BISD Selected for FAFSA Completion Project

Brownsville ISD is one of the districts recently selected to participate in a national Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) project through the U.S. Department of Education. The program is designed to help students access higher education through federal aid and other student aid. View the media release.

View BISD Graduations Live Online

For the first time, the 2012 BISD high school graduations held at Sams Stadium will be streamed live on the district’s homepage at www.bisd.us for viewing by friends and family members who are unable to attend the actual commencement ceremonies. This will also give military personnel from Brownsville who are on active duty an opportunity to see their loved ones graduate. The commencement ceremonies will be held at Sams Stadium for five consecutive evenings at 7:30 pm, June 3-7. The schedule is listed below. Sunday, June 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monday, June 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . Tuesday, June 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . Wednesday, June 6 . . . . . . . . . Thursday, June 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . Lopez High School Porter High School Rivera High School Hanna High School Pace High School “We realize how important high school graduations are and we want to make it possible for everyone to view our commencement ceremonies. This is a service that Brownsville ISD is pleased to provide to our community so that all family members have an opportunity to see their graduate walk across the stage and receive a diploma,” said Dr. Carl Montoya. Click here to view the ceremonies beginning at 7:30 pm each evening.

2nd Annual Future Teacher Academy

The BISD Human Resources Department is currently taking applications for the Future Teacher Academy training. Applications are due on Friday, June 8 by 5 pm in the Human Resources Department. For more information, contact Carmelita Rodriguez at 548-8051 or Minnie Valdez at 698-1245. Download an application here.

Cavazos College Scholarships Awarded

Congratulations to the 25 BISD student athletes who received Johnny N. and Nena S. Cavazos Athletic Scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each. The 2012 scholarships were awarded to 5 students from each BISD high school on May 30 at Sams Stadium by Mr. and Mrs. Cavazos. The couple generously funded an athletic scholarship endowment that has provided college funds to district athletes for many years. View the list of recipients.

Wellness Center Open for Business

The BISD Wellness Center will be open to employees and students during the summer months for zumba, weights and cardio training. View the schedule

67 Grads Receive Superintendent's Scholarships

Superintendent Dr. Carl A. Montoya has announced the winners of the 2012 Superintendent’s Scholarships. A total of 67 graduating BISD seniors will each receive $1,000 to attend the college of their choice. Over $67,000 in scholarship funds was raised at the 9th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament hosted by Dr. Montoya at the Rancho Viejo Resort on Saturday, May 12, 2012. Scholarship recipients were selected by a committee of local Brownsville leaders and district personnel. Over 160 student applications were reviewed. “The participation of our local businesses and community organizations has made this tournament one of the largest in the Rio Grande Valley. I sincerely thank our sponsors for enthusiastically supporting our students and enabling them to continue their education,” said Montoya. In the last 9 years, the Superintendent’s Scholarship Golf Tournament has provided $569,000 in scholarships to 467 deserving BISD graduates. Dr. Carl Montoya will personally award the 2012 Superintendent’s Scholarships to the following recipients on Tuesday, May 29 and Wednesday, May 30 at their respective high school campuses. View all Superintendent's Scholarship recipients.

Summer Fun

With the school year rapidly coming to an end, the BISD Athletic Department has some exciting summer recreation opportunities available to students in basketball, volleyball, weight lifting, tennis, track, golf and swimming. For more information, call 548-8261. View the 2012 BISD Summer Recreation Schedule.

Rivera Student Selected

Nancy C. Herrera, a Rivera student, earned a $1,000 scholarship from the Association of Migrant Educators of Texas. Congratulations to Ms. Herrera!

Scientists at Work

Young BISD scientists from schools across the district will participate in the 2012 BISD Elementary Science Fairs to be held on Saturday, May 20. Due to the large number of student participants, four schools will serve as science fair sites, Besteiro/Aiken, Martin, Garcia and Stillman. Schedule of Events: Judges’ Orientation/Breakfast . . . . 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Judging Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM Public Viewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Award Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:30 PM -2:30 PM Take Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:30 PM Best of luck to all students who will be competing in the BISD Elementary Science Fairs.

BISD Artists Are Tops!

