McKinney ISD -

Congratulations to Cockrill Library Media Specialist Lauren Scott who has been named an All-Star Librarian by the Texas Association of School Librarians for the third time!

Scott began her career in McKinney ISD 18 years ago at Wilmeth Elementary where she taught kindergarten through second grade. After earning her master’s degree in library science, she served as the media resource specialist at McKinney North High School and is currently the library media specialist at Cockrill Middle School.

Scott was the 2021 Cockrill Middle School Teacher of the Year and has served in numerous leadership roles across the district, as well as through the Texas Library Association (TLA) and the Texas Association of School Librarians (TxASL). She is currently on the editorial board for the TxASL blog and graduated from TLA’s TALL Texans Institute (Texas Accelerated Library Leaders) in November. This is her third year being recognized as an All-Star Librarian by the Texas Association of School Librarians.

Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Midwestern State University and a master’s degree in library science from Texas Woman’s University.

Each month, after our board meeting, we provide our community with a brief summary of events and items covered during the meeting.

Video: https://tinyurl.com/4uy4tue2

We started the December meeting with celebrations and recognitions.

We celebrated our “Every Student, Every Day” award recipients.
This month’s winners are Parker Juricek from Dowell Middle School and Isabella Robinson from McKinney Boyd High School.

Next we celebrated Frazier Elementary as they were selected our McKinney ISD “Lives Kind” winner for the month of December. Thank you, Frazier Elementary, for having kindness at the forefront of your school culture.

Then we celebrated our elementary and secondary McKinney ISD STEAM Ambassadors. These educators have demonstrated a commitment to implementing a STEAM education into each of our campuses.

We also honored the McKinney North UIL State Marching Band Finalists. They finished 10th place, out of 252 5A schools, at the UIL State Marching Championships. This is the first time in school history for this to happen!

To wrap up our recognitions, we recognized this year’s elementary, middle, and high school holiday card art contest winners.

We then moved on to the presentation portion of the meeting.

Aretha Jackson, Senior Director of Legal Affairs, provided a GKC Policy update.

Zabdi Gonzalez, Senior Director of English Learner Support, shared a presentation on the emergent bilingual and two-way dual language program in McKinney ISD. Caldwell Elementary offers the dual language program, and Principal Karla Massey contributed to the presentation with her insights. Molly Hovan, Executive Director of Elementary Schools, provided information on the review of the program, and she provided staff and parent feedback about the program. Program considerations and next steps were shared as well.

Next Dr. Shelly Spaulding, Assistant Superintendent, provided an update on our McKinney ISD Strategic plan, pillar 5: Communications. The focus of the presentation was on the key performance indicators and the progress the district has made with both internal and external communications.

Finally, the findings of an intruder detection audit were presented by Russell May, Senior Director of Safety and Security.

The Board approved the consent agenda and then moved to the discussion & action portion of the meeting where the Board approved the Academic Calendar for the 2025-2026 school year. Then the Board reviewed and approved the monthly written reports.

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 January 21st at 6 PM. I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday season!

This week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Athlete of the Week is Kyle Adams from McKinney Boyd High School. Video: https://youtu.be/A7cESvEDGAM?si=gsjGIeGofEXECAOo Kyle is a Senior and Team Captain for the Broncos Cross Country team. Kyle has received the AP Scholar and Academic Honors awards. He has taken multiple AP classes and has scored a 3, 4, and 5 on the AP exams. Kyle is a member of Tech Theater and is the President of his church's youth group. After graduation, Kyle will take a 2 year church mission trip and then will attend college to study Film Production. That’s Kyle Adams from McKinney Boyd High School, our Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Athlete of the Week.

Drizzly, gray skies couldn't stifle the festive mood at the McKinney ISD Community Event Center on the morning of Friday, Dec. 13, as officials from the McKinney Education Foundation and McKinney ISD gathered for one of their favorite days of the year — MEF teacher grant delivery day! Video: https://youtu.be/gUVkH0pGi7U?si=YhYAuHUTOzmGUZ_G Eight teams fanned out across the district to deliver a total of $124,116.74 in teacher grants to more than 70 educators on 15 campuses. The grants ranged from just a few hundred dollars to more than $10,000 and will be used for specific classroom needs that will directly impact learning. Teachers applied for the grants, which were funded by voluntary teacher payroll donations and community support.

