The Denton Independent School District has been committed to providing a quality education since it was founded in 1882. The district – located about 25 miles north of Dallas and Fort Worth - encompasses 180 square miles and contains all or parts of 15 cities, communities or major developments.

As the county seat for Denton County, the city and school district has a rich history. In 1882, a $15,000 bond election was passed to finance the construction of Denton's first public school. The structure was three stories and made of red brick. The district has continued to grow – and currently is the second-fastest growing school district in North Texas.

Prior to 2000, the district opened one to three schools a decade. Today, it opens about one to three facilities a year. Currently, it includes three comprehensive high schools, six middle schools, 20 elementary schools, an early childhood center, an alternative high school, an advanced technology complex and other specialized schools and centers.

In the past 10 years, the district has passed four bond packages – totaling $560 million. The support of the community in which the district serves is evident in the support of these bond packages. They have averaged passing by a 3-1 margin or with a 60 to 80 percent passage rate.

Not only does the school district community support outstanding school facilities, it demands excellence in its educational programs. It is truly an educational community with two major universities and a community college within its boundaries.

The presence of three institutions of higher learning within the district sets a learning climate that involves everyone in the community. For example, with UNT boasting one of the best music programs in the nation, the district is one of only 11 percent of school districts nationwide that offers orchestra at the elementary level. Denton ISD students consistently place high in all music UIL competitions. And UNT offers a “start up the band program” for fifth-graders who are considered “economically disadvantaged.”

Starting at the university level, the district fosters collaboration with its all of its community stakeholders to support quality student learning. That is not as easy task with its huge geographical area. However, the board and entire district staff work together as an extremely cohesive team to help bridge the gap between these 15 cities, towns and communities.

• Argyle
• Bartonville
• Copper Canyon
• Corinth
• Cross Oak Ranch
• Cross Roads
• Denton
• Double Oak
• Lantana
• Oak Point
• Paloma Creek
• Providence
• Robson Ranch
• Savannah
• Shady Shores

Although it covers a large area, Denton ISD's unique ``small town community'' environment separates it from the growing, larger suburban school districts within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Denton ISD is able to offer all the programs available from larger school districts, but maintains “a small community climate.”

It maintains that “small town” flavor because the community is dedicated to keeping its schools “small” in population. The goal of the district is to maintain the following numbers:

• Maximize elementary enrollment from 650 to 750
• Maintain middle schools at a 1,000 capacity with a “Team” concept at each grade level so students will have the same group of teachers.
• Keep high schools at enrollments of about 2,000

To maintain these standards, the district went through a rezoning for the high schools in 2008 for the 2009-10 school year. The numerous meetings and communications with these students and their families were realized when the freshman classes this school year became more equalized: Denton High, 553; Guyer High,534; and Ryan High, 577.

Accountability/Assessments

The students in Denton ISD not only perform well on all assessments, they outscore their Texas classmates in most accountability testing. The students continue to show an increase in most testing programs from SAT to TAKS testing.

SAT Scores

As part of its quests for academic excellence, Denton ISD students consistently outscore their senior classmates on the SAT tests.

ACT Scores

On the ACT testing, these students also showed growth at all three of the district's high schools:

ACT Composite
	2007	2008
Denton High	21.3	21.5
Guyer High	20.3	20.4
Ryan High	20.1	20.2
DentonISD	20.5	20.7
State	20.5	20.7
National	21.2	21.1

In the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, the number of exemplary schools in Denton ISD more than tripled for 2009 and students at almost every grade level and subject area exceeded their 2008 scores.

The district attained ‘Exemplary' status in 18 of the 25 TAKS accountability indicators and made ‘Recognized' in 23 of the 25 groups. At the campus, the district currently has 10 ‘Exemplary' and 10 ‘Recognized' campuses.

The number of schools attaining higher status increased because students outscored the previous years' results in almost every accountability level. The students made the largest gains in science with students improving by two to nine percentage points. The largest gain was African American students, whose science scores increased from 62 percent to 71 percent. The All-Student, Hispanic and Economically Disadvantaged categories increased by four percent in science.

