It was a day of celebration for McKinney ISD as the district held its commencement exercises for the 2024-2025 school year at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen on Friday, May 23!
Congratulations to the Class of 2025 from McKinney North, McKinney Boyd and McKinney High School!
Stay tuned for more photos from each graduation ceremony in the coming days!
From Convocation to Graduation, 2024-2025 has been a great year, McKinney ISD! We hope that you have a fun, relaxing, safe summer break, and we can't wait to see you in August to kick off 2025–2026!
Graduates, we wish you all the best, and we know that you'll do great things!
McKinney ISD summer office hours are Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., closed for lunch 12–1 p.m.
(Summer office hours begin Monday, May 27 and end Friday, July 25.)
Evans Middle School celebrated its first year as the home of the MISD middle school newcomers program and presented certificates to its 8th graders who will move on to high school next year. The students also enjoyed a slide show retrospective of the year and watched video interviews from their fellow students.
The newcomers program serves English language learners who have been in MISD for two years or less. This year, 97 students, representing 6 different languages, participated in the program!
Graduation 2025
McKinney ISD will hold graduation ceremonies Friday, May 23, 2025, at Credit Union of Texas Event Center (200 E. Stacy Road #1350, Allen, TX 75002).
Times are as follows:
McKinney North High School at 9:00 a.m.
McKinney Boyd High School at 1:00 p.m.
McKinney High School at 5:30 p.m.
Live streaming video of the graduations will be available at the link below.
Graduation Live Stream: https://www.mckinneyisd.net/page/graduation-2025
Event Center Bag Policy for Graduation: https://www.cutxeventcenter.com/plan-your-visit/bag-policy
Directions and Parking: https://www.cutxeventcenter.com/92/Directions-Parking
View your school's digital graduation program here —
McKinney North High School: https://5il.co/3goov
McKinney Boyd High School: https://5il.co/3gpu6
McKinney High School: https://5il.co/3gpju
All graduation ticket decisions are made at the campus level. Please direct any graduation related questions to the campus front office. McKinney High School: 469-302-5700, McKinney North High School: 469-302-4300, McKinney Boyd High School: 469-302-3400.
This week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week is Julian Flores.
See video: https://youtu.be/ME1bV7AOISc?si=kMYKw9j_9Y5fYaxK
Julian is a senior at McKinney Boyd High School where he is in the AP Sculpture program. He has received superior rating at the Regional Visual Arts Scholastic Event and is participating in the state VASE on April 26th.
Julian has received the Senior Award for Visual Arts, and as well as 2nd place at the Colin County Art Show.
Julian currently has a 3.6 GPA, and he has taken 4 AP classes.
He is a member of the National Honor Society, and he has earned the Dell Scholar $20,000 Scholarship. Julian participates in AVID, and he works at Local Yocal Barbeque & Grill.
In his free time, Julian volunteers with St. Jude Catholic Church, where he is a member of the Youth Group.
After graduation, Julian plans to attend UNT to major in Business and Marketing.
That’s Julian Flores, this week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week.
MISD Senior Breakfast 2025
It's one of our favorite events of the school year—the MISD Senior Breakfast. A call for graduating seniors to return one final time to the MISD elementary school where their academic journey began. A chance to pause and reflect on where they have been before they look ahead to where they are going. And, to reunite with teachers and classmates who were part of the journey.
At Minshew Elementary, nearly 50 seniors from McKinney Boyd and McKinney North gathered in the library where they enjoyed breakfast and reminisced about their time at the school. They leaned intently over albums filled with old photos and writings from years before, laughing and waving friends over to see, marveling at the difference between yesterday and today.
There were hugs and laughter for the teachers who were there from the early days, many of them still at Minshew, others who came back just for the occasion—because they wouldn't have missed this opportunity to see their former students one more time. They marveled at how quickly the time had passed.
The seniors paraded through the school where the current generation of Minshew Colts emptied into the hallways and cheered them on as they passed. And, then it was on to the foyer for a group photo of everyone together one last time.
