Attendance Zones

Attendance zones are the geographic boundaries used to determine a student’s assigned Sherman ISD school. Students who live within each specified area or attendance zone within the district’s boundaries are assigned to attend a certain SISD school.

Three new school buildings will open in Sherman ISD for the 2025-26 school year:

• New, larger replacement campus for Crutchfield Elementary
• New, larger replacement campus for Fairview Elementary
• Brand-new elementary at the northwest corner of Heritage Ranch Trail and Plainview Road in northwest Sherman, named for David and Paula Parker

In addition, Wakefield Elementary will close at the end of the 2024-25 school year to make way for construction of a new early childhood center on the property.

Sherman ISD is also planning ahead for the future opening of a new elementary in South Sherman and planned conversion of Dillingham Elementary into the district’s third middle school in order to reduce the need for future zoning changes. 

The district also aims to balance enrollment across SISD by relieving campuses near/at/over capacity such as Dillingham, Washington Elementary and Piner Middle School.

Sherman ISD works with outside demographers to monitor housing and enrollment trends and receives updated enrollment projections annually. This analysis was used to develop the proposed attendance zones, which account for current and anticipated enrollment growth, help balance enrollment in existing schools and increase operational efficiency. View the 2024-25 demographic report presented at the March 24 School Board meeting. 

Generally, Sherman ISD prioritizes the following when developing attendance zones:

• Ensure campuses operate below capacity
• Utilize campuses efficiently based on space and programming
• Implement a clean feeder pattern from elementary to middle school
• Assess campus demographic profile (special programs and socioeconomic factors)
• Utilize natural boundary lines where possible (major roads, railroads, utility easements, waterways, etc.)
• Attempt to maintain elementary neighborhood schools approach
• Consider future growth patterns
• Build boundaries to sustain growth over time

Specific goals for the upcoming year included:

• Open the new elementary campus to operate efficiently and leave room for future growth
• Utilize increased capacity at Crutchfield and Fairview
• Reduce enrollment at campuses near/at/over capacity such as Dillingham, Washington and Piner
• Create the least disruptive option for the opening of New Elementary #2 and Middle School #3

Data from the district’s outside demographer, Zonda Education, was used to draft the proposed attendance zones. Zonda presented a detailed housing and enrollment update to the School Board during their regular Board meeting on March 24, 2025. View the presentation or watch the video here. 

The Sherman community is experiencing significant growth in new housing developments, and outside demographers anticipate enrollment in SISD to increase to more than 9,800 students by 2029. Sherman ISD voters passed a bond program in May 2023 to prepare for this growth and enhance the learning environment for students. The bond program included the following projects, among others:

• The construction of new, larger replacement campuses for Crutchfield and Fairview elementary schools, each with a capacity of 712 students. These schools will be complete and open for students in the 2025-26 school year. 
• Two brand-new elementary schools, each with a capacity of 712 students 
  • The first new elementary school will open for the 2025-26 school year at the northwest corner of Heritage Ranch Trail and Plainview Road, north of Highway 82.  
  • The second new elementary school will be built in South Sherman at a location still to be determined. The proposed zones anticipate that school and reduce the number of future zoning changes that would be needed to accommodate it.
• A new early childhood center on the current site of Wakefield Elementary. Wakefield Elementary will close at the end of the 2025-26 school year in preparation for the start of construction of the new early childhood center. The existing school will be demolished and a new school serving the district’s Pre-Kindergarten and Head Start students will be built in its place. 
• The conversion of Dillingham Elementary into the district’s third middle school. The proposed middle school attendance zones allow elementary students to stay with their classmates when moving on to middle school and create the least disruptive option when opening Dillingham as the district’s third middle school.

As Sherman ISD opens new school buildings and plans for future growth, it is likely that some students will be assigned to schools that are not the closest to their homes. It is not possible for all students to attend schools closest in proximity to their homes due to the locations of SISD schools, variances and density of population, roadways, population demographics and more.

Proposed attendance zones for the 2025-26 school year were designed to ensure efficient and effective school operations across campuses. This approach helps prevent overcrowding in certain schools and underutilization in others, thereby promoting a high-quality learning environment across the district based on available space, staffing and student programs.​ 

Generally, Sherman ISD prioritizes the following when developing attendance zones:

• Ensure campuses operate below capacity
• Utilize campuses efficiently based on space and programming
• Implement a clean feeder pattern from elementary to middle school
• Assess campus demographic profile (special programs and socioeconomic factors)
• Utilize natural boundary lines where possible (major roads, railroads, utility easements, waterways, etc.)
• Attempt to maintain elementary neighborhood schools approach
• Consider future growth patterns
• Build boundaries to sustain growth over time

Specific goals for the upcoming year included:

• Open the new elementary campus to operate efficiently and leave room for future growth
• Utilize increased capacity at Crutchfield and Fairview
• Reduce enrollment at campuses near/at/over capacity such as Dillingham, Washington and Piner
• Create the least disruptive option for the opening of New Elementary #2 and Middle School #3

Once attendance zones for the 2025-26 school year are finalized by the School Board, Sherman ISD will explore the feasibility of grandfathering certain groups of students at their currently zoned campus or allowing families to choose whether they would prefer to attend their current school or newly zoned campus. The ability to provide this opportunity will depend on factors such as school capacity, staffing and enrollment, with priority given to incoming 5th and 8th graders. Details will be announced at a later date should this opportunity become available.

Please note: this is not a situation in which seeking a student transfer to another campus is appropriate, as transfers are considered for reasons of safety, health or to receive special services. More information on student transfers can be found here.

The attendance zones will not be final until approved by the Sherman ISD Board of Trustees and may still change. Consideration of the proposed zones will occur at a future meeting. Once approved, the new attendance zones will go into effect for the 2025-26 school year.

Once the attendance zones are approved, Sherman ISD will share the approved maps with families and the existing attendance zone finder tool will be updated with the new attendance zones. This tool can be used to search your home address or apartment building to determine the assigned campus.

Once the attendance zones are approved, you can utilize the attendance zone finder tool on the district website to search your home address or apartment building to determine your assigned campus for the 2025-26 school year. At that time, you may also call a campus and speak with the campus registrar for assistance in verifying your assigned school based on your home address and the new attendance zones.

Any student who lives more than two miles from their assigned SISD campus qualifies for bus transportation to and from school. Read more about transportation in Sherman ISD.

The same two-mile rule used to determine eligibility for bus transportation will apply. Once attendance zones are approved, Sherman ISD will determine bus routes and stops based on bus eligibility guidelines and student density within each attendance zone.

Read about transportation in Sherman ISD.