Katy Independent School District

History

1898: The Katy Common School District (CSD) was formed to serve the town and surrounding communities. A high school and elementary school were established in a home at Avenue A and Sixth Street in Katy.

1899: The city constructed a wooden one-room school house at the site of the current Katy Elementary School's playground; the school served all grade levels.

1900: The Galveston hurricane damaged the building, but repairs were made, and classes continued at the home of W.H. Featherston. The first class graduated from Katy High School (10th grade).

1909: A permanent brick building was constructed adjacent and south of the wooden building, for the secondary grade levels.

1918: The Katy Independent School District was established by voters, by divorcement election from the City of Katy, and incorporated the common school districts in Dishman, Schlipf, Sills, and a school for African-Americans.

1927: Improvements to the 1909 building were competed, including indoor plumbing and heat. The wooden school was dismantled and sold, and a classroom addition was constructed for the elementary grades at the new site, including a combination auditorium and cafeteria.

1931: The size of Katy ISD was increased to 126 square miles (326 km²), when KISD annexed two small common school districts at the South Mayde and Stockdick communities. Two school buses were purchased, one to bring students in from Waller County and the other from Harris County. A female community member driving her own vehicle picked up six students daily from the Fort Bend County area of the school district.

1934: High school age students from Brookshire began attending Katy High School. A gymnasium was erected (at the site of the current Katy Elementary School cafeteria), so that basketball and volleyball could be played at night under lights, instead of on open courts on Friday afternoons.

1935: A larger wooden school house was completed on Danover Street for African-American students.

1939: The first 6-man football team was established at Katy High School.

1941: 17 seniors graduated.

1943: The first Katy Rodeo was held at Avenue D and 10th Street, northwest of the Katy school buildings.

1945: 11-man football began.

1947: Construction was completed of the new site on Highway 90 in Katy (the building also housed Katy ISD's seventh and eighth graders). High school students from the Addicks Independent School District joined Brookshire High Hchool students attending Katy High.

1951: A new elementary school opened next to Katy High School (which currently serves as the school's West Campus). The 1909 building and the 1927 elementary addition were razed, with only the 1934 "Old Gym" left standing and used as a community center, storage, junior high basketball practice and for the school district offices. The original school bell and the 1927 building plaque were stored at the Old Gym.

1952: A band hall and vocational building were constructed, south of the Katy High School building.

1953: Odessa Kilpatrick School was completed on Danover Street, to serve African-American students in the district. This facility replaced the 1935 wooden school house on the same site. The district began transporting African-American students above the eighth grade to Ralph Bunche School in Brookshire. This arrangement would continue until desegregation was completed.

1955: Katy High School held graduation for 40 seniors.

1959: The movie "Tomboy and the Champ" was filmed in Katy and at the Old Gym.

1960: Students from Brookshire began attending high school in the newly formed Royal Independent School District. A total of 53 graduated from Katy High School.

1961: Voters in Katy ISD and in the Addicks community agreed to consolidation of the defunct Addicks ISD with Katy ISD, and the present boundaries of the district were increased by 55 square miles (142 km²).

1962: During the Cuban Missile Crisis the 1934 Old Gym was used as headquarters for the local civil defense organization.

1964: A new agriculture and rodeo arena was constructed behind Katy High School.

1965: A new Katy Elementary was completed at the site of the district's first permanent school, along with a full-service cafeteria. The building next to Katy High School was renamed Katy Junior High and served sixth through eighth grades. The administration office was located at Katy High School. The staff included the superintendent, business director, and three clerical workers. A bus barn was completed on Franz Road (the current West Transportation Center).

1968: A new Addicks Elementary School replaced the former Addicks ISD building (its name changed to Wolfe Elementary in the 1980s).

1970: Katy ISD completed desegregation of its schools. Odessa Kilpatrick School was used to house Katy Elementary's fifth grade and the district's six graders.

1972: A new administration building was completed on South Stadium Drive.

1974: West Memorial Elementary School was finished in the new West Memorial subdivision.

1976: District's sixth graders moved back to junior high schools when West Memorial Junior High opened.

1977: The capacity of KHS was expanded from 800 to 1600. The Katy ISD school board approved a drill team for the 1977-1978 school year that would be called the "Red Brigade" (students and advisors, prior to the start of the school year, would change the name to "Bengal Brigade").

May, 1977: 195 seniors from Katy High School walked across the stage at Tiger Field.

1978: Zelma Hutsell Elementary, Memorial Parkway Elementary and Bear Creek Elementary Schools opened, fifth graders moved from Kilpatrick School to elementary schools. An alternative education program was set up at Kilpatrick school.

