Dr. Z Gives Car to Porter Grad with Perfect Attendance

BISD Superintendent Dr. Esperanza Zendejas presented a new 2015 Mazda 3 Sport Sedan that she purchased herself to Enrique Soto, a deserving Porter ECHS 2016 graduate with perfect attendance since the day he first entered school, on Friday, June 24 at the BISD Administration Building. Soto was the captain of the Porter 2016 UIL State Championship Soccer Team and has not missed a single day of school in his entire public school career. Enrique’s father is an employee at the BISD Media Center. Dr. Esperanza Zendejas has become well-acquainted with Enrique Soto since becoming Superintendent of Brownsville public schools. He is an outstanding student academically with perfect attendance and has excelled as a soccer athlete at Porter. She wanted to make her own personal contribution to his family to assist this student as he moves forward in his postsecondary studies. “This young man has touched my heart since the day I met him. I have seen his academic progress and consistent attendance and I have been impressed with his determination and resilience. I wanted to do something to support Enrique and his family. Special thanks to members of the Cardenas family and Cardenas Motors for generously contributing and assisting with this initiative,” said Dr. Zendejas.

State Honors For Stillman Choir

The Stillman Middle School Mixed Choir, under the direction of Tammie Polano and Assistant Jessica Chapa, has been selected as an Honors Choir by the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA). The Stillman Choir will perform at the TMEA conference in San Antonio in February 2017, date to be determined. Over 100 choirs from across Texas were asked to submit audition tapes to perform at the world-renowned TMEA convention. Over a span of 12 years, four BISD choirs have earned the TMEA Honors Choir distinction. Most recently, the Hanna Varsity Men’s Choir, directed by Gene Holkup with assistance by Jesus Morales and Selina Charles, performed in 2014. In 2012, the Vela Middle School Varsity Treble Choir, directed by Melody Eriksen, was named a TMEA Honors Choir and, in 2004, the Vela Varsity Mixed Choir, directed by Denise Pitcock, was selected. BISD fine arts students once again excel at the state level.

Students Earn Technology Bundles for Good Attendance

A total of 15 BISD elementary, middle school and ECHS (grades 9-11) students won grand prize technology bundles in the Student Attendance Contest drawing held on June 22 at the Sunrise Mall Food Court. Dr. Zendejas drew the winning numbers for bundles valued at $2,000 each and the Board Trustees congratulated the winners. The Canales Elementary School Conjunto entertained the audience before the drawings. Congratulations to Jorge Luis Stinson, Hanna ECHS; Natalia I. Sanchez, Veterans Memorial ECHS; and Kayla B. Urbano, Pace ECHS; April A. Rangel, Garcia MS; Ana K. Davila, Besteiro MS; Kevin G. Lopez, Stillman MS; and Andres E. Gonzalez, Vela MS; Kimberly N. Mendoza, Keller ES; Celeste S. Saldaña, Garden Park ES; Fernanda M. Chavez, Skinner ES; Anilu Zamarripa, Gonzalez ES; Lupita Yvet Cisneros, Champion ES; Julian Vasquez, Russell ES; Maria G. Gonzalez, Longoria ES; and Christian Ramirez, Champion ES.

VMECHS Grad Wins Car

Gabriel Agustin Mascorro, a 2016 Veterans Memorial ECHS graduate, won the 2016 Mazda CX-3 in the BISD/Cardenas Mazda Student Attendance Contest drawing held on Wednesday, June 22. Mascorro was one of 14 finalists, 2 from each ECHS, who were pre-selected from a pool of eligible students. Dr. Zendejas drew Mascorro’s winning number 6 at the contest event held at Cardenas Motors in Brownsville. The Mazda Car Giveaway was the grand prize finale to the 2015-2016 contest designed to improve student attendance and enrollment. The 3 Runners-Up, Ruben Rios, Jr., BECHS; Diana Marie Flores, Hanna ECHS/BLA; and Luis Gerardo Banda, Pace ECHS; won computer tablets.

Off the Air

KBSD, BISD’s instructional television channel, will be off the air Friday, June 17 through Monday, June 20 due to a new chiller installation at Porter ECHS. Regular programming will return on Tuesday, June 21.

Cardenas Mazda to Award a New Car for Student Attendance

One lucky BISD graduating junior or senior will win a new, red 2016 Mazda CX-3 for perfect attendance within a six weeks period on Wednesday, June 22 at 10 am at Cardenas Motors Brownsville, 1500 North Expressway. The Cardenas Mazda Student Attendance Car Giveaway is the grand finale to a year-long contest designed to improve student attendance and enrollment. A total of 14 student finalists, 2 from each early college high school, were pre-drawn at an earlier date to ensure their eligibility. Superintendent Dr. Zendejas will draw one of the 14 numbers making one finalist the instant owner of a new 2016 Mazda CX-3. Additional prizes will be awarded to the 1st – 3rd Runners-Up. Local dignitaries, Mazda and Cardenas representatives, and BISD students and employees will be present to show their support. The Veterans Early College High School Drumline will perform. BISD sincerely thanks Cardenas Mazda for supporting our students and schools with this generous donation.

Good Attendance Rewards for BISD Students

Good attendance pays off in BISD! Fifteen BISD students will win grand prize bundles in the BISD Student Attendance Contest Drawing to be held on Wednesday, June 22 at 3 pm at the Sunrise Mall Food Court. The bundles contain a set of beats headphones, a computer tablet, and an iPod Nano. A total of 110 finalists, 2 per school, were pre-drawn at an earlier date to ensure their eligibility. Superintendent Esperanza Zendejas will draw the 15 winning numbers and the BISD Board Trustees will award the grand prizes to the student winners. The Canales Elementary Conjunto, under the direction of Santiago Castillo, will perform at the event.

