L.V. BERKNER HIGH SCHOOL STEM ACADEMY SCHOOL PROFILE
RISD is home to more than 11,000 bilingual students who speak at least 76 different languages and dialects.
Top languages spoken in RISD include English, Spanish, Arabic, Amharic, Vietnamese, Pashto, and Urdu.
NORTH STAR GOAL
Every student, teacher, and leader will meet or exceed their academic growth goals.
Campus Honors and Recognitions
- 78% of graduates in 2023 graduated with one or more endorsements
- 411 of the graduates in 2023 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—Algebra I-Adv, Algebra II-Adv, Anatomy/Physiology-H, Art I-Adv, Band-H, Biology-Adv, Ceramics I-Adv, Chemistry I-Adv, Choir-H, Drawing II-Adv, Drawing III-Adv, Electronic Media Adv, English I-Adv, English II-Adv, French III-Adv, Geometry-Adv, German III-Adv, Japanese III Adv, Jewelry II-Adv, Latin III-Adv Orchestra-H, Painting II-Adv, Photography-Adv, Spanish III-Adv, Spanish Language Enrichment-H
Advanced Placement—AP Capstone, Art Drawing, Art History, Art Three Dimension, Art Two Dimension, 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
UT OnRamps— Algebra II, Art & Entertainment, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Physics, Pre-Calculus, Reading Writing Rhetoric, 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: 2301 (as of September 2022)
Seniors 531, Juniors 519, Sophomores 613, Freshmen 638
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: Kristy Cage
Associate Principal: Sharonda Tims
Assistant Principals: Veronica Cole, Roberto Diaz, Jennifer Frazier, Austin Gunter, Krispen Williams, Jennifer Wynne
Counselors: Veronica Adams, Danielle Dabeshlim, Megan Daniel, Kendyll Parker, Beneia Ruttenburg, Eboni Simmons, Barbara Sucher, Kelly Wallace
Intervention Counselor: Jana Anderson
College and Career Coordinator: Demetra Durham
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
English Language Learners 28 percent
Special Education 12.2 percent
Economically Disadvantaged 57 percent
Gifted and Talented 9.9 percent
Student Ethnicity
Hispanic 38.8 percent
White 28.9 percent
African American 22.1 percent
Asian 6.9 percent
Other 3.5 percent
2022-23 RISD graduates are attending the following highly selective colleges and universities:
Carnegie Mellon University
Georgetown University
Harvard University
Rice University
Tulane University of Louisiana
University of California – Los Angeles
University of Pennsylvania
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 12 Attending Colleges Classes of 2021 and 2022
Class of 2021
El Centro College, University of North Texas, The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Texas at Austin, Richland College, Collin County Community College, The University of Texas at Arlington, Midwestern State University, Prairie View A&M, Texas A&M University Texas State University, Texas Woman’s University
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, Texas Tech University, University of Houston
Top 24 Attending Colleges 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, Hardin-Simmons University, Huston-Tillotson University, University of North Texas, The University of Texas at Dallas, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas State University, Texas Tech University, Collin County Community College, Baylor University, Texas Southern University, Concordia University Texas, Georgia State University-Perimeter, Hillsborough Community College, Indiana University-Bloomington
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
