Northwest ISD trustees have seen a first look at proposed attendance boundaries for Davis High School, the district's fourth comprehensive high school, which is set to start welcoming freshmen and sophomores in August 2027. The plan would shift students from at least six elementary schools into Davis's attendance zone and reshape feeder patterns for three existing high schools as the fast-growing district tries to head off overcrowding before it worsens.
According to Community Impact, the Northwest ISD board of trustees saw a presentation of recommended high school attendance boundary changes, part of the district's plan to implement new zones before Davis High School opens. Davis is located in the southern portion of Northwest ISD and will affect the feeder patterns for Northwest, Byron Nelson and Eaton high schools, the outlet reports. Construction of the new campus is tied to a nearly $2 billion bond program that voters approved in 2023, according to the Fort Worth Report.
Which Neighborhoods Could Shift to Davis
Under the proposal detailed by Community Impact, students from Curtis, Granger, Haslet and Peterson elementary schools would attend Davis High School, along with students at Hughes Elementary who live south of SH 170 and students at JC Thompson Elementary in the district's unpopulated southern tip. The same reporting notes that Northwest ISD is redrawing high school attendance boundaries specifically to accommodate the new campus.
Not every affected family would be forced to move immediately. Per the outlet's reporting, students scheduled for the new Davis attendance zones could opt out if they have a sibling currently enrolled as a junior at another high school, if they are staff transfer students, or if they attend a district academy. Students already zoned for Northwest, Byron Nelson or Eaton high schools could also stay at their current campus if they're already enrolled there, though those who choose to stay must provide their own transportation, the report states.
Facilities Chief Explains the Grandfathering Rules
Sarah Stewart, identified in the reporting as NISD's chief of facilities, said students who have already attended their current high school can stay there unless they are zoned to move to Davis, according to the same account. The grandfathering approach mirrors how the district has handled prior boundary shifts tied to new campuses opening across the region.
Why Eaton Needs Relief
The push for a fourth high school comes down to capacity. Northwest ISD high schools are designed to hold 3,200 students each, and Eaton High School would be over capacity for the 2027-28 school year if Davis isn't built on schedule, per Community Impact's reporting. Separately, according to crosstimbersgazette.com, all three of the district's existing comprehensive high schools already enroll more than 3,000 students, with Eaton expected to receive the most relief once Davis opens. A district FAQ page has separately described high school capacity as up to 2,500 students, a figure that conflicts with the 3,200-student capacity cited elsewhere in district materials and reporting.
Left unaddressed, the strain would spread. Community Impact's reporting indicates that Northwest ISD high schools broadly would be over capacity by the 2028-29 school year if Davis is never built. The district has framed the boundary work as part of a broader response to being one of Texas's fastest-growing school districts, according to Northwest Independent School District. The district's construction program overall is designed to create space for about 8,400 additional students as enrollment climbs past 32,000, the Fort Worth Report notes.
What Davis High School Will Offer
When it opens, Davis will serve freshmen and sophomores and add a grade level each year, per the district. The campus will house the Transportation, Automation & Logistics Academy as its second program of choice, and Dr. Ron Myers, formerly principal of Byron Nelson High School, has been named Davis's inaugural principal, the district states. Superintendent Mark Foust leads the district overseeing the expansion, per Community Impact.
Community Input Sessions and the Path to a Vote
Northwest ISD plans to gather community feedback through a series of proposed-boundary sessions this fall, including one at Byron Nelson High School on October 5, one at Northwest High School on October 7, and one at Eaton High School on October 20, according to Community Impact's reporting. The district will also hold a meeting with its attendance boundary team on October 27, with community engagement sessions running throughout October, the outlet reports. Northwest ISD plans to roll out social media posts, send newsletters and update its website as part of that outreach.
The recommended boundary changes are set to go before the school board on November 9, when trustees are expected to vote to establish the new lines, per Community Impact. That timeline mirrors how Northwest ISD handled its most recent boundary overhaul: trustees unanimously voted on Jan. 12 to reconfigure attendance boundaries ahead of Romer Elementary School and Barksdale Middle School opening for the 2026-27 school year, according to a separate Community Impact report. Those changes were projected to ease crowding at Carter and Prairie View elementary schools and Medlin and Pike middle schools, with Worthington Middle School's enrollment expected to fall from a projected 1,305 students to 1,141. Northwest ISD also opened the Dr. David Hicks Early Childhood Center in August, the first of four planned early childhood centers districtwide.