"It's been a really great experience," said Boyd senior Tyler Wall who attended Minshew from kindergarten through fifth grade. "Seeing a lot of my former teachers who helped me develop in school...it's really great, and I really appreciate all of them being able to come down here where I can say hello and thank them one last time. Some teachers have retired since the last time I was here, and seeing them come back from retirement and making an effort to say hello and take a picture with us, it means a lot."
All too soon the Senior Breakfast was done, and it was time for these former Minshew Colts to be Broncos and Bulldogs again before graduation, when they will embark on an entirely new part of their journey.
And, we can't wait to see the great things that lie ahead for all of our MISD graduates.
McKinney ISD is now hiring great people for a wide range of full-time and part-time positions for the 2025-2026 school year.
Join the McKinney ISD team! Use the QR code on the flyer to register or click here: https://tinyurl.com/yeytvm37
Starting salary for first year teachers — $62,100
Stipends:
SPED — $5,000
Bilingual — $3,000
Master's — $1,500
Date:
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Time:
3:00 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Location:
McKinney High School
1400 Wilson Creek Pkwy
McKinney, TX 75069
Join our Team!
General Education Teachers, Special Education Teachers, Bilingual Teachers, Paraprofessionals
The Big 2-0: Minshew Elementary
See video: https://youtu.be/I9nGvdZZtKg
The Minshew Colts are celebrating 20 years of excellence as a McKinney ISD elementary campus, and this week they capped of the school year with a school-wide photo that depicts their legacy of longevity.
This week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Athlete of the Week is Corinne Watson from McKinney North High School.
See video: https://youtu.be/V3QaqVUlCeo
Corinne is a senior, and she served as a captain on the Bulldogs track team. Corinne was named Most Improved for her team, and she has received Academic All-District. She competed in the UIL State Meet in the 4x100 and 4x200 meter relays, and she also made the 2024 All-State Track and Field Team.
Corinne has a 3.6 GPA, and she is on the A and B Honor Roll.
Corinne enjoys volunteering with multiple organizations throughout the year, especially around the major holidays.
Next year, Corinne plans to attend college to major in nursing to become a CRNA and to continue her education to become an Anesthesiologist.
That’s Corinne Watson from McKinney North High School, our Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Athlete of the Week.
McKinney ISD concluded its final Top 10 Student celebration of the 2024-2025 school year at McKinney High School this morning as Superintendent Shawn Pratt and MHS Associate Principal Josh Greenwood welcomed family members and MISD officials to a special recognition breakfast.
These students have achieved a tremendous honor, working ceaselessly throughout high school to reach the Top 10 of the Class of 2025, and Pratt talked about the choices they made along the way to attain this noteworthy goal. "You made the sacrifices and had the self-discipline to put yourself in the position to be in the Top 10 at a great high school. We wanted to come together to say thank you for what you have done and the sacrifices that you have made."
Congratulations to the Top 10 Students of the McKinney High School Class of 2025!
1. Hannah Tadesse
2. Edwin Varghese
3. Luke Bayer
4. Addison Pena
5. Natalie Merrell
6. James McGowan
7. Chase Berndt
8. Morgan Goodmark
9. Dylan Jacobs
10. Samantha Wranosky
Distinguished Student Awards for the Class of 2025
See video: https://tinyurl.com/rhhnu7tp
McKinney ISD recognizes seniors from McKinney High School, McKinney North High School and McKinney Boyd High School who have earned the highest level of achievement in various academic and extracurricular categories on their campus. We also honor the inspirational teachers chosen by each student.
The MISD Childcare Department is seeking part-time staff to work in its preschool programs this fall.
$17/hour
Must be 18 or older and have graduated high school.
Contact Jennifer Harris at jharris@mckinneyisd.net for more information.
This week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week is Makayla Schaffran.
See video: https://youtu.be/Z081FcJSEy0
Makayla is a senior at McKinney High School where she is a 3-year member of the choir.
She performs with the Harmony jazz ensemble, and she has served as varsity choir vice president.
Makayla currently has a 3.4 GPA, and she is a 2-year member of the National Honor Society. Mayayla is also a member of the Golden Girls.
