A Holiday Message from Dr. Montoya

I want to wish you and your families all the joys of this holiday season. BISD campuses and offices will be closed December 22 through January 2. Classes and regular district operations will resume on Monday, January 5, 2015. Thank you and best wishes for a happy and prosperous new year.

Pace Math Team Earns First Place

Pace Early College High School earned the 1st Place Team Award at the 3rd Annual Texas A&M University Kingsville 2014 Javelina Cup Mathematics Competition held on Saturday, December 13, 2014. A total of 20 Pace students took the ALEKS program, a scheduled comprehensive assessment which is currently used for college level course work at Texas A&M Kingsville. Scratch sheets of paper were provided for the students. Students only used the ALEKS calculator provided (ALEKS allows students to use the calculator for some of the problems). The test had a 2 hour limit for approximately 30 problems. The team sponsors are Silviano Ramirez, Carlos Garza, Jose Michi, Gregorio Lopez, and Melissa Tullos. View the Pace student results for the competition: 1st place Team Award: Pace Early College High School Team members: Fernando Martinez, Marissa Flores, Elimelek Acuna, Alan Navarrete. Individual Places 1st place Pace ECHS Fernando Martinez Earned a $1,500 TAMUK scholarship. 2nd place Pace ECHS Pablo Martinez Earned a $1,000 TAMUK scholarship. 3rd place Pace ECHS Marissa Flores Earned a $500 TAMUK scholarship.

BISD Parents to Learn New Skills to Help Their Children

Brownsville ISD is making sure students and their parents in the district know what it takes to ensure students are educated, motivated and prepared for success in high school, college and beyond. Parents are going to have a better advantage at helping their children by taking part in the Parent Academy for Success of Schools (PASOS), an initiative that provides parents with strategies that will help their children on the educational pathway. A group of parents from the school district will take part in the twelve week PASOS program. They will meet for three hours on Saturdays at Rivera High School. PASOS is an initiative of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Mercedes that has partnered with the Brownsville Independent School District to train its parents. The class series culminates in a parent group meeting with the school principal, followed by a PASOS graduation ceremony. Parent graduation is a celebration that is typically very powerful to parents who may not have a formal education, and is an opportunity for children to see their parents as graduates themselves. Read the entire media release.

Classified Salary Credit for Degrees

The BISD Board of Trustees approved the 2014-2015 Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree Salary Credit for Monthly, Hourly, and Bi-Weekly employees on June 25, 2014. Please review the attached information that pertains to this incentive.

Public Hearing

Brownsville ISD will hold a public hearing for the 2013-2014 Texas Annual Performance Report (TAPR) during the Rescheduled Regular Board Meeting to be held on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 5:30 PM in the Boardroom of the Administration Building located at 1900 Price Road. The TAPR includes a wide range of information on the performance of students. The report also provides extensive information on school and district staff, programs, and student demographics. Parents, community members and other interested persons are invited to attend.

3 BISD Schools Chosen as National Award Finalists

The National Center for Urban School Transformation has announced that 22 schools from across the country have been chosen as finalists for the National Excellence in Urban Education Award. Among the finalists are three Brownsville elementary schools: US Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz Elementary School, Daniel Breeden Elementary and A.X. Benavides Elementary. “These schools are among the best urban schools in the nation,” stated Dr. Joseph F. Johnson, Jr., Executive Director of the National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST), the organization that administers the award program. “Although these schools serve low-income communities with an array of challenges, every finalist boasts achievement results that exceed state averages for all students.” View the media release.

Elementary UIL Contests

Approximately 1,500 elementary students are expected to participate in the BISD Elementary UIL Academic Meet scheduled on Saturday, December 13 at six elementary schools. Aiken, Hudson, Del Castillo, Garden Park, Martin, and Villa Nueva Elementary Schools will host students eager to test their skills in Art, Music Memory, Number Sense, Oral Reading, Ready Writing, and Spelling. Best of luck to all the student participants and thank you to the UIL sponsors and judges who make these events possible.

BISD Bands Smash Record

A new record! A total of 75 students, more BISD and Area 6 students than ever before, will advance to the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State Band competition. Students from 5A and 6A high schools in Region 28 recently competed for an opportunity to advance. The All-State Area competition will be held in Alice, Texas on January 10, 2015. Best of luck to our BISD students as they prepare for Area competition. View the BISD results by high school.

BISD Middle School Scientists Compete

The annual BISD Middle School Science Fair was held on Saturday, December 6 at Stell Middle School. A total of 220 middle school science fair projects were entered into this year’s competition. The top five winners in each category will advance to the regional science fair to be held on February 20-21, 2015. Special thanks to Stell Middle School for hosting the event and the many judges who assisted with the competition. View the results.

Manzano Student Wins Region One Art Contest

Anelisa Gonzalez, a student at Manzano Middle school, won the Middle School Division of the Annual Region One Education Service Center Holiday Art Contest. Her winning entry will join the elementary and high school winners on the “official” Region One holiday card that is sent out to area superintendents, school districts, and statewide education agencies. A panel of judges poured through hundreds of entries to select one winner for the elementary, middle school and high school division. View the three winning entries.

New Year, New You!

The BISD Wellness Fitness Center is the place to have fun while getting into shape. The Center recently received funding from the Brownsville Community Improvement Council to expand its activity offerings. Check out these specially themed zumbathon events in January and February. All are free and open to the public for anyone ages 10 and up. Athletic shoes are required. For more information, call (956) 698-0194. •New Year • The 80’s • Mardi Gras

Lopez ECHS to Participate in Ford Program

Lopez Early College High School will participate in a summit on Thursday, December 4 convened by RGV LEAD which will bring together over 100 representatives from 13 school districts and Rio Grande Valley businesses and organizations for a Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) planning session. The event, designed to better prepare students for both college and careers, will be held at 8 am at The University of Texas-Pan American. Lopez ECHS will begin the Ford NGL Medical Academy which includes the STAMP and Biomedical Project Lead The Way programs. RGV LEAD has entered into an affiliation agreement with the Henry Ford Learning Institute to implement Ford NGL in the Valley. Ford NGL has five goals for its participating communities: to increase academic achievement, improve preparation for college, career and life, increase high school graduation rates, increase earning potential, and increase community prosperity. All summit participants will have input into a regional master plan of Ford NGL in the Rio Grande Valley. The impact of this collaboration is huge in terms of enhancing college and career readiness for all students.

Ticket Information for the Rivera vs. Brandeis Game on Friday, November 28, 2014 at 7 pm at Texas A & M Kingsville.

The ticket Information is as follows: All Seats are General Admission Pre-Sale @ Sams Stadium Ticket Office Monday-10:00 AM-4:00 PM Tuesday-8:00 AM-4:00 PM Adults: $8.00 Students: $4.00 All tickets at the gate will be $10.00 Stadium parking is $5.00.