Garland Independent School District (GISD) is a
publicschool district with its headquarters in the Harris Hill Administration Building in
Garland, Texas, United States.[4] Garland ISD extends from the
Dallas city limits, northeast to the county line and serves parts of the communities of
Garland,
Rowlett, and
Sachse.[5] Small portions of
Dallas and
Wylie are served by Garland ISD.[6]
The district encompasses approximately 100 square miles (260 km2). With a student enrollment of 56,459 students,[2] GISD is currently the fourth largest school district in the
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and is thirteenth largest district in the state of Texas.
Garland High School, the district's first high school, is more than one hundred years old.
Garland ISD implements a Freedom of Choice/Choice of School plan, which allows parents to choose which school his/her children want to attend within the district for the following school year.[8] The Choice of School plan is a desegregation plan resulting from the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.[9] The plan stipulates that all schools must adhere to the ethnicity ratios established by the courts while not exceeding the student capacities of each individual campus. Most students choose to attend the school to which they would be assigned absent Free Choice; preference is given to students residing closest to the school facility. Garland ISD schools have defined "transportation areas" that provide
school bus transportation to students who live two or more miles from the nearest available school.[10] Garland ISD has the only "free choice system" in the
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and in the
United States of America.[citation needed]
The change in demographics, with GISD's student body becoming about 50% Hispanic and Latino by 2013, interfered with the ethnicity bands set in the 1980s.[11]
Statistics
In 2016 the attendance rate for students in the district was 96%, compared with a state average of 96%. 48% of the students in the district were economically disadvantaged, 10% enroll in special education, 7% enroll in gifted and talent programs, 22% are enrolled in career and technology programs, and 24% are considered "limited English proficient."[2]
From 1997 to 2016 the number of students on free or reduced lunches, a way of classifying a student as low income, increased by 160%.[14]
In 2006
Teachers in the district carry, on average, 10 years of teaching experience and 12% of the teachers on staff are first-year teachers. 74% of the teachers hold
bachelors, 24% hold
master's, 1% hold
doctorates, and less than 1% have no degree.[2]
60% of students in the district took
SAT/
ACTstandardized examinations with an average score of 1009 and 20, respectively. 23% of students took an
AP and/or
IB examination.[2]
Watson Technology Center (Garland) (opened in 1956, became a magnet in 1997)
Weaver Elementary School (Garland)
Williams Elementary School (Garland)
Pre-Kindergarten schools
2 in Garland
Gloria Cisneros PreKindergarten School
Florence Parsons Prekindergarten School
Rentable facilities
Curtis Culwell Center is a $31.5 million multi-purpose rentable facility featuring an arena and a conference center. The complex was built by
HKS, Inc. and funded by a bond election held in fall of 2002. Although the facility replaced
Southern Methodist University'sMoody Coliseum as Garland ISD's primary location to host the district's commencement exercises in May 2005, the 190,000-square-foot (18,000 m2) complex was formally completed in August 2005.[26]
The arena seats up to 7,500 for concerts, basketball/volleyball games, and graduation ceremonies. The conference center seats 400 guests in the 8,000 square feet (740 m2) ballroom for banquets and 140 guests in the tiered lecture hall.[27]
Former schools
George Washington Carver School - A segregated all
African American school named after the African American
scientist that was officially closed December 31, 1970, when Garland ISD desegregated.[28] The district opened an elementary school with the same name in 2007.[29][30]
Controversies / Incidents
Black History Month, 2016
On February 26, 2016 during a presentation at Coyle Middle School, students held up signs saying, “Black Lives Matter,” “I Can’t Breathe,” and “The Whole System Is Guilty.” In response, the Rowlett police chief Mike Broadnax said “Allowing this only promotes the discontent and hatred for police to continue. It’s a bad day.” In response, Coyle Middle School principal Michael Bland emailed school staff stating, "...If any of the political messages on the signs offended anyone, I apologize on behalf of the administration.".[31]
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abcSmith, Andrew D. (2006-09-05). "Schools rising to meet needs: Influx of Hispanics driving construction in aging neighborhoods". Dallas Morning News.