at the school." At that time HISD replaced not only the principal but the entire management team. The district announced that the school was being moved to the alternative district, the HISD-wide district handling magnet schools. In 1997 the district negotiated with Rice University to strengthen the partnership. According to McAdams, HISD previously emphasized to Rice University that the Rice School was an HISD school and that the attitude damaged the relationship between the two entities. 2000s and 2010s In the 2006-2007 school year, the Texas Education Agency gave the school a "recognized" rating. In December 2007 Linda Lazenby, the principal of The Rice School said, as paraphrased by Jennifer Radcliffe of the Houston Chronicle that "she's thrilled her 1,100-student campus can serve as the poster child of success for the K-8 model in Houston." In 2014 Rice had about 1,150 students, over the school's official capacity. As of 2015 it was being used to house excess students from Roberts, Twain, and West University elementary schools, which were all at capacity. Concept The school opened with a partnership with Rice University. Since its opening the school has dual language instruction; all students learn in English and Spanish. When the school first opened, mathematics was used as a link to thread the curriculum throughout the various studies. The school had classes mixing multiple grades where students of different grades worked with one another. When the school opened it had the latest in computer technology. Classrooms were grouped in clusters, with each cluster having five classrooms. The school's full name, "The Rice School / La Escuela Rice," is bilingual. As of the 1994 opening, every sign within the school is in English and Spanish. Facility It is located on at the corner of Kirby Drive and North Braeswood Boulevard, with the campus west of Kirby Drive. When the school opened, the corner was wooded. The street leading into the school was named "Seuss Drive," after the children's literature author Dr. Seuss. The Rice School community suggested that the street be named after Dr. Seuss. Taft Architects designed the school building. The construction cost was $11 million. This two story, building was designed to facilitate the school's learning cluster model. An interior skylit plaza connects various areas of the school's. The administration area and the teacher resource center are connected to one another. In 1997 Fleck wrote "In contrast to the rigidly institutionalized,