Education in Houston
Encyclopedia
Healthcare and scientific research
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
institutions. All 47 member institutions of the Texas Medical Center are non-profit organizations. They provide patient and preventive care, research, education, and local, national, and international community well-being. Employing more than 73,600 people, institutions at the medical center include 13 hospitals and two specialty institutions, two medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
s, four nursing school
Nursing school
A nursing school is a type of educational institution, or part thereof, providing education and training to become a fully qualified nurse. The nature of nursing education and nursing qualifications varies considerably across the world.-United Kingdom:...
s, and schools of dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
, public health, pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
, and virtually all health-related careers. It is where one of the first—and still the largest—air emergency service, Life Flight
Life Flight
Memorial Hermann Life Flight is an air medical transport service based in Houston, Texas. Life Flight flies into 12th floor of the John S. Dunn Heli-Stop atop Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. It was founded in 1976.-History:...
, was created, and a very successful inter-institutional transplant program was developed. More heart surgeries
Cardiac surgery
Cardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...
are performed at the Texas Medical Center than anywhere else in the world.
Some of the academic and research health institutions at the center include MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine, located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, USA, is a highly regarded medical school and leading center for biomedical research and clinical care...
, UT Health Science Center, Memorial Hermann Hospital, The Methodist Hospital
The Methodist Hospital
The Methodist Hospital is a hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Established in 1919 as an outreach ministry of The United Methodist Church, Methodist is one of the most comprehensive teaching hospitals in the United States, with leading specialists in every field of...
, Texas Children's Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital is a pediatric hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas.With 639 licensed beds and 465 beds in operation, Texas Children's is the largest children's hospital in the United States and is affiliated with the Baylor College of Medicine as that...
, and University of Houston College of Pharmacy
University of Houston College of Pharmacy
The University of Houston College of Pharmacy is a pharmacy school and also one of twelve academic colleges at the University of Houston. It offers a professional program leading to a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. In addition, the school also offer a Doctor of Philosophy degree as well as a joint...
. The Baylor College of Medicine has annually been considered within the top ten medical schools in the nation; likewise, the MD Anderson Cancer Center has consistently ranked as one of the top two U.S. hospitals specializing in cancer care by U.S. News & World Report since 1990. The Menninger Clinic, a renowned psychiatric treatment center, is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital System. With hospital locations nationwide and headquarters in Houston, the Triumph Healthcare hospital system is the third largest long term acute care
Acute care
Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery...
provider nationally.
Higher education
Four distinct state universities are located in the city of Houston. The University of HoustonUniversity of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
is a nationally recognized research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System
University of Houston System
The University of Houston System is a state university system in Texas, encompassing four separate and distinct universities. It has two system centers, which operate as and distance learning course delivery sites for its universities...
. The institution ranks among the Top 50 American Research Universities. The university in Texas, UH has nearly 40,000 students on its 667-acre campus in southeast Houston. The University of Houston–Clear Lake
University of Houston–Clear Lake
The University of Houston–Clear Lake is a state university, and is a component institution of the University of Houston System. Its campus spans 524-acre in Pasadena, with a satellite campus in Pearland. Founded in 1971, UHCL has an enrollment of more than 8,000 students...
and the University of Houston–Downtown
University of Houston–Downtown
The University of Houston–Downtown is a four-year state university, and is a distinct component institution of the University of Houston System. Its campus spans 20-acre in Downtown Houston, with a satellite location in northwestern Harris County...
are universities; they are not branch campuses of the University of Houston. Located in the historic community of Third Ward is Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University is a historically black university located in Houston, Texas, United States....
—one of the largest historically black colleges and universities in the United States.
The University of Houston System
University of Houston System
The University of Houston System is a state university system in Texas, encompassing four separate and distinct universities. It has two system centers, which operate as and distance learning course delivery sites for its universities...
's annual impact on the Houston-area's economy equates to that of a major corporation: $1.1 billion in new funds attracted annually to the Houston area, $3.13 billion in total economic benefit, and 24,000 local jobs generated. This is in addition to the 12,500 new graduates the UH System produces every year who enter the workforce in Houston and throughout Texas. These degree-holders tend to stay in Houston. After five years, 80.5 percent of graduates are still living and working in the region.
Several private institutions of higher learning—ranging from liberal arts colleges to a nationally recognized research university—are located within the city. Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
is one of the leading teaching and research universities of the United States and ranked the nation's 17th best overall university by U.S. News & World Report.
Three community college districts exist with campuses in and around Houston. The Houston Community College System
Houston Community College System
Houston Community College System is a community college system that operates community colleges in Houston, Missouri City, and Stafford in Texas....
serves most of Houston. The northwestern through northeastern parts of the city are served by various campuses of the Lone Star College System, while the southeastern portion of Houston is served by San Jacinto College
San Jacinto College
San Jacinto College is a community college in the Greater Houston area in the U.S. state of Texas. Established in 1961, San Jacinto College originally consisted of the areas of Channelview ISD, Deer Park ISD, Galena Park ISD, La Porte ISD, and Pasadena ISD. The College now also serves Sheldon ISD,...