In her free time, Makayla sings with her church worship team, and she is a student leader of the youth group. She also volunteers in the children’s ministry at her church.
After graduation, Makayla plans to attend Collin College to major in Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
That’s Makayla Schaffran, this week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week.
Hello! My name is Stephanie O’Dell, and I proudly serve on the McKinney ISD School Board. Each month, after our Board meeting, we provide our community with a brief summary of events and items covered during the meeting.
See video: https://youtu.be/iqfr0Db3lgM?si=kK7yqXxXaz2gcQtp
We started the meeting by canvassing the recent election.
Current Vice President Amy Dankel declared the following results:
• Place 1 - Larry Jagours received 1,101 votes which is 100% of the votes.
• Place 2 - Kenneth Ussery received 2,282 votes which is 62.48% of the votes.
• Palace 3 - Corey Homer received 1,925 votes which is 68.24% of the votes.
• Place 7 - Harvey Oaxaca received 9,430 votes which is 100% of the votes.
Judge Paul Raleeh administered the oath of office and swore in the four board members.
We then moved to celebrations and recognitions.
We honored our “Every Student, Every Day” award-winners.
This month’s students are:
• Richard McTague from Glen Oaks Elementary
• and Knox Grande from Bennett Elementary
We recognized the winners of the Gifted and Talented Stock Market game.
We honored our students who took home awards from the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival.
Then we recognized the very first cohort of participants of the Aspiring Assistant Principal Pathway.
We also recognized a few of our Fine Arts accomplishments.
• First up, we honored our “Youth Art Month” winner and our state VASE qualifiers.
• Then we celebrated our UIL State Instrumental Ensemble Competition participants.
Next we celebrated the six McKinney ISD Seniors who have been named National Merit Scholars.
Then we moved into our Career and Technical Education groups that represented McKinney ISD at the State level.
Congratulations to--
• The McKinney High School Yearbook and Journalism program
• The Future Farmers of America program, also known as FFA
• Health Occupations Students of America, also known as HOSA
• Distributive Education Clubs of America, also known as DECA
• Texas Association of Future Educators, also known as TAFE
• and Technology Student Association, also known as TSA
We then moved into recognizing our spring state qualifiers and athletic scholarship recipients.
Superintendent Pratt then made three new administrative announcements.
• Cyndy Bice was named the new principal of Slaughter Elementary.
• Kristin Ellis was named the new principal of McClure Elementary.
• and Grace Roberts was named the new principal of Wilmeth Elementary.
Congratulations to our administrators!
We held public comment and then moved into the closed session.
After the closed session, we moved into the presentation portion of the meeting.
A budget update was provided by Dr. Dennis Womack, Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations. Texas school district budgets are based on estimates and assumptions, including factors like: property values, tax rates, student attendance rates, and student characteristics and programs. It’s important for our community to know funding equals attendance. The amount of Texas public school funding a district is allowed to keep is driven by student attendance. It is NOT driven by local property values and the amount our community pays in taxes. Additionally, it is important for our community to know that the district is in a deficit budget due to a variety of factors, including: stagnant state funding, record inflation, underfunded state mandates, decreased federal funding in multiple programs, remaining competitive on salaries especially in our hardest to fill areas, growth in special education services, and stagnant student enrollment.
Marlene Harbeson, our Chief Financial Officer, provided information on the proposed homestead exemption, McKinney ISD tax rate, and a draft budget. It is important to note that the legislative session is still going on, so it is difficult to predict our budget until the legislative session ends.
Next the Board approved the consent agenda and then moved to the discussion/action portion of the meeting.
Aretha Jackson, Senior Director of Legal Affairs, provided local policy update 124. The Board accepted the updates as presented.
The Board then approved the monthly written reports.
The Board reviewed upcoming events, and we are excited to celebrate our McKinney ISD graduates on May 23!
Those are the highlights from this month’s meeting. Thank you for watching, and we look forward to bringing you the highlights from our next regularly scheduled board meeting on June 23 at 6 PM.
This week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Athlete of the Week is Rebekah Lessner from McKinney Boyd High School.
