HOUSTON – Dec. 12, 2018 – The Spring ISD Board of Trustees voted on Tuesday to name its two new middle schools, choosing to align the campuses to either their geography or program.
The new Middle School No. 8 being built under the district’s 2016 bond program in the northern part of the district, was named Springwoods Village Middle School to reflect its location near the mixed-use community of the same name. The school will feature an International Baccalaureate program, designed to prepare students to be citizens of the world.
“We are very excited to get our official name,” said Springwoods Village Middle School Principal Kim Culley. “I am grateful to our board of trustees, especially for all their leadership and hard work on the bond program that is making this school possible.”
The board on Tuesday also named Middle School No. 9, which is a new specialty school that will open next school year in the building on T.C. Jester being vacated by Spring Early College Academy. Early College is moving to the Lone Star College-North Harris campus over the summer.
Trustees considered several names but agreed on Spring Leadership Academy, which will reflect the new school’s program. Designed to offer middle schoolers leadership training in a blended learning environment, the program will use a mix of traditional and online approaches.
Earlier in the evening, Superintendent Dr. Rodney E. Watson announced the new principal of the school, Dr. Kevin Banks, who had been serving as an associate principal at Roberson Middle School.
“I’m grateful for this opportunity,” he told the trustees. “I’m excited about what Middle School No. 9 means for the community and how it can and will impact the students …. I’m going to approach this position with focus, passion and also with conviction and humbly and sincerely believe that Middle School No. 9 will be a premium school of choice within Texas.”
Banks began his career in education in 2009 at the Contemporary Learning Center High School in Houston ISD. He later transitioned to Aldine ISD where he worked with the Career and Technical Education program at Aldine Middle School and was named Teacher of the Year in 2012-13.
He has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Houston, a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of St. Thomas and his doctorate in K-12 Professional Leadership from the University of Houston.