DISTRICT NEWS

Mesquite ISD’s Read Play Talk and Dallas Regional Medical Center are excited to announce a new partnership introducing the Baby Book Bag program. This initiative engages families from the earliest stages of their child’s development. The program serves as the district's first encounter with parents and newborns, providing important resources to promote early childhood literacy well before the child enrolls in school.

Starting this fall, every family that welcomes a new baby at Dallas Regional Medical Center will receive a Baby Book Bag. Each bag is filled with bilingual resources, including baby board books donated by ChildCareGroup, an ages and stages milestone chart connecting families to Mesquite ISD early childhood initiatives, information on how to access local libraries, and other community resources that offer parents guidance on supporting their child's development during the critical early years. The Baby Book Bags also contain items such as a baby bib, bookmark, and hand sanitizer.

This initiative is expected to benefit more than 1,200 families per year. "Parents are their children's first teachers, and by connecting with families right from the beginning, we hope to set the foundation of a lifelong learning journey by emphasizing the importance of early childhood literacy," said Mesquite ISD Superintendent Dr. Ángel Rivera. "The Baby Book Bag partnership is a way of saying 'Welcome to the Mesquite ISD family' and offering our support and resources as soon as families leave Dallas Regional Medical Center."

“We have partnered with Mesquite ISD on programs for years, so when their team told us about the need to promote early childhood literacy, we knew we had to be a part of it,” said Chief Nursing Officer Cindi Jobe. “Our two teams worked together to identify the best way to reach these families, and the ‘Baby Book Bag’ program is the result. We hope this will help set families up for success as their children enter the school system.”

The partnership between Mesquite ISD and Dallas Regional Medical Center has been in progress since February 2024. Dallas Regional Medical Center has generously pledged to cover over 50% of the $13,000 estimated cost of the program, with Read Play Talk raising funds for the remainder.

Thirty-six students from the Peer Assistance and Leadership (PAL) program at West Mesquite High School have received new laptops, thanks to a generous grant from Starbucks to Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS). The West Mesquite PAL program recently partnered with BBBS, empowering and furthering the efforts of West Mesquite students in mentoring younger students.

The PAL program is designed for junior and senior students and is a leadership initiative where participants mentor younger students at the West Mesquite feeder schools, both elementary and middle schools. To be part of this program, students must apply, have three teacher recommendations, and interview with the program’s coordinator. Each PAL student mentors two younger students and meets weekly with each one to provide guidance and serve as a positive role model. This new partnership with BBBS will now include bi-weekly group visits to Floyd and Seabourn Elementary, where the PAL students will mentor with the support of BBBS. 

Through Starbucks' grant, the laptops will provide West Mesquite students with a valuable resource to excel in their academics. This collaboration demonstrates Starbucks, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and West Mesquite High School's dedication to empowering students to become Difference Makers in their community.

KEOM 88.5 FM, a noncommercial, educational radio station owned and operated by Mesquite ISD, proudly celebrates 40 years of broadcasting excellence. Since its launch on Sept. 4, 1984, KEOM has been committed to delivering unique programming, including classic hits, essential local news, and Mesquite ISD high school varsity game broadcasts. It also serves as a unique training ground for MISD high school students pursuing their passion for radio production. This milestone marks a significant journey of growth and impact on both the education sector and the community.

KEOM is managed by professional staff and is the only high school radio station in Texas with student on-air DJs who can be heard throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The student radio production program provides live broadcasting experience to eleventh and twelfth-grade students and has helped launch numerous careers in media and communications. Over the years, students have gained valuable skills in audio production, announcing, news gathering, and on-air operations, making KEOM one of the few high school radio stations in the country to offer this level of professional training.

“Over four decades, KEOM 88.5 FM has not only entertained its audience but has also empowered countless students with practical skills, preparing them for successful careers in the broadcasting industry,” said Mesquite ISD Superintendent Dr. Ángel Rivera. 

“I am so proud of the remarkable accomplishments and growth of the station and the student program over the last 40 years,” said station manager Shondra Tharp. “From the 3,000-watt station we were back in 1984 to the 61,000-watt station we are today, our journey reflects the dedication of the staff and the talent of the young broadcasters we have had over the years.”  

KEOM has earned numerous accolades over the years, including first place for "Best Audio Entertainment Production High School" at the 2019 College Broadcasters, Inc. awards. The station is also a 10-time MARCOM award winner and was honored with the prestigious Bonner McLane Public Service Award for Texas Small Market Radio in 2017. Most recently, KEOM was named "Best Radio Station" by D Magazine in their 2024 edition of readers' choice award.