. The Houston Community College and Lone Star College systems are within the 10 largest institutions of higher learning in the United States.
Primary and secondary education
A 2007 MoneyMoney (magazine)
Money is published by Time Inc. Its first issue was published in October 1972. Its articles cover the gamut of personal finance topics ranging from investing, saving, retirement and taxes to family finance issues like paying for college, credit, career and home improvement...
survey stated that 91.1% of the students attending schools within the city limit go to public schools and 8.9 percent go to private schools.
Public schools
Texas Education Agency
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas in the United States responsible for public education. The agency is headquartered in the William B...
(TEA). There are many public school districts serving the city of Houston. The largest school district serving the city limits is the Houston Independent School District
Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District is the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities...
, which serves a large majority of the area within the city limits.
A portion of west Houston falls under the Spring Branch
Spring Branch Independent School District
Spring Branch Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States. The district serves portions of western Houston. It also serves several small municipalities known as the Memorial Villages in its jurisdiction, such as Hedwig Village and Spring...
and Alief
Alief Independent School District
Alief Independent School District is a school district that is based in southwest Houston, Texas, United States.Alief ISD, which covers of land, covers a small portion of southwest Houston and parts of unincorporated Harris County...
independent school districts. Aldine
Aldine Independent School District
Aldine Independent School District is a school district based in an unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. It serves portions of Houston and unincorporated Harris County. AISD is part of the taxation base for the Lone Star College System. Dr...
and North Forest
North Forest Independent School District
North Forest Independent School District is a school district based in northeast Houston, Texas.In 2009, the school district was rated "academically unacceptable" by the Texas Education Agency....
independent school districts take a part of northeast Houston. Parts of Pasadena
Pasadena Independent School District
Pasadena Independent School District is a school district that is based in Pasadena, Texas . Dr. Kirk Lewis, was named Superintendent of Schools in 2005.Pasadena ISD serves much of southeast Harris County...
, Clear Creek
Clear Creek Independent School District
Clear Creek Independent School District is a school district based in League City, Texas . The district serves most of the Clear Lake Area and some other neighboring parts of the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metro area....
, Crosby
Crosby Independent School District
Crosby Independent School District is a public school district based in Crosby—an unincorporated area of northeastern Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area....
, Cypress-Fairbanks
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District
The Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District is a school district in northwest unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States...
, Fort Bend
Fort Bend Independent School District
The Fort Bend Independent School District, also known as Fort Bend ISD or FBISD, is a school district system in the U.S. state of Texas based in the city of Sugar Land....
, Galena Park
Galena Park Independent School District
Galena Park Independent School District is a school district based in the Channelview CDP of unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States....
, Huffman
Huffman Independent School District
Huffman Independent School District is a public school district based in Huffman—an unincorporated area of northeastern Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area....
, Humble
Humble Independent School District
Humble Independent School District is a school district based in Humble, Texas .Humble ISD serves the city of Humble, small portions of the city of Houston , and portions of unincorporated Harris County . The district serves over 33,000 students and is led by Superintendent Dr...
, Katy
Katy Independent School District
The Katy Independent School District is a public school district based in Katy, Texas, United States. The district enrolls over 60,000 students and is currently rated as Recognized by the Texas Education Agency...
, Klein
Klein Independent School District
Klein Independent School District is a school district that covers of land in Harris County, Texas, United States. Almost all of the territory is unincorporated; a small portion of Houston is within the district's limits. 41,800 students attend Klein ISD Schools for the 2007-08 school year. Klein...
, New Caney
New Caney Independent School District
New Caney Independent School District is a public school district based in New Caney—an unincorporated area of southeastern Montgomery County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area....
, Sheldon
Sheldon Independent School District
Sheldon Independent School District is a public school district in unincorporated northeast Harris County, Texas .Sheldon ISD serves the Sheldon CDP, as well as several subdivisions and communities that lie in Houston's extraterritorial jurisdiction. Unincorporated areas include Beaumont Place,...
, and Spring
Spring Independent School District
Spring Independent School District is a school district based in the Gordon M. Anderson Leadership Center in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States....
independent school districts also take students from the city limits of Houston.
There are also many charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
s that are run separately from school districts, but are administered by the Texas Education Agency. In addition, public school districts—such as Houston ISD and Spring Branch ISD—also have their own charter schools.
State-operated charter schools
Since 1995 the state of Texas allowed the formation of state charter schoolsCharter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
. In 2006, over 25% of charter schools in Texas were located in Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
. In 2006, Todd Ziebarth, a researcher of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, said that charter schools may have as many as 15% of the market share of students in Greater Houston. During that year Houston Independent School District
Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District is the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities...
