October "Stinger" Article

The following is the "Superintendent's Soapbox" article from the "Stinger":

Superintendent’s Soapbox

Welcome back to Academy ISD for another great year in “Bumblebee Country”! As always, we have extremely high expectations for this school year. I know that our staff, students and parents will work diligently to ensure that this year will be one to remember. From the kindergarten student, anxious about the newness of their world to the senior ready to complete their journey, only to begin another chapter in life, all of our students are excited about 2010-2011. Or staff is elated to have the opportunity to witness the intellectual and social growth of our kiddos. Parents can rest assured that their babies are being taken care of and that their involvement and input is welcome and a vital part of our success.
The combined efforts of students, staff and parents have brought about incredible results over the last several years. Most recently, the Texas Education Agency rated our District as “Recognized” for the 2009-2010 school year. Both the elementary and middle school were rated ‘Recognized” and the high school was rated “Exemplary”. The faculty and staff at these campuses are to be commended for the professionalism and willingness to go the extra mile to ensure student success. To put it into perspective, there are 1700 high schools in the State and only 200 were rated “Exemplary”. What an accomplishment! Here at Academy ISD we will continue to strive to provide all of our students the tools they need to be successful and competitive in an ever-changing world.
One of the variables that impact student performance and campus climate is the condition of the school facilities. The design, capabilities, and relevance of the school infrastructure are crucial components of the plans to meet the programmatic needs of the District. As most of you are aware the District recently had a $14.995 million bond fail in May. After the failure of this bond a 30 member community group was formed as a “bond steering committee” to work with the District to determine the needs of the school community and to help guide any future bond projects. The group met, toured the District facilities and prioritized the needs of AISD. As a result of this group, several meetings and an eventual recommendation to the board of trustees, the school board called an election in November for a bond in the amount of $13.425 million. This latest bond dedicates approximately $9.4 million to construction and improvements to the elementary school campus. High school improvements are approximately $3.525 million and the remaining $500,000 would be considered for district-wide improvements. I would like to personally thank the “bond steering committee” for their hard work and dedication to the school children of Academy ISD. Remember to register to vote. Remember to VOTE!!!
As we begin 2010-2011, understand that we can all play a part in making this a great school year. There is much work to be done and much fun to be had. I wish every student and every staff member, the very best and I hope that we are creating memories today that will last a lifetime. Go BEES!!!

Thoughts and Prayers

All of us have trying times in our lives. We struggle raising our kids, we struggle at school and we may struggle financially. All of us face difficulty at some point in our lives. Today as we reflect about our struggles and count our many blessings, let us also direct our thoughts and prayers to others who have been tragically affected in the past few days.

First, in our community we suffered the loss of a husband, father and friend as well as a Bumblebee supporter, in Daniel Gray. I just returned this afternoon from the funeral and would ask all of us to keep his wife and three boys in our prayers.

Second, our neighbors to the west of us in several communities have suffered tremendous losses from flooding. I spent the entire day yesterday helping my sister in Salado with her and her family's recovery effort. Many families in Salado and other communities lost everything they owned. Lets not forget them as we lay our heads down at night.

"BEE PRIDE" means BEE Community!