Explosive growth in parts of San Antonio means new schools are constantly being built. With more than 280,000 students enrolled in 2003, school districts are increasing in size and academic excellence.

In Bexar (pronounced “Bear”) County, where San Antonio is located, there are 16 public school districts, each independently administered and accredited by the Texas Education Agency in Austin. Every school district has an elected school board and an appointed superintendent. Districts are supported by state and federal funds as well as local property taxes. For a snapshot of each district, review the Bexar County School Districts chart on page 76.

A child attending public school will goto school in the district where his or herfamily resides. Children must be 6 years old on or before Sept. 1 of the year theyenter first grade. There is no busing ofstudents across district boundaries; however, school districts that operate “magnet” schools in specific disciplines, such as fine artsand technology, allow students to travel between districts.

The San Antonio Business Journal annually publishes an “Education Guide.” It contains a comprehensive directory of private schools, mentoring programs, charter schools, proprietary schools, public school districts, colleges and universities, graduate degree programs, and assessment test scores for various districts (see list below). For a copy, go online to sanantonio.bizjournals.com or call (210) 341-3202.

Tests Administered by the Texas Education Agency
Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) — As mandated by the 76th Texas Legislature in 1999, the TAKS measuresthe statewide curriculum in reading atgrades three through nine; in writing at grades four and seven; in English language arts at grades 10 and 11; in mathematics at grades three through 11; in science at grades five, 10 and 11; and in social studies at grades eight, 10 and 11. The Spanish TAKS is administered to grades three through six. Satisfactory performance on the TAKS in grade 11 is a prerequisite to earning a high school diploma.

State-Developed Alternative Assessment (SDAA) — The SDAA assesses special-education students in grades three through eight who are receiving instruction in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) but for whom TAKS is an inappropriate measure of academic progress.

For more information, contact the Texas Education Agency at (512) 463-9734 or at www.tea.state.tx.us.

Charter Schools
Charter schools provide education through “charters,” which are contracts granted by an entity such as the State Board of Education or the board of trustees of an independent school district. Charter schools are a type of public school.

The Texas Legislature authorized the establishment of charter schools in 1995, and some first-generation charter schools have been in operation since the fall of 1996. San Antonio currently has 36 charter schools.

The purposes of a charter school are to:
• improve student learning
• increase the choices within the public school system
• create professional opportunities that will attract new teachers to the public school system
• establish a new form of accountability for public schools
• encourage different and innovative learning methods

The boards of trustees of several independent school districts have granted campus or campus-program charters. Most of the charter schools in Texas operate under open-enrollment charters, which are granted by the State Board of Education.

For a complete list of San Antonio charter schools, visit the Texas Education Agency online at www.tea.state.tx.us.

Home Schooling
The Texas Education Agency does not regulate, index, monitor, approve or register the programs available to parents who choose to home school. Texas school-age children who are pursuing curricula designed to meet basic educational goals under direct supervision of parents are exempt from compulsory school attendance.

The State of Texas does not award diplomas to students who are home-schooled. In most cases, if a home-schooled student wishes to enter a public school, there will be policies and procedures in place to assess the student’s mastery level. The results of this assessment may be used for grade placement and/or award of credit.

Private Schools
Private schools make up a small but viable component of San Antonio’s educational community. Private schools include independent and parochial schools that are supported by tuition, endowments and gifts. Accredited by approved state and regional associations, private schools offer specific opportunities for students. Both coeducational and single-sex programs are available. Boarding and day schools usually either focus on elementary or secondary grades or provide a comprehensive program for all grades.

Challenging academic programs are supported by the arts, competitive athletics and a commitment to the belief that character education and leadership opportunities are critical in developing competent and capable young citizens. Private schools generally have small classes, give individualized attention to students, teach values and manners, and encourage active family participation.

One option is Bracken Christian School, a non-denominational, K–4 through 12th grade private school located just 12 minutes north of San Antonio in Bulverde (brackenchristian.com, 830-980-3267).

San Antonio is fortunate to have a balanced mix of private independent and parochial schools to complement public offerings. The high schools are generally college-preparatory, with nearly 100 percent of all graduates going on to major four-year colleges and universities.

Catholic Schools
Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of San Antonio were established in 1851 and have been a significant force in San Antonio and the surrounding communities ever since. Catholic schools provide the knowledge and critical skills students need to be moral citizens within a changing technological and multicultural society. Today, 48 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of San Antonio serve approximately 11,000 students. For more information, contact the Catholic Schools Office at (210) 734-2620 or go to www.sacatholicschools.org.

Colleges and Universities
San Antonio is home to 13 colleges and universities that enroll more than 123,300 students. The variety of educational institutions in the area is one of the city’s greatest treasures.

Community Colleges in San Antonio — The Alamo Community College District serves the Bexar County community. Students are taught by highly qualified faculty dedicated to creating a learning-centered environment. Student services include counseling, computer labs, tutoring, financial services, services for the disabled, developmental instruction, veterans’ services and job placement.

The four colleges — San Antonio, St. Philip’s, Palo Alto and Northwest Vista — offer associate’s degrees, certificates and licensures in occupational programs that prepare students for jobs. Also available are arts and science courses, which transfer to four-year colleges and universities and lead to AA and AS degrees. The colleges work with area high schools to offer dual-credit programs.

