Wichita Falls Independent School District

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Wichita Falls Independent School District(WFISD) is a public school district based in Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and is accredited by the Texas Education Agency.

Contents

Wichita Falls ISD serves most of Wichita Falls (including portions of Sheppard Air Force Base). Varying parts of north Wichita Falls are included in the City View Independent School District and the Burkburnett Independent School District.

The Wichita Falls ISD was one of the few Texas school districts to offer a choice program that gives parents the choice of what secondary school they would like their child to attend. Wichita Falls ISD ended the choice program for all schools beginning with the 2015-2016 year. [1]

Secondary schools in the WFISD offer Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses to students wishing to pursue a more challenging academic curriculum. The WFISD currently operates two schools with the International Baccalaureate program, covering two segments of the program:

The school district has continuously been recognized for its overall academic success from the Texas Education Agency and the Magnet Schools of America Association. In 1999 and 2001 respectively, Washington/ Jackson Math/Science Center and G.H. Kirby Junior High were awarded the Ronald P. Simpson award, giving them the title of "Best Magnet School in America" for a year. The district also boasts that many of its schools have received the Texas Blue Ribbon award or have attained "Exemplary" status from the TEA.

In 2005, Hirschi High School IB World Topics teacher Sherry Lindemann was named Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year, and selected as a nominee for National Teacher of the Year. [2] Ms. Lindemann represented the WFISD and thousands of Texas teachers at a formal ceremony held by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush in the White House Rose Garden. [3]

In 2022, the school district was given an overall accountability rating of 'B' (80) by the Texas Education Agency. [4]

History

The first high school in Wichita Falls was built in 1890, and the first graduating class was 1892. In 1908 the Texas Legislature issued a special charter for the Wichita Falls Independent School District. [5] A new high school opened in 1910, and the original 1890 high school was converted into an elementary school.

The A.E. Holland school, constructed in 1921, wasn't originally known as Holland. It was named Barwise in honor of Wichita Falls pioneer J.H. Barwise. Because of segregation, white students attended Barwise, while black students went to school at Booker T. Washington. The Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954 ruled against school segregation, but like a lot of districts in the south, it took Wichita Falls many years to catch up to that decision. [5]

Rider High opened in 1961, followed the next year by Hirschi High. [6]

The construction of two new high schools - Legacy and Memorial - were both on schedule and on budget as of January 2023, and are scheduled to open for classes in Fall 2024. [7] The opening of these two new schools means the three existing high schools – Wichita Falls, Rider, and Hirschi – will close at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. All three old high school campuses will sit vacant until a potential bond election is proposed for 2027 to convert the campuses into middle schools. [8]

General information

School board

The Wichita Falls ISD is overseen by a Superintendent (Dr. Donny Lee), an Assistant Superintendent (Peter Griffiths), and a seven-member Board of Trustees who are elected either as at-large or district members. President of the Board of Trustees is currently Mike Rucker.

Enrollment

There are approximately 13,309 students in grades K-12 as of October 2022.

WFISD staff

1,923 total staff members
1,019 teachers
667 auxiliary/paraprofessional staff members.
(Wichita Falls ISD is the second largest industry in Wichita Falls behind Sheppard Air Force Base)

Teacher experience

Average Years Experience - 12.9 years
Average Years Experience with WFISD - 10.8 years
31.9% of WFISD Teachers Have 11-20 Years Experience

Budget

2005-2006 $88,026,794 (includes debt service, maintenance & operations, campus activity funds, special revenue funds)
Tax rate per $100 valuation: $1.142399 [9]

Facilities

20 Elementary Schools
1 Early Childhood Center
3 Junior High Schools grades 7-8
3 High Schools grades 9-12
1 Career & Applied Technology Center
1 Accelerated Learning Center
1 Student Adjustment Center
1 Sports Complex - Memorial Stadium (Wichita Falls)
1 Administration Center
1 Support Center