BISD student artists earned 160 medals at the Jr. Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) held on May 12 in McAllen. Out of 10 competing school districts, Brownsville ISD brought home the highest number of medals. View the Jr. VASE results.

District Summer Work Schedule - Revised

The summer work schedule begins Monday, June 25, 2012 and will continue through Friday, August 3, 2012. Work hours will be Monday - Thursday from 7:30 am - 5:30 pm (1 hour lunch) and 8:00 am - 12:00 pm on Fridays. Please note: Wednesday, July 4 is a holiday on the 2012-2013 calendar, work hours for this week will be from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.

BISD Students Earn Tech Devices

A total of 28 BISD secondary students were the lucky recipients of ipads or Dell laptop computers from the Brownsville Partners for Postsecondary Success. District secondary students who attended the recent BISD College & Career Night held on April 30 at the CAB who met the participation guidelines were included in a drawing for the latest tech gadgets. Click here to view the entire list of recipients.

Three District Educators Honored with Rotary Endowment

For 20 years, the Brownsville Rotary Club has honored teachers in Brownsville schools for their teaching excellence. The chosen teachers receive a plaque and a cash award of $1,000. The cash is to be used for their continuing education, classroom materials or any other educational use the teacher wishes to improve his/her skills in the classroom. This year’s BISD recipients of the Brownsville Rotary Club Endowment Scholarship for Teaching Excellence are: Cindy Medrano…Stillman Middle School Delfina Cisneros…Longoria Elementary School Maggie Lucio…Hanna High School Congratulations to these outstanding educators. They received their awards at a recent Brownsville Rotary Club Meeting.

H-E-B , UTB and BISD Celebrate Participants of Read 3 Family Literacy Workshop

On Friday, May 11, H‐E‐B, the University of Texas at Brownsville and the Brownsville Independent School District celebrated 103 families who completed the Read 3 Family Literacy Workshop, six weeks of classes designed to help parents and 3 and‐4‐year‐olds get prepped for success in kindergarten. Mayor Tony Martinez delivered the keynote address at a ceremony at UTB, one of the lead partners in the H‐E‐B program. Similar to a high school or college graduation, each family walked across the stage and received a certificate of completion with the UTB seal. The ceremony was designed not just to recognize the families’ accomplishment in completing the program, but also to bring them onto a college campus and give them the experience of crossing a stage so they can envision that future for their children. View Release.

Hanna Chess Trio Scores

The Hanna High School Girls Chess Team recently placed first at the Kasparov Chess Foundation All-Girls Chess Championships held in Chicago, Illinois. The members of the award-winning Hanna team are Ivana Santos, Kathleen Prebble, and Lauren Rogers. In individual placement, Santos placed 9th, Prebble placed 17th and Rogers placed 18th. Congratulations Hanna Eagles!

Stell Middle School State Finalist for 7th Annual Texas Quiz Show

AUSTIN, TEXAS, Saturday, May 5, 2012 — Baker Middle School topped the competition at the Texas Quiz Show history tournament at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. Corpus Christi ISD’s Baker Middle School team of Sophie Susser, Holden Hopkins, Nam Dimas, and Douglas Hagemeister bested Walsh Middle School in the seventh and final match of the day. The Baker team was coached by Ms. Cissy Smith. A total of eight schools from across the state competed in half-hour matches; the other schools fielding teams were State Champion Runner-Up, Walsh Middle School (Round Rock ISD); State Semi-Finalists, Harpool Middle School (Denton ISD) and Sloan Creek Middle School (Lovejoy ISD); State Finalists, Terrace Hills Middle School (El Paso ISD), Mineola Middle School (Mineola ISD), Stell Middle School (Brownsville ISD), and Beyond Appearances Home School (College Station). The Texas Quiz Show State Tournament is hosted by the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It was held in conjunction with TSHA’s Texas History Day, a yearlong education program that culminates in an annual state-level history fair for students in grades six through twelve. View release.

