Spring Branch Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States in Greater Houston. The district serves portions of western Houston, including most of Spring Branch. It also serves several small municipalities known as the Memorial Villages in its jurisdiction, such as Hedwig Village and Spring Valley Village. A majority of the district lies within Houston city limits. The school district's boundaries include Hempstead Road to the northeast (formerly US 290), Interstate 610 to the east, Clay Road to the north, the Addicks Dam to the west, and Buffalo Bayou to the south. Spring Branch serves 35,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students and includes a region with 188,000 residents. The Spring Branch ISD area is served by the Houston Community College System, but it is not within the tax base. SBISD is not to be confused with the Spring Independent School District, also located in the Greater Houston area (the latter is located in the northern portion of the region). There are currently four traditional high schools (grades 9-12), one of which is 6A, and three 5A high schools, eight middle schools (grades 6-8), and twenty-six elementary schools (grades K-5), and six early education Pre-K centers in the district. Three more high school centers serve students in grades 9-12 with various purposes, including one public charter school. In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency. History The school district originated from the Spring Branch School Society, which was sponsored by the St. Peter's Church in 1856. The first school opened in 1889. By 1905, the white school had one teacher with 49 pupils and the black school had one teacher with 29 pupils. The area did not become urban until the expansion of Houston city limits in the 1950s, which followed a failed attempt by the entire Spring Branch region to incorporate into a single entity, leading to the establishment of the Memorial Villages. Beginning in the mid-1950s and continuing through the mid-1970s, the school district expanded rapidly. By 1976, the school district had approximately 45,000 students. In 1979, The New York Times said that the district was "highly regarded". As the district moved into the 1980s, the number of students attending SBISD schools dropped precipitously, leaving a number of facilities underutilized. By the 1984-85 school year, the student population had dropped from its mid-1970s peak of over 40,000