Maybe you're relocating from another Houston suburb and you've already done the school-district research. Maybe you're moving from out of state and the name Clear Creek ISD means nothing to you yet. Either way, here is the honest version: Kemah's schools are solid, the district is large and well-resourced, and the specialized programs available to Kemah kids are genuinely impressive — but the test-score picture is mixed, and the magnet and STEM programs that get the most attention all require your child to ride a bus out of Kemah to access them.
Kemah, a coastal city of 3,097 on Galveston Bay, feeds into Clear Creek Independent School District — one of the 29th-largest districts in Texas, with 38,780 students enrolled in 2025-26 spread across 45 schools and 103 square miles. The district draws from a wide swath of the Clear Lake Area, connecting Kemah families to the same academic ecosystem as League City, Seabrook, and the communities surrounding NASA Johnson Space Center. That aerospace proximity is not incidental — it shapes both the STEM programming the district has built and the expectations of many parents who move here for that industry.
On the youth side of things, Kemah punches above its size. The waterfront geography and close-knit community culture mean parents here are active, organized, and deeply invested in their kids' activities outside the classroom. Rec leagues through N Zone Sports, baseball and softball at Bayside Area Little League's complex in Seabrook, and Clear Creek ISD's active UIL athletics programs give kids from pre-K through high school a full calendar of competitive and recreational options.
Whether you're weighing whether CCISD is the right fit or you want to know exactly which programs serve Kemah's zip code, the sections below walk through the district's rating, standout campuses, specialized programs, youth sports, and who this district genuinely is — and is not — the right call for.
Clear Creek ISD at a Glance
Clear Creek ISD was formed in 1948 when the districts of Kemah, League City, Seabrook, and Webster consolidated into one system. Today the district holds a B rating, according to the Texas Education Agency — that is the 2025 A-F accountability rating covering the 2024-25 school year. For context, a B from the TEA represents a district performing above average across the state's accountability framework, which includes academic achievement, school progress, and closing the achievement gap.
On 2024-25 state assessments, 57% of students reached math proficiency and 65% reached reading proficiency. Those numbers are honest benchmarks worth sitting with: they reflect a large, demographically diverse district serving communities across a wide economic spectrum, and they trail the state's highest-performing suburban districts. The district is not trading on test scores alone — its value proposition runs through specialized programming, aerospace-adjacent partnerships, and a deeply active extracurricular culture.
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| TEA Accountability Rating (2024-25) | B |
| Total Enrollment (2025-26) | 38,780 students |
| Number of Schools | 45 (7 high schools, 10 intermediate, 27 elementary, 1 alternative) |
| District Size Rank (Texas) | 29th largest |
| Area Served | 103 square miles, Clear Lake Area |
| Math Proficiency (2024-25) | 57% of students |
| Reading Proficiency (2024-25) | 65% of students |
| Specialized Programs | WAVE GT Magnet, Science Magnet, Dual Language, STREAM of Innovation |
The district is headquartered in League City, and that geography matters for Kemah families: most of the district's magnet programs, advanced campuses, and specialized offerings sit in League City or Seabrook — not in Kemah itself. Transportation to those programs exists, but parents should plan for it from day one.
Three Standout Schools for Kemah Families
Clear Creek High School — The Wildcats
Clear Creek High School is the direct feeder for Kemah students and the district's original campus, established in 1956. The Wildcats compete in active UIL athletics programs across a wide range of sports for boys and girls. The school's maroon and white colors are a fixture in this community, and Friday night football at Veterans Memorial Stadium or Challenger Columbia Stadium draws genuine crowds — the kind of community-wide turnout that smaller suburbs often lack.
Beyond athletics, Clear Creek High School offers the advanced coursework pipeline that CCISD has built across the district, including dual-enrollment options for students pursuing college credit before graduation. If your child enters Kemah's elementary or intermediate feeder schools engaged in STREAM or the Science Magnet Program, Clear Creek High School is where that trajectory continues.
