A magnet school does not have an attendance boundary, allowing students from around the district to attend. McCool Academy offers an opportunity to learn from a STEAM-based curriculum and a unique environment to provide effective learning strategies for students.

A transfer application is the only requirement for McCool Academy. Under the new district transfer policy, only attendance and disciplinary records will be evaluated. All students must have a transfer application; there is no automatic enrollment.

The transfer application window for McCool Academy is still open. Applications can be submitted online and more information about transfers can be found at www.LubbockISD.org/transfers. If a transfer application has already been submitted for the 2020-2021 school year, it can easily be updated in the system using the information provided on the transfer website.

McCool Academy will be located at the current Smylie Wilson Middle School campus site. Facility updates will be completed before the start of the 2020-2021 school year to support the new academic programming model.

No. As a true magnet middle school, students who attend McCool Academy will be able to return to their home campus without filling out a transfer application. If a student wants to attend a high school outside of their current attendance zone based on their preferred academic pathway, they must complete a transfer application online. Students from McCool Academy will be prepared to enter high school at any campus.

For the 2020-2021 school year, McCool Academy will only have sixth- and seventh-grade students. Eighth grade will be added the following year.

Enrollment will be limited to 200 students per grade level and the student-teacher ratio will be in accordance with the district standard of 25 to 1.

STEAM education uses science, technology, engineering, arts, and math to guide student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. It allows students to take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process to become innovators, educators, leaders, and learners of the 21st century. STEAM takes the benefits of STEM and integrates these principles in and through the arts. It removes limitations and replaces them with wonder, critique, inquiry, and innovation.

Project Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method where students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects, encouraging a deeper knowledge through participation and exploration. It is the ongoing act of learning about different subjects simultaneously. 

This is achieved by guiding students to identify, through research, a real-world problem (from local to global issues), developing its solution using evidence to support the claim, and presenting the solution through a multimedia approach based in 21st-century tools. Students demonstrate learning as they journey through the unit, interact with lessons, collaborate with each other, and assess themselves and each other. 

Specific curriculum decisions are currently in development, but advanced math and science courses have been confirmed. McCool Academy will also offer Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a nationally recognized program for college and career pathways in STEM fields. The PLTW middle school program, Gateway, prepares students for high school PLTW pathways in Computer Science, Engineering, or Biomedical Science (currently offered only at Monterey High School).

Project-based learning differentiates instruction in the classroom, particularly when that class includes students of widely different abilities. Students, not just students with disabilities, come to school with different learning styles. Some are strongly visual learners, some are auditory; some are kinetic and learn best when they can move. Many children benefit from sensory input, and students who are ADHD or Dyslexic benefit from being able to move as they process information. Using a rubric to lay out standards also puts students of varying abilities on a level playing field. PBL is one of a number of educational approaches aimed at making learning more applicable to life outside the classroom.

McCool Academy administrators have not made a decision about uniforms and are listening to feedback from parents and guardians.

Bus routes are not confirmed until the summer, but bus transportation will be available to McCool Academy from any Lubbock ISD middle school campus. More information will be provided when bus transportation plans are confirmed.

In addition to competitive athletics and fine arts, McCool Academy offers elective and after-school enrichment activities in the areas of robotics, engineering, coding/programming, app creation, video game design, and more. McCool Academy will also be the only Lubbock ISD middle school with an eSports program, currently only available at high school campuses.