Plano Independent School District (PISD or Plano ISD) is an

independent school district An independent school district (ISD) is a type of school district in some US states for primary and secondary education that operates as an entity independent and separate from any municipality or county, and only under the oversight of the res ...

in southwestern

Collin County Collin County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and a small portion of the city of Dallas is in the county. At the 2020 United States cens ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States, based in Plano. PISD is the 18th largest school district in Texas and the 82nd largest in the United States. The school district serves over 50,000students and employs approximately 3,800faculty members spread across 73schools and 2special and 4early education centers. PISD's operating budget was million as of 2021. The district named Sara Bonser as Interim Superintendent in November 2017. On March 6, 2018, Bonser became Superintendent of Plano ISD, becoming the first woman to hold the title of superintendent for the district. She retired in early 2022. Dr. Theresa Williams was voted in as superintendent in early 2022. In 2010, the school district was rated "recognized" by the

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

. Plano ISD serves about of land, with of it within the City of Plano. The district also takes students from northern portions of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Richardson,

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univ ...

, Carrollton,

Garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. In contemporary times ...

Lucas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, or the Lucas, a 19th-century African-American singing group * Lucas, a 1960s Swedish pop group formed by Janne Lucas Perss ...

Murphy Murphy is an Irish surname meaning "Sea Warrior". Origins and variants The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac Murchaidh"/" Mac Murchadh" (son of "Murchadh") derived ...

Parker Parker may refer to: People * Parker (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Parker (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Arts and entertainment * ''Parke ...

, and Wylie. There are two areas in

North Dallas North Dallas is an area of numerous communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas (United States). The phrase "North Dallas" is also sometimes used to include any suburb or exurb north of Dallas proper within the metropolitan area. The majority ...

that are in Plano ISD, both in Collin County: one that is east of Midway Road, south of the George Bush Turnpike, and west of Waterview Parkway; and a group of apartments around Horizon North Parkway. These areas, annexed into the City of Dallas after 1960, are generally high-income.

Educational structure

Plano ISD's educational structure differs from the typical U.S. educational pattern.

Primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

in PISD, following the typical U.S. structure, consists of 44

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s that serve the kindergarten through fifth grades. However, PISD's system of

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

consists of 13

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

s that serve the sixth through eighth grades, 6 'high schools' that serve the ninth and tenth grades, and 3 'senior high schools' that serve the eleventh and twelfth grades. The 'high school' and 'senior high school' system is a departure from the standard U.S.

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

that serves the ninth through twelfth grades. PISD students attend schools based primarily on the geographic location of their homes. Schools of a lower level feed into specific schools at the next highest level. The three exceptions to the feeder system is for students wishing to participate in the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

program, the Health Sciences Academy, or the

STEAM Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. Parents of students may also request transfers out of their students' assigned schools for various reasons (such as to take classes unique to a particular school). This system leads to very large graduating classes and overall student populations. At

Plano Senior High School Plano Senior High School (commonly Plano, Plano Senior High, or PSHS) is a public high school, public secondary school in Plano, Texas, serving students in grades eleventh grade, 11–twelfth grade, 12. The school is part of the Plano Independ ...

Plano East Senior High School Plano East Senior High School (commonly known as East, Plano East, or PESH) is a public secondary school in Plano, Texas, serving grades nine through 12. It is part of the Plano Independent School District. Students at Plano East attended one of ...

, and

Plano West Senior High School Plano West Senior High School (commonly known as West, Plano West, or PWSH) is a public high school in Plano, Texas serving high school juniors and seniors. Plano West is named after its geographic location within West Plano. The school is part ...

, the current student populations are listed as 2,567, 2,795, and 2,160 students, respectively. Each year's graduating class is approximately half of each number. Previous years' Graduation Commencement Ceremonies have taken place at Ford Center and the

Dallas Convention Center The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center (KBHCCD; formerly the Dallas Convention Center) is a convention center in the Convention Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The "Dallas Memorial Auditorium" was a standalone multipurpose aren ...

Board of trustees

The Board of Trustees includes seven

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

elected members that oversee the district. Elections are held in May in odd-numbered years for either three or four candidates. An election was held in May 2019, for seats 4, 5, 7 and the remaining two years for seat 6. The board elects a president, vice president and secretary.

