HISD School Choice & Magnet Programs: What Heights Families Should Know

Every December, Heights families with school-age kids weigh the same question: stay with the neighborhood zoned campus or apply through HISD's district-wide school choice lottery. The good news is that Houston Heights has strong options in both directions. Here is what families should know for the 2027-28 cycle, from the schools already close to home to how the application actually works.

Start With Your Zoned Schools

For most Heights addresses, the promise is a short walk or bike ride to school. The primary high school is Heights High School at 413 E 13th St, the campus long known as John H. Reagan High and now an International Baccalaureate school with roughly 20 AP course offerings. The zoned middle schools are Hamilton Middle School at 139 E 20th St, which houses a Vanguard gifted-and-talented magnet program, and Hogg Middle School. At the elementary level, Harvard, Helms, Field, Love, and Sinclair are the campuses most commonly tied to Heights addresses, though attendance boundaries do shift, so it is always worth confirming your address in HISD's online school finder before making plans. For the big picture on how these schools compare, our parent's guide to Heights schools is a good starting point.

Inside Heights High's Magnet & Career Programs

Heights High is designated HISD's Magnet School of Computer Technology, and its magnet tracks go well beyond the computer academy. Students can also explore health science, business, engineering, and transportation pathways on campus, which makes the school a real option for families who want career-oriented coursework without leaving the neighborhood.

One change worth knowing: in January 2026, HISD's state-appointed Board of Managers approved phasing out the graphic design career pathway at Heights High (along with programs at a handful of other campuses), a decision that drew vocal opposition from Heights parents. The coursework is not disappearing from the district, though. It is being consolidated at the Barbara Jordan Career Center, which is expanding to 16 programs under five career clusters and is open to students at ten area high schools. If career and technical education matters to your family, that is the campus to research.

How School Choice Works

HISD families can apply beyond their zoned campus through the district's school choice portal. The system runs one lottery-based application: families rank up to ten magnet and choice programs, from STEM and fine arts to language, Montessori, medical careers, and Vanguard, in a single submission, then wait for lottery notifications in the spring. Magnet programs at Hamilton Middle and Heights High are part of that same menu, so a Heights family can rank them like any other program in the district.

The district also hosts preference fairs through the winter and spring where families can meet teachers and tour programs. The one closest to the Heights is Waltrip High School's fair on December 12, 2026, with additional fairs at Austin, Bellaire, Sterling, and Madison campuses through May.

A Few Tips From Neighbors

Families in the Heights tend to do this in the same order: confirm the zoned option first, decide whether it is a fit, then treat the choice lottery as a plan B or an enrichment move rather than a scramble. Tour what you can, ask principals about class sizes and after-school programming, and talk to families with kids already at the campus. And because HISD's calendar drives so many family plans, our guide to the HISD school calendar is worth keeping handy when you pick a program.

The best news is that families in the Heights do not have to choose between neighborhood convenience and program choice: they get both. The zoned campuses are strong, the choice portal adds citywide opportunity, and the December application window gives you time to do the homework right. Start with your address, add the programs that excite your kid, and let the lottery do its thing. That is the whole Heights way.