The Rice School ( es, La Escuela Rice) is a

K-8 school K8 or K-8 may refer to: * K-8 (Kansas highway), two highways in Kansas, one in northern Kansas, one in southern Kansas * K-8 school, a type of school that includes kindergarten and grades one through eight * AMD K8, the internal designation for the ...

(the school serves grades

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

through 8) in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Rice is a part of the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

(HISD). The Rice School is an HISD

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

for a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), serving grades Kindergarten - 8th grade. The Rice School is a part of a collaboration between Houston ISD and

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

.History of The Rice School / La Escuela Rice
" ''The Rice School''. February 28, 2007. Retrieved on September 8, 2009. Students living near Rice are not zoned to Rice, as Rice is an all-magnet school. Individuals living near Rice are zoned to either

Twain Twain may refer to: People * Mark Twain, pen name of American writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910) * Norman Twain (1930–2016), American film producer * Shania Twain (born 1965), Canadian singer-songwriter Places * Twain, California, a ...

or Roberts elementary schools and Pershing Middle School. The Rice School is located east of the

Braeswood Place Braeswood Place is a group of subdivisions in Harris County, Texas, United States. The vast majority of the land is in Houston while a small part is in Southside Place. Braeswood Place is a mainly single-family neighborhood inside the 610 Loop, ...

neighborhood. It is across from the City of

West University Place West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the city was 14,955. ...

Sewage Plant and Animal Pound, which itself is located in the Houston city limits. The school was named after

William Marsh Rice William Marsh Rice (March 14, 1816 – September 23, 1900) was an American businessman who bequeathed his fortune to found Rice University in Houston, Texas. Rice was murdered by his valet Charles F. Jones while sleeping. The murder was pa ...

, the founder of

.School Histories: the Stories Behind the Names
." ''

''. Accessed September 24, 2008.

History

Planning

Joan Raymond, then the superintendent of HISD, envisioned The Rice School as a way to relieve overcrowding at

West University Elementary School This list includes Houston Independent School District schools that only house the elementary school level. For other schools (including K-8 schools which were previously elementary only), see List of Houston Independent School ...

, to stem the decrease of

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

and affluent students, and to gap the performance division between affluent White students and low income minority students.Fleck, Tim. "What Went Wrong at the Rice School?." ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

''. August 21, 1997
1Archive
. Retrieved on September 8, 2009. The Rice School was originally planned as a regular zoned school with an attendance boundary. In 1989, as "Operation Renewal," a school construction program, progressed, Raymond thought about how to lure West University Elementary School-zoned parents away from West University Elementary; she decided that a partnership with

would allow this to happen. Rice's education department had no experience teaching younger students, so the laboratory school was made into a K-8. Tim Fleck of the ''

'' stated that the Rice University label "sold like

Lacoste Lacoste S.A. is a French company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur Mangkha. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The company can be recognised by its g ...

."Fleck, Tim. "What Went Wrong at the Rice School?." ''

''. August 21, 1997
3Archive
. Retrieved on September 8, 2009. The district planned to find a site for the school; plans to put the school on Brompton Road failed, and an attempt to buy land at Bissonnet Street at Newcastle Drive in the City of Bellaire failed since City of Bellaire officials and parents living in Bellaire complained when they learned that they would not be zoned to the new school while losing what Fleck described as "a prime chunk of taxable property." Raymond settled on a site on North Braeswood Drive, fulfilling what Fleck described as "minimal expectations." The concept was sold to the school board. Don McAdams, an HISD school board member who had supported the development of the Rice School from the time of conception to the approval by the school board, said that the board members wanted concessions specific to their districts, and the school's racial quotas were devised so that the school served the entire school district to satisfy the demands.Fleck, Tim. "What Went Wrong at the Rice School?." ''

''. August 21, 1997
4Archive
. Retrieved on September 8, 2009. Fleck said that The Rice School's concept "mushroomed into an incredibly complex educational experiment that aspired to be all things to all parties with an interest in its success." The intention was to attract students from the

area by the promotion of the school's ties to Rice University, the presence of, in Fleck's words, "more computers than a

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

," and the grouping of classes into clusters; in the clusters students would progress at their own rates and tutor one another. Residents of lower income

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

neighborhoods were to be attracted to Rice as a way to have their children avoid neighborhood schools with violent incidents. Rice University was to benefit from additional ties to the Houston community and having educational theories demonstrated in practice. According to McAdams, many people, especially West University Place residents, believed that the school would have selected gifted and talented admissions because of the association with Rice University.McAdams, p
51
In 1997 McAdams retrospectively said "there were high expectations -- admittedly unreasonable expectations."

