Leander ISD: A Comprehensive Learning Experience
Leander Independent School District (LISD) is committed to providing a comprehensive and innovative learning experience for all students. This commitment is reflected in a variety of programs and initiatives designed to meet diverse student needs and prepare them for success in college, careers, and life. From advanced academic programs to career and technical education, LISD offers a multitude of opportunities for students to own their educational journey.
Addressing Diverse Needs Through Innovative Programs
Leander ISD recognizes that students have different learning styles and needs. To address this, the district has implemented several targeted programs. The Leander ISD Twilight Program provides an alternative to the traditional high school setting for students who require a different learning environment to meet Texas graduation requirements.
AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is another key program, focusing on college readiness. While AVID benefits all students, it specifically targets those in the academic middle, underachievers, and students with limited exposure to college preparatory information. AVID is a college-readiness system designed to help schools prepare all students for college, careers, and life.
Advanced Academics: Challenging Brightest Minds
LISD places a high priority on advanced academic programs, providing challenging opportunities for its brightest and most creative students. These programs aim to foster critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and a passion for learning.
Career and Technical Education (CTE): Real-World Learning
All students in Leander ISD have the opportunity to enroll in Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses alongside traditional academic subjects. CTE courses are designed to provide an authentic learning experience through academically rigorous and technology-rich curriculum and real-world applications. By engaging in CTE, students gain practical skills and knowledge relevant to various industries, preparing them for future careers.
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Comprehensive Counseling Services
Leander ISD’s school counselors play a crucial role in student success by promoting academic, career, personal, and social development. Counselors and guidance professionals in LISD collaborate with students, parents, teachers, and administrators to identify and address barriers that may impede student achievement. They provide support and guidance to help students navigate their educational journey and make informed decisions about their future.
Entrepreneurship Programs: Fostering Innovation
Leander ISD, in partnership with Uncharted Learning, offers a suite of entrepreneurship programs designed to equip students with real-world skills. These programs provide a unique and comprehensive mix of resources for schools to bring entrepreneurship to students.
freshINCedu: Elementary Entrepreneurship
The freshINCedu program introduces elementary students to the world of entrepreneurship. Through teamwork, students develop a product, pitch their idea, and launch their business. The program encourages innovation and community involvement, with a focus on reducing, reusing, or recycling. The unit culminates in a pop-up marketplace where students sell their products. The freshINCedu program provides a way for elementary students to be exposed to - and empowered by - entrepreneurship. Through the program students work in teams to develop a product, pitch their idea, and launch their business. The starting point for creation is reduce, reuse, or recycle which tends to inspire discussion and innovation around community involvement. The unit culminates in a pop-up marketplace experience where students sell their products.
mxINCedu: Middle School Innovation
In mxINCedu, middle school students work in teams to identify a problem, create a product concept, pitch their idea, and iterate based on market learning within the e-commerce selling experience. Local volunteers from the business community mentor and support this real-world learning experience. This program differs from freshINCedu in the tools and lessons provided. Students take on more complex analysis and evaluation of product ideas.
INCubatoredu: High School Startups
INCubatoredu is a full-year course that offers an authentic entrepreneurship experience as students build a business. Students make mistakes, take risks, and learn to pivot. They develop their own product or service startup to gain investment funds in a final shark-tank style pitch event. Real entrepreneurs and industry experts serve as volunteer coaches and mentors guiding student teams through the processes of developing hypotheses about a business concept, testing those hypotheses, adapting, and continually learning and improving.
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ACCELeratoredu: Launching Businesses
As a second-year course, ACCELeratoredu provides students the opportunity to take a business from startup to launched. The experience models that of a real-life start-up accelerator with a focus on developing cohorts of teams through mentorship, education, connections, and accountability to launch a company. This course fosters the transition of businesses founded in INCubatoredu into sustainable, functioning ventures.
Mobile App Development: Coding for the Future
Leander ISD offers mobile app coding courses where students build working apps for Apple’s mobile devices using the language and tools of professionals - Swift and Xcode. Students experience an authentic workplace environment applying the methodologies and practices of real-world developers, and acquire skills around teamwork, problem-solving, collaboration, and communication.
MobileMakersStudio: Advanced App Development
MobileMakersStudio is a second-year course where students advance their Swift programming skills and apply design-forward skills to investigate a client need and develop a mobile app solution. Using client management and development team methods from the industry, students grow their interpersonal and management skills, in a classroom designed to act as a working development studio.
COOL Experiences: Exploring Career Pathways
Leander ISD is evolving its long-standing work-based experience (formerly known as COOL Week) as we adjust to our virtual world. This has presented an opportunity for us to begin offering COOL Experiences, a variety of platforms to engage students with potential career pathways. COOL Experiences provide LISD students the opportunity to explore a career or industry in which they have an interest. College is an expensive place to find out what you want to be when you grow up. COOL Experiences allow students to “try on” careers before entering post-secondary education and training. Business Partners have the flexibility to decide what works best within their framework.
COOL Convos and Webinars
COOL Convos offer a more intimate experience between students and career professionals. COOL Webinars provide more of a one-way delivery of information about a career path directly from the COOL business partners to a larger student audience.
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Summer Educator Externships: Connecting Educators with Industry
The Summer Educator Externships Program provides Leander ISD educators with direct experience at a local business. Open to all Secondary Teachers, Counselors and Administrators, this 3-Day externship allows educators to learn the latest trends in the business world, grow knowledge of real world applications of content, build lasting industry partners for the classroom, earn 24 hours of CEU credit and a $1000 Stipend.
Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO): Extracurricular Engagement
LISD offers Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) in all Career Cluster areas. Students enrolled in CTE courses are encouraged to join and participate in their respective CTSO. Enrollment deadlines and fees may vary by organization and campus. Contact campus directly for more information. (DECA, FCCLA, FFA, HOSA, NTHS, SkillsUSA, TAFE) Membership eligibility should follow the guidelines of the state and national organization. Advisors are responsible for verifying that students are eligible for membership. A student must be an affiliated, verified member of an organization to be eligible for competition. While a student may be a member in multiple organizations, a student can only compete in one of the following organizations in a given academic school year (DECA, FCCLA, FFA, HOSA, SkillsUSA, TAFE). The number of available competition entries are determined by local and state guidelines for each organization. Local chapters are permitted to establish policies that determine competition eligibility.
Community Engagement and Governance
The Leander ISD Board of Trustees is elected by the LISD community to govern and set policy for one of Texas' fastest-growing school districts.
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