Houston is the nation’s fourth-largest city, and it continues to grow. Families who move into the area come from a variety of backgrounds and have a variety of needs. As the population of this region expands, public schools continue to work to meet these needs through offering students the opportunity to receive a quality education.

About Region 4

Region 4 includes the public schools in seven counties in and around the Houston area. This large region contains 54 school districts with a total of 1,294 campuses. Of these, 750 are elementary schools, 203 are middle schools, 49 are junior high schools, 143 are high schools, and 25 are elementary through secondary schools. The rest are alternative school campuses. The 54 school districts vary by size, although most have between 5,000 and 10,000 students. The smallest three districts have less than 500 students each, and the largest five have over 50,000 apiece. Region 4 also has 48 state-approved charter schools.

Of the 20 state service centers that the Texas State Legislature established in 1967, Region 4 has the most students. In fact, with a population of 1,038,480, Region IV contains nearly 1/4 of the state’s 4,594,942 public school students. The school district also has more than 20,000 students in Charter Schools. The region as a whole has a 96% attendance rate and a 1.1% dropout rate.

These students come from a number of diverse backgrounds. The overall racial composition is 43% Hispanic, 29% Caucasian, 22% African American, 6% Asian, and 0.2% Native American, although these ratios vary widely between school districts. About 75% of students from Region 4 come from economically disadvantaged families, and 19% have limited English proficiency.

Because of the diversity of Region 4’s student population, test scores vary widely. The majority of students do pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), with 50% of students passing in the lowest-performing grade and 76% in the highest. A number of students also take college entrance exams, such as the ACT and the SAT. As of 2005, 31% of the total population of students in Region 4 scored at or above passing level on college entrance exams. These numbers especially vary by race, with 44% of white students, 9% of black students, and 14% of Hispanic students making adequate scores for entrance into college.

Teaching in Region 4

Because of the vast amount of student need, Region 4 continues to seek quality teachers who are willing to invest in the lives of their students. More than 62,000 teachers currently serve in this area. For more information about Region 4 Schools, check out the region’s website: http://www.esc4.net. There you can find links to employment information and job fairs.

Around 75% of teachers in Region 4 list a bachelor’s degree as their highest earned degree, and opportunities are even available to those who have earned a bachelor’s in a field other than education. A number of alternative certification programs are available within various school districts for those who wish to pursue teaching as a second career.

If you are interested in teaching in Region 4 or in any public or private school district in the state of Texas but do not have a teaching license, the Web-Centric Alternative Certification Program (WCACP) can help you complete the necessary academic steps for certification. This program, conducted entirely online, gives students the opportunity to study at their own pace. This program is ideal for people who are working full-time or raising a family because they do not have to return to a traditional college or university setting. Students who can dedicate a full-time effort, however, may finish the online program in just a few months.

If you have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and an overall 2.5 grade point average, you may be a candidate for admission in the WCACP.