Houston ISD (HISD) Top Magnet Schools

According to the district, Houston Independent School District is the largest in Texas and the seventh largest in the United States. Approximately 211,000 students throughout Houston attend 282 schools. In the 2012-2013 academic year, 15% were Gifted/ Talented and 92% of students were categorized as Title I, “economically disadvantaged.”

Public Magnet School programs in the Houston area are usually structured in three different ways:

• Schoolwide Magnet – All students, zoned and applicants, benefit from this specialized program; no application necessary for zoned students to benefit.
• Dedicated Magnet – No students are zoned to these schools; everyone is admitted based on their qualifying applications.
• School-Within-A-School (SWAS) – Admitted students benefit from a specialized program but may also take normal classes; zoned students generally may participate in the special program without applying.

It is also important to note that regardless of their other program offerings, most HISD Magnet Schools offer specialized academics for Gifted/ Talented students. Of the schools listed below, allof those which do not have Dedicated Vanguard Magnet or Schoolwide Vanguard programs offer Vanguard Neighborhood programs.