Seabrook Intermediate — Science Magnet Program
Seabrook Intermediate is one of the CCISD campuses hosting the district's Science Magnet Program, a three-year curriculum that any CCISD intermediate student may apply to regardless of home campus zone. The program is built around hands-on STEM electives and real-world partnerships — including the Galveston Bay Foundation and NASA Johnson Space Center — that feel less like textbook exercises and more like working in the industries that surround Clear Lake.
For Kemah families specifically, Seabrook Intermediate is geographically the closest of the magnet options, sitting in the adjacent city of Seabrook just up the bay. Applications are competitive and the program requires a commitment to travel, but for a science-oriented middle schooler it represents one of the more substantive academic tracks available in this part of the Houston metro.
Space Center Intermediate — STREAM of Innovation
Space Center Intermediate launched CCISD's STREAM of Innovation program — integrating Space, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Arts, and Medicine — in February 2025, making it the inaugural campus for this initiative. In 2025-26, seventh graders gained access to a coding elective and eighth graders could take an engineering essentials course that carries high school-level credit. The district plans to expand STREAM to two additional campuses in fall 2027, with a goal of reaching every intermediate campus by 2030.
For families drawn to Kemah partly because of proximity to the space and energy sectors, Space Center Intermediate represents the district putting that identity into actual curriculum. The high school-level coursework available to eighth graders is a meaningful acceleration for students who want it.
Specialized Programs Worth Knowing About
CCISD runs several district-wide programs that Kemah families can access even when those programs are not physically located in Kemah. Understanding how they work — and what the application process looks like — matters more here than in larger cities where a magnet campus might be two neighborhoods over.
WAVE — Gifted and Talented Magnet
The WAVE program is CCISD's intermediate-level gifted and talented magnet, and it has operated for nearly 30 years. It is a district-wide program, meaning Kemah students are eligible to apply. Families with a child who has been identified for GT services should ask specifically about WAVE during their enrollment conversation — it is not a program that automatically follows a student through the feeder system.
Science Magnet Program
The Science Magnet is a three-year program open to all CCISD intermediate students, available at multiple campuses in the district. The partnership with NASA Johnson Space Center is the headline, but the Galveston Bay Foundation component is arguably more relevant to Kemah kids — students engage with the bay ecosystem that literally surrounds them. Applications are open regardless of where a student lives in the district.
STREAM of Innovation
Launched in 2025 at Space Center Intermediate, this program integrates engineering, coding, and applied science into the intermediate curriculum in a way that connects directly to the aerospace and energy industries concentrated around Clear Lake. The district's roadmap calls for expansion to additional campuses by 2027, with a broader rollout goal by 2030. Families enrolling a current kindergartener should watch how this program evolves as their child reaches intermediate school.
Dual Language Program
CCISD's Dual Language Program runs at five elementary campuses across the district — none of which sit in Kemah. English-speaking students may enter the program in kindergarten or at a later entry point if they meet the criteria. For bilingual families or parents who want a Spanish-English immersion track, this is the district's formal offering — and it requires planning well before kindergarten enrollment.
Looking to buy in Kemah? Estimate your payment.
Enter your numbers to see an estimated monthly mortgage payment.
Estimate only. Excludes HOA fees and mortgage insurance. The interest rate above is a starting point, not a quoted rate — replace it with your own to see real numbers. Insurance is a flat placeholder, not a Kemah quote.
Youth Sports and Kids Activities in Kemah
For a city of 3,097, Kemah's youth sports infrastructure is broader than you might expect — largely because the community draws on resources shared across the Kemah-Seabrook corridor and the wider Clear Lake Area. The rec leagues, the school athletics programs, and the geography of Galveston Bay itself all combine to give kids here a full calendar from age three through high school.
