Tomball Star Academy Opens Doors To First Students In Early College Program

TOMBALL, TX — The Tomball Independent School District opened the first day of school to a lot of firsts on Tuesday.

For some students, it will the first day of school and the beginning of a 12 year public education journey, and for others it is the beginning of their final year of that 12 year journey.

Some will also be incoming Freshman students, and taking that scary step from junior high to high school

However, a small group of 105 Freshman students are embarking on something brand new to the district and will be the first to participate in the district’s early college program.

The Tomball Star Academy, which opened to incoming freshman students, holds allows students who qualify for the program to pursue an Associate’s degree and a high school diploma simultaneously.

RELATED: LSC-Tomball, Tomball ISD Sign Ceremonial Agreement for Tomball Star Academy

Dr. Martha Salazar-Zamora, Tomball ISD Superintendent of Schools, introduced the program to the board of trustees in October 2016 when she was serving the district’s Chief Academic Officer.

“Tomball Star Academy is an Early College High School that was established as a joint initiative through Tomball ISD and Lone Star College–Tomball,” Salazar-Zamora told Patch. “Tomball Star Academy enables students to earn a high school diploma and up to 60 college credit hours free of charge while in high school.”

Tomball Star Academy Students had to apply to the program and submit grades, qualify with STAAR test scores and submit an essay, all similar to applying to a university program.

Even before they took their first class, the first 105 students began building their school’s image.

“Over the summer break, the Star Academy students took part in in a week-long Summer Bridge program where they selected clubs and intramurals they would like to join,” Salazar-Zamora said. “They also selected the mascot for Tomball Star Academy, which is an owl.”
Although new to Tomball ISD, the early college program has been a successful tool used in a number of other Houston area school districts, such as Houston ISD, Spring ISD and Cy-Fair ISD.

The Tomball Star Academy is housed on the second floor of Tomball High School, but is its own separate entity.

Although physically part of the campus, the students have their own principal and teachers who are unique to the program and whose goal is to teach the academy curriculum.

“Tomball Star Academy will operate as a completely separate campus. Our students will not interact with students at any other schools,” Tomball Star Academy Principal Kim McKinney said. “We will share certain facilities at times such as the auditorium and gymnasium. Tomball Star Academy has its own cafeteria so the students will not utilize the Tomball High School cafeteria.”

Academy students can also participate in school activities and clubs at Tomball High School, such as yearbook, newspaper, drama, dance, music, film club, robotics, gaming, quiz bowl, and intramural sports.

However, Tomball Star Academy students will not participate in UIL sponsored events, but students may choose to take part in intramural team sports.

“This is a great opportunity that appeals to a variety of students,” McKinney said. “My hope is that our students become the leaders of our future. I’d like to see them learn good digital citizenship, become servant leaders within our community, and become lifelong learners.”

Learn more about Tomball Star Academy by clicking the link.

Image: Sutterstock

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