Schools

Elementary schools
Ben Milam Elementary
Burgess Elementary
Crockett Elementary
Cunningham Elementary
Fain Elementary
Fowler Elementary
Franklin Elementary
Jefferson Elementary
Scotland Park Elementary
Sheppard Elementary
Southern Hills Elementary
Booker T Elementary Academy
West Foundation Elementary
Zundy Elementary
Junior high schools
Barwise Middle School
Kirby Middle School
McNiel Middle School
High schools
Wichita Falls Legacy High School
Wichita Falls Memorial High School
Alternative schools
Carrigan Career Center
Denver Alternative Center
Harrell Accelerated Learning Center
CEC CTE Learning
Support staff
Carrigan Technology Support
Early childhood centers
Brook Village Early Childhood Center
Haynes Headstart Academy, formerly Haynes Northwest Academy (became an early childhood center effective 2023) [10]

Defunct schools

Reagan Junior High School – became Wichita Falls ISD Administration Building
Booker T. Washington High School (closed 1969, became Washington/Jackson Math/Science Center, name change back to Booker T. Washington in 2016)
Booker T. Washington Middle School (closed 1970)
Travis Elementary School
Austin Elementary (closed 2008)
Bonham Elementary (closed 2008)
Fannin Elementary (closed 2008)
McGaha Elementary (closed 2008)
Alamo Elementary - The Times Record News has a photograph of a class for Alamo elementary held in 1909. 1910 was officially the year it opened, the cornerstone stated 1910, and most sources stated that it opened in 1910; the structure at the time had 19,299 square feet (1,792.9 m2) of space. Official documents had 1919 as an opening date. It received additions in 1919, 1926, 1930, 1985, 1989, and 2009. The school received a gymnasium on the last date. Alamo closed in 2014; at the time it was the oldest school in the city. In 2016 WFISD considered demolishing the school. [5] In 2017 the district announced that the school would not be torn down after all. R.C. Graham purchased Alamo for $101,000. Graham wanted the gymnasium as well, but the district did not sell the gymnasium to him and instead wished to retain it so it could hold district events there. Graham would have paid $106,000 for the gymnasium. [11]
Sam Houston School - Closed in 2014. The district considered storing items there. [5]
Barwise/A. E. Holland School/Holland Alternative School - Opened in 1921, and was originally a grade 1-8 neighborhood school named Barwise School. It was reserved for white/non-black students only until it was converted into a school for black children in 1956. It was renamed A.E. Holland while the district established another school with the name Barwise. [5] The neighborhood school closed in 1969 and was replaced with the alternative school, which closed in 2002 for financial reasons. [11] In 2016 WFISD considered demolishing the school. [5] In 2017 the district announced that the school would not be torn down after all. Gold Nugget Properties purchased the property for $101,000. [11]
Barwise Junior High
Zundelowitz Junior High
- Barwise and Zundy were combined in 2014 and renamed "Barwise Leadership Academy".
Hirschi High School (closed 2024)
Rider High School (closed 2024)
Wichita Falls High School (closed 2024)
Lamar Elementary School (closed 2023) [10]
Farris Early Childhood Center [10]

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References

  1. ↑ Inman, Brooke (October 27, 2015). "School Choice, Thing of the Past". The Rider Chronicle. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Texas Teachers of the Year 1957-Present". Texas Association of School Administrators. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  3. ↑ "President Announces 2005 National and State Teachers of the Year" (Press release). White House Rose Garden: White House Press Secretary. April 20, 2005. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  4. ↑ "2022 Accountability Rating Overall Summary: Wichita Falls ISD". Texas Education Agency . 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sweeten-Shults, Lana (March 14, 2016). "EDUCATION: Tearing down history?: Alamo and Holland schools". Times Record News . Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Wichita Falls Time Line". wichitafallstx.gov. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  7. ↑ Hoggard, Joshua (January 18, 2023). "Final day of high school at Hirschi, Rider, WFHS confirmed". Texoma’s Home Page. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  8. ↑ Smith, Spencer R. (August 15, 2023). "WFISD school board discuss middle school plans". KAUZ-TV . Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Truth In Taxation/Tax Rates". wichitatax.com. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 Choate, Trish (2022-11-15). "WFISD trustees approve school closures, consolidation". Times Record News . Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  11. 1 2 3 Johnston, Patrick (February 26, 2017). "Progress: Schools saved from demolition to get new life". Times Record News . Retrieved June 1, 2020.
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