N Zone Sports — The No-Tryout Option for Younger Kids
N Zone Sports Houston Bay Area runs multi-sport recreational leagues explicitly serving Kemah and surrounding communities including Seabrook, League City, and Clear Lake. The sports menu spans soccer, flag football, basketball, t-ball, and cheerleading for children ages 3 through 12. There are no drafts and no tryouts — the model is built around participation and seasonal variety rather than competitive selection. Leagues run across multiple seasons throughout the year, which means a child can cycle through several different sports without long off-season gaps.
For parents new to the area, N Zone is often the first organized sports experience a young child has in Kemah. The community texture is exactly what you would expect from a rec league in a close-knit waterfront town: parents who know each other, consistent volunteer coaches, and a low-pressure entry point into competitive activity.
Bayside Area Little League — Baseball and Softball
Families serious about youth baseball or softball will find their way to Bayside Area Little League, based in adjacent Seabrook. The complex includes multiple fields and batting cages, serving the Kemah-Seabrook corridor. For Kemah kids, this is the primary community baseball and softball outlet — and the proximity to Seabrook makes it genuinely accessible rather than a long-haul commitment.
Little League in this corridor has the kind of parent involvement you see in communities where people stay. Families who move here from larger metro areas often comment that the volunteer culture around Bayside is more organized and more welcoming than what they left behind.
UIL Athletics Through CCISD
CCISD Athletics offers a wide array of UIL sports for boys and girls in grades 7 through 12 — the full menu of Texas interscholastic athletics that parents from other states sometimes underestimate in scale. The district operates two dedicated football stadiums: Veterans Memorial Stadium and Challenger Columbia Stadium. Those facilities signal how seriously this community takes its school athletics programs.
For Kemah students, UIL sports become the dominant competitive outlet once a child reaches Clear Creek High School. The Wildcats program covers the full range of UIL offerings, and Friday night football carries the kind of community-wide energy that makes it a social event as much as a sporting one. Parents who have never experienced Texas high school football should attend a game in the first month — it recalibrates what a school athletic event looks like.
The Waterfront Advantage
Beyond organized leagues, Kemah's position on Galveston Bay and Clear Lake gives kids access to an outdoor environment that genuinely shapes their activities outside of school. Fishing off the bay piers, sailing on Clear Lake, and spending time at the Kemah Boardwalk waterfront are parts of growing up here that no organized league can replicate. Families moving from landlocked suburbs frequently cite this as one of the unexpected upsides — the bay is not just scenery, it is an activity in itself.
Who This District Is Not the Right Fit For
Being honest about this matters more than it might seem. Families making a move decision on the strength of school district reputation sometimes arrive expecting something the district does not deliver at the level they assumed. Here is who tends to find CCISD — and Kemah specifically — a poor fit.
Families Who Lead With Test-Score Performance
on 2024-25 state assessments, 57% of students reached math proficiency and 65% reached reading proficiency. Those are the district-wide numbers, and they sit below the figures you will find in the Houston metro's highest-rated suburban districts. The district holds a B rating, according to the Texas Education Agency — a solid outcome for a large, diverse district — but families who are optimizing specifically for top-of-the-state academic metrics will find other districts in the greater Houston area that rank higher on that dimension. CCISD's strength is program depth and aerospace-adjacent opportunity, not district-wide proficiency percentages that clear the state's top tier.
Families Who Want Magnet Access Without a Commute
Kemah is a city of 3,097 on the edge of a 103-square-mile district. The WAVE gifted and talented program, the Science Magnet, the STREAM of Innovation campuses, and the Dual Language elementary schools are all located outside Kemah — in League City, Seabrook, or Webster. Transportation exists, but your child will spend real time on a bus to access these programs. Families who want a magnet campus a short walk or a five-minute drive from home will not find that here. If specialized programming is the priority, know before you buy that it comes with travel built in.
Families Seeking Private School Alternatives in Town
Kemah has no private school options within city limits. For families who want a private or parochial alternative to CCISD as a backup or primary choice, that means commuting out of Kemah to League City or the broader Clear Lake Area. A small waterfront city of this size does not generate the enrollment base to support a private campus, and that is unlikely to change.
