Vela Celebrates a Quarter of a Century

Filemon B. Vela Middle School will host a 25th anniversary celebration for current and former employees, students, and the community on Saturday, May 2 from 10 AM – 12 Noon in the cafeteria. U.S. Congressman Filemon Vela, Jr., the son of Judge Filemon Vela who is the school’s namesake, will serve as the keynote speaker. Vela Middle School first opened in August of 1990 as Paredes Line Ninth Grade School. In January 1992, the school was officially named for Vela, a U.S. District Court Judge.

Summer Programs

The BISD schedule of summer academic programs is now posted on the BISD homepage. Find out the dates, times, and locations of programs available to students this summer. View the summer schedule here.

Our Student Artists Rock!

The annual BISD Elementary Art Competition Exhibit is currently on display at the BISD Administration Building. Come and see the exceptional art produced by our district’s many talented elementary student artists. A reception will be held on Friday, May 1 from 4-6 pm in the BISD Administration Lobby. For more information, call the Fine Arts Department at 982-3730.

Top Market Schools

The Spring Stock Market Game (SMG) results are in and Faulk Middle school swept 1st – 3rd Places. The Fall results were 1st Place –Skinner Elementary; 2nd Place –Perkins Middle School; and 3rd Place –Skinner Elementary. The SMG Awards Ceremony will be held on Friday, May 15 at the Valley Federal Credit Union in Brownsville. Congratulations to the BISD campus winners.

BISD Teacher is NASA Bound

Cindy Cho, a teacher at Manzano Middle School, has been selected from applicants across the nation for the prestigious LiftOff Summer Institute to be held at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. This program, sponsored by NASA’s Texas Space Grant Consortium, selects teachers from across the U.S. and gives them the opportunity to increase their knowledge of space education through the LiftOff Professional Development Summer Institute. Learn more.

Celebrating Rivera!

See the amazing Rivera Raiders 2015 UIL State 6A Soccer Team in action on Tuesday, April 28 at 7 pm at the Brownsville Sports Park. The City of Brownsville is sponsoring a community celebration and exhibition game. The State Champs will play against Rivera soccer alumni. Admission is a $3.00 donation. View the flyer.

Hanna OAP Advances to Region

The Hanna ECHS One Act Play (OAP) Troupe qualified to advance to Region competition at the Area Meet held at the PSJA Southwest Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 18. This places Hanna in the top 24 of 6A high schools in Texas. Three Hanna students were among the top 18 actors of the day with Sebastian Cisneros awarded the Best Actor title. The Region IV Competition will be held on Thursday, April 23 at Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio. Admission is $10 for the entire day. Hanna ECHS will perform “Water by the Spoonful” at 3 pm. Congratulations to Joe Rodriguez and the Hanna Theatre Arts students.

Aquatic Fun

The BISD Wellness Fitness Center has two upcoming events. The 2nd Annual Employee Wellness Swim Competition will be held on Saturday, May 2 and an Employee Water Volleyball Tournament is scheduled for Thursday, May 7. View the information: Water Volleyball Tournament | Swim Competition

Employee Transfers

All BISD employees are eligible to apply for a transfer. Interested employees may apply beginning on Monday, April 27. The deadline is Friday, May 8. For questions, call BISD Human Resources at 548-8031 or 548-8051. View the guidelines in English and Spanish.

BISD AR Schools

Breeden Elementary earned 1st Place and Benavides Elementary placed 2nd in the District Accelerated Reader (AR) Proficiency Program at the end of the fifth six weeks. The program, sponsored by the BISD Library/Media Services Department, encourages students to attain proficiency rather than points in order to gain literacy skills. Both schools earned the opportunity to send 50 students to a Party Palooza Event. Breeden can also pay to send additional students. BISD campuses are showing significant AR gains but there is still room for the AR Proficiency Program to grow.

Rivera Raiders Soccer Action

The Rivera Raiders (26-0) vs. North Mesquite Stallions (22-3-1) State Semifinals game on Friday, April 17 at 7:30 pm will be broadcast via livestream at NFHSNetwork.com. The winner will advance to play in the State Finals Game on Saturday, April 18 at 6:30 pm. That game will be broadcast via livestream at FoxSportsSouthwest.com. You can catch all the action of these two exciting games at these two sports websites.

Mother Daughter Zumba

The BISD Wellness Fitness Center, in conjunction with Healthy Communities of Brownsville, will host the 2nd Annual Mother Daughter Tutus & Tiaras Zumbathon on Friday, May 8 from 6-8 pm. View the details.

Two DI Teams Qualify for Globals

Eight BISD Destination Imagination teams competed on Saturday, April 11 in Dallas at State Competition. The Gonzalez Elementary team, Mystical Mustangs, earned 1st Place in the Feary Challenge and qualified to advance to Global Competition in Knoxville, Tennessee on May 19. Hudson Elementary’s Improv Team, DI Runners, placed 6th and also qualified to advance to Global Competition. Teams from Keller, Paredes, Peña, and Ortiz Elementary Schools and Manzano and Stillman Middle Schools also earned places at the state DI event. See all results.