See video: https://youtu.be/4Lk2ZHH02wA
Rebekah is a senior on the Broncos track team. She received Track Freshman of the Year and Track Sprinter of the Year as a sophomore. She was the Girls Top Point scorer and member of the Student Athletic Leadership Council.
Rebekah is a member of the National Honors Society, has taken 12 AP classes, and is a National Merit finalist. She has a 4.96 GPA and is ranked 8th in her class.
Rebekah attends First United Methodist Church Mckinney. She works as a Lifeguard and Swim instructor and enjoys volunteering.
Next year, Rebekah plans to attend a liberal arts university to study Pre-Law.
That’s Rebekah Lessner from McKinney Boyd High School, our Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Athlete of the Week.
2024-2025 McKinney North Top 10 Students!
With graduation quickly approaching, McKinney ISD leaders joined Superintendent Shawn Pratt and Principal Justin Penio at McKinney North High School this morning to honor and celebrate the 2024-2025 McKinney North Top 10 Students! These outstanding students have worked relentlessly to achieve this goal, committing themselves to the highest level of academic excellence throughout their four years of high school. Well done!
"We realize how hard you've worked," said Pratt as he spoke to the group this morning. "You make McKinney ISD and McKinney North a better place because of all that you have done."
Congratulations to the 2024-2025 McKinney North High School Top 10!
1. Ife Adeyemi
2. Mahati Madugula
3. Galilea De La Garza
4. Cali Tyler
5. Matthew Harber
6. Gracyn Reddick
7. Jegan Anand
8. Brandon De Vun
9. Katelin Kenealey
10. Marie Janine Villa
MISD looks forward to celebrating the Top 10 Students at McKinney High School next Friday! (5/16/25)
Kind Minds, Big Hearts Parade at Vega Elementary
As National Autism Acceptance Month wrapped up last month, students at Vega Elementary came up with an amazing idea: let’s celebrate unique friendships and kindness on our campus - with a PARADE!
See video: https://youtu.be/RLZPxZqFREI
The autistic population, alongside supporting friends and staff, walked the main hallway of Vega, handing out fun items and celebrating neurodiversity in their community.
This week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week is Ari Montano.
See video: https://youtu.be/F_pCjFDX39Q
Ari is a senior at McKinney Boyd High School where she is in AP Studio Art: Drawing.
Ari currently maintains a 3.49 GPA, and she has received the Academic Achievement Award for the 24-25 school year.
In her free time, Ari is a member of the Heavy Metal Crocheting Club, and she works at Crumbl Cookies. She also helps professional artist, LynDale Lewis, with painting murals and designs at All Art Designs.
After graduation, Ari plans to go into Cosmetology for hair specifically, and she would also like to study to become a tattoo artist.
That’s Ari Montano, this week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week.
McKinney ISD Preschool registration is open for the 2025-2026 school year!
MISD tuition-based preschools are available at Bennett Elementary, Malvern Elementary, Eddins Elementary, Wolford Elementary and Johnson Elementary.
MISD offers a preschool experience for children 3 years – prekindergarten (children who are younger than 5 years on September 1).
—Hours of Operation are 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
—School hours are 7:45 a.m.-2:45 p.m. with extended care available from 7:00 a.m. - 7:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
—Students are required to attend 7:45 a.m.- 2:45 p.m. The MISD Preschool is not a drop-in program. The program follows the MISD school year calendar.
The centers are licensed by the Department of Family and Protective Services and are inspected regularly.
Please contact Jennifer Harris by phone at 469-302-2304 or by email at jharris@mckinneyisd.net, for additional information regarding registration.
This week (May 5-9) is Teacher Appreciation Week! Please take a moment in the next few days to let your child’s teacher know how much he or she means to you!
Teachers illuminate paths of knowledge, guiding students toward limitless possibilities. From morning greetings and classroom discussions to after-school support and thoughtful feedback, teachers shine their light on every aspect of student growth and development. Each day, they spark curiosity, kindle creativity and brighten the future for every student in their care.
To all of our MISD teachers, we offer our heartfelt thanks for your steadfast commitment to our students. You are amazing!
