

Plano ISD opened three academies (4-year high schools) in the 2013–2014 school year. The first "Academy High School" is an innovative, 9th–12th grade learning community committed to fostering a professional environment, inspiring creativity, and empowering students to collaborate and compete in a rapidly changing world. The school uses project-based learning with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) and interdisciplinary connections, student learning is anchored in real world experiences which rely on continuous collaboration with others both inside and outside the school.[8]

The second magnet focuses on Health science, and is housed at Williams High School for grades 9–10, and will continue at Plano East Senior High School for grades 11–12.[8]

Additionally, the district has modified its existing International Baccalaureate program so that all four grades will be housed at Plano East Senior High as a "school within a school".[8]

The mean SAT score (math plus reading) for the district is 1152 out of 1600, and the mean ACT (test) composite score is 25.7, with 83.5% of district students taking the SAT or ACT.[9] 43.4% of district students take AP or IB courses, and 84.3% of those students pass their AP or IB exam(s).[9] Plano ISD offers all AP courses except AP Italian Language and Culture and AP Japanese Language and Culture to students.[10]

In the 2012–2013 school year, Plano ISD had 128 students named National Merit Semifinalists, more than any other Texas school district.[11][12] Also in the 2012–2013 school year, ten PISD students were named semifinalists in the Siemens Competition, and two were named as finalists.[13] In the state of Texas, a total of thirty eight and eleven students, respectively, captured those honors in the Siemens competition.[13] In the 2011–2012 school year, 76 students were selected as All-state musicians.[14]

Demographics

As of 2012 41% of district students are White. Asian students and Latino students each are approximately 20% of the student body. 11% of PISD students are African American.[15] Approximately 25% of PISD students are economically disadvantaged.[16]

Bilingual programs

In 1991 Plano ISD began a Chinese bilingual program for preschool and kindergarten students developed by Donna Lam. It is one of two Chinese bilingual programs in the State of Texas, along with the one established by the Austin Independent School District. It was established after Chinese professionals began to settle Plano.[17]

Controversies

On the 9 December 2005, edition of The O'Reilly Factor, as part of his "War on Christmas" segment, news commentator, Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed that the district had banned students from wearing red and green clothing "because they were Christmas colors." An attorney from the school district requested a retraction. O'Reilly later retracted his allegation on 20 December. O'Reilly had mistakenly included clothing among the items banned by PISD, while the ongoing lawsuit against the district only alleges the banning of the distribution of written religious materials.

That lawsuit was originally filed against PISD on Dec 15, 2004 (Jonathan Morgan, et al., v. the Plano Independent School District, et al.). On Dec 16, 2004, prior to the school "winter parties, Judge Paul Brown of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a Temporary Restraining Order, requiring PISD to lift these restrictions. The Morgan, et al., v. Plano Independent School District (PISD) case began in 2003, with school officials even banning students from using red and green napkins and paper plates to a school-sponsored "holiday" party.

In another more serious legal dispute, Plano ISD was found to have violated First Amendment rights of parents during public meetings about the implementation of a controversial new math curriculum, "Connected Math". During several years of appeals by PISD, the ruling was consistently upheld at all levels, including the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (in July 2003.) The district briefly considered an appeal to the United States Supreme Court, but instead reached a settlement of $400,000. It is important to note that this was a settlement of the judgment, not the ruling of a First Amendment rights violation by the district.

The most recent Federal lawsuit against PISD was filed in March, 2006 by a religious group, Students Witnessing Absolute Truth (SWAT), alleging religious discrimination. In a Decision of the US District Court granting a preliminary injunction against Plano ISD, the judge said, part, "The issue in this case is not one of sponsorship or the lack thereof, but of the flagrant denial for equal access guaranteed to S.W.A.T. ... The harm at issue is irreparable because it inhibits the exercise of Plaintiff's First Amendment freedoms of speech and religion." On April 26, 2006, Plano ISD offered, and SWAT accepted, an Offer of Settlement, which included the district's promise to change its discriminatory policy.

