Kingwood High School Closed For 2017-18 School Year

HUMBLE, TX —The Humble Independent School District is planning a school start date of Sept. 7, with some big changes ahead for some students.

In a heart-rending move, Kingwood High School students will share a campus this year with students at Summer Creek High School and will start classes on Sept. 11 after Kingwood High School was destroyed by flood waters.

Humble ISD was among the hardest hit areas in the Greater Houston area last week, when Hurricane Harvey unleashed its fury and bombarded the area with about 50 inches of rain in some cases. (Want to get daily updates about Hurricane Harvey and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Humble-Kingwood Patch morning newsletter.)

Humble ISD became a rallying point in the Humble-Kingwood community as rising water from the San Jacinto River and Cypress Creek began their rapid ascent, inundating homes and businesses along the way.

One of those buildings was Kingwood High School, which was flooded throughout the school, causing millions in damages.

Meanwhile, Mike Morath, commissioner for the Texas Education Agency, said schools that start after Sept. 11 will need to apply for a waiver.

“The health, safety and welfare of the students, teachers, and staff of these affected school districts and charter schools is my priority,” Morath said in his memorandum. “While these additional days may not resolve all issues, it is my hope that this additional time will allow school districts and charter schools to address and remediate the damage and reopen by Monday, Sept. 11, 2017.”

Many of the larger school districts are still assessing their campuses and will be starting or resuming classes after Labor Day, while a few others will start later.
School districts starting before Sept 11 include:

• Friendswood ISD — Sept. 6
• Tomball ISD — Sept 5
• Pearland ISD — Sept 5
• Klein ISD — Sept. 6
• Conroe ISD — Sept 5
• Galveston ISD — Sept 5
• Alvin ISD — Sept. 6
• Cy Fair ISD — Sept 6
• Aldine ISD — Sept 7
• Montgomery ISD — Sept 5
• New Caney ISD — Sept 6
• Willis ISD — Sept 5
• Santa Fe ISD — Sept. 6
• Stafford MSD — Sept 7

School Districts returning on Sept. 11, 2017 include:

• Houston ISD
• Clear Creek ISD
• Spring ISD
• Dickinson ISD
• Fort Bend ISD
• Lamar CISD

As a result of this waiver, school systems in disaster counties that have missed school days as referenced above due to the hurricane will not have to make up those days on the school calendar, Morath said.

Image: Shutterstock

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