All About The Northside Independent School District | Bandera CBD Store

The Northside Independent School District is a school district located in Leon Valley, Texas. It is the largest school district in San Antonio and the fourth largest in the state of Texas. Northside serves 355 square miles (920 km2) of the urban landscape, suburban growth and rural areas in the suburbs of San Antonio and Hill Country. Northside is approximately 50 percent built with the center of the district border near Helotes, just north of Bandera Road and Loop 1604 intersection. Due to rapid growth, the district may envisage another four high schools over the next few decades, including far west areas off Potranco Road and Hwy 211 (near Medina County Line), Culebra Road (FM 471) past Talley Road, I-10 near Boerne Stage Road (north of the Dominion) and far north Bandera Road (Hwy 16) near Pipe Creek / Bandera County / Medina County Areas.

Northside ISD serves part of the city of San Antonio as well as the cities of Gray Forest, Leon Valley, Shavano Park, Helotes, and the unincorporated communities of Cross Mountain, Leon Springs and Scenic Oaks. The district also serves some unincorporated portions of the counties of Bexar, Bandera, and Medina. In 2011, the Texas Education Agency rated the school district “recognized” for the fourth consecutive year.

• History 

Laws enacted in 1854 in the state legislature provided for the establishment of local school districts and made public education a reality in the state of Texas. Education in Texas suffered during the civil war and the reconstruction that followed. Efforts have been made to improve the status of public education in the latter part of the 19th century, and the growth and development of Texas public schools has increased since the 20th century.

Local taxation for rural schools increased in the 20th century, and small rural schools began to grow into districts. In 1915, Texas passed the law on compulsory attendance, and in 1918 the legislature approved the use of free textbooks in public schools. At the beginning of the 1900s, Bexar County was still mainly rural, and many of the districts in the northwest county consisted of only one school. This situation would continue, with little change, in the first half of the 20th century.

Northside ISD was the only school district in Texas to have opened five new schools for the 2010-11 school year. The District continued its high-growth trend, with the enrolment rate increasing by 3,124 students from the previous school year. Official enrolment for the 2010-11 school year was 94,702.

The five new schools were Behlau, Martin and Henderson Elementary Schools, Briscoe Middle School and Brennan High School. In addition, the Construction Careers Academy has opened its new facility on Warren High School. Martin Elementary was the first school to open in Loop 410 since 1980 and also became the first school in the district to be certified by the Green Building Rating System Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Dedications were also made to the Larry Martin Library at O’Connor High School and the George Block Aquatics Center.

• School Museum

In 1999, shortly after the celebration of Northside ISD’s 50th anniversary as a school district, a small group of retired NISD educators began to informally meet and discuss ways to save the history of the district.  Over time, the group formally organized and began to plan for the creation of the School Museum.

The School Museum was given a home in 2006.  The 1924 Leon Valley School, located at the corner of Grissom and Bandera Roads, was renovated to house both the Northside School Museum and the School-Business-Community Partnership Office. 

The School Museum Association is made up of approximately 60 members who are active in collecting, preserving and sharing the history of the District.  Membership is open to all interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, monthly meetings shall be held at 10:00 a.m. The second Wednesday of each month at the School Museum, 6632 Bandera Rd., Building A.