District News
GPHS Girls Basketball Camp Slated for July 14-17 Grand Prairie High School will hold a basketball camp for girls in grades 5-9, July 14-17 at the campus.
For more information, please contact: Coach Yvette Lomeli at yvette.lomeli@gpisd.org or by phone at 915-346-6838. |
Summer Hours for the GPISD Education Center The GPISD Education Center will be open five days a week throughout the summer. However, some departments will be on flexible schedules. Ed Center staff will be working one of the following:
For the hours of a specific department, either call the department directly or call the main switchboard at (972) 264-6141. |
Graduation Day Set for Saturday, May 31 On Saturday, May 31, Grand Prairie ISD will hold graduation ceremonies for both high schools at Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie. The schedule is as follows: Grand Prairie High School at 10:00 a.m. Tickets are required. Please contact the campuses directly for more information. |
Project Graduation Seeks Seniors, Volunteers and Donations The GPISD Council of PTAs is hosting it's annual Project Graduation, the drug-free, alcohol-free celebration for graduating seniors of both high schools at Lone Star Park from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. June 1. Graduates may bring one guest and admission is $10.00 per person. There will be a D.J., food, interactive games, poker, door prizes and fun for all. The Council of PTAs is seeking volunteers to work the event. Monetary donations, as well as items for door prizes are also needed and can be dropped off at Arnold Bros. Cleaners, 1818 Dalworth St. in Grand Prairie. Please contact Dawn Arnold at DawnA.Arnold@gpisd.org for more information. |
Johnson, Stewart Elected to Board of Trustees On Saturday, May 10, board member Tim Johnson was re-elected in Place 3 on the GPISD Board of Trustees and J.D. Stewart was elected in Place 4. They will be sworn in as board members at the June 12 meeting of the Board of Trustees. |
Staff Recognized for Better Hearing and Speech Month
On May 6, City of Grand Prairie Mayor Charles England proclaimed May 2008 as Better Hearing and Speech Month. This recognition honors GPISD audiologists and speech pathologists for improving the quality of life for people with communication disorders. Pictured above are: (l-r) Lauren Plemons, SLP assistant; Judy Erwin, SLP; Chuck Schreiber, Director of Special Education; Mayor Charles England; and Pamela Skaar, SLP. |
Pre-K Round-up on May 9 at Every Elementary Campus Pre-K Round-up will be held at every elementary campus from 8:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. -3:00 p.m. (times may vary from campus to campus) on May 9. For the Round-Up, parents need to bring: birth certificate, current shot record, Social Security card, and proof of address by means of a electric or water bill only. If the family is just moving into the house and has no bills for that address, bring the deed of the house to show ownership. For more information, contact your campus. |
Board of Trustees Selects Name for Career High School The GPISD Board of Trustees unanimously voted to name the new career high school after the late John Dubiski, a longtime educator and administrator in the GPISD. The John A. Dubiski Career High School is located at the intersection of Highway 161 and W. Warrior Trail. The school is scheduled to open in August 2009. |
Daniels Celebrates Earth Day with Parade Daniels Elementary Academy will take to the streets for their 3rd annual Earth Day Parade on Tuesday, April 22, 2008. Students, staff and dignitaries will march through the streets spreading the school's environmental message about taking care of our precious planet. The parade begins at 1:15 p.m. and will last about 30 minutes. For more details on the parade, click here. |
Council of PTAs Holds 4th Annual Parking Lot Sale The GPISD Council PTA is holding its 4th annual Parking Lot Sale on Saturday, April 19, from 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the GPISD Education Center on the corner of Belt Line and Hwy 303.
