Information and History

TOP HIGH SCHOOLS Here is a list of the top Texas high schools based on economic quartile in a ranking published in the November, 2001, issue of Texas Monthly magazine:

COUNTY SCHOOL RANKINGS
	Here are the rankings of Navarro County schools according to  the November
issue of Texas Monthly.

RANK	SCHOOL			R / M		Ec D		GAP
*****	Frost High		85 / 54	        39		4
*****	Frost Elementary	75 / 68	        58		-8
***	Mildred High		82 / 73	        28		-10
***	Mildred Elementary	72 / 63	        32		-2
*	Dawson High		61 / 48	        46		-26
*	Dawson Elementary	62 / 50	        52		-33
*	Kerens High		61 / 28	        47		-19
*	Kerens Elementary	55 / 42	        55		-36
****	Rice Middle School	77 / 42	        38		-9
***	Rice Elementary		63 / 62	        52		-18
****	Blooming Grove High	93 / 61	        14		-4
**	Blooming Grove Elem	71 / 59	        30		-29
***	Corsicana High		75 / 57	        42		-11

Frost is the only Class A school among 39 listed statewide in the November issue of Texas Monthly as “best performing” under a new accountability formula. The analysis, using data from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) — won done by a non-profit group called Just For The Kids (JFTK) established in 1995 by Dallas attorney Tom Luce. Luce has been associated with education reform in Texas since 1983 when he worked alongside H. Ross Perot to bring testing and accountability to Texas public schools. Under the new formula, Frost High School and Elementary campuses each received the maximum five-star ratings. The new rankings go beyond the simple standards established through TAAS, according to Texas Monthly. Students are judged based on the TAAS proficiency rate (85) rather than passing rate (70). The idea is that ‘passing’ — once considered a near miracle in some districts — is no longer good enough. The second change compared schools with others that have similar characteristics in a socioeconomic sense. Current TAAS rankings put high schools in Plano and Brownsville side by side for measurement purposes, even though they differ greatly in numbers of nglish-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) or economically disadvantaged students.

FROST ISD: A Source of Community Pride

Frost Schools long have been a source of pride to the community and the communities which make up the Frost Independent School District.

THE PAST
Frost Independent School District's long proud tradition began in May, 1890, with the formation of Frost Common School District. At this inception, students were housed in three large rooms. This was the arrangement until 1910, when, following passage of a bond issue, students were moved into a larger, more modern building. Through the years, other districts consolidated with the original Frost Common School District to form the Frost Independent School District. Among those which joined Frost ISD were the districts of Grimes, League, Hackberry, Emmett, Henry, Jones, McCord and Mertens.

Consolidations, natural disasters such as tornadoes and fire, bond issues and building programs all helped to change the appearance of Frost ISD. It is currently housed in a Pre-Kindergarten- through- twelfth-grade complex. This complex is complemented by four outside structures which house vocational agriculture, music and physical education classes and extra-curricular actvities. Other facilities, such as football and baseball fields and tennis courts, are shared through a reciprocal agreement with the City of Frost.
THE PRESENT
Frost ISD has maintained steady enrollment growth over the last few years. Currently, there is an approximate enrollment of 380 PK-12 students. Frost employs 36 full-time professional personnel and 19 auxiliary and para-professional personnel. These staff members, along with shared services with Mildred ISD and Freestone-Navarro County Special Education Cooperative, form a cohesive, productive faculty.

Through the years, Frost ISD has gained a reputation as a district with an outstanding academic program. Recent public and legislative demands for more accountability have enhanced that reputation. The State of Texas and The Texas Education Agency have developed an accountability system known as The Academic Excellence Indicator System. This system assigns ratings to each district and every campus within that district based on test results, college entrance scores, attendance and drop-out rates. As would be expected, Frost ISD has met this challenge. Since the inception of the rating system, Frost ISD has had either Frost Elementary or Frost High School rated as a 'recognized' campus yearly. The most recent rating for 1995-96 rates Frost Elementary and High School campuses as 'recognized'.
In interschool competition, Frost students have fared well over the years. Frost High School won University Interscholastic League District Spring Literary contests twice in the 1990s, sending numerous students to regional competition and placing two students in state competition each of the last two years. Frost High's one-act play cast has advanced beyond zone competition six of the seven years of the current decade. Athletically, Frost has won district titles in girls' and boys' basketball and in boys' track-and-field during this decade. The girls' basketball team earned Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Top 10 ranking and advanced to the playoffs each of the last four years. The boys' basketball team had similar success, earning TABC Top 10 ranking and advancing to the playoffs each of the last three years. The track-and-field team advanced several individuals to regional meets and twice earned state qualifications. The Frost Polar Bear baseball team also advanced to the playoffs during the 1990s -- most recently in 1996.
As we head toward the 21st century, Frost ISD not only has kept up with the technology movement required of the time period, but has led the movement. Students in grades PK through 12 have opportunity to 'surf the Internet' without leaving their classrooms. Computers are networked throughout the school in every classroom, three computer labs and the library, giving students the opportunity to send E-mail, correspond with neighboring schools, research materials from the school library as well as the finest libraries in the world, and access the Internet without ever leaving their campus. The ratio of one computer for every three-and-one-half students allows almost instantaneous use of the latest technology necessary to enhance education.
Frost is a charter member of the Hill-Navarro Electronic Consortium, which was formed in 1994 to maximize resources and provide a quality education needed for students to succeed as we enter the next century. Frost, along with Dawson, Blooming Grove, Hubbard, Penelope and Bynum ISDs and GTE, formed a partnership linked not only by a philosophy, but by fiber optics. Linking of these school districts with fiber optics provided students with multiple class offerings which were not available previously. For the past two years, students in Hubbard have taken Spanish II as an elective from Mr. Mike Montfort, Frost High School Spanish instructor. Additionally, Frost Elementary students took advantage of English-as-a-Second-Language instruction from Penelope. These instructors and students are housed on their own campuses in classrooms which are equipped with modern, state-of-the-art video and audio equipment allowing for active, two-way interaction between teacher and students.
The ever-expanding availability of this technology to other school districts and area colleges or universities will continue to open doors and opportunities for Frost ISD students.
THE FUTURE
For more than 100 years, Frost Schools have been a source of community pride. Because of this pride, as we enter the 21st century, Frost Schools will continue to provide the quality of education to its students with an emphasis on the technology required in an ever-changing, rapidly developing world. Frost students will be able to enjoy the simple, safe life of rural America, yet experience the complexities of the world through the wonders of technology.