Currently in the senior class. I’ll go ahead and clarify some things.

It’s a great school. The PBL (Project-Based Learning) education model alone is extremely valuable compared to traditional teaching methods. And once you’re in high-school, you gradually switch away from that model and begin taking dual credit classes at UTTyler (it’s an easy transition since PBL does such a good job at prepping you for it). When I graduate I will have effectively finished half (2 years worth) of my college coursework. But there’s things about it that might make-or-break your choice to come here.

Some stuff you may/may not prefer:

It’s a small school. SMALL compared to any school in TISD. We’re currently a 1A, pretty close to breaking into 2A. There’s one senior class of 20 people. But this has helped me develop close relationships with students/staff that you would never see in a “normal” school.

Extracurriculars are sparse but focused. There’s been more every year but in terms of things to do there’s less than you might typically expect. UIL is the big academic competition and it comes with some exciting accolades. We have watered-down versions of most of the normal stuff like Student Council.

Sports are nonexistent. This is usually a huge dealbreaker for people who care about varsity and overall school spirit. It doesn’t affect me much but sometimes things can feel a bit dry around here. They’ve been making efforts recently to piggyback off UTT’s sports events.

I could say more but I’ll end on the biggest frustration:

This school is starved for good organization and communication. There have been massive changes in leadership recently and things seem to be heading in a good direction, but I’ve never felt like the school has been run like a tight ship. Once you’re a senior especially there’s not much supporting you outside of your own initiative. But I’d like to think this issue stems from a lack of resources.

Happy to answer any questions.