Committee to look at Frisco ISD small schools model
Frisco ISD may be contemplating a larger school model in favor of its current small school model.
As the population of Frisco continues to boom, so does the enrollment in its schools. But with 58,000 students in the district and the district operating with a tight budget, Frisco ISD is considering abandoning its current small-school model and will begin exploring the option of bigger schools.
FISD Deputy Superintendent of Business Services, Todd Fouche, recently announced a committee of community members is being created to gather consensus from the community on the matter.
We say all the time that people move here for the small-schools model,
— FISD Deputy Superintendent of Business Services Todd Fouche
“We say all the time that people move here for the small-schools model,” Fouche said in a Community Impact article. “This year, we’ll have close to 58,000 students this fall and we need to find out if this is what the community still wants. We need to look at our building program for what we are now, and not what we were 25 years ago.”
In addition to 15 applicants appointed to guaranteed spots by the board of trustees, there will also be 36-50 spots open for applications.
“This is a strategic plan for what our facilities will look like in the future,” Board Vice President Chad Rudy said in a Community Impact article. “This is a pretty exciting opportunity and hopefully we’ll have [many] people interested in this position.”
A move to bigger schools could mean larger classes.
“Size is important,” FISD parent John O’Brien said. “But [enrollment] should never exceed what the teachers can manage.”
I feel like in larger school environments you kind of lose that,
— Frisco ISD mom Jaime Heit
While larger schools may alleviate crowding in schools, it won’t help the increase of competition for students.
“More peers and academic competition in my classes will cause me to work harder and smarter,” sophomore Emily O’Brien said. “I [need to] get the best grades possible for me.”
For many families that move to north Texas, the smaller schools of Frisco are an appealing factor when deciding where to live as children are given more opportunities that they may not receive a bigger school.
“It was our number one priority,” FISD mom Jaime Heit said in NBC 5 news story. “All these things that kind of give them the opportunity to be leaders and feel comfortable among their peers that I feel like in larger school environments you kind of lose that.”
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