E D U C AT I O N / FA S T FAC T S
THE HOUSTON
MSA contains more than 60 school districts and approximately 40 state-approved charter school management organizations, as well as a range of private and parochial schools. Houston Independent School District is the seventh-largest school district in the country, with an enrollment of more than 214,000 students. Altogether, the region’s ISDs and charter schools enroll more than 1.3 million students annually — that’s about one out of every four school-aged children in Texas!
HISD AT A GLANCE Houston ISD has a variety of programs to meet the area’s educational needs, including: • Magnet programs and Vanguard/SIGHTS (for gifted students) offer enrichment instruction in arts, math, science and physical development. • Multilingual programs offer bilingual education and English as a second language for students not yet proficient in English. • Early childhood programs help prepare children younger than age five for the school experience. • Special education programs serve students with various physical, emotional and learning disabilities, beginning at age three. • Career and vocational programs feature job-oriented instruction and experience in such fields as office education, culinary arts, printing and auto mechanics. ard Third W rt L o c k h ea h o o l ry Sc Elementa nts stude
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• Alternative programs use innovative instruction in non-traditional learning environments to help students who are in jeopardy of dropping out of school.