Freeport Intermediate School in Freeport, Texas, is one of two middle schools in the 13,500-student Brazosport Independent School District, 52 miles south of Houston. The district is part of Brazoria County, currently home to 230,000 people and predicted to grow by nearly 100,000 in the next 10 to 15 years. Although the Gulf Coast county boasts 23 miles of beaches, bottom-land forests, and water-related recreation, it is not - some say not yet - a tourist attraction; rather, it is the home of major petrochemical companies.

Almost 62 percent of the students in Freeport Intermediate School qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program. Many parents are refinery workers and shrimpers. Freeport is a hard-working community; some members have green cards and some are illegal aliens. Neighboring communities perceive the school's neighborhood as unsafe and many believe Freeport students do not value education. It is a tough group, says a former principal in this part of the state who now works for the Texas Education Agency.

In an article from the Houston Chronicle, Freeport Intermediate describes itself as a school with a story to tell - one with many chapters that details the total transformation from low expectations to high performance in all areas. The story further reveals how a school with a high number of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and diverse populations has dramatically increased student performance, decreased the number of discipline referrals, increased attendance rates, and transformed a community of stakeholders into active participants in the process of schooling and learning.

Of the school's 583 students in grades 7 and 8, 47 percent are Hispanic, 39 percent Caucasian, and 13 percent African American; almost 19 percent receive special education services and 16.7 percent have limited proficiency in English. The mobility rate, currently at almost 24 percent, has been rising, especially among Hispanic students. The school has a surprisingly low four-percent absentee rate among both students and teachers.

While the Brazosport Federation of Teachers advises and makes suggestions, there is no teachers' union.

Freeport Intermediate School has been honored as a Mentor School, a Texas program in which outstanding schools mentor themselves and others. The school received an award in 1998 from the Texas Education Agency's Division of Migrant Education for achieving exceptional success with migrant students. The school also achieved recognized status on the State Assessment in 1997, 1998, and 1999, which means that at least 80 percent of the school's students passed the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS).

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