Through its four schools, the Alamo Community College District serves more than 49,700 students in credit courses. An additional 18,000 students enroll in continuing-education programs.

Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) offers a quality education that’s also affordable for its more than 3,000 students. It was the first in Texas to offer weekend college to adults working full-time who want to complete an undergraduate degree. Our Lady of the Lake University offers excellent programs in the liberal arts and sciences as well as in selected service professions. OLLU offers 58 undergraduate degree programs, 44 graduate degree programs and two doctoral degree programs. Academic programs are concentrated in the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the School of Education and Clinical Studies, and the Worden School of Social Service.

St. Mary’s University (STMU) is the oldest university in San Antonio and the oldest and largest Catholic university in the South-west. Its campus covers 135 acres northwest of downtown San Antonio. STMU is home to five schools: business and administration; humanities and social sciences; science, engineering and technology; graduate; and law. More than 4,200 students attend classes, with nearly 1,500 of those students enrolled in graduate, Ph.D. and law programs. A student-to-faculty ratio of 14-to-1 ensures personal attention, helping students to excel in their chosen fields. Graduates are admitted to medical and dental schools at a rate significantly above the national average. St. Mary’s University ranks in the top 10 nationally for the number of its Mexican-American students who are accepted into American medical schools. St. Mary’s is ranked as one of the best universities in its region by U.S. News & World Report, Hispanic Magazine, Kaplan/Newsweek College Guide and the Templeton Foundation.

Texas Lutheran University (TLU) is a private, coeducational, undergraduate university of the liberal arts and sciences affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. TLU has no classes with more than 50 students and can boast a 15-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio. In fact, 45 percent of classes have an enrollment of less than 20, which allows greater interaction between professors and students. Texas Lutheran offers programs both on the main campus and at Randolph Air Force Base. It serves more than 1,500 students in Seguin and approximately 200 per semester at Randolph.

The quality education that TLU provides its students has been recognized repeatedly in U.S. News & World Report’s survey of America’s best colleges and universities. The magazine has also recognized Texas Lutheran as one of the best values for the money among its peers, due in large part to TLU’s outstanding financial aid.

In 2003, for the 11th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report ranked Trinity University number one among colleges and universities that offer a full range of undergraduate and master’s-level programs in the western region of the United States. Trinity also topped the magazine’s “Great Schools at Great Prices” list as the best value in the West.

Trinity’s 2,700 students are instructed by 210 full-time faculty members, 99 percent of whom hold doctoral or terminal degrees in their fields. The student-to-faculty ratio is 11-to-1. The school offers 36 majors and 11 interdisciplinary minors. Majors include professional programs in communication, education, business administration, engineering science and computer science. Degrees offered include bachelor of arts, bachelor of science and bachelor of music. Two five-year programs, in teaching or accounting, lead to a bachelor’s degree that is followed by a master’s degree. Additionally, Trinity offers a master of arts degree in school administration and school psychology and a master of science degree in health care administration.

After serving students in San Antonio for more than 125 years, the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) moved into a new area — adult education — and took on an additional address — in mainland China. In 1995, the university began offering accelerated degree classes to adults in the evening and became the only American university authorized to offer an entire degree in English in China. In 2000, UIW began using the Internet to offer nationally accredited programs for adult learners who require flexibility in order to earn a degree. In the same year, UIW became an IBM ThinkPad University. Now in its third year of operation, the UIW laptop initiative is a great success. The university has an enrollment of 4,800 students and offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in a variety of disciplines.

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) serves the metropolitan area, as well as the broader region of South Texas, through programs and services offered from its three campuses: Loop 1604, Downtown and the Institute of Texan Cultures. With more than 26,340 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate degree programs, UTSA is the third-largest component university in the University of Texas System and has been one of the state’s fastest-growing public universities for much of the last decade.

UTSA offers 88 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs and, with six new doctoral programs in the planning stages, is rapidly moving toward classification as a doctoral-granting institution. More than 50 percent of UTSA’s students come from groups under-represented in higher education. Many students are the first in their families to attend a college or university. The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio serves both San Antonio and the 50,000-square-mile area of South Texas. Nearly 3,000 students a year train in a partnership that involves more than 100 affiliated hospitals, clinics and health care facilities in South Texas. The Health Science Center educates more than 200 new physicians a year while providing continuing education to established physicians. Additionally, the center treats more than 1 million patients annually.

The Health Science Center is at the epicenter of the $12.9 billion health care and bioscience industry in San Antonio. It is also home to the recently completed Children’s Cancer Research Institute, which was funded by a $200 million endowment established as part of the state’s 1998 lawsuit settlement against leading tobacco companies.

Established in 1984, the San Antonio campus of Wayland Baptist University is the largest of the university’s external degree program sites. The nontraditional undergraduate degree programs, as well as the traditional master’s degree programs offered by Wayland, are designed to provide working adults with an opportunity to complete their college educations while still attending to church, family and job. Classes are conveniently scheduled in the evenings and on Saturdays at a variety of locations throughout the metro area.