TEA Announces Important Changes to STAAR Reporting Dates

The Texas Education agency has announced important changes to the reporting dates for the 2016 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) assessments. As indicated on the Calendar of Events, the results for the STAAR spring 2016 grades 3-8 administration were scheduled to be reported to districts on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. This date has been moved to Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Due to ongoing issues and concerns with reporting, The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has requested that ETS conduct additional quality control checks and verifications to ensure that results for all students for which answer documents or online records were submitted are reported error-free and attributed to the correct campus and district. The Texas Education Agency apologizes for this delay and understands the significant inconvenience late reporting will cause students, parents, teachers, and school district personnel. Given delays in reporting, TEA is altering the timeline for sending results to families. Districts are encouraged to provide results as soon as possible, once reporting issues are resolved and final data files and reports are provided. In addition, some districts continue to experience issues with missing or incorrectly attributed results for students tested during the STAAR May 2016 Grades 5 and 8 retest administration and/or the STAAR spring 2016 EOC administration. Corrected reports and files for these two administrations will be made available on Monday, June 20, 2016. These reports will also include any corrections made by the district during the resolution windows, such as student identification information updates and test taken information changes. Districts still awaiting results for students in grades 5 and 8 not yet reported should follow the guidelines outlined in the June 10, 2016 letter from Commissioner Morath to make promotion/retention decisions for these students. TEA is still determining possible implications of late reporting of assessment results to the release of the Consolidated Accountability File (CAF) and will notify districts if there are delays in the reporting of the CAF. If you have questions about STAAR reporting and the revised timelines, please contact the Student Assessment Division at 512-463-9536.

Public Meeting

Brownsville ISD will hold a public meeting at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 in the Boardroom of the Administration Building located at 1900 Price Road to discuss the school district’s budget that will determine the tax rate that will be adopted. Public participation in the discussion is invited. View the information.

BISD Grads Earn UT Scholarships

Krista Quiroz, a 2016 graduate of Porter Early College High School, is the recipient of the Brownsville Texas Exes Chapter/Joe and Theresa Lozano Long Challenge Grant in the amount of $1,000. The scholarship is renewable for four years if the requirements are met every year. Three BISD 2016 graduates received $500 scholarships from the Brownsville Texas Exes alumni chapter good for one year. They are Viviana Castillo, Hanna; Esteban Salinas, Pace; and Aleida Olvera, Veterans Memorial. Congratulations to these grads on earning these college scholarships.

College Connected

BISD early college high school students are actively applying to colleges and universities using the APPLY TEXAS Application. Check out the latest numbers below by BISD school. For questions, contact Pilar Janis, BISD Guidance and Counseling Department, at 548-8251. Name of ECHS Apply Texas % FAFSA% TASFA FAFSA/TASFA % HANNA 100% 79% 7 81% PORTER 100% 71% 13 74% PACE 100% 74% 10 77% RIVERA 100% 81% 30 87% LOPEZ 100% 95% 10 98% VETERANS 99% 77% 15 80% BECHS 100% 100% - -

Pace Horn Player Heads to New York

Nick Ochoa, an upcoming junior at Pace ECHS, has been selected to participate in NYO2, an intensive two-week training program for talented young musicians in New York City. Ochoa was featured in The Brownsville Herald on Sunday, June 5. Read the article here.

Aquatic Center Closes in July

The Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center will be closed July 1 for necessary maintenance and repairs. The community will be informed once the premier swimming venue reopens for regular operation.

Eat For Free at BISD

The BISD Food and Nutrition Services Department will provide free meals for children 0-18 years of age at more than 50 designated school and community sites in Brownsville this summer beginning on June 6. The free meals are not limited to BISD students or Brownsville residents. Anyone 18 years of age or younger is welcome to eat for free. Summer feeding will continue into August at several sites. Adults may purchase a meal for $2.25 for breakfast and $3.50 for lunch. Fresh fruit, cold milk, healthy breakfasts, and nutritious lunches are all available for free. Call (956) 548-8450 to learn more. View the flyer for locations, dates and times. English | Spanish

View BISD Graduations Live

The 2016 BISD Early College High School graduations that are held at the Brownsville Sports Park will be streamed live on the district homepage or YouTube at BISD-KBSD ITV for viewing by friends and family members who are unable to attend. This will also give military personnel who are on active duty an opportunity to see their loved ones graduate. The commencement ceremonies held at the Brownsville Sports Park will be live streamed beginning at 7:30 pm according to the schedule listed below: Rivera ECHS Saturday, June 4, 2016 Hanna ECHS Sunday, June 5, 2016 Veterans Memorial ECHS Monday, June 6, 2016 Pace ECHS Tuesday, June 7, 2016 Lopez ECHS Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Porter ECHS Thursday, June 9, 2016 View the designated ceremony here beginning at 7:30 pm.

Cavazos Scholarships Awarded to BISD Student Athletes

Congratulations to the BISD student athletes who received the 2016 Johnny N. and Nena S. Cavazos Athletic Scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each. Sixty BISD seniors, ten from each early college high school, were recognized at the Student Recognition Ceremony held on Wednesday, June 1 at the Rivera ECHS gym. In 2007, Mr. and Mrs. Cavazos generously established an athletic endowment that has provided college assistance to male and female students who have participated in University Interscholastic League athletic sports. View the 2016 Cavazos Scholarship recipients.