In the November 2010, following a complaint by the parents of a student, the Plano ISD textbook board decided to remove the textbook, Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities: Alternative Volume by Lawrence S. Cunningham, from its Humanities curriculum because the illustrations of works of art included nudity and various sex acts. After a public outcry, the decision was reversed within days.[18]

List of schools

Each household in Plano ISD is zoned to an elementary school, a middle school, a high school, and a senior high school. High schools serve grades 9–10 while senior high schools serve grades 11–12; however, any 9th or 10th grader is eligible to participate in extracurricular sports at the senior high level.

Secondary schools

Plano Senior High School
Plano East Senior High School
Plano West Senior High School

Senior high schools

High schools

Alternative high schools

Middle schools

K–8 schools

Primary schools

Early childhood schools

Notes

  1. 1 2 "." Plano Independent School District. Retrieved on July 24, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Know Your School District." Plano Independent School District. Retrieved on October 18, 2011. "Plano ISD serves the residents of approximately 100 square miles in southwest Collin County. This area includes 66 square miles in the City of Plano, with the balance including northern portions of the cities of Dallas and Richardson and parts of the cities of Allen, Carrollton, Garland, Lucas, Murphy, Parker and Wylie."
  3. ↑ "2009 Accountability Rating System". Texas Education Agency.
  4. ↑ "Board of Trustees". http://www.pisd.edu. Plano ISD. Retrieved 7 March 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  5. ↑ "School Board Elections- May 9th, 2015". www.pisd.edu. Plano ISD. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  6. 1 2 "America's Best High Schools: 2012". Newsweek. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "America's Best High Schools". Newsweek. 19 June 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 "Academy Programs of Plano". Plano ISD. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Data Dashboard". Plano ISD. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  10. ↑ "Advanced Placement". Plano ISD. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  11. ↑ "National Merit Semifinalists". Plano ISD. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  12. ↑ Ayala, Eva (22 November 2012). "Plano ISD Leads State in National Merit Scholars". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  13. 1 2 "Siemens Competition". Siemens Foundation. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  14. ↑ "All State Musicians". Plano ISD. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  15. ↑ "Demographics" (PDF). Plano ISD. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  16. ↑ Ayala, Eva-Marie (31 October 2012). "How the economics of students’ impacts Plano schools". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  17. ↑ Meyers, Jessica. "Rare Chinese bilingual program highlights Plano schools’ diversity" (Archive). The Dallas Morning News. November 4, 2011. Retrieved on September 22, 2014.
  18. ↑ Jessica Meyers (16 November 2010). "Plano ISD scraps plans to ban humanities textbook containing ancient nude statues". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  19. ↑ Ojeda. "Plano ISD Academy High School". academyhs.pisd.edu. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002. PDF
  21. ↑ "Haggard Middle School - Campus Profile". Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  22. 1 2 "Construction & Renovation Update/News Archive". Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  23. 1 2 3 4 Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 through 2007. PDF
  24. ↑
  25. ↑ Microsoft Word - 2007-schools.doc

See also

References

  1. ^ Kantrowitz, Barbara. "The 1000 Best High Schools in America." Newsweek. 16 May 2005. Accessed 10 December 2005.
  2. ^ "'Red & Green Clothing Ban' False Rumor". PISD.edu. 12 December 2005. Accessed 25 December 2005.
  3. ^ Breen, Kim. "O'Reilly: I made mistake". The Dallas Morning News. 21 December 2005. Accessed 25 December 2005.
  4. ^ Celia J. Chiu, et al. v. Plano Independent School District, et al. Accessed 10 December 2005.
  5. ^ "Know Your School District: Plano ISD". Plano Independent School District. Retrieved 2006-07-10. 
  6. ^ "Intra-District Transfers: Plano ISD". Plano Independent School District. Retrieved 2006-07-10. 
  7. ^ "International Baccalaureate: Plano ISD". Plano Independent School District. Retrieved 2006-07-10. 

External links

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