Opening

The school opened on August 1994. Kaye Stripling was the first principal. Circa January 1995 Stripling left her position as she received a promotion, and Sharon Koonce, previously at Oak Forest Elementary, replaced her. About 1,280 students from Kindergarten through 6th grade were enrolled when the school opened. Over 7,169 students applied for 1,275 slots, and half of the students previously attended overcrowded schools in the West University Place area. Fewer than 15 students who were offered admission declined the offer. Many teachers at Rice came from other Houston ISD schools. The elementary school grades had about 50%

White Americans White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...

, and 25% each

Hispanic Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify a ...

and Black Americans. The middle school grades had about 33% each of White, Black, and Hispanic students. Of all Rice students, 11% were Asian Americans. The students lived all across the City of Houston. Initially the school organized students from Kindergarten through 2nd grade into one cluster, 3rd through 5th grades in another cluster, and the middle school grades in another cluster.HOUSTON - A school on Seuss Street would have to
" ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

'' at the '' San Antonio Express-News''. August 31, 1994. 4B. According to McAdams, many parties felt unsatisfied by the outcome of the student placement lottery. Eight student placements per grade level were reserved for dependents of

employees. McAdams wrote that this caused controversy. McAdams stated that because students not previously enrolled in HISD were allowed to enter into the Rice lottery if they were entering Kindergarten or the 6th grade, area private school parents were unsatisfied. In addition, he stated that "Parents in an older, affluent community" immediately to the school's east had no dedicated entry into the lottery system so they were also unsatisfied. Furthermore he stated that principals of area schools perceived the Rice School to receiving extra resources, making them unsatisfied. Also, according to McAdams, Rice was taking more students from nearby area neighborhood schools than anticipated had angered leaders of those schools. McAdams added that "there were charges that the lottery was fixed and so-and-so got in because of backroom influence." In 1994 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 i ...

'' said that Rice, "with its distinctive architecture and its progressive curriculum -- promises to be a kind of flagship school for a district hoping to replicate many of its already apparent successes."Markley, Melanie.
School of the future opens/Expectations soar for unique Rice-HISD partnership
" ''

''. August 23, 1994. A13. Retrieved on February 1, 2012. Available from the

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 1 ...

websit
newspapers section
accessible with an HPL library card and its PIN. McAdams wrote that the controversies over placements dissipated after the school opened.

Decline in the 1990s

By 1997 not very many of the teachers who were at the school during its start had remained. Many affluent parents had stopped sending their children to The Rice School, saying that the "integrated" freeform curriculum neglected basic mathematics and reading skills. In August 1997, 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.

ranked The Rice School as the sole "Low Performing" school within the Houston Independent School District. Fleck stated that the statistic was "somewhat misleading" since it measured the performances of economically disadvantaged pupils in the

Texas Assessment of Academic Skills The TAAS, or Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, was the third standardized test used in Texas between 1991 and 2002, when it was replaced by the TAKS test from 2003 to 2013. It was used from grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Passing the Grade 11 level ...

(TAAS); Fleck said that the ranking was "a major embarrassment for the school district and served to underscore the gap between the children of affluent white parents and minority students that the Rice School was designed to bridge." McAdams wrote that the divide in terms of class and neighborhood origins between the White affluent parents and the low income Black and Hispanic parents were more significant than the differences in ethnicity, and the differences contributed to the decline of the school.McAdams, p
53
In June 1997 Koonce was removed as principal, and Sandra Satterwhite took her position at that time. According to Fleck, "many Rice School parents turned against her because she had not found a way to enforce consistency on the quality of teaching at the school." At that time HISD replaced not only the principal but the entire management team. The district announced that the school was being moved to the alternative district, the HISD-wide district handling magnet schools.McAdams, p
52
In 1997 the district negotiated with

to strengthen the partnership. According to McAdams, HISD previously emphasized to Rice University that the Rice School was an HISD school and that the attitude damaged the relationship between the two entities.

2000s and 2010s

In the 2006-2007 school year, 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.

gave the school a "recognized" rating. In December 2007 Linda Lazenby, the principal of The Rice School said, as paraphrased by Jennifer Radcliffe of the ''

'' that "she's thrilled her 1,100-student campus can serve as the poster child of success for the K-8 model in Houston."Radcliffe, Jennifer.
HISD transitioning some campuses to K-8
" ''

''. December 31, 2007. Retrieved on April 9, 2013. In 2014 Rice had about 1,150 students, over the school's official capacity. As of 2015 it was being used to house excess students from Roberts, Twain, and West University elementary schools, which were all at capacity.Mellon, Ericka.
Enrollment caps at popular schools cause uncertainty for some parents
" ''

''. August 8, 2015. Retrieved on July 11, 2016.

