Kendleton Independent School District was a public

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

based in Powell Point,

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Fort Bend County Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. Th ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

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, north of the city of Kendleton. The district served Kendleton and Powell Point. Powell Point is among the oldest historically black schools in the state. Powell Point School is now being served as a Alternative School for students that has been expelled or Removed from LCISD Alternative Learning Center (ALC) In 2009, the school district was rated " academically unacceptable" by the

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

(TEA). The district closed in 2010, and its area was taken by the

Lamar Consolidated Independent School District Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, also Lamar Consolidated ISD, Lamar CISD or LCISD, is a public school district in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Metropolitan Area. Lamar CISD includes almo ...

(LCISD). The district had one school, Powell Point , which served students in grades pre-kindergarten through six. At the time of closure students already were assigned to LCISD for middle and high school grades.

History

In 1890 Common School District No. 4 opened on the original land grant of Elizabeth Powell, consisting of three area schools built by local African Methodist Episcopal churches. The district was all African-American. In 1903 Tellie B. Mitchell, a Kendleton native who graduated from

Wiley College Wiley College is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the oldest predominantly black col ...

, returned to Kendleton and opened the Powell Point School, a two-room schoolhouse. In 1923 Mitchell persuaded the Rosenwald Foundation into funding the construction of a new school facility with six classrooms, an auditorium, and a library. Mitchell was the principal of the school until 1954.School
"
Archive.is Cache
City of Kendleton. Retrieved on July 23, 2011. The text was taken from the State of Texas historical marker at the site. Beginning in 1985, secondary school students (grades 7-12) from Kendleton ISD attended campuses in the neighboring

. In 1995 the

Texas Historical Commission The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas. The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic L ...

established a historical marker at the school site. By that year Powell Point School became an elementary school.

Academic performance and closure

In the early 1990s the State of Texas forced the members of the school board of Kendleton ISD out of their positions. In 1993 the state warned the district that it could lose its accreditation, and also be merged into another school district, within two years. In 1994, the district was operating by itself and had gained a "favorable" rating from the

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

(TEA); it had been doing so for the first time in 12 years. Kendleton ISD received the state's lowest accountability rating of " Academically Unacceptable" in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The TEA warned that significant improvements were required to prevent state intervention and closure of the district. After receiving an "Academically Unacceptable" rating for a fifth consecutive year in 2009, the TEA announced on March 10, 2010 that it had revoked the accreditation of Kendleton ISD due to continued substandard academic performance. After receiving

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

approval in May 2010, the district was annexed into the

and ceased operations effective July 1, 2010.

Operations

Circa 1995 the annual cost per student incurred by the district was $9,237; around that time the average per-student cost in Houston-area school districts was $4,000-$5,000. In 1996 Melanie Markley of the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'' wrote that the cost was relatively high due to the small enrollment numbers, as having few students reduces the cost-effectiveness of educating them.

References

External links

*
Map of Fort Bend County showing area school districts prior to KISD consolidation
-

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

Web version
* - Shows Kendleton ISD within Fort Bend County. {{Authority control School districts in Fort Bend County, Texas Former school districts in Texas 2010 disestablishments in Texas School districts disestablished in 2010 1890 establishments in Texas School districts established in 1890

History

Academic performance and closure

Operations

See also

References

External links