The Waller Independent School District, established in 1887, encompasses 328 square miles in Northwest Harris and Waller Counties. The District serves the communities of Hockley, Prairie View and Waller. In April 1989 the district was revisited by an accreditation team from the Texas Education Agency and maintained full accreditation as a result of the visit.

The district provides an excellent education for Pre-K through twelfth grade, as well as adult education programs, vocational programs and special education for preschool and school age children. Sixty percent of the Waller students are college bound. The district provides a variety of educational opportunities and involvement for the entire community. Waller ISD has a visionary plan for technology. Each school is networked to every classroom. During the 1997-98 school year, a wide area network was added which gave every classroom a direct Internet connection.

PERSONNEL

Teachers - 251
Librarians - 6
Administrators - 25
TOTAL - 524
Nurses - 3
Counselors-  9

EMPLOYEES

Paraprofessionals - 102
Professional Support - 11
Auxiliary Employees - 117
District Enrollment - 3,870 (4A)
Student/Teacher Ratio - 15:1

For more information on the Waller Independent School District you can visit their web site at http://www.waller.isd.esc4.net.

A SCHOOL DISTRICT ON THE MOVE !

... exemplifies the attitude and the environment of the school. Enormous change and improvement ranging from academics to facilities characterize the key features of the Hempstead School District. The district is conservative in its approach to learning with a strong emphasis on basic skills, however, innovative and progressive methods of instruction and curriculum have produced powerful results in a short period of time. A great amount of enthusiasm and excitement exists at this time with the many positive changes which are occurring in the Hempstead Schools.

Encompassing 190 square miles, the Hempstead District has one elementary school (PK-5), one middle school (6-8), and one high school (9-12) and with the passage of a bond issue in 1996, the district has undertaken an aggressive building and renovation program. A new middle school was completed in the summer of 1997 and extensive renovations to the high school and elementary school were completed the following year. A new track facility was also completed in 1998 and current planning is underway for a new athletic stadium.

Student achievement is improving district wide as evidenced by rising TAAS scores for the past three years. Exit level test scores for 1996-1998 are not only reflective of this trend but are also indicative of Hempstead Independent School District's commitment to success.

LOCALE

Hempstead is a community of approximately 3,956 people located 50 miles west of Houston. The community has a friendly, small town atmosphere, yet all of the conveniences of a big city are just a short drive away. Nature has provided a beautiful landscape for the area that is particularly known for its abundance of wildflowers. An advantage to the school district is that Hempstead is still a town which supports local education with many of our students representing 2nd and 3rd generation families that have resided in Hempstead for many years. The diverse population of the community also offers rich cultural experiences for students and staff alike.

For more information on the Hempstead Independent School District you can visit their web site at http://www.hempstead.isd.esc4.net

The district was established by special election in January, 1959 when the citizens of the Brookshire and Pattison School Districts voted to consolidate. The newly combined district was known as the Pattison. Brookshire Consolidated Independent School District until February, 1960 when it was renamed the Royal Independent School District by the Board of Trustees.

Royal I.S.D. currently operates five separate schools on five separate campuses. These are the Early Childhood Center in Pattison, the Primary and Intermediate Schools in Brookshire, and the Middle and High Schools located halfway between the two communities on Durkin Rd.

Prairie View A&M University, one of the Nation's oldest historically Black universities, is dedicated to excellence in teaching, research and service. Although its primary mission is to serve Texas through high quality undergraduate, graduate, special/ continuing education and research programs, its service area extends to the Nation and the World. Prairie View A&M University is deeply committed to cultural diversity, equal opportunity, and to meeting the needs of a diverse society and the priorities of Texas. The University is a state assisted institution; a land.grant institution by federal statue; and a "state-wide special purpose" institution by legislative designation, serving a population with diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Prairie View A&M University is designated by the Texas Constitution as one of the three "institutions of the first class."

From its special purpose designation, the university derives much of its uniqueness in Texas higher education, particularly its special responsibility to educate and elevate historically by-passed and under-privileged people. Additionally, this special designation commits the University to high intellectual rigor, relevance to the community it serves, and the high educational standards needed to prepare graduates for careers in education, engineering, food and agricultural sciences, human sciences, humanities, nursing, science and mathematics, social sciences, social work, technology, and many other disciplines.

PVAMU is the largest employer in Waller County. The University's FY 1999 budget of $76 million has an overall economic impact on Waller and surrounding counties of over $190 million

Prairie View will generate local income of approximately $52 million in FY 1999- which is over twice the state appropriation of $26 million for the university.

Gifts, grants, and contracts represent $23 million for the university and have an economic impact of $75.5 million on the State of Texas.

PVAMU conducts a Cooperative Extension Program in 25 counties, from Lamar County in the north to Starr County in the Valley.

The 75th Texas Legislative, 1997, authorized the Center for the Study and Prevention of Juvenile Crime and Delinquency at PVAMU (Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center), the only one of its kind in the State.

PVAMU is ranked third in the nation for producing African-American students with computer science and math degrees and fourth for engineers, and is a leader in the number of black graduates admitted to medical school.

The College of Education has established the Prairie View A&M University Local Cooperative Education Center and charged it with advising the College in its efforts to restructure and strengthen its programs. The Advisory Board is composed of representatives from twenty-six school districts, two Education Services Center, and the business community.

Prairie View is ranked ninth in the state in research expenditures out of 34 publically supported colleges and universities in research expenditures.

For additional information about the University, please contact the Office of Research and Development at 409/857-2245 or visit their web site at http://www.pvamu.edu

Office of Institutional Development Prairie View A&M University
P.O. Box 4129
Prairie View, TX 77446
Phone:409/857-2245
Fax: 409/857-3806
E-mail: gloria-perez@pvamu.edu