November 2017 - Recap
We are almost at the close of the first semester and amid a time of sharing and gratitude for family and friends. In Lancaster ISD, we spent the month of November focused on service-learning and giving back to our community in addition to our everyday, STEM-guided learning experiences.
As we think about the things that we are thankful and grateful for this season, we can definitely include you - our parents. Your involvement and your decision to allow us to shape your children to successfully thrive in society, achieve self-sustaining success and leave a lasting legacy fill us with appreciation and gratitude!
Please take a moment to enjoy this publication designed especially for you, to keep you informed and connected to the accomplishments and achievements of Lancaster ISD!
District News
Lancaster ISD Trustees CUBE Award Featured in Texas and American School Board Journal Publications
The Lancaster ISD Board was named one of three national winners of the 2017 CUBE Annual Award for Urban School Board Excellence recently. The Lancaster ISD Board, along with the school boards from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee’s Shelby County Schools, received the 2017 CUBE Award at the Council of Urban Boards of Education’s (CUBE) 49th Annual Conference September 28-30 in New Orleans, Louisiana. CUBE, administered by the National School Boards Association (NSBA), annually recognizes urban school boards that exhibit excellence in school board governance, academic improvement, educational equity, and community engagement.
“This year’s CUBE Award winners have demonstrated strong leadership and measurable success in providing urban schoolchildren with the finest public education possible,” NSBA Executive Director Thomas J. Gentzel said. “Their success is an inspirational example of how local school boards, as education leaders in their respective communities, can make a profound difference in the lives of America’s schoolchildren.”
Focus on Student Achievement
The Lancaster ISD Board was recognized for its work to recover from a period of troubled finances and leadership divisions seven years ago. As part of its turnover, the board invested in board training, prioritized financial management, and worked to align its actions with research on high-performing school boards.
The result has been a more effective academic program, with a greater emphasis on STEM education, a strong early education program, and successful efforts to raise student academic performance and participation in advanced placement courses. “As a ‘team of eight,’ our primary focus is and has been student achievement,” said Lancaster ISD Board President Ty G. Jones. “Through our STEM focus, we have fostered partnerships that have benefited.”
The Search Is On For the Next Lancaster ISD Superintendent and We Want Your Input!
In Lancaster ISD, we believe in the importance of collaboration and in the value of listening to the voices of others to make informed, relevant decisions.
Therefore, we want you to know that our Board of Trustees retained the services of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA), a consulting firm that specializes in assisting Boards with the consideration of candidates for the position of Superintendent of Schools, to formally begin the process to hire a new Superintendent for Lancaster ISD.
Believe it or not, a very critical part of this process starts with YOU! We need your input regarding characteristics found in an effective superintendent.
To accommodate the various schedules of our parents and community members, HYA will lead two community focus group meetings on Wednesday, December 6 at Lancaster High School located at 200 E. Wintergreen Road. Both meetings are open to any and all members of the Lancaster Community. We invite you to attend one of the two meetings:
Morning Meeting – 9 AM LHS Library
Evening Meeting – 7 PM LHS Auditorium
Please mark your calendar and make plans to attend. In the meantime, you may also provide your input via our electronic survey by clicking the button below.
Lancaster High School Student Wins International Space Settlement Design Competition
Lancaster, TX/Lancaster ISD – The Lancaster Independent School District is proud to announce that Lancaster High School student Jada Murray is the first district student to win the International Space Settlement Design Competition. Murray, along with her team of international peers from China, England, Australia, and India participated in this competition at the Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida.
The competition employs students to collaborate and develop a comprehensive international space community models and it is a culminating contest in a series of local, state and regional events. Several students attended the state competition, but Murray was the only Lancaster ISD student in the international contest this year.
“I felt so honored to be chosen to represent Lancaster in the competition and I was proud to know that I had contributed to the winning project,” Murray said. “This opportunity was more than just competing in a competition. I had the chance to work and socialize with other students from all different cultures. The opportunity has given me a new perspective on how I see people from around the world and is experience that I will never forget.”
Murray and her team’s company was named “Grumbo,” and they received a contract to create a space settlement on the planet Venus that could adequately provide for humans, while taking into account the multitude of different obstacles and factors.
“In the Humans Department where I worked, I helped in designing futuristic inventions and housings for our humans, along with coming up with ways to provide for our humans,” Murray said. “Our settlement was made of thousands of domes to serve as housing for 10,000 people and 500 refugees, along with recreational and essential areas for supporting our settlement. Our design addressed all the problems of security, waste, shelter, and survival in the harsh Venus environment.”
Murray believe that her team’s thoroughness and the critical eye to account for the gaps in their design idea was the key to their win.
While this experience was a learning simulation, for Murray the rewards were very real and left a lasting impression aside from the medals and certificates.
“The intangible rewards were the opportunity to travel and make friends from all over the world whom I still keep in touch with,” she said. “I have better leadership skills and I grasp concepts quicker than I did before and interpret them in a new way. We have always been pushed to think beyond the surface in school and my experience has further proved how to put those skills to use. Essentially, I have discovered a new way of thinking.”
News From Lancaster ISD Athletics
Bond Update: Staff, Community Provide Input Regarding Schematic Design of Lancaster Middle School
Part of the Bond Project includes building a new middle school campus to replace the existing one. During the month of November, the Bond Management Team met with staff and community members to gather input regarding the schematic design of the campus.
During the next few weeks, we will host a serious of meetings to get additional input and finalize designs.
Below are some renderings of the new middle school.
