The Richardson Independent School District (RISD) was founded in 1854, it was originally founded to educate the children of local farmers, small business owners, and others who had settled outside of Dallas. Today, the RISD serves as strong educational system to over 38,700 students. RISD has 54 campuses across three cities: Richardson, and portions of Dallas and Garland. Including administration and support, RISD maintains 70 facilities covering more than 6 million square feet with 35 million square feet of grounds.
Throughout the years, RISD and its individual schools have received numerous recognitions and awards at the state and national levels. Most recently, RISD was one of only eleven independent school districts to be named to the 2016 Texas Honor Roll Districts, and 23 of its schools were named National Blue-Ribbon Campuses by the Department of Education. However, RISD and its schools aren’t just academically recognized, for seven consecutive years, it has been named a “Best Community for Music Education” by the National Association of Music Merchants, and 76% of its 98 bands, choirs and orchestras earned sweepstakes, the highest rating in UIL competition, in 2017.
