Klein Oak High School

Klein Oak High School
File:Klein ISD Klein Oak High School.jpg Empowering lives through learning
Address
22603 Northcrest Dr. Spring, Texas 77389 United States
Coordinates
Information
School type	Public, High school
Established	1982
School district	Klein ISD
Educational authority	Texas Education Agency
Superintendent	Dr. Jim Cain
CEEB Code	446691
Principal	Dr. Brian Greeney
Faculty	186.2 (on FTE basis)
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	3,950 (2014)
Language	English (primary instruction) ESL instruction available
Schedule	7:25am – 2:30pm
School color(s)	Black and Gold
Song	Klein Oak Alma Mater
Fight song	Klein Oak Fight Song
Athletics conference	UIL Class 6A
Mascot	Panthers
IB Diploma Exam average	5.24
Average SAT scores (2014)	1556 (63% tested)
Average ACT scores (2014)	23.2 composite (33% tested)
Newspaper	Panther Press
Graduates (2015)	885
Information	832-484-5000
Website	Klein Oak Homepage

Klein Oak High School, locally known simply as Klein Oak or KO, is a nationally recognized Blue Ribbon public high school in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. It was established in August 1982 with Robert "Bob" West serving as its first principal. The school's current principal is Dr. Brian Greeney.

Klein Oak was the third high school established in Klein ISD to serve grades 9 through 12. It is administered by the school district and serves several areas of unincorporated Harris County, including WindRose, Augusta Pines, Northhampton, and Gleannloch Farms, which are zoned to Klein Oak.

The high school has a student enrollment of 3,950 for the 2014-15 school year and 211.79 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 18.64, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Since 2004, the school has been home to the only International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in the district.

History

Klein Oak High School was founded in 1982 by the Klein Independent School District under former district superintendent Dr. Donald Collins. The school's first principal was Robert West.

Klein Oak is at the front of technological progress, receiving two grants from the state of Texas totaling over $816,000. Beginning in the early 2000s, Klein Oak became the first school in Klein ISD to participate in the one-to-one Tablet PC program, in which each student is issued a personal tablet laptop with which he or she participates in class and does his or her schoolwork. In 1995, Klein Oak was named a National Blue Ribbon school by the U.S. Department of Education.

In 2012, the school was the seventh largest high school campus in the state of Texas, which prompted the expansion of the school for that school year. Using district bonds, an extra wing was added to the school to be used for freshman classes.

Academics

During the 1994–96 school years, Klein Oak High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

The IB Diploma Programme has been offered at this school since February 2004. It is the only school in Klein ISD which offers the program.

Accelerated courses

Klein Oak offers the Dual Credit and Advanced Placement Program for those students wishing to go to the advanced level. Klein Oak High School offers the International Baccalaureate Program, which is an advanced honors internationally known curriculum.

Advanced Placement

See also: Advanced Placement

Language Arts	Mathematics	Social Studies	Science	Foreign Language	Fine Arts	Computer Science
PreAP English I	PreAP Algebra I	PreAP World Geography	PreAP Integrated Physics and Chemistry	PreAP Spanish II-IV	AP Music Theory	PreAP Computer Science
PreAP English II	PreAP Geometry	AP World History	PreAP Biology I	AP Spanish Language	AP Art 4: Drawing Portfolio	AP Computer Science A
AP English III: Language and Composition	PreAP Algebra II	AP United States History	PreAP Chemistry I	AP Spanish Literature	AP Art 4: 2-Dimensional
AP English IV: Literature and Composition	PreAP Pre-Calculus	AP European History	PreAP Physics I	PreAP French II-IV	AP Art 4: 3-Dimensional
	AP Calculus AB	AP U.S. Government	AP Biology II	AP French Language	AP Art History
	AP Calculus BC	AP Microeconomics	AP Chemistry II	German III-IV Honors
	AP Statistics	AP Macroeconomics	AP Physics B	Latin III-IV Honors
		AP Human Geography

International Baccalaureate

See also: International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

The Klein Oak graduating IB class of 2014 all received IB diplomas, becoming the first Klein Oak IB class to achieve a 100% pass rate.

International Baccalaureate courses offered at Klein Oak
Course	SL	HL
Biology
Chemistry
Computer Science
Dance
English A: Literature
French B
German A: Literature
History of the Americas
Math
Math Studies
Music
Physics
Russian A: Literature
Spanish B
Theatre
Theory of Knowledge	TK (no specification)
Visual arts

Dual Credit

• Economics
• English III
• English IV
• Government
• World History
• US History

Extracurricular activities

Klein Oak is home to the Strutters, a nationally recognized dance squad. The school also has a hip-hop break dancing team named Oak Break Krew.

Klein Oak is an active yearly participant in the Texas French Symposium, a statewide academic and non-academic competition that focuses on many aspects of the French language and francophone culture. For the past three consecutive Symposiums, the first-place sweepstakes winners—some of whom were awarded a trip to France—have both been from Klein Oak, in addition to many other top-10 placers and numerous other awards in the individual academic events. In 2009, the school became the second-place sweepstakes winner, and in 2010 through 2015 the school won the first-place school sweepstakes award in the large school division. Klein Oak hosted Texas French Symposium in 2008 and 2012.

The Klein Oak theatre department is active and under the leadership of distinguished directors and instructors. Theatre students participate in One-Act UIL every year.

The crew took home an award for Best Crew in 2009, and some actors took home All-Star Cast awards. Theatre students did very well in the 2011 one-act play, with their show Joined at the Head advancing all the way to Area, Level Three of the competition.

Klein Oak Softball won the 5A State Championship in 1998.

Klein Oak is an active participant in competitions such as HOSA, DECA, and BPA.

Feeder schools

Elementary School	Intermediate School	High School
Bershausen Elementary	Ulrich Intermediate	Klein Oak High School
Metzler Elementary	Hildebrandt Intermediate
Northampton Elementary
Mueller Elementary
	Krimmel Intermediate
Benignus Elementary
Schultz Elementary
Frank Elementary	Doerre Intermediate
Hassler Elementary

Demographics

Klein Oak ethnic breakdown 2014-15

  White (54.0%)

  Hispanic (25.0%)

  Black (10.6%)

  Asian/Pacific Islander (8.9%)

  Indian or Alaskan (0.5%)

  N/A (1.1%)

The Klein Oak zone has the largest growth rate in Klein ISD, gaining nearly 300 students in just one year. Enrollment during the 2003–04 school year dropped significantly when Klein Collins High School was opened and took nearly half of Klein Oak's enrollment. The school moved back up to 5A UIL status in the 2006–07 school year. The UIL unveiled a new categorization of 6A schools beginning in the 2014 school year, of which Klein Oak forms part.

Regarding ethnicity, Klein Oak has historically had a predominantly white population higher than the district average. While the school also has a lower percentage of students who are economically disadvantaged, the school has a higher percentage of students who are considered at-risk than the district average, considering other academic risk factors, according to the Texas Tribune.

Notable alumni

Name	Class	Occupation
Chris Tomlin	1990	Music artist, worship leader, and songwriter
Jim Parsons	1991	Actor
Justin Thompson	1991	Former Major League All-Star
Eddie Steeples	1992	Actor
Kevin Ware	1999	Former football tight end

External links

• Official site