New Record for MS Choirs

Middle school choirs from Region 28 gathered in La Feria on Saturday, April 23 to audition for the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Middle School Region Choirs. TMEA Region 28 is comprised of schools from Donna to Brownsville. A total of 29 middle schools auditioned for 315 spots in 3 choirs, 7th Grade Treble Girls Choirs, 8th Grade Treble Choir, and 7th and 8th Grade Tenor Bass (Boys) Choir. BISD schools earned 220 of the available positions, 70%, in the 3 choirs. Special recognition to Nichole Fierro-Ryan, 8th Grade Soprano 2, Stillman MS; Allen Lopez, Tenor 2, Manzano MS; Dominic Chavez, Tenor 1, Oliveira MS; and Diego Hinojosa, Bass, Stillman MS; for placing first in their sections. View the results by campus.

BISD Celebrates Children and Books

Dr. René Saldaña, Jr., noted author, and Carolyn Dee Flores, a well-known illustrator, will visit several BISD elementary campuses in celebration of El Día de Los Niños/El Día de Los Libros on April 28 and 29. The visits are designed to highlight the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. View the schedule.

TSI Testing and ECHS Assistance

Incoming out-of-district 9th grade students who are planning to attend one of the BISD early college high schools can take the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Assessment and receive assistance with the Apply Texas application and TSC dual enrollment packet on Monday-Friday at Veterans Memorial ECHS from 4-6 pm until Friday, April 29 and on Saturday, April 23 and 30 from 8 am to 12 noon. For more information, contact Elizabeth Llongueras at (956) 574-5623.

Lopez JROTC to Celebrate 100th Anniversary

Lopez JROTC to Celebrate 100th Anniversary The Lopez Early College High School JROTC will celebrate the 100th JROTC Anniversary by hosting the largest run in military history. The Fun Run will be held worldwide on Saturday, April 23, 2016, with the local event at the Brownsville Sports Park. As part of a worldwide commemoration of the Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (JROTC) Anniversary, the Fun Run is a one-of-a-kind event that allows participants around the world to run together, with each time zone’s start time synchronized to 3:00 PM Greenwich Mean Time. The local Fun Run will begin at 10:00 AM. The public is encouraged to participate in this free event to support JROTC and help the Cadets break the world record. The Lopez Lobo Battalion is encouraging all JROTC and ROTC alumni to join them for the event, either as a participant or a volunteer. Background: JROTC stands for Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps. It is a military-supported high school program whose purpose is to educate high school students in leadership roles while making them aware of the benefits of active citizenship. The JROTC curriculum emphasizes academics, citizenship, character development, leadership skills, physical fitness, and community service.

Challenging Schools

Pace and Hanna Early College High Schools made the list of America’s Most Challenging High Schools recently released by The Washington Post. Pace was ranked #888 and Hanna was #1685. View the list.

4 ECHS Named to Best Schools List

Four BISD early college high schools, BECHS, Veterans, Hanna, and Pace, have earned medals in the national U.S. News and World Report 2016 Best High Schools ranking. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded based on a methodology that incorporates state proficiency tests, participation in Advanced Placement, and other examinations and data. Brownsville ECHS was ranked #27 in Texas and #150 nationally earning the school a gold medal. Veterans Memorial ECHS at #145 in Texas and #1559 nationally earned a silver medal and Hanna ranked #185 in Texas and #2182 in the nation also received a silver medal. Pace ECHS completed the list by earning a silver medal for ranking #192 in Texas and #2296 nationally. Over 21,500 U.S. public high schools were reviewed and more than 6,000 received medals. View the rankings for the 4 BISD schools.

BISD Varsity Bands Earn Perfect Scores

A total of 15 BISD ECHS bands participated in the 6A and 5A UIL Concert and Sight Reading Competition held in Harlingen on April 12-14. The BISD varsity bands scored 100%, earning each school the top UIL Sweepstakes award for the 2nd consecutive year. All 15 BISD bands earned UIL awards and 12 earned Sweepstakes trophies. Congratulations to these outstanding students and their directors. View the results by campus.

2016 ECHS Graduations Relocated

Due to the maintenance and repairs being made at Sams Stadium, all six BISD 2016 Early College High School graduations will be relocated to the Brownsville Sports Park. This does not impact the Brownsville Early College High School, Brownsville Learning Academy or Lincoln Park School graduations which are scheduled at other venues. The district and community will be informed once Sams Stadium reopens for regular operation. View the schedule.

Learning About BISD Security

The Brownsville ISD Police and Security Services Department will host a Parent Police Academy on April 18-22 at the department headquarters located at 2477 E. Price Road. The sessions will run from 8:30 am to 12 noon daily and topics include disaster preparedness, fire and utility control, light search and rescue, CPR, disaster psychology, and much more. A total of 27 parents are expected to participate in this exciting community outreach program. The graduation ceremony will be held on Friday, April 22 at 11 am. For more information, call (956) 698-2085.

Volleyball is Back!

The BISD Wellness Fitness Center will host another employee co-ed volleyball league this summer. All interested employees are invited to come by and pick up a packet on Wednesday, April 20 or Thursday, April 21. View the flyer for more details.

Veterans Memorial Makes State Sports List

Veterans Memorial ECHS was ranked 8th on a list of the 100 best high school sports programs in Texas that was featured in the Houston Chronicle on Sunday, April 10, 2016. View the article.

Middle School Bands Write New Chapter

A total of 18 BISD bands received UIL awards and 11 earned UIL Sweepstakes awards at the 2016 Middle School UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Contest held on April 5-8 at the Harlingen Performing Arts Center. A total of 21 BISD bands competed. BISD nearly tripled the number of groups earning UIL Sweepstakes and doubled the number that earned 1st Divisions. These dramatic results are history making for the BISD band program. Congratulations to the students and directors on their awe-inspiring achievements. View the results by campus.

