Westwood Junior High School is a public junior high school, part of the Richardson Independent School District

Richardson Independent School District

Richardson Independent School District is a school district based in Richardson, Texas .RISD covers and includes most of the city of Richardson, TX and portions of the cities of Dallas, TX and Garland, TX . RISD operates 55 campuses that serve more than 34,000 students...

, located at 7630 Arapaho Road in Dallas. Westwood is the Math, Science, and Leadership magnet. The school contains the 7th and 8th grade with a 652 total enrolment. It is one of the 2 Magnet Junior High Schools

Magnet school

In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...

 in RISD, the other of which is West, the visual arts and technology magnet. Recently a health magnet has also been added to Westwood.

General Info

• Principal: Troy Gray
• 7th grade Assistant principal: Eloisa Muzquiz
• 8th Grade Assistant Principal: Katerina Titze
• Mascot: Warrior

Leadership

Westwood's Leadership program is run by Dr.Karinja. There are two forms of this class, both of which earn 1 elective credit in 7th grade, and .5 elective credits along with the .5 required Speech credit in 8th grade. Dr. karinja teaches all of the regular time courses for 7th and 8th grade. There is also a 0 hour option that allows student to take an 8th period before school. 0 Hour 7th grade is taught by Mrs. Showalter, and 8th grade is taught by Mrs. Hollon.

Integrated Health Sciences

This is an in depth course pertaining to medical terminology

Medical terminology

Medical terminology is a vocabulary for accurately describing the human body and associated components, conditions, processes and process in a science-based manner. Some examples are: R.I.C.E., trapezius, and latissimus dorsi. It is to be used in the medical and nursing fields...

 and general biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

 headed in whole by Mrs. Freeman. It is a one year class that provides the required 0.5 high school credit for Health.

TAKS Scores

The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills

Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills

The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills is a standardized test used in Texas primary and secondary schools to assess students' attainment of reading, writing, math, science, and social studies skills required under Texas education standards. It is developed and scored by Pearson Educational...

 is a state regulated aptitude test that measures the quality of schools. Westwood's above average scores are what have assisted it in becoming Exemplary.

Years:	09-10	10-11
Reading/ELA	96%	97%
Math	95%	97%
Writing	99%	99%
Science	85%	90%
Social Studies	97%	99%

(Average TAKS scores over time)

Further Programs and Clubs

There are many clubs at Westwood. This includes AVID, NJHS, and Beta Club

National Beta Club

The National Beta Club is an organization for 5th-12th graders in the United States, recognizing academic achievement, leadership, character and service....

.