As of 2011, the Alief Independent School District has 24 elementary schools. Youens Elementary and Chancellor Elementary go all the way to fifth grade, however most students are also zoned to an intermediate school for fifth and sixth grade. The district has six intermediate schools as of 2011. Students attend middle school for the sixth through eighth grades. The district has six middle schools as of 2011. High school students in Alief ISD are assigned by lottery to either Alief Elsik High School, Alief Hastings High School, or Alief Taylor High School during October of their eighth grade year. They can also choose to apply for admission to Alief Kerr High School. Students selected to attend Hastings High School attend the Hastings Ninth Grade Center during their ninth grade year, and students selected to attend Elsik High School attend the Elsik Ninth Grade Center during their ninth grade year. It also operates Alief Early College High School, which opened in 2010 and allows students to take courses for dual credit and graduate with both a high school diploma and the equivalence of an associate degree at the same time. The district also has two alternative schools. The Alief Learning Center has its own campus, while the Crossroads/ Night High School/ LINC/ SOAR (Crossroads) meets in the annex between Hastings and Elsik. The Crossroads program is designed for "at-risk students with discipline problems who are behind in academic credit and are at risk of not graduating from high school," as well students who are pregnant or parenting, emancipated minors, and students who have failed the TAKS/ TAAS tests.