Students Earn Coveted Duke Recognition

A total of sixteen BISD 7th grade students have earned State Recognition in the Duke University Talent Identification Program with one student earning both State and Grand Recognition. The Duke Program focuses on the identification, recognition, and support of high ability students and offers qualifying 7th grade students the opportunity to take college entrance exams alongside high school students. Duke students must score 95% or higher on the national norms of a grade-level standardized achievement, aptitude, or mental ability test. Students who qualify for State Recognition are in the top 42% of all Duke participants nationwide. Students who qualify for Grand Recognition are in the top 5% nationally. Congratulations to BISD's 2015-2016 Duke recognized recipients. View the BISD list by campus.

Lopez One Act Play Advances to Region

The Lopez ECHS One Act Play Troupe qualified to advance to regional competition with their performance on Saturday, April 9 at the area competition held in Pharr, Texas. The Lopez theatre group now ranks in the top 24 of Texas 6A high schools. Maddison Jones earned Best Actress recognition and Lopez earned 6 acting awards including Best Chorus and Best Lighting. Congratulations to Johnny Trillayes, the Lopez Theatre Arts Director, and his students on their latest success. Regional competition will be held on Thursday, April 21 beginning at 12 noon at Jefferson High School in San Antonio. Admission is $10 for all performances. View the schedule.

Soccer State Tournament Broadcast Information

NFHS Network and Time Warner Cable Sports Channel will telecast and webcast the UIL Soccer State Tournament on April 13-16 from Birkelbach Field in Georgetown, Texas. View the schedule and catch all the exciting soccer action.

Powerlifting Excellence

Congratulations to Jose Alvardo from Lopez ECHS who won a State title at the Texas High School Powerlifting Association Championships held in Abilene, Texas on April 2, 2016. Three additional Lopez lifters earned medals, Hugo Salas, 3rd Place; Rogelio Pulido, 4th Place; and Danny Ramos, 5th Place, enabling Lopez to finish earn 4th Place in the overall team standings. Eric Tong from Hanna ECHS also earned a 4th Place medal.

4 BISD Teams Bound for DI Globals

A total of 14 Brownsville ISD teams represented the South Border Bridge Destination Imagination (DI) Region at the Texas DI State competition held on April 1-2, 2016 at Anna High School in Anna, Texas. Over 430 teams participated. Four BISD teams qualified to participate in the Global Finals in Knoxville, Tennessee in May by earning places 1-6 at the state competition. Benavides Elementary placed first in the Get a Clue Challenge, Ortiz Elementary placed third in the In Plain Sight Challenge, Veterans Memorial ECHS placed second, and Keller Elementary placed sixth in the Close Encounters Challenge. DI competition encourages teams of learners to focus, frame challenges, take risks, and have fun while incorporating STEM, the arts, and service learning. The participants learn patience, flexibility, persistence, ethics, respect for others and their ideas, and the collaborative problem solving process. The Global Finals is the world’s largest celebration of creativity with representation from over 18 countries. Congratulations to all BISD DI teams and their sponsors.

ECHS Chess Teams Post National Results

Four BISD early college high schools participated in the National High School Chess Championship held on April 1-3 in Atlanta, Georgia. In the K-12 Championship division, the Porter ECHS team placed 31st and Pace ECHS placed 40th. In the K-12 U1900 division, the Veterans Memorial ECHS team placed 10th. In the K-12 U1600 division, the Hanna ECHS team placed 4th and Veterans Memorial ECHS placed 10th. In the K-12 U1200 division, the Veterans Memorial EHCS team placed 25th and Hanna ECHS placed 42nd. Congratulations to our secondary chess teams on their national results!

BISD Summer Schedule

Brownsville ISD will follow an abbreviated summer schedule beginning on Monday, June 13, 2016 through Friday, July 29, 2016. The summer schedule is 7:30-5:30 pm on Monday-Thursday and 8am-12:00 noon on Friday. The BISD administrative offices will be closed on July 4-July 8, 2016.

It’s a Three-Peat for NAMM Award

Brownsville ISD is one of 476 school districts from across the United States recognized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation as among the 2016 Best Communities for Music Education, out of the nation’s 13,515 school districts. This is BISD’s third consecutive NAMM award. Now in its 17th year, the Best Communities award recognizes outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community leaders who work together to ensure access to music learning for all students as part of the school curriculum. View the media release.

Lopez One Act Play Advances

Lopez ECHS theatre arts students qualified to advance to One Act Play (OAP) Area Competition at the Bi-District competition held on Friday, April 1, 2016 at the Buchanan Center @ Hanna ECHS. This places Lopez in the top 48 of the 6A high schools of Texas. Four Lopez students were ranked in the top 18 actors at the competition. Congratulations to Johnny Trillayes, the Lopez Theatre Arts Director, and his students. The Area Contest will be held on Saturday, April 9 at the PSJA Performing Arts Center in Pharr starting at 12 noon. Lopez will perform at 2 pm. Admission is $5 for the entire day of six performances. View the schedule.

Employee Insurance Notice

The Brownsville Independent School District has mailed out the 1095-C Health Coverage form, as required by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). The 1095-C form is a health insurance tax form which reports the type of coverage you have, dependents covered by your insurance policy, and the period of coverage for the prior year. Please keep your 1095-C for your records with your other important tax documents. While you will not need to attach your 1095-C to your tax return or send it to the IRS, we request that you review the information for accuracy. If there is a discrepancy, please contact the Employee Benefits Department at (956) 548-8061. Please visit our website http://www.bisd.us/EmployeeBenefits for additional information. View the information in Spanish.