Want a booth? Access the vendor registration form here. |
March 24 - 28 is Texas Public Schools Week in GPISD
On Monday, March 24, South Grand Prairie High School will host an event called SGPHS Tribal Showcase - The Link between Registration and Career Pathways. The time is from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and will be in various locations in the front part of the building. There will be hamburgers and hot dogs for sale if families want to eat and share the Showcase experience together. For more information, please contact Counselor Danita Peterman at danita.peterman@gpisd.org or by phone at (972) 343-1500. Texas Public Schools Week will culminate with the District's Title I Parent Conference at the Grand Prairie High School 9th Grade Center on Saturday, March 29, from 8:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. For more information, call (972) 343-6112 or (972) 343-6114. Click here to see Conference Commercial
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Reminder! Wednesday, March 5, is TAKS Testing Day Please remember that due to a change in the State's testing calendar, Wednesday, March 5, is now a state testing day. It is NOT an early release day. |
Community Diversity Job Fair set for Thursday, February 28 The Grand Prairie ISD, in conjunction with The Fleet and Family Support Center, LULAC, HACE and the NAACP, will host a Community Diversity Job Fair on Thursday, February 28, from 4 - 7 p.m. at South Grand Prairie High School. Candidates, regardless of ethnic background, are welcome to attend. The event is diverse in both the careers being offered and in the candidates who attend. To see the event flier, click here. To see the event flier in Spanish, click here. If you would like to be an exhibitor at the job fair, click here to access the Exhibitor Registration Form. The deadline to register as an exhibitor in February 18. |
Marich, Head Named GPISD Teachers of the Year At the annual Grand Prairie Chamber of Commerce Community Awards Gala, Tiffani Marich from Milam Elementary was awarded Elementary Teacher of the Year and Jonathan Head from the South Grand Prairie High School 9th Grade Center was awarded Secondary Teacher of the Year. Ms. Marich and Mr. Head are now eligible to "compete" in regional Teacher of the Year competition sponsored by the Region 10 Education Service Center. Other finalists included: Elementary:
Secondary:
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District Hosts 8th Annual Title I Parent & Community Conference
For more information, call (972) 343-6112 or (972) 343-6114. |
District Hosts First Dropout Recovery Fair on February 2 Grand Prairie ISD will host its first-ever "Dropout Recovery Fair- Launch Your Life" on Saturday, February 2, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The event will be held at the Grand Prairie ISD Education Center, 2602 S. Belt Line Road, in the Board Rooms. The Fair will feature invited representatives from public, private, and charter schools, community colleges and trade schools, the Armed Forces, community services, and industry. Launch Your Life is free to any adult who has not finished high school as well as to any current high school student at-risk of dropping out. For more information, call Ricky Mitchell, Dropout Recovery Coordinator, at 972-237-4044. To see the event flier in Spanish, click here. |
GPISD Spellers Get Ready to Rock! The District will hold its annual District Spelling Bee on Monday, January 28, in the board room at the GPISD Education Center. The North Side Bee will be held from 6 - 7 p.m. while the South Side Bee will follow from 7 - 8 p.m. The theme for this year's District Spelling Bee is "Spelling Rocks!" |
District Launches The Legend of Ross the Reader On Thursday, January 24, the District will officially launch the publication of The Legend of Ross the Reader, a joint project of the District's librarians and the Read Across the Prairie initiative. The event will be held in the board room of the GPISD Education Center located at 2602 S. Belt Line Road beginning at 4:30 p.m. To see the event flier, click here. |
January is School Board Recognition Month in Texas OUR SCHOOL BOARD EMPOWERS OUR STUDENTS TO EXCEL! |
SGPHS Kicker to Play in All-America Football Game
Wiggs will sport #14 on the Red Team. The game will be televised on ABC beginning at 1:00 p.m. |
| Trustees Scheduled to Meet on Thursday, January 10, at 7:00 p.m. The GPISD Board of Trustees will meet in open session on Thursday, January 10, at 7:00 p.m. in the board room at the GPISD Education Center located at 2602 S. Belt Line Road. As part of the meeting, the Board will conduct a public hearing on the District's Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) report. Parents and taxpayers are invited to this meeting to discuss the annual performance report for the 2006-2007 academic school year. |
Trustees Discuss Proposed Attendance Zone for Elementary #25 At the December 13 meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Board discussed proposed attendance zone boundaries for Elementary School #25 that will open in August 2008. These proposed changes would allow the District to make small adjustments to the attendance zones of Crockett, Seguin, Bonham, Milam, Barbara Bush, Johnson and Whitt elementary schools. To see the current boundaries, click here. To see the proposed boundaries, click here. The Board will take action on the proposed boundaries at its Thursday, January 10 meeting. |
District Information Regarding MRSA (click here for memo in Spanish) |
The deadline for school name nominations is Tuesday, December 18 The GPISD is asking for name nominations for two new campuses. To submit a nomination, please access the naming form here or contact the GPISD Communications Office at (972) 237-5381. Forms are also available in the Communications Office which is located in the GPISD Education Center located at 2602 S. Belt Line Road. Nominations forms will be accepted in the Communications Office through Tuesday, December 18, 2007. Trustees will consider naming the new elementary school in January and the Career and Tech High School in March. |
GPISD Announces 2007 Gold Performance Acknowledgements The Texas Education Agency has awarded eighteen GPISD campuses with Gold Performance Acknowledgements (GPA). The GPA system acknowledges districts and campuses for high performance on indicators other than those used to determine accountability ratings. The Gold Performance Acknowledgments reflect areas of academic performance and growth that go beyond state accountability ratings. |
Staff, Advocate Honored at Reception Several GPISD staff members and a community advocate were honored at the 17th Annual Bilingual/ESL Hispanic Staff Reception. Recognized at the event were:
The event was sponsored by the GPISD, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC #4576), the Hispanic Association for Culture & Education (HACE), and the Cinco de Mayo Committee.
