The Katy Independent School District (KISD) is a public school district based in Katy, Texas, United States, with an enrollment of more than 85,700 students. Located in the vast Houston metropolitan area, the fourth largest city and urban economy in the United States, Katy is a small town of just over 14,000 people. Despite its size, the city owes its name to the KISD, one of 20 independent public school districts in the metropolitan area. The KISD was designed as an option to control schools at the local level and ensure a good education for the highest-income residents of the western end of Houston.
But as the city's population grew around the Spring Branch Independent School District, construction slowed down, the tax base stagnated and demographic changes occurred in the 1980s. This led to very large school districts struggling to meet the needs of diverse neighborhoods or ensure balanced funding, which can lead to urban expansion or the creation of more exclusive districts for wealthier residents. The KISD has 92 school campuses and serves more than 116,000 students, making it the third largest district in Texas and the 22nd largest in the United States. It is one of the best school systems in Texas and has driven substantial population growth as families move there with the intention of providing their children with a good education. Finding ways to restore local and neighborhood control over school districts while at the same time equalizing funding as much as possible will be an essential part of American education for the future. Most states have already diverted countless millions of dollars in state aid to cash-strapped school districts, particularly to states like New York. The KISD is generally recognized as a great district and many of its schools are exemplary schools, a maximum rating awarded by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Data on national educational performance can discern a degree of connection between the school district and educational performance. In other cases, traditionally richer areas manage to maintain secondary school performance compared to surrounding areas. Those who oppose school choice in the form of charter schools often fear that it will end up with already overburdened school districts, causing a kind of death spiral in terms of funding and performance. Very large school districts can achieve economies of scale but they can also limit community disengagement from control over their own school systems. However, these approaches have not always been adapted based on performance data so they group students from schools of very different calibers, resulting in unequal competition conditions in universities.
GreatSchools
is a leading nonprofit organization that provides high-quality information to support parents seeking an excellent education for their children, schools striving for excellence and communities working to reduce inequities in education. In the KISD, ACT and SAT scores are above state and national averages and most high schools have graduation rates between 95% and 98%. This makes it one of the best school systems in Texas and has driven substantial population growth as families move there with the intention of providing their children with a good education. The KISD is an example of how local control over schools can be maintained while still providing equal funding opportunities for all students.It also shows how data on national educational performance can be used to measure success. The district's exemplary schools rating from TEA is further proof that it is one of the best school systems in Texas.
