RISD is one of only 5% of school districts in Texas still implementing the 7-8 grade junior high model. In 2020, after researching and studying the impact on student academic performance, curriculum alignment, wellness, and extracurriculars, a grade configuration committee recommended to RISD Trustees that the district move forward with implementing the middle school model. The resolution was adopted in 2021, and voters approved funds for the first phase of middle school transformations as part