School Board Recognition Month

January 2009 is School Board Recognition Month in Texas. Irving ISD students, staff and community members are honoring school trustees who volunteer countless hours each year to ensure quality education for Irving’s children.

As citizen leaders, they face complex and demanding challenges in providing effective public schools. This annual recognition is a way of saying “thank you” to our trustees.

During 2008, IISD Board of Trustees and Superintendent worked with other staff members and volunteers to update the district vision and mission statements and refine major goals.

Significant district accomplishments include:

• Nine IISD schools – Barton Elementary School, Brandenburg Elementary School, Brown Elementary School, Gilbert Elementary School, Good Elementary School, John Haley Elementary School, Hanes Elementary School, Keyes Elementary School, and Lamar Middle School – have achieved the Recognized rating for this school year.

• Twenty-six IISD schools earned 66 Gold Performance acknowledgements from the Texas Education Agency during 2007-2008. IISD also received a district-level acknowledgement, commended in social studies.

• Advanced Placement test results indicate 691 IISD students earned scores of 3, 4 or 5 and 107 students were recognized as AP Scholars during 2007-2008.

• Graduating seniors in the Class of 2008 earned approximately $31 million in scholarship offers.

• Approximately 33,000 IISD students are receiving a well-planned education in a safe and secure school environment.

• More than 2,300 IISD teachers are giving students from all cultural, economic and educational backgrounds a myriad of opportunities to experience the thrill of achievement.

• Graduates in the Class of 2008 completed almost 78,000 hours of community service.

• The IISD website, located at www.irvingisd.net, continues to receive state and national honors for its design and content.

Irving ISD Board of Trustees

Ronda Huffstetler 8 Years of Service

A.D. Jenkins 1 Year of Service

Nancy L. Jones 1 Year of Service

Randy Stipes 9 Years of Service

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100 Years of Learning

During the second session of the 31^st Texas Legislature, a bill was unanimously passed that created the Irving Independent School district. The same day – April 23, 1909 – Governor T.M. Campbell signed into law the bill that merged the Kit and Lively schools, creating the Irving ISD.

The Irving Independent School District invites the community to join with us in celebrating 100 Years of Learning. As our district begins observing its centennial, schools are encouraged to recognize the historical significance of the founding and development of a district that began with 125 students that has grown to more than 33,000.  Beginning with one wooden building that housed the entire student population, the district has grown to encompass 48.5 square miles and thirty-eight schools and learning centers.

Students, staff and community members are invited to learn about some of the key individuals who helped to form what would become one of the largest school districts in North Texas: Lee Britain, J.O. Schulze, Otis Brown, Albert Farine, and many more. We also encourage our community to learn more about IISD superintendents and teachers who worked with the district during exciting times such as A.S. Johnston, Mark Callister Lively, and John F. Townley – to name just a few.

These names should all sound familiar.  Each day we open the doors to schools named in their honor, and over the course of a century the sounds of children’s voices have been added to the voices of those above in recording the district’s history.  For more information about the history of IISD, access www.irvingisd.net/history.

Celebrate with us as we commemorate 100 Years of Learning in Irving ISD.

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December Enrichment Grants

The Irving Schools Foundation awarded $946 in Teacher Enrichment Grants for December.

Grant awardees included: Maggie Cole, kindergarten teacher, Farine Elementary School; Terrie Huff, eighth grade reading teacher, de Zavala Middle School; Courtney Lopez, ESL Head Start teacher, Pierce Early Childhood School; and Ray Lindsey, second grade teacher, Brandenburg Elementary School.

The grants provide teachers with funding for professional development opportunities including attendance at seminars and workshops. Applications from teachers are due by the 10th of each month, are awarded for as much as $500 each, and are distributed September through May. For more information about the Irving Schools Foundation or Teacher Enrichment Grants, please visit www.irvingisd.net/foundation.

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Student/Teacher Holiday January 19

Irving ISD schools and offices will be closed on Monday, January 19 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The district will resume normal operating hours January 20. For more information regarding the IISD school calendar, access www.irvingisd.net/Calendars/highlights.htm.

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Paige A. Tucker, ninth grader at The Academy of Irving ISD, designed the card used by Pierce Early Childhood to extend holiday greetings.

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