Jones Appointed as Thomas Haley Principal

Irving ISD Interim Superintendent Dr. Neil Dugger has announced the appointment of Tanya Jones as principal of Thomas Haley Elementary School.

Jones most recently has served as vice principal at Nimitz High School. She joined Irving ISD as English teacher at MacArthur in October 2005 after coming to Irving from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In New Orleans, Jones served as principal at McMain Magnet Secondary School and assistant principal at Rabouin High School. She earned Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from Xavier University.

Jones holds Texas Educator principal certification and a lifetime Louisiana Teaching Certificate, which certifies her as a principal, student teacher supervisor, and classroom teacher.

Back to top   

Trustees Complete TASB Institute

Irving ISD Board of Trustees members participated in the Texas Association of School Boards Summer Leadership Institute in Fort Worth June 18-20.

IISD Board of Trustees Members attended the Texas Association of School Boards Summer Leadership Institute in Fort Worth June 18-20. Pictured are (from left) President Jerry Christian, Vice President Valerie Jones, Secretary Nancy L. Jones, Heather Ashley, Ronda Huffstetler, Nita Patrick, A.D. Jenkins, and IISD Interim Superintendent Dr. Neil Dugger.

More than 800 new and returning school board members from across Texas attended the institute. Curriculum included in-depth training on effective board governance, keynote addresses from education experts, and idea sharing sessions from other school districts.

For new board members, in-depth training was available including the basics of budget and finance, school law, policy, governance, and district planning and accountability. For board presidents, sessions focused on basic responsibilities, meeting preparation, parliamentary procedure, legal duties, and team building.

Specific topics board members addressed during the two day institute included college and workforce readiness, teacher recruitment, community partnerships, and technology in schools. Sessions also explored social media, federal stimulus funds, emergency management, and special education law.

Back to top   

Technology Featured in National Magazine

Dr. Alice Owen, executive director of technology, was featured in an article published in the June/July 2009 issue of District Administration, a nationwide publication geared toward school district management.

In the article, Owen was quoted on the topic of netbooks, inexpensive laptop computers that are being used widely in elementary education arenas. Owen, who also chairs the Texas K-12 Chief Technology Officer’s Council, drew a correlation between the 2005 creation of the nonprofit One Laptop per Child organization and the recent surge in inexpensive laptop computer technology.

Presently Irving ISD provides a traditional Dell laptop computer for each student in the district’s four comprehensive high schools. The use of netbook laptops in elementary schools is currently being evaluated.

Back to top   

Irving Educators Preparing to Teach Abroad

Lindsey Sanders, fourth grade teacher at Schulze Elementary School, and Linda Sanders, teacher at Wheeler Transitional & Development Center, will teach teachers and children in Mumbai, India, for two weeks in July.

Lindsey and Linda, who are not related, will travel to Mumbai with the Sower of Seeds International organization’s Destiny India Project. They are scheduled to train teachers who work with three- to six-year-old students at schools in the economically depressed areas of Mumbai. Free public education in Mumbai begins with first grade, and the prekindergarten and kindergarten schools prepare children for the rigorous entrance requirements for public education.

The two Irving teachers will train approximately 45 non-certified teachers at five schools in three locations in Mumbai. Training will include establishing reading programs, building reading and language arts centers, and classroom management. Additionally, Linda and Lindsey will visit the India Life Center Orphanage for three- to 15-year-olds to teach and conduct indoor physical education activities during the region’s monsoon season.

Linda Sanders said that the experience will help the Irving teachers develop their creativity in creating reading programs for their own classrooms. She said the world exposure will also be worthwhile experiences to share with fellow teachers in Irving.

Back to top   

Cardinals Selected for Academic All-Star Team

Arsalan Amin and Brett Wilburn, 2009 graduates from MacArthur High School, have been named to the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association (THSBCA) 5A Academic-All State Baseball Team.

Arsalan Amin

Brett Wilburn

Amin, third baseman on the MacArthur Cardinal Baseball Team, and Wilburn, pitcher for the Cardinals, join 91 other high school athletes from across Texas in sharing the honor. Amin plans to attend University of Texas at Austin to major in biomedical engineering. Wilburn plans to study business and play baseball at Howard Junior College in Big Spring.

To be named to the THSBCA academic-all state team, a student-athlete must maintain a grade point average of 93 on a scale of 100 for all four years in high school and be recommended by the team’s coach.

Back to top   

IISD Scoreboard Construction Complete

As part of the 2007 Bond Construction Campaign, Irving Schools Stadium has received a new, state of the art scoreboard.

Construction of the new scoreboard at Irving Schools Stadium (ISS) is complete.

The scoreboard, purchased from South Dakota-based Daktronics for $560,000, will feature a 14-foot high by 22-foot long digital video panel. In addition to smaller panels displaying the school district and high school logos, four panels, measuring seven feet long on each side, will also be mounted. District athletic officials plan to sell advertisements on the four 7’x7’ panels in order to recoup the cost of the scoreboard, eventually using the revenue to fund other district projects. Similar scoreboards have been erected locally at Birdville ISD, Dallas ISD, and Mesquite ISD.

Funding for the Irving Schools Stadium project was authorized by Irving voters in December 2007. In addition to the new scoreboard, construction projects include eastside concession and restrooms, the demolition of the existing field house and reconstruction of a new field house facility, all at a total cost of $5,489,877.

Back to top