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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. Those areas include:
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:
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:
TAKS Scores
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.
Fast-growth school district
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
In 2010-2011, the district plans to open another early childhood center and its 21st 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.
LaGrone Advanced Technology Complex
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.
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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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