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Is there something in the water in Leander ISD


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Seriously, I live in Frisco. Never heard of Rouse before seeing them at state:). I thought Frisco Centennial was a sinch to get a high rating at state before year started because most of the Leander bands moved up. That fell through as Centennial didn’t get past area. But wow, Leander isd just keeps pumping out the marching bands! Frisco now has four bona fife competition bands but we can’t hang with Leander. Lewisville is the only one I can think that can match y’all in high performing bands.

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There is definitely a strong culture here for music and it starts with the talented and passionate directors in our middle schools. They continually churn out fantastic young musicians to stock the high schools. And the district itself is a draw for directors at all levels. Glenn High School is certainly up and coming and I have no doubt they will be making noise as well in short order.

 

We are blessed with administration and parents who all support the band programs, their own and all of the others, in every way possible. It is a special atmosphere that I am so happy to be a small part of.

Absolutely! Leander ISD is an amazing place! Blessed to call it home.

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This has been talked about before, but I love gushing about it so I'll go over it again :)

-Good admin support.  There are a lot of band programs out there that although come from very wealthy areas, still get $0 funding from the district.  Leander ISD creates a solid economic foundation in staffing, facilities as well as annual outlay for upkeep and travel....a luxury in this day and age even in Texas. Boosters don't have to fund as much as in other districts.....though....the boosters still do some incredible work on top of that regardless. 

- Solid elementary music teaching from K-6 (not just "singing songs" but learning notes and rhythms, learning recorder/orff percussion and being exposed to orchestral music from an early age. Some districts don't even have elementary music, or it's not taught by a specialist.)

- The best middle school bands in the U.S. (Seriously....Leander ISD middle schools have made Honor Band finals and been invited to Midwest more times than every other school district in the country)

- Quality high school programs that strongly emphasize student leadership while also promoting friendly competition amongst themselves

- The 5A/6A flip-flop.  Leander schools do ubiquitously well in 5A State finals because they think and play like high-level 6A bands...because they're so often exposed to that level of competition with how their enrollment numbers fall.

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OK, just got back tonight from a Wind Symphony that is run by and filled with band directors and private lesson teachers from mainly our middle schools.  The audience was packed with families from the middle school band kids.  Of course, they are spectacular and are preparing to perform at the Midwest clinic in December in Chicago.  It just carries through to the attitude towards band in our district.

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OK, just got back tonight from a Wind Symphony that is run by and filled with band directors and private lesson teachers from mainly our middle schools. The audience was packed with families from the middle school band kids. Of course, they are spectacular and are preparing to perform at the Midwest clinic in December in Chicago. It just carries through to the attitude towards band in our district.

That's so cool. I need a calendar of some sort with all of these types of concert dates on them. Would love to attend more of these types of things!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I heard a rumor that Leander might be dropping back down to 5A. I'm not sure how I feel about that other than feeling some relief for our poor football team. 6A was heck on us these past 2 seasons. Perhaps it would be nice to go back down again, but I was looking forward to 6A state marching competition again with "the big boys." Oh well, it's just a rumor after all. :)

 

Edit: UIL "SnapShot" day was a few weeks ago. Looks like Leander will barely squeak by with an estimated 2199 students in the 2018-19 school year. The cut off # is 2169 for 5A. We will know for sure the first week in February.

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I heard a rumor that Leander might be dropping back down to 5A. I'm not sure how I feel about that other than feeling some relief for our poor football team. 6A was heck on us these past 2 seasons. Perhaps it would be nice to go back down again, but I was looking forward to 6A state marching competition again with "the big boys." Oh well, it's just a rumor after all. :)

 

Edit: UIL "SnapShot" day was a few weeks ago. Looks like Leander will barely squeak by with an estimated 2199 students in the 2018-19 school year. The cut off # is 2169 for 5A. We will know for sure the first week in February.

Where did Vista fall?

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So no movement in Leander ISD this year, though I did notice that Cedar Park has ~200 more students than they did last time realignment took place. 

 

We're also probably looking at 3 of the 5A finalists once again moving up to 6A next year: Waxahachie (2235), Prosper (2969) and Highland Park (2180).  Unfortunately, they're all three in 6A Area B, making that an even more difficult Area to advance out of.  

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So no movement in Leander ISD this year, though I did notice that Cedar Park has ~200 more students than they did last time realignment took place.

 

We're also probably looking at 3 of the 5A finalists once again moving up to 6A next year: Waxahachie (2235), Prosper (2969) and Highland Park (2180). Unfortunately, they're all three in 6A Area B, making that an even more difficult Area to advance out of.

Whoa. Prosper is at 2969 and still 5A? They must have grown FAST!

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Ok I just have to say, and I believe that this thread is the perfect place to put this, after seeing just how massive most of the 6A schools are that also have highly successful band programs, I am even more impressed with the success of the Leander ISD bands. Most of the Houston, San Antonio and Dallas area 6A schools are close to twice the size of Leander schools, which means that those schools theoretically should have twice the amount of talented musicians to pull band members from. Yet most of Leander ISD is able to compete on a fairly equal level with the big schools. That makes me even more proud of our district!! :)

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Yes they are!! Over 4400 at The Woodlands!! No wonder they're discussing adding another high school there.

 

Conroe ISD is opening a new high school next year called Grand Oaks. I don't know how things will be redistributed, but it is more for Oak Ridge which has the same amount of students as The Woodlands, but in a smaller building (also 10-12 only just like The Woodlands). College Park has around 2900 students (9-12). These 3 high schools are very close together. I would guess that Oak Ridge will drop to about the same number of students as College Park with the new school.

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Conroe ISD is opening a new high school next year called Grand Oaks. I don't know how things will be redistributed, but it is more for Oak Ridge which has the same amount of students as The Woodlands, but in a smaller building (also 10-12 only just like The Woodlands). College Park has around 2900 students (9-12). These 3 high schools are very close together. I would guess that Oak Ridge will drop to about the same number of students as College Park with the new school.

Around here, they always start new schools with either freshmen only, or freshmen and sophomores only; will they do that there as well?

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PFISD-Weiss is setting at 1175. All of which were pulled from 2 middle schools and Hendrickson.

Hendrickson went from around 3600 last year down to 2650 this year.

Cele MS fed HHS last year. Now they feed Weiss. My 8th grader had a concert earlier this year. I commented on how much their band has grown. Not enough room on the stage and the gym is too small. The band took up the entire cafeteria (common area) floor. She laughed and said, "Dad, the 6th graders aren't even in the concert today." CMS - A little over 200 in the band program. BTW, Cele is the only middle school that marches in local pfestivals.

I have to agree with the comment from earlier. The middle school directors in this area are amazing.

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