Concept

The school opened with a partnership with

. Since its opening the school has dual language instruction; all students learn in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. When the school first opened, mathematics was used as a link to thread the curriculum throughout the various studies. The school had classes mixing multiple grades where students of different grades worked with one another. When the school opened it had the latest in computer technology. Classrooms were grouped in clusters, with each cluster having five classrooms. The school's full name, "The Rice School / La Escuela Rice," is bilingual. As of the 1994 opening, every sign within the school is in English and Spanish.

Facility

It is located on at the corner of Kirby Drive and North Braeswood Boulevard, with the campus west of Kirby Drive. When the school opened, the corner was wooded. The street leading into the school was named "Seuss Drive," after the children's literature author

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' Taft Architects designed the school building.The Rice School/La Escuela Rice
" Taft Architects. Retrieved on October 17, 2012. The construction cost was $11 million.Fleck, Tim. "What Went Wrong at the Rice School?." ''

''. August 21, 1997
2
Retrieved on September 8, 2009. This two story, building was designed to facilitate the school's learning cluster model. An interior skylit plaza connects various areas of the school's. The administration area and the teacher resource center are connected to one another. In 1997 Fleck wrote "In contrast to the rigidly institutionalized, boxed-in layout of most HISD schools, the Rice School is a marvel of light and space, projecting a sense of openness and possibility." Palm trees are located next to the school sidewalks. The school library is called a "Learning Arcade." Fleck stated that the library is the centerpiece of the building. The school walls have pastel colors. The school building has an official capacity of 1,056 students.

Admissions

When the school first opened, it had about 1,200 slots. To distribute the slots, the school used a racially balanced lottery that allocated about one thirds of the total slots to overflow students from

and two thirds of the total slots to other areas in the district, with priority for

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

and

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

students. In addition the 2/3 portion was weighted for gender. About 70 openings were reserved for children of

faculty and staff. There were no academic admission standards, leading the student body to initially include middle and low income African-Americans and Hispanics and wealthy Whites with varying ranges of ability. As of 2009 all Rice School students are admitted by magnet transfers.Announcements
" The Rice School. Retrieved on September 8, 2009.

Student body

Around 2009, the school typically has about 680 elementary school students and 470 middle school students. The students live throughout the school district, 90% of students go to and from school on school district-provided transportation. As of 2007, 90% of the students at Rice are racial and ethnic minorities (racial groups other than non-Hispanic white), and 60% are classified as low income students. In 2002 Jocelyn Mouton, the Rice School principal, said that the K-8 setup allows eight grades to learn responsibility by tending to younger children, while younger children admire older children. She added that the format allows children to learn from both elementary and middle school teachers at the same time, starting with the first year. For most of the school day, middle school students are separated from elementary school students. When middle schoolers interact with elementary schoolers, middle schoolers are placed in mentorship positions over elementary school students. When the school first opened in 1994, 50% of the students were White, 25% were Hispanic, and 25% were Black. At the time 72 children of

employees attended the school. In 1996 the students were about 37% White, 33% Black, 27% Hispanic, and 3% Asian.

School uniforms

Rice requires school uniforms for all of its students. The requirement has been in place since its founding.Markley, Melanie.
Dressing for success/More schools have pupils don uniforms
" ''

''. Saturday August 13, 1994. A29. Retrieved on September 8, 2009. According to Nancy Ross, a former Rice School parent quoted in the ''

'', originally the uniforms were to be white T-shirts and blue jeans. Ross said that, at social functions, she overheard wealthier parents express a preference for polo shirts and khakis similar to those worn by students of the St. John's School, a private school. Tim Fleck of the ''

'' said that this was an example of wealthier parents getting to "set the agenda" at Rice. The uniform, decided by parents and students, ultimately consisted of khaki trousers, shorts, and skirts and red, white, and blue polo shirts. The school's first fundraiser was a uniform assistance fund aimed at raising uniform money for 150 families. Tops consist of red, white, or navy shirts with the school insignia. Trousers, shorts, and skirts must be khaki.

References

* McAdams, Donald R. ''Fighting to Save Our Urban Schools-- and Winning!: Lessons from Houston''.

Teachers College Press Teachers College Press is the university press of Teachers College, Columbia University. Founded in 1904, Teachers College Press has published professional and classroom materials for over a century and currently publishes 70 titles per year. Hi ...

, 2000. , 9780807770351.

Notes

External links

The Rice School
** ** **
The Rice School PTO
*Storrow, Amy.

" (editorial) ''

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''. December 7, 1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rice School, The Houston Independent School District elementary schools Houston Independent School District middle schools Public K–8 schools in Houston Bilingual schools in Houston 1994 establishments in Texas Educational institutions established in 1994 University-affiliated schools in the United States Rice University Magnet schools in Houston