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Growing Population First Concern For Klein


mrfootball

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Nearly 40,000 students will be attending Klein school district this year and Superintendent James Cain expects that number to increase to 65,000 before district growth peaks.

"Student growth in Klein shows that parents find the district a good place for raising families," Cain said. "One sees the creation of new subdivisions across the entire district, with the most extensive growth occurring in the northern part."

The district's focus this year will be on accommodating its student population.

Klein is opening two campuses, including an alternative high school.

Cain said he's pleased with the district's academic performance up to now, as measured by student results on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests.

"From the preliminary TAKS results, we ascertain that on 19 out of 20 tests in reading, mathematics, writing and science, our student scores increased. Our social studies scores experienced a slight drop, which mirrored a drop in social studies scores throughout the state."

But Cain said he sees room for improvement.

"We will not be satisfied until each student passes TAKS at the commended level and each school achieves exemplary status," he said.

In some cases, the district embraces a less traditional approach to teaching.

Klein Forest High School will use some of the space provided by its new building addition this spring semester to accommodate small learning communities known as a "school within a school."

"This arrangement allows the staff to focus on a group of students that become a 'family' by staying together for a longer period of time than in the traditional setting," Cain said.

"Because the group of teachers with each community works together regularly, they are able to address the links students make to the curriculum in each subject."

Klein also will take a unique approach to teaching at the new Vistas High School Program, 12250 Bammel North Houston.

"It is a program that will assist students who have not been successful in traditional education," Director Peggy Ekster said.

The program will have small classes that emphasize current events and technology to help students see how their curriculum fits into everyday life.

Vistas will be the first site to open with one-to-one student computing, one technology device per student Cain said. Vistas students will have laptops.

Eventually, the district plans to expand that approach throughout the district, beginning with Krimmel Intermediate School, which will open near FM 2920 and Alvin A. Klein Drive in 2007.

Another new model for Klein, Benignus Elementary School, is opening this year at 7225 Alvin A. Klein Drive in the Windrose subdivision.

"The unique aspect about Benignus Elementary School is its physical plan a school created to reflect the instructional priorities of our district in its design," Cain said.

The building features art and science labs, special use classrooms, a special interest library area and an amphitheater.

"We're so excited; we love our school," Principal Misty Kainer said.

"I believe students, teachers and parents will appreciate this facility's arrangement," Cain said. "We will duplicate the plan in our next elementary school, Frank Elementary, to be opened in the fall of 2007 in the Gleannloch Farms subdivision."

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Klein needs to do something. Maybe adjust their high school boundaries for starts? Klein Forest has been given a horrible reputation (albiet from snobs) and has done a wonderful job of pulling down property values in Greenwood Forest, Woods of Wimbledon and a slice of Huntwick. Hope they don't come knocking on my door the next time they want more of my tax dollars. It's a bitter subject in Greenwood Forest mainly because it pulls in the neighborhoods south of Bammel-North Houston. However, the other Klein High Schools are academically not any better off, all scoring acceptable. Klein and Spring should start listening to the homeowner's if they want to keep their bread buttered.

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I don't think KF has been given a bad reputation from 'snobs'. The kids themselves talk badly about it. My babysitter remarks about being scared to walk around there and not wanting to go to certain places by herself. I feel bad for her. No child should feel threatened in school.

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I don't think KF has been given a bad reputation from 'snobs'. The kids themselves talk badly about it. My babysitter remarks about being scared to walk around there and not wanting to go to certain places by herself. I feel bad for her. No child should feel threatened in school.

What is she scared of? What places is she referring to? If she is so afraid has she talked to her parents, have they talked to the district? Have you mentioned this to her parents (maybe she doesn't communicate at home)? I have been trying in vain to figure out what the underlying problem with the school is? I am questioning if the school is so bad what are the parents doing about it? Why is there no pressure on KISD to address the problem if there is one? I personally would vote no on any new Bonds for KISD until they address these issues, as a taxpayer with children in school I would be concerned if there is a problem (I'm trying to ascertain what that problem is since no one seems to be able to provide an answer). I live in the area assigned to KF and have heard only good things from the families with children attending the school, the only negatives that I have heard have been from those living outside KF boundaries. Our biggest complaint seems to be the pulling in of the area south of Bammel-North Houston, if that is the problem (a complaint in Greenwood Forest) then the district needs to work on it.

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I drive down Bammel N. Houston everyday on my way to work, typically around the time school lets out at KF. The students all seem to look really depressed, but then I would be too if I lived on Bammel N. Houston. It's an ugly road.

