Galveston Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Galveston, Texas, United States.

The Texas Education Agency rated the school district with a grade of B in 2026.

Catchment area

Galveston ISD takes students from the cities of Galveston and Jamaica Beach. Galveston ISD also serves unincorporated areas of Galveston County,"SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Galveston County, TX." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 4, 2015. including the communities of Port Bolivar"schools." Galveston Independent School District. April 22, 2001. Retrieved on January 5, 2015. "Bolivar School Madison Avenue Pt. Bolivar, TX " and Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula. ()

GISD uses a "freedom of choice" model in which a student may seek to attend any school in the district if the school has a seat for the given student. The district only provides school bus transportation on the Bolivar Peninsula for the Crenshaw K-8 School. For the campuses in Galveston, the district will provide transportation to any part of GISD. In previous eras Galveston ISD house or residential area was assigned to an elementary school and a middle school. In Port Bolivar, the houses and residential areas are zoned to a K-8 center. All high school students in Galveston ISD were zoned to attend Ball High School."attendance zones" (). Galveston Independent School District. January 5, 2015. "GISD students residing on the Bolivar Peninsula attend Bolivar School for grades K-8 and Ball High School for grades 9–12."

Galveston College serves the catchment area of Galveston ISD.Texas Education Code, Section 130.179, "Galveston College District Service Area ".

History

In 1881, the citizens of Galveston, authorized by the Legislative Act 1879 which specified that all cities of a certain size could initiate and maintain their own school system, organized a public school district and elected a board of trustees. Some 20 teachers were employed to teach students in grades one through seven. Prior to this time, all education in Galveston was private or parochial.

In the summer of 1883, a local dry goods businessman, George Ball, offered to finance the construction of new schools. Ball's offer was accepted, and the cornerstone for what would become Ball High School was laid on February 15, 1884. Ball died on March 11, 1884, without seeing his gift completed. Ball High School opened its doors to 200 pupils on October 1, 1884, with a building consisting of 12 classrooms, two offices and an auditorium. According to Gary Cartwright's "Galveston, A History of the Island", two aldermen pressured the school board to open the new school to all races. At first, the school board agreed to do that but changed its mind when Ball's heirs offered to give another $10,000 if the high school was only for white students. Susan Wiley Hardwick's Mythic Galveston: Reinventing America's Third Coast documents that Central High School was opened as a high school for black students in a storefront in 1885. Central High and Ball High merged into one high school in 1968.

Public schools in Galveston were operated by the city from 1884 until 1949 when Galveston ISD was established by the Texas Legislature."default.asp." Galveston Independent School District. August 21, 2010. Retrieved on November 4, 2011.

Enrollment decline The enrollment declined by 1,147 from 1995 to 1996.

In the 2000s skyrocketing home prices were created by the completion of many high-rise projectsNovak, Shona. "Growth wave hits Galveston." Austin American Statesman. Saturday July 22, 2006. Retrieved on November 4, 2011. have forced many middle-class Galveston residents to move off of the island to many cities, including Texas City, League City, and La Marque. Galveston ISD's tax base grew by 13% in 2005. () Including all students, GISD lost 8% of its students (780) between the 2002–2003 school year and the 2006–2007 school year, with a 7% loss (610) in 2006.Meyers, Rhiannon. "Demographer: Expect big enrollment drops" (Wayback Machine archive, Archive). Galveston County Daily News. May 18, 2007. Retrieved on January 14, 2014. The district lost 12% of its students during the same years when Hurricane Katrina evacuees and out-of-district students were excluded.

Galveston ISD lost students to mainland school districts such as Clear Creek ISD and Dickinson ISD. District enrollment fell by 101 students from 2004–2005 to 2005–2006. The district missed 772 students on October 30, 2006. Elementary school enrollment had dropped about 2.3 percent from the 1996–1997 school year to the 2006–2007 school year. If the trend continues for fall 2007, the district would lose 300 students to the newly opened Ambassadors Preparatory School, a charter school, in addition to 94 students,Galveston County Daily News translating to a loss of 10.6% of the district's total elementary school students. At the end of 2006, GISD's total enrollment was about 8,700.Galveston County Daily News (Wayback Machine archive, From 2006 to 2007 enrollment fell by 642. In January 2007 the middle schools had 934 vacant slots while the elementary schools had 834 vacant slots.

On January 2, 2007, the Galveston County Daily News published a report about parents frustrated over plans to close Scott Elementary School. The District Education Council approved a GISD plan to close multiple schools. On May 15, 2007, the Houston Chronicle reported that the League of United Latin American Citizens, in an attempt to prevent schools from closing, filed a complaint with the U.S. federal government asserting that GISD violated a desegregation order."Filing disputes school closings in Galveston," (Archive) Houston Chronicle, May 15, 2007. Pat Guseman, an official with Pasa Demographics, predicted that GISD would lose about 1,468 students in the five years after 2007. Guseman said that many of the student losses would originate from the East End of the island.Meyers, Rhiannon. "Rosenberg may be on the block ." The Galveston Daily News. June 24, 2007. Retrieved on November 4, 2011. The demographer, characterizing the change in Galveston demographics as "Hamptonization", stated that economically disadvantaged children and Hispanic children are increasing, while African-American children are decreasing, as of 2007. Guseman cited increasing private school enrollment, increasing costs of housing, and a dearth of local employment as reasons for the loss of students in Galveston. During that year, Christine Hopkins, a spokesperson for the district, said that the housing costs and perceptions of GISD schools caused many families to move from the GISD area.Rice, Harvey. "Workers in Galveston increasingly can't afford to live there / Strong demand for second homes and high-rises forces many to buy elsewhere" (Archive). Houston Chronicle. Thursday February 22, 2007. A1. Retrieved on December 22, 2009.