May, 1979: 296 seniors graduated from Katy High School.

1979: James E. Taylor High School opened to 9th and 10th graders.

1980: The bond election passed. Mayde Creek Junior High and Cimarron Elementary schools opened.

1981: Nottingham Country Elementary and Winborn Elementary Schools opened. A new band hall and improvements at Katy Junior High were completed. The last varsity football game was played at Tiger Field.

1982: Katy ISD Stadium opened for varsity football games (its name later changed to Jack Rhodes Memorial Stadium). An alternative education program moved to a new classroom facility next to the stadium (Kilpatrick School used this as a storage facility). Memorial Parkway Junior High and Sundown Elementary School opened.

1983: Mayde Creek Elementary School opened.

1984: Mayde Creek High School opened and a new bus barn was completed north of the school (the current East Transportation Center). The Katy High School tiger-head logo was designed, and replaced the simple letters "K T".

1985: The Katy High School weight room and field house were expanded.

1988: The Old Gym was torn down at Katy Elementary, in anticipation of construction of a new combination gym and cafeteria, as part of the renovated and expanded Katy Elementary.

1988: James E. Taylor High School seniors were the last to graduate from Rhodes Stadium (future KISD graduations ceremonies would be held at the Astro Arena in Houston).

1989: Work was completed at Katy Elementary, adding a new office area and library. Historical items from the original buildings were incorporated with the reconstruction, such as the 1909 school bell placed over the entrance of the school, and the 1927 building plaque displayed in the front entryway.

1989: Golbow Elementary and Pattison Elementary Schools opened.

1991: T.W. McDonald Junior High opened.

1993: Fielder Elementary opened.

1994: The bond election passed.

1995: New Katy Jr. High opened, its former building converted to Katy High School West Campus (whichaccommodated the largest entering freshman class in KHS history). Hayes Elementary School opened. Leonard Merrell was appointed superintendent of schools. A new addition of classrooms was completed on Avenue C at Katy Elementary.

1996: The bond election passed. Beck Junior High opened.

1997: McRoberts Elementary School opened.

May, 1998: 551 seniors graduated from KHS at the Astro Hall in Houston.

1998: Alexander Elementary School opened. A new library and hallway addition was completed between the main and west campus at Katy High School.

May, 1999: The largest graduating class from Katy High School, with 660 seniors, walked across the podium at the Astro Hall.

1999: The bond election passed. Cinco Ranch High School opened (8th graders from Beck Jr. High, temporarily housed at CRHS for one school year due to overcrowding).

2000: McMeans Junior High, Creech Elementary, and Williams Elementary opened.

2001: Cinco Ranch Junior High and Schmalz Elementary School opened.

2002: The bond election passed. Students from West Memorial Elementary temporarily used Cinco Ranch High School due to mold issues at the campus. Performing Arts Center and renovations were completed at Katy High School, James E. Taylor High School, Mayde Creek High School, and Cinco Ranch High School. A third addition at KHS increased its capacity to over 3,000.

2003: Morton Ranch Junior High and a new Odessa Kilpatrick Elementary opened.

2004: Morton Ranch High School, Beckendorff Junior High, Exley Elementary, Franz Elementary, Rhoads Elementary, and Rylander Elementary Schools opened. A new Katy Rodeo arena replaced old facilities south of the administration building and new agriculture barns were finished north of Katy. Both sites were named for former teachers at Katy, L.D. Robinson, and Gerald Young. A Katy ISD Law Enforcement and District Maintenance building opened adjacent to Morton Ranch High School.

2005: Seven Lakes High School opened. The Hutsell Elementary expansion was completed. Merrell Center opened and held high school graduations ceremonies (the first held inside the district since 1988).

2006: On February 13, several parents filed a lawsuit against KISD regarding religion. They accused KISD of religious discrimination in several incidents. KISD has released an official statement.

2006: In May, a bond election failed.

2006: In August, Griffin Elementary School opened.

2006: In November, a bond election passed, providing for construction of three elementary schools and two junior high schools, along with improvements at twenty-four of the district's facilities. Funds were also provided for updated technical equipment, buses, temporary buildings, and future school sites.

2007: Alton Frailey became the superintendent of Katy ISD, upon the retirement of Leonard Merrell. Stephens Elementary and Woodcreek Elementary opened. 1,007 seniors graduate from CRHS. (the largest graduating class in KISD history, as of June 2012)

During the 2004-2005 school year Katy ISD began a new and revolutionary program in the history of the district, with the use of random drug testing for all individuals involved in UIL competitive organizations, student leaders of any official school clubs, and anyone wishing to park on campus. This caused much controversy prior to its instatement. Many parents complained to the school district, citing the new policy as the violation of individual rights. The district responded to this by having every student who wished to participate in the said activities sign a waiver granting the school district to test them randomly. This matter had already been settled by the Supreme Court of the United States as constitutional before KISD chose to implement it.