MrFootball- why are you so concerned about Klein's growing population when you live in Cypress? And FYI, HAIF doesn't like us to post entire texts of sources. Just post the link only.

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Okay, so I'm trying to figure this out on my own. Forgive me as my ability to link stuff sucks. But there is a link from the 2004 Klein bond election online. Apparently those in my neighborhood (KF attendance zone) were the ones that fought against the bonds the most, feeling that it would not help the neighborhood or the school. I'm not seeing alot of 'white flight' from the neighborhood...yet. But if Greenwood Forest goes, so will Woods of Wimbledon, Huntwick, Champions, etc. Again, I think Klein needs to do some serious PR work in the area around Klein Forest if it wants to keep it's taxpayers happy. Let me see if I can link it here.

http://www.kleinisd.net/docs/postsum.pdf

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Klein would do well to rezone Greenwood Forest, W of W, and part of Huntwick back to Klein HS.

As one of the original residents of Greenwood Forest (early 1970's), I hate to see it get pulled down by those new areas to the South. Greenwood Forest was one of the first neighbhorhoods in the Champions area, it was here decades before they started building the crap on the other side of Bourgeois & Bammel N. Houston. The kids from these new areas on the South side of FM 1960 are pretty rough like you would find in other parts of town, I imagine its pretty tough for kids who want to get a good education. They shouldn't have to put up with that kind of distraction. Besides, that school is overcrowded as it is. Klein ISD would do well to address this by rezoning these neighbhorhoods.

PS - if you look at a map of Klein ISD, you'll notice how strangely its drawn.

locatmap.jpg

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PureAuteur had the most reasonable idea in his comment for redistricting the high school in the forum topic "naming our community" which of course ended up going awry (with help by me). Something will eventually need to be done with the Klein Forest issue (and Spring ISD with Westfield). The situation and concern over the schools should be a concern of all Klein residents...what may not be in your backyard today might be there tomorrow :o

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Unfortunately, even though PA's idea sounded good, I don't think you'll see one school district swapping land with another (ie. Spring with Klein, etc). As much as that sounds like a good idea, I just don't see it happening. More likely that one school district simply re-draws its attendance map. In this case, Klein, has exploded in growth on the South side of the district, with Klein Forest being more crowded than the other schools in the district. The obvious solution to relieve this overcrowding is to take the kids in the Northern part of KFHS's zone and send them to KHS.

Westfield's situation would've been remedied had they opened Dekaney HS back in 1996.

Again, most of their (Klein ISD) problems arise from a preponderance of large apartment and low income housing in the far South end (panhandle) of that school zone. The rest of the district (North of FM 1960) is getting to the point where it is built-out, mostly with single family homes, so that in and of itself provides a buffer. The KISD Post Bond Survey corroborates this. Klein's situation isn't really too bad.

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MrFootball, so you'd rather take the neighborhoods like Greenwood Forest out of KF zone, thus making KF a completely ghetto-looking school? If this happened, there would be virtually no parental involvement in the school, and it would go down the drain, but it would STILL be in KISD. That would hurt the school district overall. If they take the upper income out of KF, then they need to give KF to HISD or Aldine ISD. If Klein wants to keep the school, they need to make sure there is at least 50% single family homes in established neighborhoods where the parents will care about the school and volunteer. My proposal is better, because it would simply involve shrinking Klein's boundaries (note the funky looking map in a previous post), getting KF more balanced, and not sending more kids to Klein H.S. which would create overcrowding and cause need for another H.S.

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KF is already ghetto looking. Might as well save the taxpayers who've pumped money into that district for decades. Those are the ones who are upset. They've got an overcrowded school to deal with as well.

Why would it go down the drain? Its still a nice facility in a good school district. Its not like its HISD.

As for your statement about the burden of parental involvement being taken up only by those in the upper income neighborhoods, I think that speaks for itself answering a great many questions about the concerns of homeowners about changing demographics in their schools. Why should they be expected to have to carry the load for everyone else?

My proposal is better, because it would simply involve shrinking Klein's boundaries (note the funky looking map in a previous post), getting KF more balanced, and not sending more kids to Klein H.S. which would create overcrowding and cause need for another H.S.

I would imagine the people in the area 'to be shrunk' might have something to say about that. While I think that would help alleviate the problem in KISD and would be a good thing for the 1960 area in general, I don't think its likely to ever happen. I'm not sure there's even a precedent for this type of thing.

