Romer Elementary School and Barksdale Middle School are two new facilities under construction within Northwest ISD and are scheduled to receive their first students in the 2026-27 school year.
Both schools are part of the district's efforts to address student growth, according to previous reporting. Construction is funded by a $2 billion bond approved by voters in the May 2023 election.
The school district is required to change the attendance boundaries for its schools each time a new facility is opened, which can impact where students will attend classes in the upcoming school year.
The gist
Northwest ISD approved new attendance boundaries Jan. 12 in preparation of a new elementary school and middle school opening for the 2026-27 school year.
Romer Elementary School is located along Wagon Train Trail in the Sendera Ranch neighborhood.
Barksdale Middle School is in Northlake, which is one of the fastest-growing areas in the district, NISD Executive Director of Communications Anthony Tosie said.
Boundary changes can mitigate overcrowding in some schools as the district continues to grow, NISD interim Chief of Facilities Sarah Stewart said during a presentation Jan. 12.
“We want to maintain our teacher-student ratio, minimize future boundary changes, improve efficiencies of our schools and consider the opening of new campuses,” she said.
The new boundary changes also take future home developments into account and shift where students in certain areas attend school.
The district had three community meetings in December to receive feedback from families about the boundary adjustments.
Students affected by rezoning and entering fifth through eighth grade in 2026-27 can choose to stay at their current campus after community feedback, Stewart said, but will not receive transportation.
NISD board President Jennifer Murphy said some families may be attached to a neighborhood they just moved into, while others may have lived in the community for years and even attended specific schools themselves.
“It’s part of the education process to help our community understand exactly what we’re trying to do and what’s best for every child,” she said.
Some context
Elementary schools at NISD typically have a capacity of 850 students, while middle schools in the district have a max capacity of 1,200 students, according to a district presentation.
Two district elementary schools and three middle schools are either overcapacity during the 2025-26 school year or were expected to reach overcapacity in the next three years, according to the district.
Stewart said Romer Elementary School is expected to start with 518 students for the 2026-27 school year. Barksdale Middle School is expected to start with 773 students.
Looking forward
Worthington Middle School, which is currently overcapacity, will go from a projected 1,305 students to 1,141 next school year with the new attendance boundaries, according to district data.
Carter Elementary School is expected to go from a projected 874 students to 613 for the upcoming school year, while Pike Middle School will go from a projected 1,267 students to 845.
Other schools would have reached overcapacity in 2028 without the changes. Prairie View Elementary in Rhome is expected to go from 900 to 691 students in 2028, while Chisholm Trail Middle School in Rhome will go from 1,214 projected students to 899.
With new housing developments going up in NISD, parts of Chisholm Trail Middle School will now go to Pike Middle School while Berkshire
Elementary School will feed into Adams Middle School. Boundaries for schools like Hatfield Elementary and Prairie View will also change based on future home development.
Multiple housing developments within the district, including Alpha Ranch and Madero, are expected to continue to impact district growth, according to the most recent report from Zonda Demographics. Bob Templeton with Zonda presented to the district board Dec. 8 and said the Alpha Ranch development should start moving along by the summer.
“When we get to the next school year, there will definitely be activity with new housing,” he said.
School officials said Romer Elementary’s student enrollment is starting off at a lower number in preparation for the new housing developments.
Before you go
Alpha Ranch is expected to have 3,978 total lots, with 1,300 homes to be completed in the first phase of the development, according to Zonda Demographics. Tosie said students in Alpha Ranch will eventually go to Romer and Carter elementary schools.
Romer is located in the Madero community, Tosie said. The community currently is expected to bring roughly 38 students for every 100 new homes. The neighborhood currently has 696 occupied homes and 444 vacant developed lots.
Pecan Square, one of the communities nearing build-out by Barksdale Middle, is expected to bring about 47 students for every 100 homes, per Zonda Demographics. It currently has 2,129 occupied homes and 317 vacant developed lots.
NISD is expected to change its attendance boundaries again when Davis High School, the district’s fourth high school, is completed ahead of the 2027-28 school year. Officials said Davis will receive students from Tidwell and Worthington middle schools.
“It’s just something with a fast-growth school district,” Stewart said. “We can’t promise you’re going to attend the same campus throughout your career.”
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