BARSEA Awards Scholarships

Eight BISD students earned $1,000 scholarships from the Brownsville Area Retired School Employees Association (BARSEA). Congratulations to Victoria Guerrero, Hanna ECHS; Leisel Estephania Villarreal, Lincoln Park School; Sergio Perez, Lopez ECHS; Karen Mendiola and Miranda Campos, Porter ECHS; Eduardo Fabian Gonzalez, Rivera ECHS; and Andre Hernandez and Paulina Martinez, Veterans Memorial ECHS. The students will receive their scholarships at an upcoming BARSEA luncheon. Congratulations to the scholarship recipients and thank you to BARSEA for supporting our students.

Morningside Hosts Rock Stars

The Reading Rock Stars will bring books to life for young readers at Morningside Elementary on Thursday, March 2 from 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM. Reading Rock Stars is an engaging literacy program in which authors from across the country are invited to present their works to students in economically-disadvantaged public schools. At the end of the book presentations, each Morningside student will receive an autographed copy of the book and a set of books will also be given to the Morningside library. Reading Rock Stars is part of Festiba 2017 sponsored by the Texas Book Festival. View the Morningside schedule.

BISD Welcomes UT Austin

Brownsville ISD is pleased to welcome Dr. Leonard Moore, UT Austin Associate Vice President of Academic Diversity Initiatives and Professor of History, who will speak to admitted BISD students and top 7% juniors on Thursday, March 2 at 2 pm at the Veterans Memorial ECHS auditorium. Dr. Moore is a nationally recognized speaker on student success, race, sports, and hip hop. He will share his perspective on the value and opportunities of a UT Austin education as well as advice on making a successful transition to college.

5 Students Earn Mr. Amigo Scholarships

The Mr. Amigo Association has awarded $1,000 scholarships to five BISD students. The recipients are: Miguel Mascorro, Brownsville ECHS; Sarah N. Chacon, Hanna ECHS; Karen Ramos Mendiola, Porter ECHS; Sergio Eduardo Diaz, Rivera ECHS; and Dana Guerra, Veterans Memorial ECHS. The scholarship recipients will be recognized by Fernando Landeros, this year’s Mr. Amigo, at the Walk of Fame event on Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 5 pm at Linear Park.

Middle School Scientists Are State Bound

Congratulations to all the BISD students who competed on February 10, 2017, at the UTRGV Rio Grande Valley Science & Engineering Regional Fair. Congratulations to Steven Betancourt from Stillman Middle School who won 1st Runner-Up Overall in the competition. All BISD students who placed in the top 3 of their division are eligible to compete at the Texas Science & Engineering Fair on April 1, 2017. In the Junior Division, BISD has 15 projects with 17 student representatives who are eligible to participate at the State Science & Engineering Fair. View the UTRGV Regional Fair Junior Division results for BISD by category.

The Fiesta Will Go On

Since weather forecasts predict that the rain will clear, the BISD Fiesta Folklorica will be held on Monday, February 20 at 6 pm at Sams Stadium. Pre-entertainment by the Lopez Amanecer and Rivera Brisas de la Noche will begin at 5:30 PM. The Fiesta Folklorica is an exciting festival of folkloric dances and music from Mexico. This year’s performers are students from Benavides, Brite, Burns, Champion, El Jardin, Garza, Pullam, Longoria and Skinner Elementary Schools. Admission is free.

Regional BISD History Qualifiers Are Off to State

A total of 65 BISD secondary students have qualified for the Texas History Day Competition on Saturday, April 29 in Austin, Texas. These students advanced after competing in the Rio Grande Regional History Day on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at UTRGV-Edinburg. View the RGV Regional History Day Awards Summary.

BISD ECHS Scientists 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.

Middle School Musicians Dominate Jazz Audition

BISD middle school band students earned 22 of the 40 chairs available in the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Region 28 Middle School Jazz ensemble on Thursday, February 2. BISD students also earned 3 of the 9 available first chair positions. These students will perform on Saturday, February 18 at 4 pm at the Harlingen Performing Arts Center. Congratulations to our middle school musicians and their directors. View the results by campus.