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Of course there is. School districts change boundaries all the time. Seriously, they could make much of Bammel N. Houston zoned to Aldine I.S.D., then take neighborhoods that are already zoned to KISD to begin with, and move them out of Klein and into KF. Then move some of Klein Collins into Klein before it begins to get overcrowded. I don't even live in this area, but I think this will work for everyone who is complaining about that school.

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I would agree. But I'm not sure about school districts changing boundaries all the time...or even some of the time. Can anyone cite examples of this sort of thing? I would think there would also have to be some sort of give & take with regards to tax base.

Here's a deal that would make everybody happy on 1960...Spring ISD gives Olde Oaks, Northgate, Ponderosa, etc to Klein ISD, and in turn, Klein gives Spring ISD the southern panhandle? Fair trade?

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I would agree. But I'm not sure about school districts changing boundaries all the time...or even some of the time. Can anyone cite examples of this sort of thing? I would think there would also have to be some sort of give & take with regards to tax base.

Here's a deal that would make everybody happy on 1960...Spring ISD gives Olde Oaks, Northgate, Ponderosa, etc to Klein ISD, and in turn, Klein gives Spring ISD the southern panhandle? Fair trade?

Well...not exactly. Again, it sounds more elitest than anything else. As a resident of Greenwood Forest which is still very nice, I don't like the idea of segregating based on social, economics or race. By putting Greenwood Forest, Ponderosa Forest, Olde Oaks, etc., into a particular school and putting the "lesser" neighborhoods over to say Westfield, really doesn't make alot of sense (in fact it would probably make the 10:00 news) it would appear racially motivated and this should not be about race or class, but the education of our future.

There is however a concern in my neighborhood as well as in subdivisions such as Ponderosa Forest. The districts should be concerned with the desires of the homeowners in it's tax jurisdictions, as you could see by the 2004 bond election those of us in the south part of the district felt the district undeserving of additional monies. I think by re-drawing the boundaries more appropriately it would make more sense. Taking the area south of Bammel-North Houston and redistricting makes far better sense that moving all the kids in the "upper end" neighborhoods to different schools based on class. The Klein map makes no sense south of Bammel-North Houston.

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Greenwood is still very nice, as is Ponderosa, as is Olde Oaks and of course Northgate. They still look like great neighborhoods, because they are still great neighborhoods with beautiful homes, nice yards, and big trees. Greenwood is located right in the heart of where upscale shopping is in the Champions area. That's a great center there on either side of 1960 and Champion Forest Dr.

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Greenwood is still very nice, as is Ponderosa, as is Olde Oaks. They still look like great neighborhoods, because they are still great neighborhoods with beautiful homes, nice yards, and big trees. Greenwood is located right in the heart of where upscale shopping is in the Champions area. That's a great center there on either side of 1960 and Champion Forest Dr.

It is and I'm glad you moved the topic away from the schools, probably better to let this play out at district meetings and bond elections... maybe then they will get the point. :D

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Kickerillo developed Greenwood, Ponderosa, Huntwick and Olde Oaks. These neighborhoods bear a strong resemblence to his developments in the West Memorial area Wilchester, Nottingham Forest, etc. They're nicely wooded on relatively large lots. Overall, they've been maintained well, upgraded throughout the years and have nice character.

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One intersection in the KF boundary in particular seems to have been rotting away economically. It's in a great location, maybe 1 mile from 1960 and the Champions area, yet when you drive through there it looks like a third world country. I'm talking about Veterans Memorial @ Bammel N. Houston. Since I drive through it every day to get to work I can notice the changes as they happen.

A gas station has closed, some shops in the strip center have closed, the Mexican Restaurant has closed, and some other car shop I believe closed down. It just looks dead now. I'm thinking it has something to do with the huge apartment complex at that intersection, which based on my observations, seems to be housing nothing but illegal aliens. There is a run down gas station next to it which, on its front sign says "check cashing" and "payroll" on it. Then next door there is a washateria, and some other necessity store for the people in that complex, plus you have a Kroger right across the street. Everything within walking distance. It's basically a pocket community that in no way resembles the area that it's in.

Another thing I wanted to mention about 1960 around Torrey Chase is that they just cleared a huge plot of land right on 1960 and cut down every single tree! Didn't even leave a buffer! Those were quality trees too. People are so stupid to think that cutting down the trees is cheaper for building, while the whole time it makes their property worth less. I am going to find out who the developer/property owner is and send them a nasty letter.

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Kickerillo developed Greenwood, Ponderosa, Huntwick and Ponderosa. These neighborhoods bear a strong resemblence to his developments in the West Memorial area Wilchester, Nottingham Forest, etc. Overall, they've been maintained well, upgraded throughout the years and have nice character.