Mesquite ISD is proud to announce it has earned a Superior Achievement rating–the highest rating possible–from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) under the preliminary School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) for the 2023-2024 school year. This recognition marks 22 consecutive years of receiving the maximum distinction, highlighting the District’s commitment to financial excellence and accountability.

The School FIRST accountability system evaluates the financial health and management practices of public and charter school districts. The ratings are determined based on meticulously assessed financial indicators, including fund balance trends, debt management practices, and overall financial stability.

Districts receive ratings ranging from Substandard Achievement (F) to Superior Achievement (A), with a maximum possible score of 100 points. Mesquite ISD earned a score of 98 points.

“We take great pride in continuously being recognized for our financial excellence,” said Superintendent Dr. Ángel Rivera. “This Superior Achievement rating reflects our commitment to responsibly manage taxpayer funds while maximizing opportunities for our students and staff.”

Mesquite ISD officials will present a financial management report to the community detailing the District’s performance on each indicator at the Mesquite ISD Board of Trustees meeting in September.

WHEN: Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 at 6 p.m.
WHERE: K. David Belt Professional Learning Center - Board Room 3819 Towne Crossing Blvd. Mesquite, TX 75150

The TEA is expected to release the final 2023-24 School FIRST ratings in November 2024.

Vanguard High School's Architectural Design Team won first place at the Technology Student Association (TSA) National Conference, held over the summer in Orlando, Florida. Competing against over 8,000 students from across the nation, the team's impressive skills and creativity earned them top honors in this highly competitive event.

For the architectural design competition, participants were asked to develop comprehensive architectural plans, including detailed physical and computer-generated models that showcased their vision of a generational vacation home on a body of water. The team designed a beautiful home on a cenote in the Yucatan Peninsula. Some key features of the winning project included Mayan designs, the Mayan calendar, and a slide that would take you from the home straight into the body of water.

The team first showcased their skills at the regional competition in Mesquite this past February, securing a spot at the Texas TSA Conference in Fort Worth in April. Their achievements in these events allowed them to represent Texas at the national level.

Team members include current senior Adrianne McAlister and recent graduates Andrea Solis, Leslie Godina, Salma Bari, and Linda Abey.

We are proud to announce that Mesquite ISD has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation. This is the 11th consecutive year that our school district has received this prestigious award, which recognizes and celebrates our commitment to music education and our efforts to provide access to music for all students.

At Mesquite ISD, we are committed to promoting music excellence and helping our students develop their musical talents. That's why we offer general music classes twice a week to all elementary students. In middle school, students can participate in band, choir, or orchestra, which extends into high school, where students can explore a diverse range of music programs, including band, choir, orchestra, mariachi, jazz band, percussion ensemble and steel drum band. 

Congratulations to our music program staff and talented students for achieving this recognition.  

The art team Snake Eyes from West Mesquite High School has been selected as one of the six winners in the PRISMATIC competition. This competition invited high school students to design an immersive art pop-up experience for SPARK!, inspired by MeowWolf. The team has been awarded a grant of $2,500 to design and sculpt a pop-up art installation room for the PRISMATIC Exhibit at SPARK! Dallas. The exhibit is scheduled to open on June 1, 2024.

Snake Eyes is a group of seven WMHS students from 10th to 12th grade who collaborated under the supervision of Mesquite ISD art teacher Megan Eakins. They worked together to develop a concept, design proposal and budget. Their winning proposal centers around an interactive forest that challenges visitors to choose between generosity and greed.

Over the next two months, the Meow Wolf Grapevine directors will mentor the students as they plan, create and install their designs. This collaborative effort will provide students with valuable hands-on experience. The immersive pop-up will open to the public from June through September 2024. 

Members of the Snake Eyes Team are Chris Ruiz, Jasmine Bussell, Emma Hasbun, Haley Rojas, Heaven Medders, Mariah Mercado and Esmerelda Soto.

In collaboration with Cook Children’s Hospital, Mesquite ISD has become one of only 27 Heart Safe School Districts in the state of Texas, with each of the 52 MISD campuses receiving individual “Heart Safe School” designations through Project Adam. Project Adam is a national organization that aims to ensure schools are equipped with the necessary tools and resources to respond to cardiac emergencies.

