AUSTIN—Despite unanimous approval in both the Texas House and the Senate, Governor Perry on Friday vetoed House Bill 2824, the bill related to the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium.  HB 2824 would have provided space and flexibility to the 23 school districts participating in the Consortium to carry out the research and development necessary to accomplish the goals initially outlined in Senate Bill 1557 to transform public education.

“It is indeed a disappointing day, but we have a moral imperative to create a new system with students at the center and that is focused on deep learning, using more meaningful assessments,” said Jeff Turner, Consortium co-chair and superintendent of Coppell Independent School District. “HB 2824 may have died. Our resolve to transform the system of public education for the benefit of children never will,” said Turner.

In 2011, Gov. Perry signed into law SB 1557 establishing the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium to inform policymakers on methods for transforming Texas public schools by improving student learning, with a focus on digital learning, high-priority learning standards, multiple assessments, and community involvement. 

In September 2012, Commissioner Michael Williams selected 23 school districts to participate in the Consortium, representing a range of district types, sizes, and diverse student populations.

“The Consortium is fully committed to carrying out the intent of SB 1557 that created the Consortium and to the spirit of HB 2824 that garnered unanimous support in both the House and the Senate,” said Dawson Orr, Consortium co-chair and superintendent of Highland Park ISD.

“Even though the governor’s actions today make it more difficult to accomplish our charge, we remain steadfast in our mission to transform public education, with student-centered learning as the driving force behind everything we do,” Orr said.

Information provided by the Texas Association of School Administrators.

For additional information on McKinney ISD, contact Shane Mauldin, MISD Communications Specialist, at 469-302-4007 or smauldin@mckinneyisd.net.

McKinney, Texas - The McKinney ISD Aviation program is soaring to new heights with the recent addition of a Redbird LD Flight Simulator. Purchased from Austin-based Redbird Flight Simulations using Career and Technical Education (CTE) grant money, the simulator now resides at McKinney North High School, and its presence makes the McKinney Aviation program the only one of its kind in North Texas equipped with an FAA approved flight simulator.

MISD aviation instructor Todd Curtis tests the District's new Redbird LD Flight Simulator.

Occupying an entire office space at McKinney North, this training device sports all the bells and whistles of an airplane cockpit and features a 180-degree virtual view supplied by six large video screens. Sitting in front of it makes an XBox look about as interesting as an Atari 2600.

But, make no mistake—this is no game. With the supervision of a certified flight instructor, the Redbird LD offers aviation students the chance to log actual FAA approved flight hours in pursuit of a private pilot’s license.

“To be able to purchase an approved FAA flight simulator with the quality that Redbird offers has been a dream of mine since we started planning this program,” said Tamy Smalskas, McKinney ISD Director of Special Projects and CTE.

“This simulator is usually only found at official flight schools, so for a public school district to be able to offer this caliber of training is very rare,” Smalskas said. A few districts in North Texas offer some type of aviation training, but according to a contact at the North Central Texas Council of Government, none but McKinney ISD provide an FAA approved flight simulator.

The flight simulator is a boon for all of the District’s aviation students—more than 200 have enrolled for this fall—but, particularly for those who simply cannot afford the full cost of flight school.

“I want this program to be available for all kids,” said Smalskas.

The simulator goes a long way toward making that possible by alleviating some of the expense associated with actual in-flight training—which costs students about $150 per hour. To qualify for a solo flight test, students must log approximately 10 hours of supervised flight training. And, that gets expensive very quickly.

At some point, each of those students will have to deal with the cost of actually getting up in the air, but according to Smalskas, the simulator can reduce their total cost of flight training by nearly half. And, Smalskas plans to continue exploring ways to make the program as affordable as possible. Which means more opportunities for more kids.

And, for Smalskas, that is the most important thing.

“McKinney ISD will have the best CTE program in the nation if I have anything to do with it,” said Smalskas. “You have to have a vision, set your goals and just go for it. Seek out the professional advice of businesses in the industry and listen to them. Don’t let money stop anything!”

“If there is a will, there is a way to make anything happen.”

And, with that attitude, the sky is the limit.

For additional information on the McKinney ISD Aviation program, contact Tamy Smalskas, MISD Director of Special Projects and CTE, at 469-302-4111 or tsmalskas@mckinneyisd.net.

For additional information on McKinney ISD, contact Shane Mauldin, MISD Communications Specialist, at 469-302-4007 or smauldin@mckinneyisd.net.

McKinney, Texas - Yesterday, National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced approximately 2,500 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. Three McKinney ISD seniors were among the recipients.

McKinney North High School senior Rachael Couch has won a National Merit College Scholarship from the University of Oklahoma, McKinney Boyd High School senior Lawson Malnory has received a scholarship from Southern Methodist University and Logan Merkle, also a senior at Boyd, has been awarded a scholarship from Baylor University.

Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the Finalists in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. An additional group of Scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in the 2013 competition to approximately 4,500.

This year, 190 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 113 private and 77 public institutions located in 44 states and the District of Columbia.

College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners announced yesterday are a part of the distinguished group of about 8,000 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth over $35 million. Earlier this spring, NMSC announced winners of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit® $2500 Scholarships.

Eamon Dowd, the 2012-2013 valedictorian of McKinney Boyd High School was among the $2500 Scholarship winners.

2013 National Merit Scholarship Competition
About 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools entered the 2013 National Merit Scholarship competition when they took the 2011 Preliminary sat/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, approximately 16,000 Semifinalists were named on a state representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation’s seniors.

To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, Semifinalists first had to advance to the Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements. Each Semifinalist was asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance. From the Semifinalist group, some 15,000 met requirements for Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2013.

NMSC, a not-for-profit corporation that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of National Merit Scholarships provided each year are made possible by the support of approximately 440  independent corporate and college sponsors. These sponsors join NMSC in its efforts to enhance educational opportunities for America’s scholastically talented youth and to encourage the  pursuit of academic excellence.

Information provided by National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

For additional information on McKinney ISD, contact Shane Mauldin, MISD Communications Specialist, at 469-302-4007 or smauldin@mckinneyisd.net.

Click here to view the Fall flyer. (PDF)

Click here to view the Spring flyer. (PDF)

Click here to view the Morning flyer. (PDF)

Click here to visit MISD's Graduate Profile page.

Click here to visit MISD's Graduate Profile page.

Dates: June 25th and July 16th
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Locations:

• High Schools will be at their own campus, except for McKinney High
  School which will be at North High School due to ongoing construction
• All middle schools - Evans Middle School
• All elementary schools - Central Office

The McKinney Independent School District will hold a public meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 in the Board Room at 1 Duvall Street, McKinney, Texas for comments regarding the school district's proposed budget and tax rate for fiscal year 2013-14. Public participation is invited.

Notice of public meeting
District's proposed budget (PDF)
District's proposed budget (XLS)

Click here to download the flyer. (PDF)

Dates: June 25th and July 16th
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Locations:

• High Schools will be at their own campus, except for McKinney High
  School which will be at North High School due to ongoing construction
• All middle schools - Evans Middle School
• All elementary schools - Central Office

Boyd HS - Cafeteria
Wednesday
6pm – 7pm