McKinney ISD -

Note: There is an expanded photo gallery at the end of this article!

McKinney, Texas – After a virtual version of the tour in 2021, the McKinney ISD Senior Tour returned in person on Oct. 20, 2022, as a merry band of 33 senior adults, Superintendent Dr. Rick McDaniel, Board Secretary Stephanie O’Dell and Partners in Education Specialist Nancy Cowlishaw climbed aboard two blue and white MISD buses and wended their way on a day-long journey to Lawson Early Childhood School, Evans Middle School and the MISD Aviation program at McKinney National Airport.

The always highly anticipated annual event began 12 years ago as a way to give members of McKinney’s senior adult community an inside look at our school district.

“The Senior Tour is always one of my favorite events of the year,” said MISD Superintendent Dr. Rick McDaniel. “It’s always fun for the participants, but more importantly, it’s a great opportunity to share with members of our senior adult community the great programs that we have in place in our schools and the chance for them to meet members of our staff and our outstanding students.”

For 2022, the first stop of the day was Lawson Early Childhood School, where tour participants were greeted by Principal Susie Towber, members of her staff and a contingent of the school’s adorably enthusiastic four-year-olds, who were holding signs, cheering and generally melting the hearts of their guests.

Before tour members dispersed into guided groups, the students and Towber conducted introductory performances and presentations about their school. Then, the senior adults headed off to see the STEAM lab, outdoor learning/play areas, the school’s sensory pathway and the library, where some volunteers from the tour helped present the day’s read aloud to students.

At Evans Middle School, a drum line and cheerleaders were waiting when the tour pulled up, and they happily ushered their guests into the library, where they were joined by Board President Amy Dankel and greeted by Evans Principal Dr. Paula Kent before enjoying lunch and student performances from the choir, theatre and orchestra students.

Then they were off to explore Evans, with student ambassadors leading the way to math and science classes, where the senior adults wrestled with math riddles alongside students and observed science demonstrations prepared and presented by Evans kids.

In the orchestra room, the school’s young musicians surrendered their violins and violas to their guests and tried their hand as instructors, teaching the senior adults the first song they learned at the beginning of the school year—the ever-popular “Hot Cross Buns.” And, while they weren’t quite ready for Carnegie Hall, the senior adults made a respectable showing for their first time.

The final stop of the day was McKinney National Airport, where the MISD Aviation program is housed in a warehouse-like space adjacent to one of the airport’s hangars. In the hangar, students led the group to one of the single-engine airplanes that MISD students built and answered questions about it as curious tour members poked their heads into the cockpit for a closer view.

Back in the workshop, students described how they constructed the outer shell of the current airplane build project out of a specialized fabric, as two other students demonstrated for another group the tools and techniques involved in riveting metal body panels for airplanes.

The seniors tried their luck at the controls of the school’s five flight simulators and found—as they veered off runways and in some cases simply plummeted toward the ground—that flying (even on a simulator) is harder than it looks.

Before they knew it, the day had reached its conclusion, and our tourists climbed back aboard the buses to return to Central Office.

Nancy Cowlishaw, helps organize the Senior Tour and serves as its host each year. “This was one of our best Senior Tour experiences that we’ve ever had,” she said. “Our students and teachers all did a fantastic job at Lawson, Evans and at the airport, and our tour guests were very impressed, not only with the programs available to our students, but with the students themselves. The Senior Tour really is a great way to showcase our district.”

The 2022 MISD Senior Tour — Lawson Early Childhood School

The 2022 MISD Senior Tour — Evans Middle School

The 2022 MISD Senior Tour — Aviation Program