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Program Highlights Stories about GPISD Educators Who Made a Difference; Submissions Needed The culture of a community or an organization is framed by the stories told by its members. In a special project to help convey the message about the great things going on in GPISD's educational system, we are asking for submissions of stories written by current or former students about an educator who made a difference in their life. These stories should be e-mailed in a Word document to loraine.morazzano@gpisd.org or debbie.johnson@gpisd.org. Please be aware there is a possibility of publication, so any names included in the stories may need to be changed. Also, be certain to include the contact information of the author in case we have questions or need permission forms signed. |
Credit by Exam Offered in December Credit by Exam provides for grade level acceleration in grades K-12. The deadline for registration is November 5, 2007. The test will be given the week of December 10-14, 2007. For an application, click here. To see the application in Spanish, click here. For more information about Credit by Exam, contact your school counselor or call Sue Harris at 972-237-5442. |
| District Announces National Merit and Achievement Scholars
The Grand Prairie ISD is proud to announce two students who have been recognized in national scholarship programs. Benjamin (Ben) Wong from South Grand Prairie High School was named a National Merit Semifinalist. Mario Hayden, also from South Grand Prairie High School, has been named a Semifinalist in the Achievement Scholarship Competition. |
| GPISD Energy Program Awarded for Long-Term Conservation Savings
The GPISD’s 16-year energy conservation effort has received national recognition for saving the District more than $15.7 million. The District is being recognized with the Energy Lighthouse Award from Energy Education, Inc. |
| Bush Elementary Takes Green Award
Barbara Bush Elementary School has been awarded the Go Green Initiative’s “School of the Year” award. Created in 2002, the Go Green Initiative is the nation’s fastest growing fully comprehensive environmental action plan for schools. With an average recycling rate of 273 lbs. of paper per student, Barbara Bush Elementary’s recycling rate is seven times the national average and the highest in the nation. Barbara Bush Elementary was selected from a network of nearly 700 schools in 40 states, Europe, Africa and Mexico. This year, the school also received the American Forest and Paper Association’s “School Recycling Award.” |
| Reagan Teacher in Zero Gravity
On August 28, Reagan Middle School science teacher Chris Miller was one of more than 50 local area teachers to participate in the Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights of Discovery Program. The program is a first-of-its-kind teacher education program that uses a zero-gravity learning environment to teach teachers how to relate science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts to space exploration. |
Board Approves 2007-2008 Budget The Board of Trustees approved the proposed $206 million budget for 2007-2008. The budget provides for a teacher, counselor, librarian, nurse, etc. pay raise of the greater of $1,400 or 3% of base pay. It also provides for a 3% of midpoint raise for campus and central administrative staff, a 3% of midpoint raise for paraprofessional staff, and a 3% of base pay raise for auxiliary staff. The budget also provides for a tax rate of $1.4650. This is a decrease of 16 cents from the 2006-2007 tax rate. |
Trustees Revise District Calendar Because of a change in the State's Testing Calendar, the Board of Trustees removed the March 5 early release day. This will now be a regular school day. To see the revised calendar, click here. |
The Grand Prairie ISD will celebrate Texas Public Schools Week from March 24-28. Open houses will be held at all GPISD campuses during the week. High school open houses will be on Monday night, middle school open houses on Tuesday night and elementary open houses will be on Thursday night.
The Grand Prairie ISD is sponsoring the 8th Annual Title I Parent and Community Conference on Saturday, March 29, from 8:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Grand Prairie High School 9th Grade Center.
The school children of the Grand Prairie ISD benefit every day from the dedication and commitment of our Trustees to public education. They all make personal sacrifices and spend countless hours tending to Board business. It is often a daunting job, so please say, "Thank You," to Paul Martinez, Bebe Bingham, Mike Skinner, Terry Brooks, Dr. Michael Grace, Tim Johnson, and Chester McCrary for their service to our community. 
Senior kicker Carson Wiggs has been selected to play in ESPN's Under Armour All-America Football Game on Saturday, January 5, in Orlando.