Alief Independent School District, also known asAlief ISD, is aschool district that is based insouthwest Houston, Texas, United States. The district is one of the largest school districts in the state and one of the largest school districts in the United States.[4][5]
Alief ISD, which covers 36.6 square miles (94.8 km2) of land, covers a small portion of southwest Houston and parts of unincorporatedHarris County. In Houston, Alief ISD serves theAlief community, almost all of the district ofWestchase, Keegan's Glen, Leawood, Ashford Park, Bellaire West,Royal Oaks Country Club,Sharpstown, and theSouthwest Management District. It also serves a small portion ofBrays Oaks. In unincorporated Harris County, Alief ISD serves Wingate, portions of theMission Bend CDP, and Enclave Crescent Park Village.[6] The Alief ISD area is a part of theHouston City College System tax base.
In 1894, Jacamiah Seaman Daughtery founded the town of Dairy. Until 1906,Addicks,Barker, and Dairy constituted a single School District.[citation needed] From 1906 to 1917, Alief was a Common School District known as Dairy School District #46. In 1917, the district was renamed Alief (since the community was renamed after Alief Ozelda Magee, its postmistress). Alief had only one school until a separate elementary school, Alief Elementary School (now Youens Elementary School), was built in 1964. Bonds passed in the 1960s caused the first modern campuses to open.[7]
In 2011 theBrays Oaks district expanded.[8] A small portion of Alief ISD became a part of the district.[9]
The district offers prekindergarten to children meeting set criteria.[10] To qualify for enrollment in a prekindergarten program, children must be 4 years old by the district's cut-off date.[10] Children also must be either unable to speak or comprehend English or come from families which have a household income at or below the subsistence level as defined by the State Board of Education.[10] Students between the ages of 5 years old and 21 may attend kindergarten through twelfth grade in the district.[10] In addition, students who are between the ages of 21 and 26 may attend high school in the district to complete their high school diploma requirements.[10]
As of the 2010–2011 school year, the appraised valuation of property in the district was $10,678,843,000.[1] The maintenance tax rate was $0.113 and the bond tax rate was $0.022 per $100 of appraised valuation.[1]
As of the 2022-23 school year, the appraised valuation of property in the district was $212,366,606.[11] The maintenance tax rate was $0.9561 and the total operating financial sources for bonds and assets were $80,981,948.[11]
In 2011, the school district was rated "recognized" by theTexas Education Agency.[3] Thirty-five percent of districts in Texas in 2011 received the same rating.[12] No state accountability ratings will be given to districts in 2012.[13] A school district in Texas can receive one of four possible rankings from the Texas Education Agency: Exemplary (the highest possible ranking), Recognized, Academically Acceptable, and Academically Unacceptable (the lowest possible ranking).
Alief ISD has been named one of the top 830 districts that nationally received the National Award for Music Education in its fine arts education.[14] The district was named a District of Distinction by The Texas Art Education Association for the fifth consecutive year.[14]
Grades K - 4 are considered to be elementary school, 5 - 6 intermediate school, 7 - 8 middle school, and 9 - 12 high school. Each house in the district is assigned to an elementary school, an intermediate school, and a middle school. Alief ISD has an alternative elementary zoning boundary set for bilingual students, as some Alief ISD elementary schools do not offer bilingual programs.
The newlyAlief ISD Center for Advanced Careers building which is also known as theMarshall Center for Advanced Careers, are for high school students who are assigned toHastings,Elsik andTaylor offers students the tools to achieve the level of their academic careers based on their career cluster. The center offers courses in architectural design, automotive technology, engineering design, construction technology, culinary arts, digital design, health science, industrial robotics, IT, veterinary science and welding and more to choose from.[17]
There are 4 middle schools in Houston and 2 in unincorporated Harris County, a total of 6 middle schools in the district.
Jack Albright Middle School[20] (unincorporated area) (opened 1983)
Located on the corner of Winkleman Drive and Alief Clodine, west of Hwy. 6 inHarris County, the school is named for Dr. Jack Albright, a local United Methodist minister, because of his commitment to the community and to education. The school serves students in grades 7 and 8. Its mascot is Warriors, colors are Green, Gold, & Red and its slogan is "Albright Warriors never rest until they are the best." On May 14, 2002 Falcon Construction Group was awarded a contract to add ten classrooms under the design of Dansby & Miller Architects.
There are 5 intermediate schools in Houston and 1 in unincorporated Harris County, a total of 6 intermediate schools in the district.
Gary P. Budewig Intermediate School[26] (Houston) (opened 2003)
The 115,849-square-foot (10,762.7 m2) school is named after a firefighter at Fire Station 76, who is an alumnus of Alief Hastings. The cost to build the school was $12,500,000.[27]
Ivena C. Klentzman Intermediate School[28] (Houston) (opened 1995)
Helen Mata Intermediate School[29] (Houston) (opened 1999)
Judith G. Miller Intermediate School[30] (unincorporated area) (opened 2000)
L. C. Owens Intermediate School[31] (Houston) (opened April 15, 1994)
J. W. Youngblood Intermediate School[32] (Houston) (opened 1994)
In addition to school campuses, the district has several other facilities for students, staff, and administrators. The Leroy Crump Stadium[65] is home to many athletic events. The Steven Lloyd Ness Natatorium, located on High Star across the street from the Hastings and Elsik campus,[65] houses the district's swimming pools. The district administration offices are on High Star.[65] The maintenance office and nutrition annex are on High Star as well.[65] The district bus depot is on Synott.[65] The district has its own police force.[66] The police station is located on 12135 1/2 High Star.[66] The police force enforces the district's "Zero Tolerance" policy.[66]
This list is incomplete. There are multiple boundaries for "Alief" depending on the agency/authority: Alief Community Association, Alief Super Neighborhood Council, and theAlief Independent School District each have their own boundaries.
Cleveland ISD extends into portions of Montgomery and San Jacinto counties, and Tomball ISD extends into portions of Montgomery County. Other districts in those counties are served byRegion 6 ESC.