Academics and Honors

All three of PISD's senior high schools were recently listed in the top 250 of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

''s list of 1000 top high schools in America. In the 2012 list,

was ranked as 63rd in the country,

was ranked 108th, and

was ranked 243rd. In 2011, Plano West Senior High had been ranked 98 on Newsweek's "America's Best High Schools," and Plano East Senior High had been ranked 461. Plano ISD opened three academies (4-year high schools) in the 2013–2014 school year. The first "

Academy High School Academy High School is a 3A public high school located in Little River, Texas, United States. It is part of the Academy Independent School District located in southern Bell County. During 20222023, Academy High School had an enrollment of 530 ...

", a STEAM, project based, high school that serves grades 9–12. The second magnet focuses on

Health science The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences – those sciences that focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple ...

, and is housed at Williams High School for grades 9–10, and will continue at Plano East Senior High School for grades 11–12. Additionally, the district has modified its existing

program so that all four grades will be housed at Plano East Senior High as a "school within a school". The mean

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

score (math plus reading) for the district is 1152 out of 1600, and the mean

ACT (test) The ACT (; originally an abbreviation of American College Testing) Name changed in 1996. is a standardized test used for college admissions in the United States. It is administered by ACT, Inc., a for-profit organization of the same name. ...

composite score is 25.7, with 83.5% of district students taking the SAT or ACT. 43.4% of district students take AP or IB courses, and 84.3% of those students pass their AP or IB exam(s). Plano ISD offers all AP courses except

AP Italian Language and Culture Advanced Placement (AP) Italian Language and Culture (also known as AP Italian Language or AP Italian) is a course offered by the American College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program. It is intended to give students a thorough backgrou ...

and

AP Japanese Language and Culture Advanced Placement (AP) Japanese Language and Culture (also known as AP Japanese) is a course offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program in the United States. It is intended to give students a thorough background in th ...

to students. In the 2012–2013 school year, Plano ISD had 128 students named National Merit Semifinalists, more than any other Texas school district. Also in the 2012–2013 school year, ten PISD students were named semifinalists in the

Siemens Competition The Siemens Competition was a science competition for US high school students funded by the Siemens Foundation, which was administered by the College Board from 1999-2013 and by Discovery Education from 2014–2017. The Siemens Foundation release ...

, and two were named as finalists. In the state of Texas, a total of thirty eight and eleven students, respectively, captured those honors in the Siemens competition. In the 2011–2012 school year, 76 students were selected as All-state musicians.

Demographics

In the 1990s, Plano ISD received many non-Hispanic white families leaving urban areas. However, this changed in the period from 1997 to 2015, as the number of non-Hispanic white children in Plano ISD declined by 10,000.

Bilingual programs

In 1991 Plano ISD began a Chinese bilingual program for preschool and kindergarten students developed by Donna Lam. It is one of two Chinese bilingual programs in the State of Texas, along with the one established by the

Austin Independent School District Austin Independent School District (AISD) is a school district based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1881, the district serves most of the City of Austin, the neighboring municipalities of Sunset Valley and San Lea ...

. It was established after Chinese professionals began to settle Plano.

Controversies

On the , edition of ''

The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...

'', as part of his "

War on Christmas War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organiz ...

" segment, news commentator,

Bill O'Reilly William O'Reilly or Bill O'Reilly may refer to: Government and politics * Bill O'Reilly (political commentator) (born 1949), American commentator, author and television host * William O'Reilly (MP) (1792–1844), UK MP for the Irish constituency o ...

falsely claimed that the district had banned students from wearing

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

and

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

clothing "because they were

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

colors." An attorney from the school district requested a retraction. O'Reilly later retracted his allegation on 20 December. He had mistakenly included clothing among the items banned by PISD, while the ongoing lawsuit against the district only alleges the banning of the distribution of written religious materials. That lawsuit was originally filed against PISD on (''Jonathan Morgan, et al., v. the Plano Independent School District, et al.''). On , prior to the school "winter parties, Judge Paul Brown of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a temporary restraining order, requiring PISD to lift these restrictions. The ''Morgan, et al., v. Plano Independent School District'' (PISD) case began in 2003, with school officials even banning students from using red and green napkins and paper plates to a school-sponsored "holiday" party. In another more serious legal dispute, Plano ISD was found to have violated

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

rights of parents during public meetings about the implementation of a controversial new math curriculum, " Connected Math". During several years of appeals by PISD, the ruling was consistently upheld at all levels, including the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (in July 2003). The district briefly considered an appeal to the United States Supreme Court, but instead reached a settlement of . It is important to note that this was a settlement of the judgment, not the ruling of a First Amendment rights violation by the district. The most recent Federal lawsuit against PISD was filed in , by a religious group, Students Witnessing Absolute Truth (SWAT), alleging

religious discrimination Religious discrimination is treating a person or group differently because of the particular religion they align with or were born into. This includes instances when adherents of different religions, denominations or non-religions are treate ...

