Sam Houston State University to open new charter school in The Woodlands

A new education option is coming to the community this fall: a charter school is set to open in August at Kids R Kids of The Woodlands.

The school, located at 320 Valleywood Drive, is one of eight charter schools Sam Houston State University will open across the Greater Houston area, each at an existing child care site.

“A large part of the costs of a charter school is the facility and maintenance of that facility,” said Stacey Edmonson, dean of SHSU’s College of Education. “This prevents us from expending those funds and using more resources on instructional-related activities. It also allows us to have partnerships with those facilities to build on seamless transitions.”

The charter school will launch with kindergarten and first grade this fall and will go up to sixth grade. There will be approximately 20 students in each class. Charter schools in the state of Texas are subject to public school responsibilities, including the state’s accountability system. However, they have more flexibility in regard to curriculum and structural systems.

“We will be able to do things like flexible grouping and modified grading structure and a year-round calendar—some things that are harder to accomplish in a traditional ISD,” Edmonson said.

All standard subjects will be taught, including art, music and physical education, but the new school will feature distinctive educational activities through which each child will be evaluated every six weeks in each subject.

Additionally, the school calendar will consist of 10-week sessions with three-week breaks in between.

“It’s a year-round school model that keeps students active with their instructional processes throughout the entire year,” said Sandra Stewart, associate dean for the College of Education.

SHSU’s charter school will be the seventh university charter school option in the state of Texas.

“They are not common if you compare that to the number of universities in our state,” Edmonson said. “But this is the first that looks like ours. It is innovative and unique in that it won’t be housed on the university’s campus.”