PISD is the 18th largest school district in Texas and the 82nd largest in the United States.[4] The school district serves over 50,000students and employs approximately 3,800faculty members spread across 73schools and 2special and 4early education centers. PISD's operating budget was US$683.9million as of 2021.[5]
The district named Sara Bonser as Interim Superintendent in November 2017.[6] On March 6, 2018, Bonser became Superintendent of Plano ISD, becoming the first woman to hold the title of superintendent for the district. She retired in early 2022.[7] Dr. Theresa Williams was voted in as superintendent in early 2022.[8]
Plano ISD serves about 100 square miles (260km2) of land, with 66 square miles (170km2) of it within the City of Plano. The district also takes students from northern portions of Dallas, Richardson, Allen, Carrollton, Garland, Lucas, Murphy, Parker, and Wylie.[3]
There are two areas in North Dallas that are in Plano ISD, both in Collin County: one that is east of Midway Road, south of the George Bush Turnpike, and west of Waterview Parkway; and a group of apartments around Horizon North Parkway.[10] These areas, annexed into the City of Dallas after 1960, are generally high-income.[11]
Educational structure
Plano ISD's educational structure 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 three exceptions to the feeder system is for students wishing to participate in the International Baccalaureate program, the Health Sciences Academy, or the STEAMAcademy. 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).
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.[12] An election was held in May 2019, for seats 4, 5, 7 and the remaining two years for seat 6.[6][13] The board elects a president, vice president and secretary.
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.[14] 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.[14] 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.[15]
Plano ISD opened three academies (4-year high schools) in the 2013–2014 school year. The first "Academy High School", a STEAM, project based, high school that serves grades 9–12.[16]
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.[16]
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".[16]
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.[17] 43.4% of district students take AP or IB courses, and 84.3% of those students pass their AP or IB exam(s).[17] Plano ISD offers all AP courses except AP Italian Language and Culture and AP Japanese Language and Culture to students.[18]
In the 2012–2013 school year, Plano ISD had 128 students named National Merit Semifinalists, more than any other Texas school district.[19][20] Also in the 2012–2013 school year, ten PISD students were named semifinalists in the Siemens Competition, and two were named as finalists.[21] In the state of Texas, a total of thirty eight and eleven students, respectively, captured those honors in the Siemens competition.[21] In the 2011–2012 school year, 76 students were selected as All-state musicians.[22]
In the 1990s, Plano ISD received many non-Hispanic white families leaving urban areas. However, this changed in the period from 1997 to 2015, as the number of non-Hispanic white children in Plano ISD declined by 10,000.[24]
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.[25]
Controversies
On the December 9, 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. He 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 December 15, 2004 (Jonathan Morgan, et al., v. the Plano Independent School District, et al.). On December 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,[26] 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 US$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.[27]
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[28] granting a preliminary injunction against Plano ISD, the judge said, "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 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,[29] 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.[30]
On March 2, 2021, PISD became the subject of criticism due to its response to the racially motivated assault of an eighth-grade student of Haggard Middle School[31] at the hands of his classmates during a "non-school-related, off-campus" event.[32][33] The victim stated that he was forced to drink urine and shot at with a BB gun,[34] while social media posts alleged racist and homophobic abuse.[33]
On February 18, 2022, a walkout was staged at Plano East Senior High School, protesting the administrative conduct of the school in an incident involving sexual harassment.[35] No incidents were reported during the demonstration, and PISD officials have not yet acknowledged the incident.
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 may participate in extracurricular sports at the senior high level. There are 67 schools: 44 elementary schools, 13 middle schools, six high schools, three senior high schools, and one alternative STEM-based high school, Plano ISD Academy High School. Out of the 67 schools, 55 are located within the city of Plano. There are four schools in both Murphy and Richardson, three in North Dallas, and one in Allen.[36]
The district has had its feeder-school boundary lines redrawn at times in the recent past,
In 2009, the development of more schools in Plano's eastern region, as well as more students attending them, reignited a boundary-line debate. Certain issues, such as socio-economic integration and ethnic balance in the schools, became points of intense discussion that became very publicized and heated. Distance from McMillen and Williams also caused debate against the socioeconomic balance. Eventually, it was settled with mixed socioeconomic and ethnic balance between the two high schools.[50] The following year, the School Board settled the debate so as to affect feeder schools going into Plano West: due to the high student populations of Plano and Plano East as compared to the lower population of Plano West, two of the most populated high schools were approved to feed into Plano West, and Schimelpfenig Middle School students could choose between two tracks, leading either to Plano Senior or Plano West.[50] However, this prompted some parents to be concerned about possible future overcrowding at Plano West. In 2011, the School Board agreed to tweak their plan to ease worries about Plano West overcrowding: Schimelpfenig Middle School students would not be allowed to choose tracks, but instead would all go to Clark High and then Plano Senior High, with the option to transfer.[51]
In 2016, the enrollment boundaries for Mendenhall, Aldridge, and Brinker Elementary Schools were redrawn so as to allow smoother transitions into their appropriate feeder schools.[52]
Starting in the summer 2025, Davis and Forman Elementary Schools and Armstrong and Carpenter Middle Schools are set to close. The students of Plano Regional Day School Program for the Deaf at Davis Elementary will shift to Harrington Elementary School.[53]
↑ Plano East Senior High School offered the IB Diploma Programme since 1995.[37] Starting in the 2013—2014 school year, the program expanded to freshmen and sophomores a preparatory program for the IB Diploma Programme (International Honors Preparatory Program).[38]
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References
↑ "Superintendent of Schools". pisd.edu. Plano Independent School District. Retrieved 8 June 2023. Dr. Theresa Williams serves as the chief executive officer of a district with more than 6,500 employees serving 49,000 students across 74 schools and programs. With nearly thirty years in the profession, Dr. Williams considers education her calling and has made significant contributions, both as a teacher and administrator.
