Granbury ISD opens 44 transfer slots at Mann STEAM Academy; in-person applications start in March

Melissa Shipp, principal at the STEAM Academy at Mann in Granbury ISD, announced that the campus will add 44 transfer spots for kindergarten through fifth grade for the next school year and described how families can apply.

Shipp said STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art and math and that the Mann campus uses daily implementation of the inquiry design process and the Project Lead The Way curriculum to prepare students for career and technical education pathways in middle and high school. She also said the district provides transportation from home elementary campuses for students accepted to the program.

Shipp told viewers the school currently serves students zoned to the building and additional transfers; the transcript lists "701" zoned students and "95" transfer students for the campus. She said the 44 new openings break down as follows: 8 kindergarten slots, 10 in first and second grades, 4 in third grade, 8 in fourth grade and 4 in fifth grade; the transcript wording was unclear whether the "10 in first and second grades" means 10 per grade or 10 combined, so the article reports the numbers as stated by district staff.

Randi McFate, media specialist at the Mann campus, said she transferred her own children into the STEAM Academy and called the decision "the best decision for our family." Jennifer Bloodworth, STEAM coordinator and a fifth-grade science teacher, described the program's aim: "Our goal is just create innovators, and thinkers and kids that go out and make our society even better than it" (verbatim from transcript).

Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and must be submitted in person at the STEAM Academy; the transcript states applications open "Wednesday, March" at 7:10 a.m. and must be dropped off in person (the transcript does not specify the calendar date beyond the month). Shipp said applications will be date-stamped on receipt and processed in order by grade level. For kindergarten students, parents are to register at their home campus during kindergarten enrollment ("kinder roundup") and then submit the STEAM paperwork to the Mann campus; paperwork drop-off for those registrations begins on the 19th (month not specified in the transcript). Families will be notified by the end of the school year whether their child is approved, placed on a wait list or denied.

Shipp offered campus tours and said more enrollment details and contact information are posted on the Granbury ISD website on the Mann STEAM Academy page.

Why it matters: The Mann STEAM Academy is the district's elementary STEAM program using Project Lead The Way curriculum, which district staff say creates an instructional pathway into middle and high school CTE offerings. Adding 44 transfer slots expands access for students outside the campus zone but remains limited by capacity and a grade-by-grade allocation process.

For parents: district staff emphasized that applications must be dropped off in person, that documentation is date-stamped and that kindergarten registrants should begin at their home campus during kindergarten enrollment and then deliver STEAM paperwork to Mann starting on the 19th (month not specified). Acceptance notifications will be issued by the end of the school year.