Leander ISD continues on its journey in expanding its portfolio of school options and opportunities to our students and families. In coordination with the long-range facilities planning board committee, a cross-functional group of district and campus leaders met to research possible schools of choice for Leander ISD.

A School of Choice is a public school offering specialized educational opportunities that utilize a non-conventional approach, designed to meet the diverse needs and interests of students throughout the LISD community in order to:

  • Provide choice and equitable access for students
  • Optimize varied educational opportunities for all students
  • Maximize efficiency in the use of school facilities, transportation, and other capital and operational resources

The cross-functional group reviewed labor market information from the Texas Workforce Commission, Austin Chamber Job Posting Report and targeted occupation lists from both the “Capital” and “Rural Capital Area” Workforce Solutions reports. The data was reviewed for workforce trends including high wage, high demand jobs in the central Texas area. Based on the data reviewed seven possible schools of choice have been recommended. The next step will be bringing these recommendations to our community for review with the intent to narrow down the recommendations to the top three schools of choice.

A survey will be sent out to the Leander ISD community asking for feedback on possible school of choice options. The school of choice options include the following:

Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) High School 

The STEM High School would serve students in grades 9-12. It would provide opportunities for students in the areas of programming and software development, cybersecurity, networking and manufacturing.

Health Professions High School

The Health Professions High School would serve students in grades 9-12.  The school provides opportunities for students in the areas of Health Science and Biomedical Sciences.

School of Fine Arts 

The School of Fine Arts would serve students in grades K-8. The school would provide students with opportunities to take specialized fine arts classes. Potential courses include the following:

  • K-5: theater, voice/vocal performance, strings, dance, visual arts
  • 6-8: tech theater (costuming, lighting, tech design), dance (ballet, jazz, tap), strings, visual arts, music (choral), band, music theory, composition

Design School

The Design School will provide opportunities for students to problem solve while using the design thinking instructional model. This instructional model allows for students to learn content through a smaller learning community.

Educator  Academy

This school will service students from Early Childhood through grade 12. The school provides opportunities for students interested in the education field to attend a campus with mentoring and support opportunities.

Mastery Based Learning School 

The Mastery Based Learning School would serve students in grades K-5. The campus transcends grade level boundaries with individualized content and pacing tailored to each student.

School of Business 

The School of Business would serve students in grades 9-12. The school would  provide opportunities for students in the areas of accounting/finance, business management, marketing/sales and entrepreneurship. The school would offer a variety of World Languages.

Sample schools for each category can be found on the Schools of Choice web page. We encourage all community members to participate in the survey. The community survey on possible schools of choice will launch on Sept. 1.