BISD Parent Weather Advisory

Due to inclement weather, BISD buses will be running late this afternoon and schools may hold students until the storm passes. District officials are closely monitoring the weather and all precautions are being taken to ensure student safety.

Splashin' and Dashin' Fun

The BISD Clark Aquatic Center and Wellness Fitness Center will host a Family Splash and Dash on Saturday, October 10 at 9 am. Register now for this fun-filled event. Medals will be awarded to the first 100 participants. Learn more here.

Pace and Veterans Memorial Make Newsweek List

Pace and Veterans Memorial Early College High Schools are among 40 Texas high schools to earn spots on the 2015 Newsweek "Beating the Odds" list of best schools. The list seeks to identify schools that do an excellent job of preparing their students for college while also overcoming the obstacles posed by students at an economic disadvantage. Nationally, on the 2015 Newsweek list of 500 of America's Top High Schools, Pace was ranked #134 and Veterans Memorial was ranked #461.

BISD Volunteer Named SBOE Hero

Kenneth Parks, a volunteer at the BISD Homeless Youth Project, has been selected as a State Board of Education (SBOE) Hero for Children in recognition of his outstanding service to the school children of the Brownsville community. Parks is among 15 volunteers who will be recognized at the SBOE meeting on September 11, 2015 in Austin with a certificate and resolution. He was nominated by Diana Clough, the BISD Homeless Youth Project Coordinator.

BISD Students Pursue SPACE studies

BISD’s STEM Programs for Aerospace Careers in Engineering, better known as SPACE Academy, has begun at all BISD early college high schools with over 40 students participating in its inaugural year. In addition, 100 freshmen have enrolled in the engineering component of the already established Science, Technology, Architecture, and Medical Professions (STAMP) Program. Many of these students have been part of the BISD Middle School Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Programs over the past few years but some students are coming back to BISD from charter and private schools. This first group of students had the opportunity to explore engineering-related and space-related concepts ranging from robots and rockets during the required summer program this July. Other activities, including meeting visiting engineers from the Boeing Aerospace division and skyping with engineers from SpaceX, will take place throughout the school year. It is important that the current 8th grade students planning to enter STAMP or SPACE Academy in high school be enrolled in Algebra I and pass their Algebra I end-of-course exam to make sure they are well-prepared to complete more advanced mathematics courses in high school.

A Message from Dr. Zendejas

I want to extend a warm welcome to our students and families as we begin a new school year. I hope that you have had an enjoyable summer and that you are eager to begin school. Our employees have been busy all summer preparing for your return. BISD is offering several new opportunities at the elementary school level this year including open enrollment and an expanded day enrichment program. The district is also pursuing a Tax Ratification Election which will generate between $5 to $6 million net per year for one time projects without increasing the current tax rate. It is my honor to serve as BISD’s Superintendent. I hope to see you at some of our campus activities in the coming weeks. This is going to be a great school year!

BISD Open for Labor Day

All BISD campuses and offices will be OPEN on Labor Day, Monday, September 7.

Summer Graduation 2015

Everyone is invited to attend the 2015 Summer Graduation honoring graduates from all BISD Early College High Schools on Thursday, August 27 at 7 pm in the Rivera ECHS gymnasium. Potential summer graduates need to contact a campus counselor immediately. Practice will be held on Thursday, August 27 at 10 am in the Rivera gym. Caps and gowns will be available for purchase before the ceremony. An 8x10 graduation photo will be available for purchase for $15.00. KBSD TV will videotape the ceremony.

Longoria Gets New Look

When schools starts on Monday, August 24, students at Longoria Elementary School will get a chance to see their newly remodeled cafeteria for the very first time. Longoria’s stunning, new cafeteria facelift was completed during the summer. The new space was thoughtfully designed by staff from BISD Food and Nutrition Service with students in mind. The new environment sports vibrant colors, modern furniture, and large scale signs that provide a kid-friendly atmosphere for students to dine and relax with their friends. Two BISD elementary schools Garden Park and Putegnat, are also slated for makeovers during the 2015-2016 school year.

A Message to Brite Elementary Parents

Due to road construction, access to Ben Brite Elementary School will be diverted from South Browne Avenue to South Oklahoma Avenue then Hockaday Street via Boca Chica Road. Road construction will continue until December. View the map.

A Note to Parents

Effective immediately, Veterans Memorial ECHS has been closed to all new transfer students due to the school's capacity. For more information, call Pupil Services at 544-3966.

Employee Volleyball

The BISD Wellness Fitness Center will host a meeting for all employees interested in participating in the employee co-ed volleyball league on Tuesday, September 8 at 6:30 pm at the Wellness Gym. Rules and game times will be discussed. Call 698-0194 for more information. View the flyer.