McKinney ISD Cabinet members delivered Angel Tree gifts, donated by Central Office Staff, to Press Elementary. #WeAreMcKinney #TeamMcKinney

The McKinney Boyd Fusion choir brought holiday harmonies to the Central Office luncheon today and put on display the fantastic job that our fine arts students and teachers do every day! Thank you to Director Amy Harrington, Assistant Director Jeremy Brown and the entire ensemble!

This week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week is senior Sierra Franjesevic from McKinney North High School. Video: https://youtu.be/raPUaqHOTn4?si=czwV4j813YYCqsV7 Sierra is a 4-year member of the varsity choir, and a 2-year member of the elite varsity choir, True North. She has performed multiple solos, and she received a 1 Rating on all of her UIL Solo Performances. Sierra has a 3.94 GPA, and she ranks 94th in her class. She has taken AP and Dual Credit courses, and she is on the varsity cross country team and the varsity soccer team at McKinney North. In her free time, Sierra volunteers with Meals on Wheels, the Boys and Girls Club, Street Side Showers, and Feed My Starving Children. She also helps residents at a Memory Care facility, and she has tutored two Afghan Refugee students by helping them learn English as their second language. After graduation, Sierra plans to attend Brigham Young University to study Civil Engineering, and she will serve on a church mission. Sierra enjoys helping people that are struggling with English and learning to adjust to the culture of the United States, and she hopes to continue this service in the future. That’s Sierra Franjesevic, this week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week.

Did you know? By the end of the 2024–2025 school year, McKinney ISD's talented and hard working Fine Arts students will have performed in 330 concerts, art exhibits, dance and theatre productions — in addition to their competition performances!

Congratulations to the MHS cheerleaders who captured 1st Place in the Large Varsity Novice Crowd Leading Division at the NCA Regional competition in November! The routine was made up of 45 seconds of a crowd-leading cheer and 1:45 of elite stunts, jumps and dance. In addition, they placed 3rd in the Large Varsity Game Day division!

"We are beyond proud of this group for their hard work and dedication to a new cheerleading division and style," said Head Varsity Cheer Coach Dr. Chy-Anne Rose. "Because of our participation and placement, we have secured our bid to the NCA High School Nationals in January in Dallas. This will be MHS Cheer's first time competing at the national high school cheerleading level."

McKinney High School Cadets Receive $230K Scholarships Video: https://tinyurl.com/3mc2wde3 The Marine Corps presented two scholarships this week to McKinney High School JROTC Cadets: Cadet Captain Paul Bachman III and Cadet Sergeant Major Rafael Aviles. Each cadet received $230,000 in scholarships to assist in their tuition or room and board for college. It’s amazing for more than one applicant to receive scholarships at the same time, and we congratulate the McKinney High School JROTC program on their continuous accomplishments and successes.

This week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Athlete of the Week is Ibrahima Traore from McKinney High School. Video: https://youtu.be/HW4qRHHKWgs?si=Tmu364SAPoOuVNBX Ibrahima is a Senior on the Lions Cross Country team. Ibrahima was named the 2021 Cross Country Freshman of the Year. He was awarded the 2023 Cross Country Most Valuable Runner. Ibrahima takes 9 AP classes and has received Academic All-District. He is ranked 48th for the class of 2025 and he has a 4.35 GPA. Ibrahima is a member of the National Honors Society, AVID, and JROTC. He also is a member of the Computer Science and Politics for Teens clubs. Next year, Ibrahima plans to attend college to further his education. That’s Ibrahima Traore from McKinney High School, our Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Athlete of the Week.

On Dec. 3-5, MISD held its annual Career & Technical Education Tours at the MISD Community Event Center for the district's 8th graders from Cockrill, Dowell, Evans, Faubion and Scott Johnson.