Thank You

The Board of Trustees and Superintendent Dr. Carl Montoya congratulate this year’s retirees and employees who have reached service milestones. They will be honored at the annual 2012 employee awards celebration, “Party at the Pyramids.” Wednesday, May 9, 2012 Brownsville Events Center 1 Events Center Blvd. Note: No reserved seating. 5:00 PM…Pyramid Portals Open 5:15–6:15 PM…Feasting & Entertainment 6:15–8:30 PM…Awards Ceremony Worthy of King Tut & Queen Nefertiti Note: To facilitate parking, two BISD buses will transport guests between the Brownsville Events Center and Paredes Elementary School every few minutes beginning at 5:00 PM. The shuttle service will continue for one hour after the celebration. BISD police and security officers will be on duty at all parking areas throughout the evening.

Houston Superintendent Will Visit Brownsville ISD on Tuesday

Brownsville ISD will welcome Dr. Terry Grier, Superintendent of Houston ISD; Harvin Moore, HISD Board Member; and representatives from the Neuhaus Education Center on Tuesday, May 8 from 11 am – 4 pm. The visitors are touring the district to learn more about the initiation and maintenance of BISD’s reading reform initiative, especially as it pertains to students in grades pre-kinder through third. The guests will tour both Benavides and Gallegos Elementary Schools to see campus reading and dyslexia programs in action. They will also participate in a round-table discussion with principals and central office staff.

Hanna Teacher Selected for LiftOff Summer Institute

Griselda L. Galvez a teacher from Hanna High School in Brownsville, Texas has been selected from across the nation for the prestigious LiftOff Summer Institute to be held at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas this summer. Teachers from across the U.S. will increase their knowledge of space education through the LiftOff Professional Development Summer Institute. View release.

BISD Will Receive $1.7 Million from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will present BISD with a check for $1.7 million to outfit 129 school buses with pollution - control equipment to reduce students' exposure to particulate matter on Monday, May 7 at 10 AM at Keller Elementary School. The grant from the TCEQ's Texas Clean School Bus Program will fund diesel particulate filters for older diesel school buses. “Brownsville ISD is pleased to be selected as a beneficiary in this program,” said Superintendent Carl A. Montoya, Ph.D. “Retrofitting a good portion of our bus fleet provides significant benefits to our children and community in the form of cleaner air. We are also grateful to our local lawmakers for promoting these initiatives.”

Ten BISD Students Earn Duke Accolades

Ten BISD seventh grade students received State Recognition for their performance on the SAT or ACT from the Duke University Talent Identification Program. These ten BISD middle school students had impressive test scores. Faulk Middle School Christina Alvarez Stell Middle School Yamile Sandoval Vela Middle School Izar Trevino Oliveira Middle School Cierra Wiebe Lucio Middle School Kirstyn Gonzalez Stillman Middle School Andrew Ayala Alondra Garcia Gabrielle Panuelos Katelyn Rodriguez Brenda Torre

Watch it Live

Tonight’s BISD Board Meeting will be streamed live on the internet beginning at 5:30 pm. Follow this link to watch the Board Meeting.

Gates Awards for BISD Trio

Three talented BISD seniors have been selected for the 2012 Class of Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS). Congratulations to Cynthia Ibarra, Pace High School; Paloma Rodriguez, Brownsville Early College High School; and Rodrigo Fernandez, Rivera High School, on this outstanding achievement. GMS annually selects 1,000 students nationwide to receive a good-through-graduation scholarship to use at the college or university of their choice. Recipients are also provided with personal and professional development through leadership programs along with academic support throughout their college career. The GMS Program, established in 1999, was initially funded by a $1 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A total of 96 students were selected from Texas.

Change in Employee Dental Insurance

BISD employees are advised that effective May 1, 2012, all district employees who currently have a dental plan with Delta Dental will be rolled over to the Humana Dental Plan. Read the letter from the Employee Benefits/Risk Management Department.

BISD Earns Award

Brownville ISD was honored for its support and commitment to the Neighbors In Need of Services (NINOS), Inc. Head Start/Early Head Start Program at the “Stars of Excellence” Banquet held in Harlingen at the Casa De Amistad on April 26.

2012-2013 Employee Transfers

The employee transfer period will begin on Monday, April 30. The deadline to submit a transfer application is Friday, May 11 before 5 pm. All employees are eligible to apply for a transfer. Any employee wishing to be considered for a transfer must use this time to do so. Certified and classified employees must submit an on-line transfer application before 5 pm on Friday, May 11. It is the employee’s responsibility to meet this deadline. For more information, please go to www.bisd.us/employment/Default.asp.