. In a Decision of the US District Court granting a preliminary injunction against Plano ISD, the judge said, "The issue in this case is not one of sponsorship or the lack thereof, but of the flagrant denial for equal access guaranteed to S.W.A.T. ... The harm at issue is irreparable because it inhibits the exercise of Plaintiff's First Amendment freedoms of speech and religion." On , Plano ISD offered, and SWAT accepted, an Offer of Settlement, which included the district's promise to change its discriminatory policy. In , following a complaint by the parents of a student, the Plano ISD textbook board decided to remove the textbook ''Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities: Alternative Volume'', from its Humanities curriculum because the illustrations of works of art included nudity and various sex acts. After a public outcry, the decision was reversed within days. On , PISD became the subject of criticism due to its response to the racially motivated assault of an eighth-grade student of Haggard Middle School at the hands of his classmates during a "non-school-related, off-campus" event. The victim stated that he was forced to drink urine and shot at with a

BB gun A BB gun is a type of air gun designed to shoot metallic spherical projectiles called BBs (not to be confused with similar-looking bearing balls), which are approximately the same size as BB-size lead birdshot used in shotguns ( in diameter) ...

, while social media posts alleged racist and homophobic abuse. On , a walkout was staged at Plano East Senior High School, protesting the administrative conduct of the school in an incident involving sexual harassment. No incidents were reported during the demonstration, and PISD officials have not yet acknowledged the incident.

List of schools

Each household in Plano ISD is zoned to an elementary school, a middle school, a high school, and a senior high school. High schools serve grades 9–10 while senior high schools serve grades 11–12; however, any 9th or 10th grader may participate in extracurricular sports at the senior high level. There are 67 schools: 44 elementary schools, 13 middle schools, six high schools, three senior high schools, and one alternative STEM-based high school,

Plano ISD Academy High School Plano ISD Academy High School, commonly referred to as Academy High School, is a STEAM, interdisciplinary and project-based learning high school. The school serves students from grades 9-12. This school is not a regular secondary school because t ...

. Out of the 67 schools, 55 are located within the city of Plano. There are four schools in both Murphy and Richardson, three in North Dallas, and one in Allen.

High schools (grades 9-12)

Senior high schools (grades 11-12)

(1999) *

(1892) *

(1981)

High schools (grades 9-10)

* R. C. Clark High School (1979) * T. C. Jasper High School (1996) * C. A. McMillen High School (2011) *

Shepton High School Shepton High School is a secondary school in Plano, Texas (USA), serving grades nine and ten. It is part of the Plano Independent School District. In Plano ISD, high school freshmen and sophomores attend one of six high schools. Juniors and se ...

(1984) * W. A. Vines High School (1976) * T. H. Williams High School (1961)

Academy schools

* PISD Academy High School (9-12)

Middle schools (grades 6-8)

* Armstrong Middle School ** 1992–93

National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002
PDF
* Bowman Middle School * Carpenter Middle School ** 1992–93 National Blue Ribbon School * Frankford Middle School (''within

city limits'') * Haggard Middle School ** 1999–2000 National Blue Ribbon School * Hendrick Middle School * Murphy Middle School (''within

city limits'') * Otto Middle School (''within Plano city limits'') * Renner Middle School ** 1994–96 National Blue Ribbon School * Rice Middle School * Robinson Middle School * Schimelpfenig Middle School ** 1988–89 National Blue Ribbon School * Wilson Middle School ** 1988–89 National Blue Ribbon School

Special program centers

* Bird Special Programs Center (K-8) * Guinn Special Programs Center (9-12)

Elementary schools (grades K-5)