The event aimed to build student awareness of the broad range of high school CTE programs before they begin the process of selecting courses for 9th grade—to provide a foundation for career paths and college readiness as they begin to chart their course for high school and beyond.

During the tours, groups rotated through 19 stations where they met current MISD high school students who provided course overviews and answered questions about their respective CTE programs—everything from aviation to cosmetology to welding.

Visit https://www.mckinneyisd.net/page/career-technical-education to learn more about MISD's CTE programs!

This week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week is Clara McElroy. Video: https://youtu.be/Gin0g-k_k8Q Clara is a senior at McKinney High School where she plays percussion in the Royal Pride Band. She has earned the Instrumentalist Magazine Musicianship Award in 2022, 2023 and 2024. She is a 2024 Texas Music Scholar and a 2024 Outstanding Soloist, and in 2023 she was selected for the All-Region Wind Symphony. Clara currently has a 4.59 GPA, and she ranks 14th in her class. She has taken 6 AP courses, and she is a member of the National Honor Society. After graduation, Clara plans to attend either Rice University or SMU to earn a Performance Degree in Percussion and Sound Design for Film. That’s Clara McElroy, this week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week.

Don't forget about the Father Daughter Dance this Saturday, December 7!

You can still purchase tickets for the 3rd Annual MISD Father Daughter Dance—A Night in Paris—for a night of dancing, pictures, and light refreshments.

The dance is for young ladies in K-5th grade. You do not have to be a McKinney ISD student to attend the dance.

Father Daughter Dance
Saturday, December 7, 2024
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
McKinney Boyd High School (600 Lake Forest Drive, McKinney)
Tickets: $24 per person

Click below to register for the Father Daughter Dance (Photo pre-order link is available on the registration page.)
https://mckinneyisd.reg.eleyo.com/course/112/2024-2025-special-events/father-daughter-ball

Photos
Pictures will be available through 5804 Photography. It's a great photo opportunity for the holidays. You may use the link above to order packages online until Dec. 6, 2024.

Corsages and Boutonnieres will be available for $20 each.

Minshew Elementary 20th Anniversary - In Our Twenties Era https://tinyurl.com/8tns7d6t Taylor Swift has enjoyed tremendous success with her “Eras Tour”, and Jennifer Larriviere decided to echo the popstar’s trend as our district celebrates the 20th anniversary of Minshew Elementary. “We’re moving into our 20’s era so it’s about honoring the past, our journey to get here, and then it’s also having that vision for the future.” Larriviere is the current principal of Minshew, and she was honored to commemorate this milestone with current and past educators from the campus.

This week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Athlete of the Week is Rachel Sellers from McKinney North High School. Video: https://youtu.be/ZbTiTb8JCW4 Rachel is a Senior Captain on the Bulldogs Swim team. Rachel is a 2-time State swim competitor. She has received the Bulldog Beast Award and she holds the McKinney North’s School record in the 200 and 400 Free Relay. Rachel has taken multiple AP classes and was named First Team Academic All-District. She is a Red and Blue cord recipient and has a 3.85 GPA. Rachel is a swimmer for the Metroplex Aquatics Club Swim Team. She is a swim instructor at the Apex Center and she is a babysitter. Next year, Rachel plans to attend Collin College to complete her basics. Afterwards, she plans to major in business to become an entrepreneur, as well as continuing to teach and coach swimming. That’s Rachel Sellers from McKinney North High School, our Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Athlete of the Week.

McKinney ISD’s 1st Sensory-Friendly Performance Video link: https://tinyurl.com/34xb39cb The McKinney Boyd Broadway Broncos performed the musical The Little Mermaid last week, and one of their shows offered the audience a slightly difference experience. A sensory-friendly performance is a theater production that is modified to be more welcoming and comfortable for people with sensory sensitivities, autism, or other social, learning, or cognitive disabilities. These performances are designed to be a judgment-free experience for all audience members, and they are also suitable for young children or first-time theatergoers.