(HISD) officials estimated that 12,000 to 13,000 pupils living within the HISD boundaries attend state charter schools. In 2006 around 10,000 students attended HISD-affiliated charter schools.
Private schools
Houston has numerous private schools of all types, including non-sectarian, Jewish, Roman Catholic, Greek OrthodoxGreek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
, Protestant, and Muslim. The Texas Education Agency
Texas Education Agency
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas in the United States responsible for public education. The agency is headquartered in the William B...
has no authority over private school operations; private schools may or may not be accredited, and achievement tests are not required for private school graduating seniors. Many private schools will obtain accreditation and perform achievement tests as a means of demonstrating that the school is genuinely interested in educational performance. The Houston area is home to more than 300 private schools and several are well-known. Many of the schools are accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC). In addition, Houston area Catholic school
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
s are operated by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
- Annunciation Orthodox SchoolAnnunciation Orthodox SchoolAnnunciation Orthodox School, or AOS, is a private school located in Houston, Texas, United States, established in 1970.Annunciation Orthodox School began as a ministry of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Over the years it has grown from one early childhood class to a school averaging 670...
- Awty International SchoolAwty International School-Information:The Awty School was founded in 1956 as a pre-school by Mrs. Kathleen Awty. The incorporation of an Upper School in 1975 changed the school into a college preparatory school which merged with the French School of Houston and became the Awty International School in 1984...
- British School of HoustonBritish School of HoustonThe British School of Houston is a non-sectarian, co-educational college preparatory day school located west of downtown Houston, Texas. BSOH, which opened in September 2000, offers education for ages 3 to 18...
- The Emery/Weiner SchoolThe Emery/Weiner SchoolThe Emery/Weiner School is a co-educational, independent Jewish day school in Houston, Texas, United States serving grades 6-12.The $14 million campus is located on in southwest Houston outside of the 610 Loop, inside Beltway 8, and east of the Westwood subdivision.The school houses of classroom...
- The Kinkaid SchoolThe Kinkaid SchoolThe Kinkaid School is a K-12 non-sectarian school in Piney Point Village, Texas, United States.The Kinkaid School is the oldest independent coeducational school in the Houston, Texas area . The student body is divided into the Lower School , the Middle School and the Upper School...
- The Monarch SchoolThe Monarch SchoolThe Monarch School is a combined primary and secondary school headquartered in Spring Branch, Texas, United States. Monarch serves children with neurological disorders and learning disabilities, including Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, dyslexia, pervasive developmental disorder, Asperger...
- Saint Agnes AcademySaint Agnes AcademySt. Agnes Academy is a Dominican college-preparatory school for young women grades 9 through 12 in Houston, Texas, United States at the edge of both the Alief and Sharpstown communities. The school operates within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.-History:Pauline Gannon, a...
(all-girls) - St. Catherine's Montessori SchoolSt. Catherine's Montessori SchoolSt. Catherine's Montessori School is a Catholic Montessori School in Houston, Texas.St. Catherine's educates children ages 14 months to 15 years. The school is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. It is one of the only LEED certified schools in Texas.-External links:*...
- St. Cecilia SchoolSt. Cecilia Catholic School (Houston, Texas)St. Cecilia Catholic School is a Coeducational Catholic private school for grades Pre-K through 8th grade in Hedwig Village, Texas, presenting a high level of high school preparatory education. The school has been coeducational and non-profit since its founding and is within the Roman Catholic...
- St. John's School
Around 1993 increasing numbers of parents in Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
sent their children to private schools. Dick Ekdahl, the executive director of the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS), said that a more robust economy, a negative perception of public schools, and increased interest in religious education caused enrollment at private schools to increase. Stephanie Asin of the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
said "[t]here is no central authority over private schools so collecting enrollment statistics is difficult." She added "local headmasters indicate that enrollment is increasing in their schools and believe that holds true throughout the state's estimated 750 private schools. ." In 1988, the 35 schools of ISAS had a combined enrollment of 16,895. In 1992 the same 35 schools had a combined enrollment of 18,504.
Public libraries
Houston Public Library
Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. The library system has its headquarters in the Marston Building in Neartown Houston.-History:It can trace its founding to the Houston Lyceum in 1854...
and the Harris County Public Library
Harris County Public Library
Harris County Public Library is a public library system serving Harris County, Texas, United States. The county library system is headquartered at 8080 El Rio in Houston....
. The Houston Public Library has 36 branches throughout the city, plus the Central Library, located Downtown. The Harris County Public Library has 26 branches (3 of them in Houston), primarily serving areas outside the city limits of Houston.
See also
- Education in TexasEducation in TexasTexas has six public university systems and four independent public universities. The state has three nationally recognized public research universities: The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and the University of Houston....
- Education in the United StatesEducation in the United StatesEducation in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory.Public education is universally available...
- List of colleges and universities in Houston
- List of colleges and universities in Texas