The Heart Safe School designation is awarded to schools that complete an extensive checklist outlining campus specific measures to prepare for a cardiac emergency. These measures include: ensuring easy accessibility of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on campus, training a medical emergency response team in CPR and AED use, developing and implementing a standardized medical emergency response plan, and Medical Emergency Response Team (M.E.R.T) drills. 

Due to the unpredictability of a cardiac arrest, achieving a high level of readiness is essential to improving survival rates. “We believe if we standardize and practice our medical emergency response on each campus, we will be in the best position to save the life of a child, staff member or family member,” said Macey Melton, Director of Health Services.

Formerly known as the aquatic center of Dallas College Eastfield Campus, the Mesquite Natatorium has been expanded and upgraded to serve MISD students and City of Mesquite residents.

"We are proud to offer this state-of-the-art facility to our students and community members, and we are excited to see the positive impact it will have on our community," said Mesquite ISD Superintendent Dr. Ángel Rivera.

• Key features of the Mesquite Natatorium at Dallas College's Eastfield Campus include:

• Expanded pool width to accommodate capacity

• Two diving boards for enhanced aquatic experiences

• Eight 25-yard swim lanes and six 25-meter swim lanes

• Pool depth ranging from 3.6 feet to 12.5 feet

• New tile and updated pool finish

• Installation of a competition-ready Myrtha gutter system

• Transparent OpenAire aluminum structure

The most innovative aspect of the 13,580-square-foot natatorium is its transparent OpenAire aluminum structure, which allows for year-round usage regardless of weather conditions. The design enables the enclosure to open during good weather, providing an outdoor pool experience.

The Mesquite ISD swim team began practicing in the natatorium last month. The facility opens to the public on Monday, Feb. 12. 

The West Mesquite High School ROTC Brigade has qualified for the All Army Nationals and will compete in February 2024 following an outstanding performance at the recent state competition held in San Antonio. This marks the team's return to the national competition since 2010, demonstrating their unwavering commitment to excellence and showcasing the talent of the West Mesquite High School ROTC program. 

West Mesquite will compete against 45 schools from 15 states in various categories, including unarmed regulation drills, exhibition drills, inspection and color guard. The students competing at the national level have worked hard and have been preparing for this competition since September 2023. 

The students competing at the national level include: 

Alexa Gutierrez 11th 
Liliana Lozano 11th 
Mia Rodriguez 11th
Alexis Ramirez 11th
Sarah Anderson 11th
Litzy Villanueva 10th
Ogunseye Memunat 10th
Lia Hernandez 10th 
Arionna Gossett 10th
Bryan Acevedo 10th 
Ogunseye Xhaffy 9th
Ximena Garcia 9th
Emily Fuentes 9th
Domini Gugino 9th
Bianca Gonzalez 9th
Angelina Vargas 9th 

Sergeant First Class Lee Ferrell 
First Sergeant Carolyn Suazo
Colonel James McGrory 

Mesquite ISD is one of 32 educational organizations in the state to be honored by the Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO).

The TASBO Award of Excellence in Financial Management is given to Texas school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, and education services centers that demonstrate professional standards, best practices, and innovations in the area of financial management and reporting. For 2024, Mesquite ISD was among a select number of districts that met the stringent criteria to qualify for the award.

January is School Board Recognition Month and Mesquite ISD is celebrating its trustees for their dedication and commitment to the district and its students.

The theme of this year’s School Board Recognition Month is Locally Elected, Community Connected, which highlights the connection between school trustees and their communities. School board members are the largest group of locally-elected officials in the state.

Local school board members are responsible for ensuring the structure that provides a solid foundation for our school system. They are strong advocates for public education and are responsible for communicating the needs of the school district to the public and the public’s expectations to the district. 

The Mesquite ISD School Board was honored at their regular meeting on January 9, with student thank-you cards, artwork, student performances and other tokens of appreciation. Ian Lee, a John Horn High School senior, addressed the Board on behalf of the district's 38,000 students for Board Appreciation Month. Additionally, on behalf of the Library Services Department, a dedicated book was placed in the library of each campus in the name of each Trustee.