Before Hurricane Ike hit Galveston in September 2008, GISD had 7,900 students.Meyers, Rhiannon. "GISD enrollment higher than expected ." Galveston County Daily News. September 20, 2009. Retrieved on November 4, 2011. After Ike hit Galveston, the district lost 25% of its total enrollment. Burnet and Scott Elementary Schools and Central Middle School received severe damage; the district said the schools would not open in fall 2009. In March 2009 GISD cut 163 positions, including 99 teaching positions; 40% of the total cut positions had already been vacant.Meyers, Rhiannon. "GISD cuts 99 teachers, 163 total ." Galveston County Daily News. March 5, 2009. Retrieved on March 8, 2009.

In the fall of 2009, the district had 6,235 students, 1,665 fewer than the previous year. This was a 20% decrease from pre-Ike. The district had expected 6,000 students to be enrolled during the 2009–2010 school year; it had 235 more than expected.

School configuration change plans In March 2007, Galveston ISD announced that it would introduce plans to change the configurations of its elementary and middle schools within the city of Galveston.Galveston ISD

Some parents expressed concern about consolidating the middle schools, because Weis and Central had different student demographics, with Weis having a wealthier student body.Meyers, Rhiannon. "Central, Weis not as different as some think ." The Galveston Daily News. August 5, 2007. Retrieved on November 4, 2011.

Ending in the 2007–2008 school year, Galveston ISD operates: Six elementary schools including grades Pre-Kindergarten through 5 One school including grades Pre-Kindergarten through 8 Three middle schools with grades 6 through 8 One high school with grades 9 through 12

After spring 2008, Alamo Elementary School would be converted into a multi-purpose center.

Starting in the 2008–2009 school year, Galveston ISD would operate four PreK-4 elementary schools and two K-4 elementary schools.

Weis Middle School would become a 5–6 school. Central Middle School would become a 7–8 school. Austin Middle School would become a magnet school for grades 5–8.

Now GISD is configured in

4 Pre-K through 4th grade elementary schools. 2 K through 4th grade elementary schools. 1 5th grade through 6th grade middle school. 1 7th grade through 8th grade middle school. 1 5th grade through 8th grade magnet school. 1 9th grade through 12th grade high school.

Post-Hurricane Ike Galveston schools reopened in October 2008.

GISD Police

Galveston ISD Police Department is a school district police department established under the provision of the Texas Education Code. The department was established during the 1967–68 school year to assist during the consolidation of Central High School (an African American school) into the all Caucasian Ball High School to bring an end to segregation of schools in Galveston ISD.

Dress codes All elementary and middle school students residing in Galveston Island are required to wear school uniforms. Crenshaw School students are not required to wear school uniforms.

Ball High School has a detailed dress code requiring solid-colored polo shirts, turtlenecks, solid-colored trousers, and blue denim jeans.Galveston ISD

Students in Ball Preparatory Academy wear the same as Greater Ball High School.

GISD TV Galveston ISD has its own TV channel available on Comcast Cable channel 17. The channel includes current information about the school district including recent news in short video clips; school board meetings are also shown.

List of schools

Secondary schools

High schools Zoned Ball High School (Galveston) Open enrollment Aim High School (Galveston) – Accelerated High School Galveston Early College High School

Middle schools

Comprehensive 7–8: Central Middle School (Galveston, constructed 1954) Before the consolidation and realignment of GISD middle schools, Central had a mostly African American student body.Meyers, Rhiannon. "Parents, students defend Central ." The Galveston County Daily News. April 20, 2007. Retrieved on November 4, 2011. In 2006, 80% of Central's students were socioeconomically disadvantaged, and 92% were racial and ethnic minorities.Schladen, Marty. "Galveston school board faces tough decisions ." The Galveston County Daily News. March 12, 2006. Retrieved on November 4, 2011. In 2006 there were reports of a decline in student discipline. 5–6: Weis Middle School (Galveston, constructed 1965) Before the consolidation and realignment of GISD middle schools, Weis had a more White and more affluent student body than other GISD middle schools. As of 2006, 46% of the students were socioeconomically disadvantaged and 37% were racial and ethnic minorities. Former Magnet 5–8 Stephen F. Austin Magnet Middle School (Galveston, constructed by the PWA in 1939) Before Austin was changed from a zoned school to a magnet school, 80% of the students were socioeconomically disadvantaged, and 84% were racial and ethnic minorities.