This week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week is Finn Collins. Video link: https://youtu.be/M-mEUvZGB3w Finn is a senior at McKinney North High School where he is in the AP Art: Studio Drawing course. He has scored a 4 at the Region 10 Visual Arts Scholastic Event for two years in a row, and he scored a 3 on the AP 2D Design Portfolio. Finn’s artwork has been selected twice to be displayed at the McKinney ISD Administration Building. Finn currently maintains a 3.95 GPA, and he ranks 91st in his class. He has taken AP Statistics and AP Studio Drawing. In his free time, Finn plays the drums, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and sometimes the bass guitar. He is a 4-year member of the McKinney North Swim and Dive Team, where he earned a letterman jacket, and Finn works part-time at Old Navy. After graduation, Finn plans to attend Collin College for two years and then transfer to UNT for a degree in Art. That’s Finn Collins, this week’s Dennis Baker State Farm Scholar Artist of the Week.

After each monthly board meeting, we will provide our community with a brief summary of events and items covered during the meeting. Video link: https://tinyurl.com/56c2kymz We started the November meeting with celebrations and recognitions. Representative Frederick Frazer was in attendance to share a proclamation to board member, Larry Jagours, for his recent award from Volunteer McKinney: the Pete & Nancy Huff Service Legacy Award. Each month we recognize one elementary staff member and one secondary staff member for going above and beyond to live out our vision of “Every Student, Every Day” by honoring them with the “We Are McKinney” Superintendent Award. This month’s elementary winner is Jennifer Wilson from Wilmeth Elementary. Jennifer is a 5th grade ELAR and Social Studies teacher. The secondary winner for this month is Cindy Erhart from McKinney High School. Cindy teaches English 4 and serves as the Student Council Sponsor. The McKinney ISD Paraprofessional of the Month is Terri Battleson from Malvern Elementary. Next we recognized our cross country State finalists: From McKinney Boyd High School: Joaquin de la Cruz From McKinney North High School: Galiela de la garza, Landon Ayres, Drew Hansen, Rhett Hulin, Cody Siedel, Alan Sutherland, Aiden Trusty, and Elijah Trusty. The Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented recently named Rico Sneller as their 2024 TAGT Educator of the Gifted. We celebrated our National Merit Semi Finalist Scholars, our Commended Scholars and our National Recognition Scholars from all three high schools. We wrapped up our recognitions by honoring the Armed Security Officers from our elementary campuses. We are grateful for our ASOs and their tireless efforts, ensuring that every student, teacher, and parent feels safe and supported. Superintendent Pratt made an administrative announcement, naming Judy Mercer as the new Director of Professional Learning. Judy will join the McKinney ISD Teaching and Learning department under the leadership of Dr. Amber Epperson. We then moved on to the presentation portion of the meeting. Melanie Raleeh, Deputy Superintendent of School Leadership, presented an update on pillar 4 from the Strategic Plan: McKinney ISD Family and Culture. We then moved into the consent agenda and discussion-action portions of the meeting. The Board reviewed and approved the monthly written reports. 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 December 16 at 6 PM.

MISD is pleased to announce that Jamie Siefken has been named the district's new Reading/Language Arts and Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator for Pre-K through 2nd grade. With over 20 years of experience in education and a strong foundation in curriculum development, Siefken brings a wealth of knowledge and a heartfelt passion for fostering a love of learning in young students.

Over the course of her career, Siefken has developed a deep understanding of research-based teaching practices and the tools to support diverse student populations. Having worked in various roles at Wilmeth, Bennett and Webb Elementary Schools, she has gained valuable insights into the unique needs of the McKinney community and is excited to continue contributing to the district’s mission of providing high-quality, engaging instruction that challenges and inspires young learners.

"I am excited to continue serving the McKinney ISD community by collaborating with educators and families to create engaging and impactful learning opportunities for all students," said Siefken.

Siefken holds a bachelor’s degree in education with a special endorsement in reading instruction from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of North Texas.