Board Brief from May 1, 2025
Students from Ashworth Elementary helped the Arlington ISD Board of Trustees welcome the month of May at last night’s school board meeting with their annual May Day celebration. The students came to the meeting with their Maypole and shared a video recording of their May Day dance. It was a great way to welcome spring!
That wasn’t the only highlight of the board meeting. Here are a few others.
Sixth grader Hailey Brazeal got it all started by leading everyone in the pledges of allegiance. Haiely goes to Wood Elementary and did a great job.
Then the board honored the May student of the month, senior Rouguy Gninque from Venture High School. Rouguy came to Arlington ISD last year in the Newcomer Program and quickly adapted to her new school and accelerated her growth in English. She pushes herself to excellence and has distinguished herself in STEM and arts and humanities. Rouguy is an outstanding representative for her school. Congratulations, Rouguy!
The board also honored one of the district’s outstanding community partners, presenting the Community Partner Award of Appreciation to The Miracle League Arlington, whose vision is to give every child and young adult – regardless of disability – the chance to experience the joy of baseball. The League partners with Arlington ISD’s special education department, the AVID program, campus athletics programs, National Honor Societies and Key Clubs to bring students, staff and teachers together to play, cheer, volunteer and uplift. Thank you, Miracle League.
The trustees ratified the hiring of a new chief communications officer for Arlington ISD, Taina Northington. Northington is an award-winning communications professional and a passionate advocate for public education. She comes from Killeen ISD and has a background as an Emmy-winning broadcast journalist. Welcome, Taina.
Then Scott Kahl, Arlington ISD’s chief talent officer, gave a compensation analysis and market review – explaining how Arlington ISD’s pay rates compare to local competitors – and discussed legislative updates related to compensation and district healthcare contributions.
Later, the board approved an agreement with Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine. This is a statewide program that will offer students free access to mental health services via telemedicine and telehealth platforms.
Finally, the board re-approved a memorandum of understanding with the University of North Texas Health Science Center. This partnership gives high school students in the Bowie High School P-TECH exposure to the healthcare field through presentations, small group discussions and hands-on lab experiences. Plus, two students get to attend a two-week summer research internship.
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 Board Brief, click here to watch the entire meeting.