Board honors National Merit students
Arlington ISD’s Board of Trustees meeting on February 8, 2024, is in the books, and here are a few of the highlights. It was a fun meeting because so much of it focused on honoring exceptional students and outstanding partners.
The fun started right away with a performance by students from Jones Academy of Fine Arts and Dual Language. They gave a sneak peek of their upcoming musical “Frozen.” The third through fifth graders sang “Let it Go” under the direction of fine arts teachers Amanda Renner, Shelby Smith, Amiee Hart and Sarah Diaz.
After the music, the board started honoring students. First, it was the student of the month, Martin STEM Academy senior Daniel Reddic. Talk about a well-rounded student. Daniel is in Martin’s choir program, plays varsity basketball and is a member of the National Honor Society and the Black Student Union. Plus, he’s a gifted painter. A dedicated student, Daniel is known for his curiosity, creativity and discipline. Congratulations, Daniel.
Then the trustees honored students who were named National Merit Semifinalists or received National Hispanic Recognition, National African American Recognition, National Indigenous Recognition and Rural and Small-Town Recognition. Arlington ISD has a record-breaking number of students this year, and it’s going to take two board meetings to honor everyone. Students from Lamar and Martin high schools were honored in this meeting, and students from the other high schools will be recognized at the next board meeting.
From students, the board moved to one of the district’s outstanding community partners and presented the Community Powered By Possibilities Award of Appreciation to the Arlington Council of PTAs. For the past 70 years, the Arlington Council of PTAs has advocated for Arlington ISD students, provided resources for parents and collaborated with teachers and staff. Thank you to everyone who has served on the PTA.
Following the awards and honors, the board considered and approved a revision to the 2024-2025 school calendar. After Arlington ISD announced its original calendar back in December, Tarrant County College later released theirs, and their spring break didn’t match up with the district’s. That’s a problem because students at Arlington Collegiate High School, Arlington College and Career High School and the four P-TECHs are also students at TCC. So, the trustees approved a revised calendar that moved spring break back to the third full week in March – March 17-21. See the 2024-2025 calendar.
Later, the board received an update on the 2019 Bond program from Kelly Horn, assistant superintendent for facility services. The 2019 Bond program is a $966 million five-year capital program that includes new construction, renovations and facility condition improvements, along with capital purchases for technology, fine arts and transportation. Some of the project highlights discussed included the new junior high school – where construction has just started – and the major additions under construction at Bailey Junior High and Arlington High School, among others.
Finally, Chief Academic Officer Dr. Steven Wurtz and Director of Special Education Cindy Brown presented an update on action steps being taken to upgrade the special education program. These action steps were developed from the recommendations made by the Public Consulting Group after their comprehensive review of the special education program in 2022.
Those are just a few of the highlights from tonight. If you would like more details on any of these, or any of the items not covered in this brief, please click here to watch the entire meeting.