2009 ACCOUNTABILTY RATINGS Elementary Schools
Blanton Elementary	Exemplary
Borman Elementary	Recognized
Evers Park Elementary	Acceptable
Ginnings Elementary	Exemplary
Hawk Elementary	Exemplary
Hodge Elementary	Recognized
Houston Elementary	Exemplary
Lee Elementary	Acceptable
McNair Elementary	Exemplary
L.A. Nelson Elementary	Recognized
Paloma Creek Elementary	Recognized
Pecan Creek Elementary	Exemplary
Providence Elementary	Exemplary
E.P. Rayzor Elementary	Exemplary
N. Rayzor Elementary	Recognized
Rivera Elementary	Acceptable
W.S. Ryan Elementary	Recognized
Savannah Elementary	Exemplary
Stephens Elementary	Exemplary
Wilson Elementary	Recognized
Middle Schools
Calhoun Middle School	Acceptable
Crownover Middle School	Acceptable
Harpool Middle School	Recognized
McMath Middle School	Acceptable
Navo Middle School	Recognized
Strickland Middle School	Acceptable
High Schools
Denton High School	Acceptable
Guyer High School	Recognized
Ryan High School	Acceptable

As a fast-growth district, the student enrollment had been increasing by more than 1,000 students annually. With this growth, the district is opening 1 to 3 facilities a year.

In 2000, the district had 13,541 students. On the fifth-day of school for the 2009-10 school year, the district recorded, 22,688 students, which as an almost 500 student increase from the previous year. Although this number is less than previous years because of the slowdown in building, the district continues to grow at a healthy pace.

During the next five years, the district is anticipated to grow to almost 28,000 students.

Current District facilities

Elementary Schools	20
Middle Schools	6
Comp.High Schools	3
Alternative High School Advanced Technology Complex	1  1
Special Centers	3
Early Childhood Center	1
Total Facilites	35

In 2010-2011, the district plans to open another early childhood center and its 21^st elementary school.

Enrichment Activities

Denton ISD's  "small town climate” is apparent throughout the school day – and also after school when it offers the Extended School Day program (an after-school academically-oriented service for busy elementary school parents) - and numerous extra-curricular activities.

Advanced Academics

Students consistently reach new academic heights every year in Denton ISD.

• High school students have the option of enrolling in Pre-Advanced Placement (Pre-AP), Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Credit courses. Students who successfully complete an end-of-the-course AP exam can earn college credit.
• Dual credit is a cooperative effort between DISD, TWU, UNT and NCTC. This program allows students to enroll in courses at the college level with credit counted for both high school and college. In 2007, the district started offering college math classes on the high school campuses.
• The number of Denton ISD students who took AP exams in the 2007-08 school year increased by 640 students from the previous school year. In 2006-07, there were 1,480 exams taken, compared to 2,210 taken last year.
• Denton High School and Calhoun Middle School are members of the International Baccalaureate World Schools and offers the Diploma Programme (DP). Newton Rayzor Elementary School is in the IB application process.

LaGrone Advanced Technology Complex

• Technology is vital for the 21st Century and to keep pace, Denton ISD has a state-of-the-art LaGrone Advance Technology Complex. This is a professional training facility that prepares students and adults for high-demand careers. In some programs, students receive certifications or college credit.
• At the high schools, the alternative block scheduling (90-minute classes meeting every other school day) allows students to take more electives. Several programs, such as Health Science, Technology and Hospitality, allow students to do internships in the community.

Fine Arts and Athletics

The quality programs available at the universities encourage the community and staff to maintain top arts and athletic programs in Denton ISD.

• All elementary students receive weekly instruction in art and music taught by full-time, certified art and music specialists on each campus.
• Orchestra is also offered for 5^th graders at each elementary campus.
• Approximately 8,000 secondary middle school and high school students participate in one or more art, band, choir, orchestra, theatre arts, and dance courses each year.
• Fine arts students and programs annually receive awards for superior performance at the regional, area, and state levels in UIL, Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Texas Art Education Association (TAEA), Texas Educational Theatre Association (TETA), and Texas Dance Educators Association (TDEA) events.
• Since 2000, Denton's high school students have competed in 12 “State Title Games” and won five of those contests.
• During the 2007-08 school year, Denton ISD schools won 9 of the 14 “District Championships” in the UIL District 5-4A.
• The district has more than 3,200 student-athletes that compete in 14 different athletic program offered at all three 4-A High Schools.
• The district has more than 2,300 student-athletes that compete in 12 different sports at six middle schools.

Community support

Many of these programs are assisted with numerous community programs. In 2008-09, the number of volunteer hours recorded at the schools exceeded 324,000 hours. The district's Adopt-A-School: Partners in Education program has more than 300 partners who willingly support the schools at the district and campus levels.

The Denton Public School Foundation awards almost $100,000 annually to teachers in grants and scholarship and to students in college scholarships.

Supportive learning climate

All of these programs are just a few examples how the Denton ISD Board of Trustees fosters a spirit of high expectation for students and staff while providing the necessary resources – and technology - to help them succeed.

The board's goal of “advocating and practicing true accountability based on the measurement of individual student progress over time, regardless of external mandates,” is emphasized.

The board – under the superintendent's leadership - encourages a learning environment where the teachers and staff strongly believe that all children can be nurtured and motivated to learn. The Denton ISD team is dedicated to insuring that every child succeeds.