L.V. BERKNER HIGH SCHOOL STEM ACADEMY SCHOOL PROFILE
RISD is home to more than 11,906 bilingual students who speak at least 76 different languages and dialects.
Top languages spoken in RISD include English, Spanish, Arabic, Amharic, Vietnamese, Pashto, and Farsi.
NORTH STAR GOAL
Every student, teacher, and leader will meet or exceed their academic growth goals.
Campus Honors and Recognitions
- 81% of graduates in 2024 graduated with one or more endorsements
- 74% of the graduates in 2024 earned a Distinguished Level of Achievement
- Award-winning Fine Arts Program—with music programs being recognized at State and National level
- Recognized Academic Decathlon Program
- “Met Standard” rating from Texas Education Agency with Academic Achievement Distinction in Mathematics and Science for 2019
- CREST Award (for excellence in Counseling Program) 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
- Newsweek Names Berkner STEM Academy in America’s Top 5000 STEM schools
- AVID National Demonstration Site
- Top Ten Rated Band Program
- U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School
- 2007-2011 Gold Performance Acknowledgment for Social Studies
Academic Excellence
The following rigorous courses are available to highly motivated and academically talented students:
Advanced/Honors— Anatomy/Physiology‐H, Art I‐Adv, Art Media Comm‐Adv, Band‐H, Biology‐Adv, Ceramics I‐Adv, Chemistry I‐Adv, Choir‐H, Digital Photo/Media I Adv, Digital Photo/Media II‐Adv, English I‐Adv, English II‐Adv, French II‐Adv, French III‐Adv, Geometry‐Adv, Japanese II‐Adv, Japanese III‐Adv, Orchestra‐H, Painting II Adv, Psychology‐Adv, Sculpture‐Adv, Spanish III‐Adv, Spanish Language Enrichment‐H
Advanced Placement— Art Drawing, Art History, Art Three Dimension, Art Two Dimension, Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Computer Science A, Computer Science Principles, English Language, English Literature, Environmental Science, French Language and Culture, Human Geography, Japanese Language, Macroeconomics, Music Theory, Psychology, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Statistics, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Dual Credit— Art Appreciation, Art History, Business Information Management, Business Management, Economics, English 3, English 4, Health Science Theory, Practicum in Health Science, Practicum in Health Science 2, Principles of Health Science, Professional Communications, Psychology, U.S. Government, U.S. History
UT OnRamps—Algebra II, Art & Entertainment, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Physics, Pre-Calculus, Reading Writing Rhetoric, Statistics, U.S. History
Campus Information
Campus website
1600 E. Spring Valley Road
Richardson, Texas 75081
Main Office: 469-593-7000
Counseling Office: 469-593-7048
Enrollment: 2312 (beginning of 23-24 school year)
Seniors 508, Juniors 543, Sophomores 594, Freshmen 667
RISD does not rank beyond the top 10% of each graduating class as required by the state of Texas for the purposes of Automatic Admissions.
Accreditation: Texas Education Agency
School Code: 445-841
Schedule: Classes meet 90 minutes per day Monday – Friday; 18 weeks per semester.
Professional Staff
Superintendent: Tabitha Branum
Chief of Staff: Mike Jasso
Principal: Farrah Smock
Associate Principal: Crystal Kemp
Assistant Principals: Veronica Cole, Roberto Diaz, Jennifer Frazier, Austin Gunter, Krispen Williams
Counselors: Megan Daniel, Brittanye Love, Kelly Mountjoy, Beneia Ruttenburg, Eboni Simmons, Barbara Sucher, Kelly Wallace
Intervention Counselor: Jana Anderson
College and Career Coordinator: Jorge Ibarra
District Information
Founded in 1857, Richardson ISD is located in northern Dallas County and encompasses most of the city of Richardson, as well as portions of the cities of Dallas and Garland. Sixty percent of the district is located in Dallas, thirty-five percent in Richardson, and five percent in Garland.
