The Woodlands Schools Guide
One of the most important — and most misunderstood — facts about buying in The Woodlands is that "The Woodlands" is not a single school district. The community spans three districts, and which one serves a home depends entirely on its address, not on the village name. Get this wrong and a family can buy expecting one high school and be zoned to another.
This guide lays out which villages fall in which district, the high schools and the selective magnet program, how the districts compare, and why zoning has to be verified street by street.
The Three Districts That Serve The Woodlands
- Conroe ISD (CISD) — serves the large majority of The Woodlands' villages, all in Montgomery County.
- Tomball ISD — serves Creekside Park, the only village in Harris County. Use the district's current attendance-zone map to confirm the individual campus.
- Magnolia ISD — serves a small western sliver of Sterling Ridge (the May Valley area).
Most of The Woodlands is in Conroe ISD, Creekside Park is in Tomball ISD, and a slice of Sterling Ridge is in Magnolia ISD. Campus assignment must be confirmed against the current official boundary map for a specific address.
Which District Serves Your Village
- Grogan's Mill — Conroe ISD
- Panther Creek — Conroe ISD
- Cochran's Crossing — Conroe ISD
- Indian Springs — Conroe ISD
- Alden Bridge — Conroe ISD
- College Park — Conroe ISD
- Sterling Ridge — Conroe ISD (with a Magnolia ISD portion on the western May Valley edge)
- Creekside Park — Tomball ISD (Harris County); confirm the campus by address
Within Conroe ISD, whether a home feeds The Woodlands High School or The Woodlands College Park High School depends on its elementary attendance zone — and that split runs through several villages (Grogan's Mill, Cochran's Crossing, Indian Springs, Sterling Ridge). It is genuinely address-specific, so always verify.
The High Schools
The Woodlands High School (Conroe ISD) — opened 1996, with an enrollment around 4,400. It carries a TEA accountability rating of A and is known for a deep Advanced Placement catalog and a nationally decorated marching band. Its sole junior-high feeder is McCullough Junior High.
The Woodlands College Park High School (Conroe ISD) — opened in 2005, enrollment around 3,300, also TEA A-rated. College Park is the campus that houses the Academy of Science & Technology magnet (below). Its junior-high feeder is Knox Junior High.
Tomball High School and Tomball Memorial High School are Tomball ISD high-school campuses. The district also lists Tomball West High School in its current attendance-zone planning. Do not infer a high-school assignment from a Creekside Park village name; verify the individual address with Tomball ISD.
Because campus-level ratings are updated annually, confirm the current TEA grade for any specific school on the state's txschools.gov before relying on it.
The Academy Of Science & Technology (AST) Magnet
The Conroe ISD Academy of Science & Technology is a selective, application-based STEM magnet housed on The Woodlands College Park High School campus. It admits roughly 65 students per class through testing, essays, and interviews, and draws applicants from the College Park, The Woodlands, and Oak Ridge high school attendance zones. It is a member of the National Consortium of Specialized STEM Schools.
The practical point for buyers: eligibility to apply to AST is tied to your home's high school zone. If a STEM magnet path matters to your family, the address's Conroe ISD high school assignment is part of the decision.
District Snapshot — Conroe ISD vs. Tomball ISD
Conroe ISD: one of Texas's largest districts at roughly 72,000 students across 66 schools, projected to keep growing toward 73,000 by 2030–31. Its most recent TEA accountability rating is a B (85), with the majority of its campuses rated A or B. Voters approved a roughly $1.97 billion bond in 2023, funding new elementary and intermediate schools now in progress.
Tomball ISD: a smaller, fast-growing district of roughly 22,000 students that earned a TEA A rating in 2024–25 — its sixth consecutive A. Voters approved a $429.1 million bond in 2025 (with no tax-rate increase) funding new facilities, technology, and a fifth-grade addition at Creekside Park Junior High, and a new Tomball West High School is anticipated in 2026.
For a family choosing between Creekside Park (Tomball ISD) and a Conroe ISD address elsewhere in The Woodlands, these are different districts with different ratings and growth plans. Confirm the exact campus for the property address before relying on a school assignment.
Why School Zoning Matters For Woodlands Buyers
- District is set by address, not by "The Woodlands." A home's district — Conroe, Tomball, or Magnolia ISD — depends on its street, and it changes the schools, ratings, and feeders entirely.
- Magnet access follows the zone. The Academy of Science & Technology only takes applicants from specific Conroe ISD high school zones, so the home's assignment determines eligibility to apply.
- The districts differ on rating and trajectory. Tomball ISD currently holds an A; Conroe ISD a B — each with its own multi-hundred-million-dollar bond program — which is material when comparing Creekside Park against the Conroe ISD villages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is all of The Woodlands in Conroe ISD? No. Most villages are in Conroe ISD, but Creekside Park (in Harris County) is in Tomball ISD, and a small western portion of Sterling Ridge (May Valley) is in Magnolia ISD. Confirm the current campus for the property address.
What high schools serve The Woodlands? In Conroe ISD, The Woodlands High School and The Woodlands College Park High School (which houses the Academy of Science & Technology magnet) serve different attendance areas. Tomball ISD lists Tomball High School, Tomball Memorial High School, and Tomball West High School. High-school assignment is address-specific; confirm it with the applicable district.
How do I get into the Academy of Science & Technology? AST is a selective application-based STEM magnet on the College Park campus, open to students in the College Park, The Woodlands, and Oak Ridge attendance zones, with admission by testing, essays, and interviews. Your home's high school zone determines whether you can apply.
Which district is better — Conroe ISD or Tomball ISD? Both are strong. Tomball ISD holds a current TEA A rating and Conroe ISD a B, but campus quality varies within each. The right answer depends on the specific home's zoned campuses, which you should verify by address.
Get Zoning Right Before You Buy
School zoning in The Woodlands is exactly the kind of detail that's easy to get wrong from a listing and expensive to discover after closing. The Kink Team works the community village by village and confirms district and campus assignments at the address level as part of every search. If schools are driving your move, we'll make sure the home matches the schools you actually want. Explore the villages in our guides to Creekside Park, Sterling Ridge, Grogan's Mill, and Panther Creek.
Sources: Conroe ISD and Tomball ISD's attendance-zone map (district pages, boundary planning, and bond programs), Texas Education Agency (txschools.gov) for accountability ratings, Community Impact, U.S. News, Niche, GreatSchools, NCES, and Wikipedia for enrollment and program history. Accountability ratings and attendance zones change; always verify the current district and campus for a specific address with the applicable official district map before purchase.