Meet the Mesquite ISD Board of Trustees:

Elaine Hornsby, President Place 6 - serving since 2015
Robert Seward, Vice President Place 5 - serving since 1993
Kevin Carbó, Secretary Place 7 - serving since 2015 (also served from 1996 - 2014)
Teia Collier, Trustee Place 1, serving since 2021
Eddie Rose, Trustee Place 2 - serving since 2016
Gary Bingham, Trustee Place 3 - serving since 1996
Greg Everett, Trustee Place 4 - serving since 2014 (also served from 1991 - 2009)
 

ABC News' Mireya Villarreal recently visited Mesquite ISD to find out more about how our district is attacking the nationwide teacher shortage. Watch the full story and learn how Dr. Rivera's commitment to increasing salaries and establishing prestige in the teaching profession has lead to a dramatic drop in the number of teacher vacancies. Additionally, two of our very own educators share with the national audience how the District's innovative incentive programs like Pathways Advancing Certified Educators (PACE) and Excellence in Teaching Incentive Program (ETIP) are attracting and keeping talented and passionate teachers in Mesquite ISD classrooms.

Watch the full story here.

Kevin Carbó of Mesquite ISD has been reelected to a three-year term on the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Board of Directors, representing TASB Region 10, Position D. The election was held during the Association’s 2023 Delegate Assembly on Sept. 30 in Dallas.

Carbó was elected to the Mesquite ISD (MISD) Board in 1996 and served continuously until 2014. He was reelected to the board in November 2015. In 2018, he joined the TASB Board of Directors.

Carbó’s involvement with MISD began in the 1980s as a PTA member and included serving as first vice-president of the Mesquite Council of PTAs. A 1998 graduate of Leadership TASB, he has presided over several boards, including the TASB Risk Management Fund Board, the North Texas Area Association of School Boards, and the National Hispanic Council of School Board Members, a council of the National School Boards Association (NSBA). He has served as a director on the NSBA board and a member of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

He graduated from Colegio San Antonio in Puerto Rico. Carbó earned his Bachelor of Science in finance from Dallas Baptist University in 1995 and received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Dallas in 1999. He recently retired from the City of Dallas where he was as a manager in the Aviation Department.

TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local Texas school boards. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve more than 5.4 million public school students. For more information on TASB, visit tasb.org.

As an added layer of daily security, all Mesquite ISD elementary campuses now have a designated armed security guard who will be on site each day. These security personnel undergo the same background checks and fingerprinting as other MISD employees. While they will serve as consistent, valued campus team members, the guards are not law enforcement officers. Guards will not:

• Discipline students
• Be asked to participate in student discipline
• Be asked to supervise a student one on one
• Counsel/meet/mentor students in a private setting
• Leave the campus for any reason prior to being relieved

This latest step ensures that Mesquite ISD complies with recent legislation requiring armed security for all public school campuses. Similarly, all MISD middle and high school campuses have at least one school resource officer (SRO) on staff to provide a daily law enforcement presence.

Do you have at least 50 college hours and a heart to serve as a teacher? Follow this link to learn more about and apply for the PACE Program, where you serve as a teacher while completing an undergraduate degree. Applications are due by Jan. 3, 2023. Participants will be notified of acceptance by the end of January.

Contact Jennifer Hiser (jhiser@mesquiteisd.org or ext. 27533) for more information about pathways for employees who want to become a teacher in Mesquite ISD.

SB 463 was passed during the 85^th Texas Legislature (2017) and required the commissioner of education to establish criteria to allow individuals who entered high school prior to the 2011-2012 school year and who successfully completed all the curriculum requirements for graduation, but who did not perform successfully on the required state assessment (TAKS) after at least three attempts to qualify for graduation. The new rules establish which individuals may be eligible to graduate and receive a high school diploma by meeting certain alternative requirements.

Click here to learn more

Mesquite ISD homeroom teachers at Rugel Elementary were surprised last Friday, Aug. 12 by Kidoodle TV with $500 Amazon gift cards for their classrooms!!  

Second grade teacher Danielle Tresslar had initially written a letter to Kidoodle TV for a chance of being selected as part of their Clear the List campaign. After receiving this letter, Kidoodle wanted to go a step further and reached out to the school with plans to help a total of 18 teachers! 

What teachers thought would be a Friday afternoon meeting with the principal was actually a surprise when Kidoodle announced their support of $9,000 in gift cards evenly distributed among them.

Mesquite ISD was one of the various school districts in North Texas selected to receive free school supplies from Kroger. In total, Kroger raised $750,000 in school supplies for students across the region. 

MISD received 5,083 school supply kits this week and will distribute them across campuses. MISD Social Worker Jasmine Battles represented our school district in today’s check presentation. 

Many thanks to Kroger for their generous donation that will benefit our schools.