News From the Office of Student Affairs
November Service Learning Projects Summary
Lancaster High School students cleaned up litter on the campus in partnership with Community in Schools. LHS students participated in Impact Saturday with our partners from Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship and made wooden picnic benches for outdoor seating near the cafeteria during lunch times and breaks. Additionally, the LHS Student Body Leadership Council along with AVID participated in the annual Feast of Sharing which was held in Fair Park.
Lancaster STEM Early College High School students celebrated veterans and personally wrote thank you cards to veterans at the Veteran’s Hospital in Dallas.
LMS students pose proudly after giving their donation to the North Texas Food Bank.
Belt Line Elementary, West Main Elementary, Lancaster Middle School, and George Washington Carver students collected canned good items for the North Texas Food Bank. The Lancaster Middle School students donation of 500 canned goods was recognized by the food bank and was said to be helpful in feeding more than 400 families.
George Washington Carver students held an essential items donation drive to stock a local firehouse with items that our firefighters generally need during their shifts.
Houston Elementary students collected relief items for the citizens in Puerto Rico and also created and delivered handwritten thank you cards for firefighters to their nearest Lancaster Fire Station.
The Belt Line Elementary students seated in the photo above with their books are representatives of the campus-wide collection event, Feeding with Reading, that paired literacy with the number of canned goods donated by each student. The campus donated more than 640 canned food items to the North Texas Food Bank.
Pleasant Run Elementary adopted a local shelter, The Family Place, and collected various toiletries to help families.
Rolling Hills Elementary hosted a canned food drive with approximately 100 cans collected and students wrote letters to area veterans.
Rosa Parks Millbrook Elementary students made and distributed about 40 gift baskets and sang for the veterans at the local nursing home.
News From the Early Childhood Department
News from College and Career Readiness Department
The Dallas County Promise is still open for all 2018 seniors. This program allows your child the following benefits:
- FREE tuition at any college in the Dallas County Community College District for all students, regardless of income or GPA.
- Access to a Success Coach support will begin at the end of student’s senior year and continue through college completion. Additional textbook stipend are available for students meeting income and 2.5 GPA (75 or better on a 100-point scale) requirements.
- Transfer scholarships are available to UNT Dallas and SMU, with more universities coming on board soon.
Learn more at http://dallascountypromise.org/
Also, parents of high school students, please have your child connect with the on-campus college advisor to learn about and participate in the upcoming college visits.
Please work with your child and your LHS College Advisor to ensure that you are on the right path to complete your financial aid applications.
News From the Child Nutrition Department
- You can access your students lunch account from wherever you are
- Keep up with your child's meal balances online or via the app
- Check cafeteria balances & purchases
- Receive low balance alerts
- Set up automatic payments
Download or logon to www.myschoolbucks.com today.
Upcoming District Events
Lancaster ISD Will Participate in the Computer Science Awareness Week: Hour of Code
The Hour of Code takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week.
Lancaster ISD will host its Hour of Code events and activities from December 5-8. Most campus kickoff rallies are scheduled for Tuesday, December 5. Please see your campus for more specifics on this week of Computer Science Awareness.
The Lancaster STEM Early College Parent Meeting - December 13
The Lancaster ISD Fine Arts Winter Concert Series
Each year, our Fine Arts Department hosts a wonderful Winter Concert Series on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the month of December. This year, we invite you to enjoy the sounds of the season at these district events and also contact your campus for more information on the campus winter performances listed on the above flyer:
- December 7 - K-8 Theater Concert, 7 PM (LHS Auditorium)
- December 12 – LMS Choir Concert, 7 PM (LMS Auditorium)
- December 14 – 6th to 12th grade Dance Concert, 7 PM (LHS Auditorium)
- December 19 – LHS Fine Arts Collaborative Performance, 7 PM (LHS Auditorium)
Please note that there will be a special performance on the Town Square and in the United Methodist Church immediately following the city of Lancaster holiday parade on December 9.
FYI: The Winter Break is Coming...
- Students will have Early Release on December 21.
- All District Offices and Campuses will be closed December 22 to January 5.
- District Staff Professional Development Day is January 8.
- Students return to class on January 9.
News, Info,Highlights and Events From Our Local Partners
The 64th Annual City of Lancaster & Lions Club Hometown Christmas Parade and Festival
Reminder from Lancaster the ISD Communications Department: Stay Connected!
Get the App: Keep Lancaster ISD at Your Finger Tips!
As we enter the fall and winter seasons, we know that there is a potential to have inclimate weather and we may have to make some adjustments to our regular schedule. We want to be certain that you have updated your information in our database. Our goal is to keep you connected and engaged to Lancaster ISD news and information, however, the last thing that we want to do is become a nuisance.
This SchoolMessenger parent video clearly communicates how you can set your preferences for school notifications. Click the link to view the short video about setting your preferences: https://vimeo.com/schoolmessenger/parentpreferences
In Lancaster ISD, our VISION is 2020!
Lancaster ISD Beliefs:
Equity
Equity in education is a human right.
Community
Educators, parents and students share in the responsibility of developing well-rounded individuals.
Quality
Engaged, relevant learning experiences provide for a quality education leading to a quality life.
Courage
Learning is a life-long process that is enhanced by taking risks.
Growth
A person has the capacity to learn from past experiences.
Purpose
Purposeful planning to meet individual student needs leads to intentional outcomes for student success.
The Mission of Lancaster ISD
Email: info@lancasterisd.org
Website: www.lancasterisd.org
Location: 422 S Centre Ave, Lancaster, TX, United States
Phone: 972-218-1400
Facebook: http://facebook.com/golancaster
Twitter: @LancasterISD