Demographic Information
Economically Disadvantaged 55.5 percent
Emergent Bilingual Students 32.1 percent
Special Education 15.2 percent
Gifted and Talented 11.7 percent
Student Ethnicity
Hispanic 38.8 percent
White 29.8 percent
African American 20.9 percent
Asian 7.4 percent
Other 3.6 percent
2023-24 RISD graduates are attending the following highly selective colleges and universities:
Brown University
Columbia University
Harvard University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
University of California – Berkeley
University of California – Los Angeles
University of Pennsylvania
Washington University in St. Louis
Foundation High School Program
The following credits are needed for a student to graduate from RISD without an endorsement:
English – 4 credits
Mathematics – 3 credits
Science – 3 credits
Social Studies – 4 credits
PE – 1 credit
Fine Arts – 1 credit
Languages Other Than English – 2 credits
Health – .5 credit
Electives – 3.5 credits
Total – 22 credits
The following credits are needed for a student to graduate from RISD with an endorsement
English – 4 credits
Mathematics – 4 credits
Science – 4 credits
Social Studies – 4 credits
PE – 1 credit
Fine Arts – 1 credit
Languages Other Than English – 2 credits
Health – .5 credit
Electives – 5.5 credits
Total – 26 credits
Grade Scale
90-100 ………………… 4.0
80-89 ………….………. 3.0
70-79 …………………… 2.0
Below 70 ……………… 0.0
Grading scale used for college admission, scholarship or NCAA only
Quality Points— RISD students earn five quality points upon successful completion of Adv/Honors courses and ten quality points upon successful completion of AP, Dual Credit and OnRamps courses.
Full Year Course Credit— In order for a student to earn credit for a course that is a full year in length, the average of the two semester grades must equal a minimum of 70 (business rules of rounding apply).
Top 10 Attending Colleges Classes of 2023 and 2024
Class of 2022
El Centro College
Richland College
The University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Austin
Texas Woman’s University
Stephen F Austin State University
Texas State University
Collin County Community College
Oklahoma Panhandle State University
Texas A&M University-Commerce
Class of 2023
Dallas College
The University of Texas at Arlington
Texas Woman’s University
The University of Texas at Austin
Richland College
Texas A&M University-College Station
University of Houston
Midwestern State University
Texas Wesleyan University
Florida Ag and Mechanical University
Top 20 Attending Colleges Class of 2024
Dallas College
University of North Texas
Texas A&M University-Commerce
UTD
UTA
Texas Women’s Uni
UT
Texas Wesleyan
TAMU
Texas Tech
Texas State University
Collin County College District
Richland College
Texas Christian
University of Houston
Wichita State
Midwestern State
Prairie View A&M University
Southern Methodist University
University of North Texas-Dallas
Testing Profile 3 Year Overview
2020-2021
SAT Mean Scores: Math – 566; Reading & Writing – 547; Total Seniors Taking Exam – 77
ACT Mean Scores: Composite – 17.6; Total Students Taking Exam – 436
Advanced Placement: Total Students in AP Classes – 430; Total Exams Taken – 634
2021-2022
SAT Mean Scores: Math – 556; Reading & Writing – 559; Total Seniors Taking Exam – 96
ACT Mean Scores: Composite – 17.0; Total Students Taking Exam – 503
Advanced Placement: Total Students in AP Classes – 403, Total Exams Taken 528
National Merit Scholarship: Commended – 6; Semifinalist – 1; Finalist – 1
2022-2023
SAT Mean Scores: Math – 529; Reading & Writing – 545; Total Seniors Taking Exam – 94
ACT Mean Scores: Composite – 16.9; Total Students Taking Exam – 492
Advanced Placement: Total Students in AP Classes – 430; Total Exams Taken – 544
National Merit Scholarship: Commended – 1; Semifinalist – 3; Finalist – 2
Students in RISD will develop competencies in the areas of:
Financial Literacy, Critical Thinking/Problem Solving, Real World Connections, Effective Communication, and Emotional Intelligence