BISD Principal for a Day Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Brownsville ISD will host its 25th Annual Principal for a Day (PFAD) activity on Friday, February 17. Each BISD campus, 58 in all, has invited a business or civic leader to serve as a guest principal for one entire morning. Guest principals will begin their day at their respective schools where they will shadow the campus administrator and participate in a variety of school activities. Their day will conclude with a luncheon which allows participants to share stories about their morning spent in the principal’s office. Initiated in 1992 by Dr. Esperanza Zendejas, PFAD has enabled hundreds of local leaders to experience the joys and challenges of public school administration. Many of these guest principals, inspired by their experience, have continued their involvement with BISD schools.

BISD Welcomes UT Austin Representative

Dr. Leonard Moore, Associate Vice-President of Academic Diversity Initiatives and Professor of History at the University of Texas Austin, will speak to students who have already been admitted to UT Austin on Thursday, March 2 at 2 pm at the Veterans Memorial ECHS auditorium. This is an opportunity for BISD students who have been admitted as incoming Longhorns to hear from one of the school’s most dynamic professors about the many opportunities that await them in Austin. For more information, call the BISD Guidance and Counseling Department at 548-8251.

BISD Selected to Apply for HEB Leadership Program

Brownsville ISD is one of 26 public school districts from across Texas invited to apply for The Holdsworth Center, a new leadership institute based in Austin. Founded by H-E-B Chairman and CEO Charles Butt, the Holdsworth Center has the goal of supporting and developing public school leaders in order to improve, over time, the quality of education offered to every child in every Texas classroom. View the media release.

Top 8 BISD Spellers Advance to Regional Bee

At the 2017 BISD Spelling Bee held on Saturday, February 4 at the Porter ECHS auditorium, 8 top spellers qualified to represent the district at the regional spelling bee. For a second consecutive year, Richard Emmanuel Zayas, a Stillman Middle School student, earned the BISD Spelling Bee Championship. Abraham Ramirez, a Garden Park Elementary student, was first runner-up. The other regional qualifiers are: Julian Ybarra, Breeden Elementary; Mariana Melendez, Gallegos Elementary; Paris Cho, Manzano Middle School; Sophia Jaramillo, Garza Elementary; Alexander Martinez, Castañeda Elementary; and Gerardo Lara, Perkins Middle School. They will compete in the 29th Annual Rio Grande Valley Regional Spelling Bee which will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2017 at South Texas College in Weslaco in the New Instructional Building G Lecture Hall. The winner of the regional competition will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. during Bee Week, May 27 to June 2. View the BISD 2017 campus spelling bee finalists.

Veterans Memorial Boys Team Ranks at State

The 2016-2017 rankings by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches lists the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Boys Class 5A Team at #6. The rankings were released on January 30, 2017. Congratulations to the team and coaches. View the list.

BISD Bee on Saturday

The 2017 BISD Spelling Bee, hosted by Sharp Elementary School, will be held on Saturday, February 4 at the Porter ECHS auditorium located at 3500 International Boulevard. Registration will begin at 7 am and opening exercises commence at 8 am. BISD’s 48 best 2016-2017 elementary and middle school spellers will represent their schools at the Bee. The theme is, “Building Words One Tile at a Time.” The spellers will compete to be one of 8 BISD spellers who will advance to the 29th Annual Rio Grande Valley Regional Spelling Bee which will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2017 at South Texas College in Weslaco in the New Instructional Building G Lecture Hall. The winner of the regional competition will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee to be held in Washington, D.C. during Bee Week, May 27 to June 2. View the BISD campus Spelling Bee Finalists.

BISD Students are TMEA Stars

BISD will have three Honors Ensembles performing at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) convention on February 10 & 11 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center as the best in Texas. The Lopez ECHS Symphonic Band is ranked as the 1st Place 6A Band in Texas. The Stillman Middle School Mixed Choir qualified as the top Honors Choir and the Canales Elementary Conjunto qualified as the top Elementary Honors Ensemble. The BISD ensembles will perform locally in Brownsville before their convention appearances. Make plans to attend one of these free concerts: Wednesday, February 1, 2017, Canales Conjunto, CAB Theatre, 6:00 pm; Friday, February 3, 2017, Stillman Middle School Choir, Veterans Memorial ECHS Theatre, 7:00 pm; Monday, February 6, 2017, Lopez ECHS Symphonic Band, Lopez ECHS Theatre, 7:00 pm.