Upstairs hall to become Tomball Star Academy
December 13, 2016
With half of the upstairs hallway closed to students, the district is releasing details about its “campus within a campus” plan.
Next year, the hallway will be occupied by Early College High School classrooms for only 125 incoming freshmen.
The Tomball Star Academy, as it was named by the district’s Board of Trustees, is the new program established by Tomball ISD in cooperation with Lone Star College – Tomball. It will allow students – from Tomball Memorial, Tomball High School, and surrounding school districts – to get up to sixty college credits and an associate’s degree while in high school for free. They would be able to enter college as a junior.
“These are kids that focus on school and getting an associate degree,” said Dr. Martha Salazar-Zamora, the district’s chief academic officer.
Even though it will be located in the THS upstairs hallway, the new Academy will function as a separate campus. “They will primarily be upstairs, except in a few rare occasions,” Salazar-Zamora said.
Rather than being able to join UIL high school activities, such as sports, students enrolled in the Tomball Star Academy will have access to LSC-exclusive benefits and will be able to decide which clubs, school dances and events they introduce to their high school experience.
“Their high school experience will be slightly different than a traditional high school. We haven’t really decided what types of organizations they are going to have. We want them to be a part of it,” Salazar-Zamora said.
Another difference is that Academy students will each receive an electronic device, as the school is designed to be a one-on-one technology campus.
Application forms are available at tomballisd.net. All applicants will have to go through an extensive admission process that will include a 7th grade STAAR test grade revision, an interview, an on-site written essay, grades in CORE subjects (English, science, math, and social studies), attendance, and conduct.
“Students don’t necessarily have to be in the top ten percent or National Junior Honor Society, but they have to be capable of taking rigorous coursework, and do well in a Dual-Credit environment,” Salazar-Zamora said.
Because the program will only be open to current 8th graders who are accepted, the Academy is considered a limited open enrollment program. According to Salazar-Zamora, once accepted, students will be able to drop out of the Academy and enter regular high school, but their spot will not be filled by another candidate after that.
The Academy was initially proposed to reduce the influx of students at Tomball Memorial while taking advantage of the unused space at THS.
“Because of growth on the other side our community, we have a lot of kids at Tomball Memorial, and not as many in the building at Tomball High School, and that building really has space for many more students,” she said. “Even after moving classes from the upstairs hallway, there is still quite a bit of excess space in the school.”
