North Houston and Spring students will have two new opportunities to choose their school programs for the 2016 school year. Charter school operator ResponsiveEd will open the two new charter schools on Walters Road just north of the Sam Houston Tollway in August.
One will be Fallbrook Academy, a K-8 college preparatory school. ResponsiveEd plans to grow it into a K-12, adding a high school grade each year.
The other will be Premier High School of North Houston, designed to serve 9-12 grade students who want to accelerate their academic program or catch up on missing credits.
Anthony Edwards, ResponsiveEd’s VP of School Activations, says the charter operator is launching both schools because parents wanted more school options in the area.
“Every year parents and community leaders contact us about starting a school in their area. In this situation, we were able to find a great facility at Fallbrook Church and parents who really wanted a local choice. We’ve been ready to expand in North Houston for two years, and everything came together at the right time with both locations,” he said.
ResponsiveEd currently operates 10 charter schools in the greater Houston area, including two iSchool Highs in North Houston and The Woodlands in partnership with Lone Star College. Both are rigorous early high school programs where students can earn up to 60 hours of college credit before graduating from high school.
Mr. Edwards believes the addition of the two new schools creates a strong range of choices for North Houston parents.
“Our different models, from classical to credit recovery to early college high schools, give parents an important opportunity to find the right educational program for their children. Now we have something for everyone in North Houston,” he said.
Demetris White, the new school director, is moving from ResponsiveEd’s Vista Academy of Humble to launch Fallbrook Academy.
“Our team is really looking forward to opening the school. We see so much potential in the students in this community. There’s a real eagerness to learn, and we can’t wait to begin serving them and their families,” she said.
Already Mrs. White is spending her afternoons at the Fallbrook campus getting to know families in the area and putting a team together.
Alexis Delgado has been appointed to be the new director for Premier High School of North Houston. She is currently on staff at iSchool High University Park and brings a deep knowledge of mastery-based learning systems to her new school.
“One of the unique features of both the iSchool and Premier programs is that students who aren’t taking college classes will work through our knowledge units. They can move at an accelerated pace, slowing down or speeding up to complete units as they are ready,” Ms. Delgado said.
Once students demonstrate that they have mastered the content by completing enough units, they advance through the curriculum to earn their high school credits.
Premier’s innovative program has helped more than 11,000 students earn their high school diplomas since 1999.
Both schools are accepting applications on their website.