Hanna OAP Named Bi-District Champ

The Hanna ECHS One Act Play advanced to Area Competition during the Bi-District Competition held at the PSJA Memorial Performing Arts Center in Alamo on April 11. Hanna received Best Lighting Award, Best Backstage Technical Award, and 3 students were honored among the top actors of the day. Congratulations to Instructor Joe Rodriguez and the Hanna theatre art students. The Area Competition will be held on Saturday, April 18 at the PSJA SW Performing Arts Center in Pharr starting at 12 Noon. Admission is $5.00. View the schedule for the Area performance times.

Hanna Drummers Score at Nationals

The Hanna ECHS Indoor Drum Line earned 7th Place at the National 2015 Winter Guard Championships held in Dayton, Ohio on April 11. The team represented Texas, an honor held by only two other Texas high schools since 1993. The Hanna drummers gave an exceptional performance which advanced them from the preliminary round to semi-finals to the championship finals. View the final national results.

BISD High School Choirs Shine at Region

BISD 2015 high school choirs gave some of the best performances in the Rio Grande Valley at the UIL Region 28 Concert and Sight Reading Contest. A total of 12 BISD choirs earned UIL Sweepstakes trophies and 9 choirs earned top UIL awards. Congratulations to these outstanding students, teachers, and parents on these stellar choir performances. View the results by campus.

BISD Summer Administrative Schedule

Brownsville ISD will follow an abbreviated summer administrative work schedule beginning on Monday, June 15 through Friday, July 31, 2015. The schedule is:

7:30 am - 5:30 pm - Monday through Thursday
8:00 am – 12 noon – Friday

BISD administrative offices will be closed Monday, June 29 through Friday, July 3, 2015.

Let’s Play Volleyball!

Packets for the BISD Employee Volleyball League are available on Monday, April 13 and Tuesday, April 14 from 10:30 am – 7:30 pm at the BISD Wellness Fitness Center. View the announcement for more information.

BISD Earns High Marks in Finance

Brownsville ISD recently received top commendations from two national accounting organizations. The Government Finance Officers Association awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the district’s Comprehensive Annual Finance Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014. This Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in government accounting and financial reporting and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment for BISD. The Association of School Business Officials International also awarded a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for the same fiscal year. This award notes BISD’s commitment to fiscal integrity and high quality financial reporting. Congratulations to the employees in the BISD Finance Department for making these national awards possible.

Porter Named ECHS!

It's official! Texas Commissioner of Education Michael Williams announced the final approval of 44 new Early College High Schools (ECHS) designations for the 2015-2016 school year and BISD's Gladys Porter High School is one of them. All BISD high schools, a total of 7, are now designated as Early College High Schools. View the Texas Education Agency Medial release.

BISD Schools Promote Dia Events

Brownsville ISD’s elementary campuses are busy preparing for this year’s El Dia de los Niños/El Dia de los Libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) events which will culminate on Thursday, April 30. All 37 BISD elementary campuses will host activities with over 6,700 early childhood students participating, including students in the Cameron County Head Start Programs. The BISD event is a collaboration between four departments, Library and Media Services, Bilingual Education, Special Services, and Federal Programs. Food and Nutrition Services will also join in the Dia celebration by providing multi-cultural themed desserts. Each child enrolled in BISD’s three-year-old through kindergarten programs will be awarded the book titled, “You Are My I Love You/Tú Eres Mi Te Querio.” The book’s author, Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love, will participate in several of the BISD Dia events on April 30 and May 1. Library media specialists across BISD are already generating excitement about their Dia activities which are designed to celebrate the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Two BISD Educators Earn H-E-B Accolades

Theresa Villafuerte, the principal of Gallegos Elementary School, was named a statewide semi-finalist in the 2015 H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards. She was one of 50 principals who competed in the regional judging process. As a semi-finalist, Villafuerte received a certificate and a $500 H-E-B gift card. Nancy Waterhouse, a Skinner Elementary BI Unit Teacher, was selected as a state semi-finalist in the Teacher Leadership category. Ms. Waterhouse was awarded a certificate and a $250 H-E-B gift card. Congratulations to these two outstanding BISD educators.

BISD Visual Artists Rock!

BISD secondary student artists submitted 502 entries to this year’s BISD Fine Arts Department Art Contest. The middle school division earned 181 ribbons, including 3 Best of Show Awards. The high school division received 150 ribbons, including 3 Best of Show Awards. Venessa Mata, artist and art teacher at Lincoln Park School, judged the middle school entries and Jessica Salazar-McBride, artist and Beyond Art Gallery director, judged the high school submissions. The art will be displayed until Saturday, April 4 at the 39th Annual Secondary Art Exhibit at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art. Congratulations to our creative BISD secondary artists.