Yes, indeed Kickerillo did Greenwood Forest, Ponderosa Forest, Olde Oaks (other builders worked these subdivisions as well such as Don Hand, Barcelona and others). Huntwick was however started by a different builder, although there may be a Kickerillo or two in there. Kickerillo's website lists the subdivisions they did, check it out sometime. You can spot an older Kickerillo pretty easily in Greenwood, my street Theall is loaded with them as are Havenwoods and Foresthaven. Very 70's glam some with the sweeping staircases (mine is one), I was invited into one in Ponderosa Forest last year by an original owner. It was 70's all the way...shag carpeting, marble EVERYWHERE, huge over the top draperies, statues, swag lighting, it had never been molested or updated...I was blown away by the odd beauty of it and the eerie mausoleum feeling, it was over 5,000 square feet of 1970's excess. In it's day it was one killer pad. There are some treasures in this area from back in the day.

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  • 2 weeks later...
As one of the original residents of Greenwood Forest (early 1970's), I hate to see it get pulled down by those new areas to the South. Greenwood Forest was one of the first neighbhorhoods in the Champions area, it was here decades before they started building the crap on the other side of Bourgeois & Bammel N. Houston. The kids from these new areas on the South side of FM 1960 are pretty rough like you would find in other parts of town, I imagine its pretty tough for kids who want to get a good education. They shouldn't have to put up with that kind of distraction. Besides, that school is overcrowded as it is. Klein ISD would do well to address this by rezoning these neighbhorhoods.

All I can say is...welcome to the damn Real World. Not everything will be all rich and dandy like you want, but you can still be successful anywhere you want.

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It's the real world my friend. I may still be in high school, but I'm smart enough to know that the world is not like Champions. There are going to be people that distract you and are an inconvience to you. The answer, deal with it because it won't go away.

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It's the real world my friend. I may still be in high school, but I'm smart enough to know that the world is not like Champions. There are going to be people that distract you and are an inconvience to you. The answer, deal with it because it won't go away.

HEY, dont pick on Champions, its my hood ;)

As far as the complaining about the schools being ghetto or falling by the wayside because kids from the lower end of the economic scale are attending them, thats garbage. If people in these areas are so concerned about the schools going down hill, send the kids to private schools. My guess is, some of the complainers about kids from a lower tax bracket are themselves living pay check to pay check and are drowning in debt. Take a stroll through some of the areas above that are mentioned and look at the for sale signs and look at the number of foreclosures and you will get my point. Many of the people with thier homes up for sale have lived in them for less than 5 years. Amazing ;)

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Many of the people with their homes up for sale have lived in them for less than 5 years. Amazing

That's America for you. Too many people getting into these variable rate mortgages which allowed them to get into houses they can't afford. Now those variable rates are shooting up and foreclosures nationwide are going to go through the roof over the next few months.

BTW, how's football going Trae? Two-a-days still going on?

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  • 5 years later...

My two cents in a old thread

I have seen all of Klein ISD's High schools inside and out

Here are my findings

Klein Oak High School:---- New addition in 2010, very dated inside, and poorly maintained Outside it has the nicest campus of the 4 schools Enrollment as of 2011- 2012 is 4100 The Enrollment for the 2006-2007 was 2900

Klein Forest High School----New addition in 2007 and 2011(athletic), wonderfully maintained. and I should mention that the inside of the school feet very modern looking. It looked like the school was around 10-20 years old. But it is 33 years old. Outside It has the third most prettiest campus in the District Enrollment as of 2011-2012 is 3600 Enrollment in 2006-2007 was 3400

Klein Collins High School --Built in 2001 New addition in 2010. Very modern inside. Poorly maintained ex. Ceiling tiles missing latches missing on restroom stall doors It has the 2nd most beautiful(tie) campus in Klein ISD. The Enrollment as of 2011-2012 is 3400 The enrollment for 2006-2007 was 3000

Klein High School original building built in 1963 (now demoed) most buildings were built around the 70's with the exception of the Pavilion(1992), Choir Building (1998), Fine Arts Building(1998), and multipurpose Building (2nd floor of the KISD Athletic Building)(2010) Very Dated in older sections Very Modern in newer sections Poorly Maintained in the entire campus Outside it has the worst campus in the District (construction not considered) even though it is a multibuilding campus The enrollment as of 2011-2012 is 2700. The enrollment for 2006-2007 was 3500

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