Texas
School Districts - Region 4
Houston is the nation’s
fourth-largest city, and it continues to grow. Families who move into
the area come from a variety of backgrounds and have a variety of needs.
As the population of this region expands, public schools continue to
work to meet these needs through offering students the opportunity to
receive a quality education.
About Region 4
Region 4 includes the public schools in seven counties in and around the
Houston area. This large region contains 54 school districts with a
total of 1,294 campuses. Of these, 750 are elementary schools, 203 are
middle schools, 49 are junior high schools, 143 are high schools, and 25
are elementary through secondary schools. The rest are alternative
school campuses. The 54 school districts vary by size, although most
have between 5,000 and 10,000 students. The smallest three districts
have less than 500 students each, and the largest five have over 50,000
apiece. Region 4 also has 48 state-approved charter schools.
Of the 20 state service centers that the Texas State Legislature
established in 1967, Region 4 has the most students. In fact, with a
population of 1,038,480, Region IV contains nearly 1/4 of the state’s
4,594,942 public school students. The school district also has more than
20,000 students in Charter Schools. The region as a whole has a 96%
attendance rate and a 1.1% dropout rate.
These students come from a number of diverse backgrounds. The overall
racial composition is 43% Hispanic, 29% Caucasian, 22% African American,
6% Asian, and 0.2% Native American, although these ratios vary widely
between school districts. About 75% of students from Region 4 come from
economically disadvantaged families, and 19% have limited English
proficiency.
Because of the diversity of Region 4’s student population, test scores
vary widely. The majority of students do pass the Texas Assessment of
Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), with 50% of students passing in the
lowest-performing grade and 76% in the highest. A number of students
also take college entrance exams, such as the ACT and the SAT. As of
2005, 31% of the total population of students in Region 4 scored at or
above passing level on college entrance exams. These numbers especially
vary by race, with 44% of white students, 9% of black students, and 14%
of Hispanic students making adequate scores for entrance into college.
Teaching in Region 4
Because of the vast amount of student need, Region 4 continues to seek
quality teachers who are willing to invest in the lives of their
students. More than 62,000 teachers currently serve in this area. For
more information about Region 4 Schools, check out the region’s website:
http://www.esc4.net. There you can find links to employment information
and job fairs.
Around 75% of teachers in Region 4 list a bachelor’s degree as their
highest earned degree, and opportunities are even available to those who
have earned a bachelor’s in a field other than education. A number of
alternative certification programs are available within various school
districts for those who wish to pursue teaching as a second career.
If you are interested in teaching in Region 4 or in any public or
private school district in the state of Texas but do not have a teaching
license, the Web-Centric Alternative Certification Program (WCACP) can
help you complete the necessary academic steps for certification. This
program, conducted entirely online, gives students the opportunity to
study at their own pace. This program is ideal for people who are
working full-time or raising a family because they do not have to return
to a traditional college or university setting. Students who can
dedicate a full-time effort, however, may finish the online program in
just a few months.
If you have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
and an overall 2.5 grade point average, you may be a candidate for
admission in the WCACP. For more information, including an online
application, please visit our
Texas Teacher Certification page.
Aldine School District |
Alief School District
|
Channelview ISD |
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
|
Fort Bend ISD
|
Goose Creek ISD
|
Houston ISD |
Humble ISD |
Katy ISD
|
Pearland ISD |
Sheldon ISD |
Spring Branch ISD |
Spring ISD |
Tomball ISD
|