Families Expecting a Traditional Small-Town School Feel
Kemah feeds into a district with 38,780 students enrolled in 2025-26. Your child's elementary experience may feel local, but by intermediate school they are part of one of the larger districts in Texas. High school at Clear Creek is not a small-school experience — it is a large campus with the organizational scale that comes with a district of this footprint. Families who moved from a smaller town and want their child to be a big fish in a small pond should understand that CCISD is built to a larger scale than the city of Kemah itself would suggest.
Weekends and Local Favorites in Kemah
Understanding where Kemah families actually spend their time outside of school and practice helps paint a complete picture of what raising kids here looks like day to day. The Kemah Boardwalk waterfront is the gravitational center of weekend life — not just a tourist attraction but the place where locals end up after games, after school events, after a slow Saturday morning. It is the kind of landmark that earns its place in family routines simply because it is there and it is walkable from much of the city.
For coffee before a morning practice, the local café scene covers the range: Art of Coffee and Tormenta Coffee & Kitchen for independent options, Skipper's Cafe for something more casual, and La Mer Cafe when the mood calls for something a bit more relaxed. Starbucks is there for the drive-through-before-carpool crowd.
After games, family dinners tend to land at the places Kemah does well: T-Bone Tom's for the kind of Texas steakhouse meal that kids genuinely enjoy, Tookie's Burgers when the mood is uncomplicated, and Landry's Seafood House when there is something to celebrate. The Aquarium Restaurant and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. skew more tourist-facing but are fixtures that locals use for out-of-town family visits.
The real outdoor draw for families is the combination of Galveston Bay fishing piers, the Kemah Boardwalk Marina, South Shore Harbour Marina, and Clear Lake — all of which offer the kind of unscheduled outdoor time that parents in more landlocked suburbs actively seek out and have to drive to find. For parks and outdoor recreation in Kemah, that guide covers the specifics in more depth. And if the cost picture shapes your school decision, the full cost-of-living breakdown for Kemah is the right place to run those numbers — including the typical home price as of July 2026 and what the tax picture looks like for families buying here.
Local Expert Takeaway: Clear Creek ISD is a well-resourced district with real STEM depth — the Science Magnet at Seabrook Intermediate and the STREAM program at Space Center Intermediate are legitimate opportunities, not brochure talk. But Kemah families need to plan for the reality that their kids will travel outside the city to access most of the specialized programming. The district holds a B rating, according to the Texas Education Agency, which is honest credit for a large suburban system — not a reason to walk away, and not a reason to oversell it either. Families who move here for the waterfront, the community feel, and proximity to the aerospace corridor consistently find the schools adequate to good; families who move here specifically chasing a top-decile test-score district are looking at the wrong city.
Quick Takeaways & FAQs
✅ Clear Creek ISD's STREAM of Innovation and Science Magnet programs give Kemah kids access to hands-on aerospace and STEM curriculum anchored by real partnerships with NASA Johnson Space Center and the Galveston Bay Foundation.
⚠️ On 2024-25 state assessments, 57% of students reached math proficiency district-wide — a B-rated system with genuine program depth, but not a top-tier performer on raw proficiency metrics, and all the specialized magnets require travel outside Kemah itself.
📍 N Zone Sports runs no-tryout recreational leagues for ages 3–12 covering Kemah explicitly, and Bayside Area Little League's multi-field complex in adjacent Seabrook serves as the primary youth baseball and softball hub for the Kemah corridor.
What school district serves Kemah, TX?
What is Clear Creek ISD's rating?
Which high school do Kemah students attend?
What youth sports leagues are available in Kemah?
Does Clear Creek ISD have gifted and STEM programs accessible to Kemah students?
Moving to Texas?
Tell us what you need help with and we'll connect you with local resources.