1 2 "About Us / About Our District". pisd.edu. Plano Independent School District. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019. 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.
1 2 Wigglesworth, Valerie (28 November 2017). "Plano ISD superintendent, board to part ways over 'differing leadership philosophies'". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo. ISSN1553-846X. Archived from the original on 18 November 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019. Trustees named interim deputy superintendent Sara Bonser to take over his leadership duties effective immediately. Trustees will start the search for a superintendent who will be "focused on fast-paced innovation aligned with the district's ongoing goals to ensure continued improvement in student learning and efficient use of resources," according to the statement.
↑ Nicholson, Eric (3 May 2016). "In Dallas, White Flight Never Ends". Dallas Observer. ISSN0732-0299. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021. Some of Dallas County's missing white children attend private schools, but most seem to have moved to increasingly far-flung suburbs. Collin County gained 40,000 white students between 1997 and 2015 even as Plano ISD, the white flight destination of the 1990s, lost 10,000 white students. Denton County public schools gained 20,000 students, Rockwall County 6,000. Keller ISD absorbed 8,000, Saginaw 4,000.
↑ Meyers, Jessica (16 November 2010). "Plano ISD scraps plans to ban humanities textbook containing ancient nude statues". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021. The couple noted 49 images they consider objectionable in a PowerPoint presentation they sent to the district. Many were of Greek and Roman sculptures depicting frontal male nudity. Among the more modern images they cite are photographs of Michelangelo's David and The Kiss by Auguste Rodin, along with reproductions of paintings including The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus by Peter Paul Rubens, The Third of May 1808, by Francisco Goya, The Picnic by Edouard Manet, and The Swimming Hole by Thomas Eakins.
↑ Zeeble, Bill; Morr, Rebekah (5 March 2021). "Mom Says Plano 8th Grader Was Victim Of Racist Bullying, Forced To Drink Urine". KERA-TV. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021. Summer Smith said her eighth grader, a student at Haggard Middle School, was at a sleepover party when he was forced to drink a cup of urine. A video of the alleged abuse is circulating on social media. The boys were white football teammates who Smith said had been bullying and harassing her son for more than a year. And, that she contacted the school and was told the party occurred outside of school hours so they couldn't do much.
↑ "Plano Police Investigating Bullying Allegations Involving Haggard Middle School Students". KTVT. PLANO, Texas. 4 March 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021. "The Plano ISD administration is aware of recent bullying allegations, and is working with the campus and local law enforcement to actively investigate the matter. Our district does not tolerate or condone bullying or harassing behavior, and is taking prompt and remedial action to address concerns," the district said in a statement.
1 2 Richman, Talia (7 March 2021). "Plano school officials and police are investigating viral claims of racist bullying and abuse". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021. The Next Generation Action Network circulated videos that it says show the Black student was "tortured for days and forced to drink his white former teammates' urine" at a sleepover, during which he was also called slurs and beaten. The group slammed Plano officials, saying they had not taken appropriate action.
↑ Spillyards, Allie (4 March 2021). "Plano Police Investigating Bullying Allegations Involving Middle School Boy". KXAS-TV. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021. The boy's mom shared on social media that some of her son's classmates and teammates attacked him at a recent sleepover at another student's house. She said he was punched, attacked with a BB gun and verbally assaulted with racial slurs.
↑ Roark, Chris (2 March 2015). "LISD exploring International Baccalaureate program". Flower Mound Leader. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2021. Plano ISD began its IB program in 1995. Witcher said PISD's rate of graduating students from its Diploma Program is 80 percent, surpassing the national average of 69 percent.
↑ Ayala, Eva-Maria (6 September 2013). "Plano expands IB academy into a new academy". The Dallas Morning News. ISSN1553-846X. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021. The third new academy the Plano launched this year was built upon the school district's existing International Baccalaureate at the Plano East Senior High School campus. It was offered to only juniors and seniors. Now through the IB World school, freshmen and sophomores are also on campus for the IB track. This academy has 535 students enrolled -- 172 freshmen, 129 sophomores, 101 juniors and 133 seniors.
1 2 "Diversity at core of Plano ISD school boundary debate". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo. 2 December 2010. ISSN1553-846X. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021. Ideally, all of your neighborhoods would be racially and socioeconomically integrated," said Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, a New York-based nonpartisan public policy research group. "But it's not the reality. We have to find creative ways to put kids from different backgrounds together.
↑ "Plano school board alters boundaries". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo. 19 October 2011. ISSN1553-846X. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021. After drawn-out debates that dredged up bitter memories and elicited questions of motive, the Plano school board agreed Tuesday to once again alter school boundaries. The decision tweaks the plan a previous board devised two years ago. It eliminates the option for students at Schimelpfenig Middle School to choose their high school. The switch aims to alleviate concerns about increased growth at Plano West Senior High, which would go from being the district's smallest senior high to its largest in coming years.
↑ Gupte, Vallari (8 March 2016). "Plano ISD realigns elementary school boundaries". Community Impact Newspaper. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2021. The Plano ISD board of trustees at a March 1 regular meeting agreed to change its attendance boundaries for Brinker, Aldridge and Mendenhall elementary schools beginning in August. The changes were made to prepare for future enrollment and to ensure that the students move smoothly from one school to the next in the feeder pattern, according to district officials.
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