During the 2007-2008 school year a student who was being questioned by officers about passing counterfeit bills to a local merchant led police to a gun and one ounce of marijuana hidden above ceiling tiles in one of the school's locker rooms. He also led authorities to a home in the area where they found manufacturing equipment to make the counterfeit money. Three other students were investigated for possession of counterfeit money.

2007: On July 5, 2007, the Houston Press posted an article about 12-year-old Shelby Sendelbach, a Mayde Creek Junior High School student who wrote "I Love Alex" on a school gymnasium bench with a marker pen and received three months of disciplinary school assignment as a punishment. The article criticized the district's response and stated that teachers in Japan see the case as the wrong method of punishment. [5] [6] Other news sources from inside and outside the US followed with media coverage, [7] [8][9][10] [11] [12] [13] [14] making the Sendelbach case into a cause célèbre opposing excessive school discipline. ABC News, Good Morning America, [15] and NHK [16] interviewed Sendelbach. On July 18, the Katy ISD school board reversed the punishment of Sendelbach. [17]

2008: Cardiff Junior High, WoodCreek Junior High, Morton Ranch Elementary, Bonnie Holland Elementary, Raines High School (charter school), and Morton Ranch High School 9th Grade Center opened. Additions at Sundown Elementary, Mayde Creek Elementary, and Miller Career & Technology Center were completed.

2009: Stan Stanley Elementary opened.

2010: A $459 million bond referendum passes. James E. Williams Elementary earned the title of BP Science Education Grant Recipient.

2012: Wilson Elementary, Shafer Elementary, Wolman Elementary, a rebuilt Wolfe Elementary, and Seven Lakes Junior High opened. West Memorial Junior High finished remodeling.

2013: Obra D. Tompkins High School opened. Old Katy Elementary (later Katy Junior High and West KHS campus) demolished.

2014: Randolph Elementary and Davidson Elementary opened. $748 million bond referendum (largest in district history) passes.

2015: West Memorial Junior High 7th grader Jordan Wooley brings to the Katy ISD school board about an assignment her teacher supposedly assigned her class. The assignment supposedly involved evaluating the existence of the Christian God as fact, opinion, or general acceptance, but required her to disprove its existence.

2016: Bethke Elementary, Jenks Elementary, and Tays Junior High opened.

2017: Bryant Elementary, Stockdick Junior High, Patricia E. Paetow High School, Legacy Stadium, and Agriculture Science facility open

2018: Elementary School #41 will open in Cross Creek Ranch.

High Schools

Note: In addition, Katy ISD[18] lists under high schools: Arthur Miller Career & Technology Center (MCTC), and Martha Raines High School. See Alternative Education below in this article.

Junior High schools

Elementary schools

Support Facilities

Alternative Education Campus

Katy ISD has done an extensive study and maintains and updates a District Growth and Facilities Planning Study.[19]

A future High School #8 site is located on 140 acres (0.57 km²) at the southwest corner of Peek Road and Stockdick School Road to relieve Morton Ranch High School and the growth along the Grand Parkway and far north part of the district. Future High School #9 is planned on 123.09 acres (0.4981 km²), purchased in 2006, within Cross Creek Ranch (a 3,000 acre (12 km²) master-planned community east of Fulshear), in the southwest quadrant of the district. [20] [21] [22] [23]

Four additional junior high schools (for a total of 17) and 7 more elementary schools (for a total of 44) are planned until the district is built-out, however, the new school sites are only speculated until land and funding is authorized from bond elections.

Enrollment

1934- 263 students

1954- 615

1961- 727

1971- 1,671

1976- 4,244

1980- 9,762

1981- 10,865

1985- 15,455

1995- 25,336

1996- 26,766

1997- 28,230

1998- 30,126

1999- 32,338

2000- 33,474

2001- 37,195

2002- 39,867

2003- 41,687

2004- 44,483

2005- 47,788

2006- 50,585

2007- 53,634 [24]

2008- 56,862

2009- 59,078

2010- 60,977

2011- 62,030

2012- 65,034

2013- 67,213

2014- 70,063

Demographics

The district population increased from 37,554 in 2001 to over 62,000 in 2011. From 2001 to 2011, the growth of Black and Hispanic students was 10 times that of the growth of White students.

Departments

The Katy ISD Police Department was created in 1989 because the district had jurisdictional issues and low response times from other police agencies.