BISD Accountability Results

There was good news for Brownsville ISD in the latest accountability results released by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). All 58 BISD campuses and the district “Met Standard” for 2014-2015. Campuses that received a “Met Standard” rating are also eligible for distinction designations. BISD schools earned a total of 181 distinctions, the largest number in Region One. Fourteen BISD campuses earned 100% of their possible distinctions. Pace ECHS and Veterans Memorial ECHS earned 7 of 7 distinctions placing them on an elite list of only 153 secondaries to achieve this statewide. Distinction designations are awarded to campuses based on achievement on performance indicators compared to a group of 40 campuses of similar type, size and student demographics. Five more BISD elementary schools earned 4 of 5 distinctions and 1 middle school and 2 ECHS earned 6 of 7. Another 22 BISD schools met 100% of the State Performance Safeguards. “Earning any type of distinction under the state accountability system is commendable and should be a source of pride in that community,” said TEA Commissioner Michael Williams in a press release. “It reflects extraordinary work while affirming a strong commitment to students.” Brownsville earned a greater percentage of distinction designations than 10 large urban school districts with comparable student enrollment including Alief ISD, Klein ISD, Plano ISD, Round Rock ISD, San Antonio ISD, and United ISD. Brownsville ISD equaled or outperformed the State in 3 of 4 Target Indexes and outperformed Region One in 2 of 4 Indexes. View the listing of BISD schools that earned 100%. English | Spanish

The TEA Accountability Ratings in 1:41 Seconds

The Texas Education Agency offers a quick overview of the State of Texas Accountability System and what goes into the annual ratings of schools and districts. View the video.

BISD Selected for Texas School Ready Project

Congratulations to Brownsville ISD for being selected as one of four districts in this area to participate in the Texas School Ready (TSR) Project Online+ for the 2015-2016 school year. The funding was awarded with the intention to serve many teachers across the state. The delivery model will include the following: CIRCLE-2 Day Teacher Training-32 indentified BISD PK Teachers: The CIRCLE 2-Day Teacher Training is a face-to-face introduction to the foundational, research-based concepts. Remote Coaching-8 identified BISD PK Teachers for 5 Sessions TSR Online+ provides 5 sessions of individualized, data-driven coaching that is tightly connected with professional development content. Developing Talkers Materials and Training – 32 identified BISD PK Teachers TSR Online+ provides advanced training to teachers in high need districts in the Pre-Kindergarten Response to Intervention (P-RTI) instructional framework and supplemental curriculum, Developing Talkers/Hablemos Juntos. These parallel English and Spanish versions are designed to meet the needs of many aspects of Tier 1 and Tier 2 pre-K oral language instruction. Also open to all of the district's Early Childhood teachers is the CLI ENGAGE platform which provides online professional development modules to the teachers. This online access will open to the teachers during the month of September. The Curriculum and Instruction Department will be providing TSR Online+ and CLI Engage informational sessions. For more information, call the Curriculum & Instruction Department at (956) 547-7350.

Bush Foundation Recognizes BISD Schools

The Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries has awarded grants to nine BISD schools so that they can extend, update, and diversify their book and print library collections with the goal of encouraging students to develop a love of reading and learning, The nine BISD schools receiving $7,000 each and the Media Specialists who wrote the Bush grants are: • Castañeda Elementary – Maria I. Colglazier, Media Specialist • Cromack Elementary – Claudia P. Garcia, Media Specialist • Del Castillo Elementary – Jessica Hedrick, Media Specialist • Hudson Elementary – Pilar Garibay, Media Specialist • Palm Grove Elementary – Abigail Ochoa, Media Specialist • Victoria Heights Elementary – Adolfo Sierra, Media Specialist • Skinner Elementary – Blanca Holmes, Media Specialist • Stell Middle School – Claudia Chirinos, Media Specialist • Lucio Middle School – Norma Sanchez, Media Specialist Since 2002, the Laura Bush Foundation has awarded over $12.5 million to almost 2,500 schools across the country. Congratulations to these BISD schools and their Media Specialists.

BISD to Hold Tax Ratification Election

At the meeting on August 4, 2015, the BISD Board of Trustees voted to call a Tax Ratification Election (TRE) in order to maximize state funding for the district. The BISD tax rate will be restructured. The district must get voter approval to move .11¼ cents from the Interest & Sinking Fund (Debt Service) to Maintenance & Operations. The total tax rate would remain the same at $1.15 ¼ as presented and approved in the budget at the June 25, 2015 BISD Special Called Board Meeting. If the TRE is approved, it will generate between $5 to $6 million net per year in additional state funding to be used for one-time expenditures to improve, repair, and expand district facilities and enhance security. Learn more about the TRE here.

Sub Info

The application to be a substitute teacher in Brownsville ISD is open online. View the information here.