Students Invent Solutions

The BISD Brainsville Inventions 2017 competition was held on Saturday, January 28 at Stillman Middle School. A total of 287 projects and 360 students in grades 3-12 participated. Students identified problems and created solutions by inventing products. Special thanks to Stillman for hosting this year’s Brainsville Inventions and to the community representatives, campus personnel, and Texas Southmost College students who served as judges and monitors. Your support made this inventors’ competition a big success. View the final results by category.

A Message to BISD Biweekly Payroll Employees

Due to technical difficulties in processing the BISD biweekly payroll through the Automated Clearing House (ACH), the payments made to banks for our BISD biweekly employees were delayed last night. The district has taken immediate action to limit any inconvenience to our biweekly employees by working with banks to ensure that the appropriate deposits are made today to the appropriate banks. The district will work with all banks to ensure that any fees caused by this payment delay are waived and that employees are not negatively impacted by this complication. BISD apologizes to the biweekly employees for this inconvenience. This is the first time that the district has experienced a technical difficulty of this sort. All steps will be taken to ensure that it does not reoccur. For questions, call the BISD Payroll Department at 548-8391.

BISD ECHS Scientist Advance to Regionals

The Brownsville ISD ECHS Science & Engineering Fair was held on Saturday, January 21, 2017 at Hanna ECHS. A total of 193 projects and 285 students participated in this annual competition. BISD will have 83 projects and 135 students advancing to the UTRGV Regional Science & Engineering Fair on February 10-11, 2017. Special thanks to Hanna ECHS for hosting this year’s competition. View the results by category.

W-2 Forms Are Online

Current BISD employees may now access their W-2 forms through the Employee Online Program. The paper copies will be distributed on Wednesday, January 25, 2017. The W-2 forms for former BISD employees will also be mailed by that date.

Bus Delay

BISD afternoon school buses will be running late on Friday, January 20, 2017. The Transportation Department apologizes for the inconvenience and appreciates your patience and understanding.

Magazine Highlights Canales

The Elementary State Honor Choir, the Canales Elementary Conjunto, is featured in Southern Music Magazine. View the story.

BISD Students Offer Tax Help

Five BISD early college high schools, Hanna, Lopez, Pace, Porter, and Rivera, have been designated as Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites this year. Students in the business classes at these schools have been trained to assist with free tax preparation for families or individuals with an earned annual income under $54,000. View the BISD and Cameron County locations to receive this free tax assistance.

BISD Middle School Bands Rock the Region

On Saturday, January 14, 2017, BISD middle school band students swept the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-Region Band audition held at Rivera ECHS. BISD students earned 180 All-Region band chairs and 11 of 16 first chair positions. Collectively, BISD won two-thirds of all available chairs. More than half of the BISD middle school programs improved their results from last year. Congratulations to our middle school band musicians, parents and directors on these outstanding results. View the number of chairs earned by campus.

2017 BISD History Day Results

The 22nd Annual BISD History Day was held on Saturday, January 14, 2017 at Hanna ECHS. All district middle and ECHS schools were represented with a combined total of 458 students. Stillman Middle School and Veterans Memorial ECHS won the district championships at their respective levels. All first and second place BISD winners will advance to the Regional History Day to be held on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at UTRGV-Edinburg. Special thanks to Hanna ECHS for hosting this year’s district History Day and to the BISD social studies teachers, UTRGV professors and community representatives who served as judges and monitors and made this year’s event a success. View the BISB History Day Awards Summary.

Notice of Public Hearing

Brownsville ISD will hold a public hearing for the 2015-2016 Texas Annual Performance Report (TAPR) during the Board Meeting to be held on Tuesday, January 17 at 5:30 pm in the Boardroom of the BISD 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.

Champions for Kids

January is School Board Recognition Month. BISD is joining districts across the state in thanking local leaders for their willingness to serve as advocates for children and public schools. Our Board of Trustees is an All-Star Team committed to public education. Brownsville ISD will celebrate School Board Recognition Month at the Board Meeting on Tuesday, January 17 at 5:30 pm in the Administration Building Boardroom located at 1900 Price Road.

Open for Business on MLK Day

BISD will be open on Monday, January 16, 2017. The district will follow a regular schedule for classes and offices.

BISD Fine Arts Students Earn Most Area All-State Chairs

The BISD Department of Fine Arts is proud to announce that 31 secondary fine arts students earned chairs in the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) 2016-2017 All-State Band or Choir, more than any other school district in Area G. The final round of auditions was held on Saturday, January 7, 2017 in Corpus Christi and Rockport-Fulton. BISD students competed against students from Del Rio, South San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Laredo, and the Rio Grande Valley to earn a place at the state level. These 31 BISD students rank in the top 2% of Texas music students. They will perform in the prestigious All-State Band or Choir at the TMEA convention on Saturday, February 11, 2017 in San Antonio. Congratulations to these top Texas high school musicians. View the results.

BISD Students Apply Texas

BISD supports a college-going culture. A large percentage of the district’s seniors and graduating juniors have already put in their college applications to Apply Texas. For questions, contact Pilar Janis, Lead and Higher Education Counselor, at 548-8251. View the number of BISD applicants by campus.

District Selected HEB Finalist

Brownsville ISD has been selected as one of five Large District Finalists in the 2017 HEB Excellence in Education District Award Category which includes a prize of $100,000. The four other finalists are Allen ISD, Grand Prairie ISD, Northwest ISD and Socorro ISD. A panel of Excellence in Education judges will visit BISD on Thursday, January 19, 2017 to speak to the Superintendent, tour campuses, and participate in a round-table luncheon with district stakeholders.

W-2 Forms Are On The Way

All current BISD employees will receive their W-2 forms no later than Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at their respective work locations. The W-2 forms for former BISD employees will also be mailed by that date.