* Aldridge Elementary School (''within Richardson city limits'') * Andrews Elementary School * Barksdale Elementary School * Barron Elementary School * Bethany Elementary School * Beverly Elementary School (''within

city limits'') ** 2006 National Blue Ribbon SchoolBlue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 through 2007
PDF
/ref> * Boggess Elementary School (''within

city limits'') * Brinker Elementary School ** 1996–97 National Blue Ribbon School * Carlisle Elementary School ** 1987–88 National Blue Ribbon School * Centennial Elementary School * Christie Elementary School ** 1998–99 National Blue Ribbon School * Daffron Elementary School * Davis Elementary School ** 1993–94 National Blue Ribbon School * Dooley Elementary School ** 1989–90 National Blue Ribbon School * Forman Elementary School ** 1993–94 National Blue Ribbon School * Gulledge Elementary School * Haggar Elementary School (''within

city limits'') * Harrington Elementary School * Haun Elementary School * Hedgcoxe Elementary School ** 1993–94 National Blue Ribbon School * Hickey Elementary School * Hightower Elementary School * Huffman Elementary School ** 1991–92 National Blue Ribbon School * Hughston Elementary School * Hunt Elementary School (''within Murphy city limits'') * Jackson Elementary School * Mathews Elementary School ** 2000–01 National Blue Ribbon School and 2005 * McCall Elementary School * Meadows Elementary School ** 1996–97 National Blue Ribbon School * Memorial Elementary School * Mendenhall Elementary School * Miller Elementary School (''within Richardson city limits'') * Mitchell Elementary School (''within

city limits'') * Rasor Elementary School * Saigling Elementary School ** 1991–92 National Blue Ribbon School and 2005 * Schell Elementary School (''within Richardson city limits'') * Shepard Elementary School ** 1991–92 and 2008 National Blue Ribbon School * Sigler Elementary School * Skaggs Elementary School ** 2006 National Blue Ribbon School * Stinson Elementary School (''within Richardson city limits'') * Thomas Elementary School * Weatherford Elementary School * Wells Elementary School ** 1991–92 National Blue Ribbon School and 2007 * Wyatt Elementary School

Early childhood schools (PreK)

* Beaty Early Childhood School * Head Start * Isaacs Early Childhood School * Jupiter Center (''currently closed'') * Pearson Early Childhood School

Feeder schools chart

*3-4 elementary schools feed into a middle school **''Note that Wilson Middle School takes students from 4 different elementary schools and half of the 5th graders from Jackson Elementary.'' *2-3 middle schools feed into a high school *2 high schools feed into a senior high school The district has had its feeder-school boundary lines redrawn at times in the recent past, In 2009, the development of more schools in Plano's eastern region, as well as more students attending them, reignited a boundary-line debate. Certain issues, such as socio-economic integration and ethnic balance in the schools, became points of intense discussion that became very publicized and heated. Distance from McMillen and Williams also caused debate against the socioeconomic balance. Eventually, it was settled with mixed socioeconomic and ethnic balance between the two high schools. The following year, the School Board settled the debate so as to affect feeder schools going into Plano West: due to the high student populations of Plano and Plano East as compared to the lower population of Plano West, two of the most populated high schools were approved to feed into Plano West, and Schimelpfenig Middle School students could choose between two tracks, leading either to Plano Senior or Plano West. However, this prompted some parents to be concerned about possible future overcrowding at Plano West. In 2011, the School Board agreed to tweak their plan to ease worries about Plano West overcrowding: Schimelpfenig Middle School students would not be allowed to choose tracks, but instead would all go to Clark High and then Plano Senior High, with the option to transfer. In 2016, the enrollment boundaries for Mendenhall, Aldridge, and Brinker Elementary Schools were redrawn so as to allow smoother transitions into their appropriate feeder schools. Starting in the summer 2025, Davis and Forman Elementary Schools and Armstrong and Carpenter Middle Schools are set to close. The students of Plano Regional Day School Program for the Deaf at Davis Elementary will shift to Harrington Elementary School.

Notes

References

External links

* # Kantrowitz, Barbara.
The 1000 Best High Schools in America.
''Newsweek''. 16 May 2005. Accessed 10 December 2005. #
"'Red & Green Clothing Ban' False Rumor"
PISD.edu. 12 December 2005. Accessed 25 December 2005. # Breen, Kim

. ''The Dallas Morning News''. 21 December 2005. Accessed 25 December 2005. # # # {{Authority control School districts in Collin County, Texas School districts in Dallas

Independent School District An independent school district (ISD) is a type of school district in some US states for primary and secondary education that operates as an entity independent and separate from any municipality or county, and only under the oversight of the res ...

1891 establishments in Texas School districts established in 1891