From “Law & Order” to “12 Angry Men” to “A Few Good Men,” just about everybody loves a good courtroom drama. For the 8th graders involved in the Collin County Bar Association (CCBA) Mock Trial contest, the courtroom drama may have been simulated, but the competition was very real. Each team member had a role to play; some served as witnesses and some as attorneys, but all of them were…well, judged…by actual attorneys and judges—and the goal, as in any courtroom, was to win. That’s exactly what three McKinney ISD middle school teams did in the competition held April 28-29 at the Collin County Courthouse. Teams from Evans Middle School, Cockrill Middle School and Dowell Middle School took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, respectively, from among a field of 28 teams.

Kenneth Ussery and incumbent Curtis Rippee won their bids for McKinney ISD Board of Trustees Places 2 and 7, respectively, on Saturday. Fellow incumbents Maria McKinzie (Place 1) and Kathi Livezey (Place 3), who both ran unopposed, retained their positions on the Board as well. Ussery received 70.57 percent of the vote in his race against Clayton Myhre, and Rippee earned 55.48 percent of the vote over his opponent Curtis Rath.

It’s difficult to imagine a job that could feel more “at home” than the one in which Inetra Nelson finds herself each day. Raised in McKinney, the 1994 graduate of McKinney High School spent her formative years in McKinney ISD elementary schools before attending Faubion as a middle schooler. Along the way, she encountered educators who would become icons of the district; Johnson Elementary namesake Reuben Johnson was her principal at Burks Elementary, and Jesse McGowen, for whom McGowen Elementary was named, was her high school counselor. And, for the past 14 years of what has grown into an 18 year career as an educator, Nelson has followed in their footsteps by serving the next generation of MISD students, first as a 3rd grade teacher at Johnson Elementary, then as an assistant principal at Eddins Elementary—and for the past four years, as the assistant principal of Minshew Elementary. Now, Nelson has been chosen to be the new principal of Minshew beginning in the 2017-2018 school year. The job became available when current Principal Al Conley was chosen to succeed Pam Bendorf as principal of Burks Elementary after Bendorf announced earlier this month her plan to retire.

The new compensation plan approved by the McKinney ISD Board of Trustees calls for a 3 percent raise to the midpoint of pay range for employee salaries and marks the fourth consecutive year that the board has approved a raise of 3 percent or greater. The plan calls for a $1,750 flat raise for teachers, and the new teacher starting salary has been raised to $52,350 from the previous $50,900. The district will also continue the $500 mid-year employee stipend.

Elections for McKinney ISD Board of Trustees seats are conducted annually each May. The candidates run for specific places on the Board (Place 1, Place 2, etc.), but they represent McKinney ISD as a whole. Once elections are finalized, the Board elects a president, vice-president and secretary for one-year terms. Election day for the 2017 McKinney ISD Board Election is Saturday, May 6, 2017, and early voting runs from Monday, April 24, 2017 through Tuesday, May 2, 2017. (Polling locations are closed on Sunday, April 30, 2017.)

From the youngest elementary students just beginning to learn the rudiments of music to the accomplished musicians earning statewide recognition in high school, McKinney ISD has earned a well-deserved reputation for providing top-notch music education from beginning to end of its students’ academic careers. In recognition of that commitment, MISD has been included in the 2017 list of Best Communities for Music Education by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), placing MISD among a select group that represents only about 4 percent of the roughly 14,000 U.S. school districts.

Before he walked into Laura Smith’s AVID class at McKinney High School four years ago, Jaime Tamayo was content with his academic aspirations. But, his first conversation with Smith changed that—and fundamentally altered the trajectory of Jaime’s academic career. So, when the Barnes & Noble My Favorite Teacher Essay Contest showed up on his radar recently, Jaime saw an opportunity to honor the person who had impacted his life in such a significant way.

After 27 years in education, longtime Burks Elementary Principal Pam Bendorf has announced her plan to retire in December. The district has chosen current Minshew Principal Al Conley as Bendorf’s successor at Burks.

Bennett Elementary School nurse Sherri Nischbach, R.N. has been chosen as one of 51 finalists in the America’s Greatest School Nurse contest and will represent Texas in the competition.