McKinney ISD’s success can be attributed to the leadership of our elected Board of Trustees, the professional educators who work diligently to give every child the best education possible, and the support of our parents and community who value and set high standards for the children of McKinney ISD. McKinney ISD has a long-standing reputation for educational excellence, and our district continually outperforms the region and state in all subjects and grade levels as measured by STAAR assessments.

Below is a list of recent awards and honors that highlight our district's ongoing success and commitment to educational excellence.

SAT/ACT scores exceed state and national averages.

The Eddins Elementary Honor Choir was one of only three elementary school choirs invited to perform at the TMEA state conference in 2019, marking the third time the Eddins choir had been chosen for the honor. (Fall 2019)

Best in Texas…The Cockrill Middle School Honors Band was named the 2020 TMEA Middle School CCC Honor Band and performed at the Texas Music Educators Association State Convention in San Antonio in February 2020. (Spring 2020)

McKinney Boyd’s Vivienne Garner became the first high school student from McKinney to win the governor’s seat at the YMCA Youth and Government state conference. (Fall 2020)

In 2020, both the McKinney Boyd Honors Consortium Orchestra and the McKinney High School Symphony Orchestra earned National Winner status in the String Orchestra and Full Orchestra categories, respectively, in the national 2020 Mark of Excellence competition. (Fall 2020)

2020 MHS graduate Jakob Shackleton and 2021 MHS graduate Kylie White earned National ROTC Scholarships (Marine Option) valued at $180,000 each. (Spring 2020 & 2021)

In 2021–2022, 33 MISD seniors earned recognition from the National Merit Scholarship program, and 7 of them were named National Merit Scholar Finalists. College Board honored 14 MISD seniors in the National African American Recognition Program, 20 seniors in the National Hispanic Recognition Program and two in the National Indigenous Recognition Program. (Fall 2021)

McKinney ISD students taking part in Advanced Placement (AP) exams in the spring of 2021 earned accolades from the College Board for their performance, with 701 students from McKinney Boyd High School, McKinney High School and McKinney North High School receiving recognition. (Fall 2021)

Ethan Bickel, a junior at McKinney High School, earned a perfect score on the AP Computer Science A exam, placing him among the top .5 percent of the 63,980 AP test-takers for that exam worldwide. (Fall 2021)

Five MISD Students were named to Van Taylor’s 2021–2022 Congressional Youth Advisory Council. (Fall 2021)

McKinney Boyd High School Percussion Ensemble won first place in the high school division of the Percussion Arts Society's International Percussion Ensemble Competition. (Fall 2021)

McKinney High School Varsity Boys Basketball—2022 UIL 6A State Runner-Up (Spring 2022)

McKinney North Ready, Set, Teach! students competed at the TAFE state competition, and six students qualified for the national competition. (Spring 2022) 

The Faubion Middle School Cambiata Tenor-Bass Choir was selected as a 2022 TMEA Invited Choir. (Spring 2022)

Eight MISD students representing each of the district’s three high schools were chosen as 2022 TMEA All-State Musicians. (Spring 2022)

McKinney North swimmer Camille Murray became the State Champion in the 100 yd. butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke at the 5A State Swim & Dive Meet, and she set a new 5A state record in the backstroke. She was also named the Swimmer of the Meet by the Texas Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (TISCA). And she has been named the Swimming Athlete of the Year by the Texas Girls Coaching Association (TGCA). (Spring 2022) 

Hassan Khan, an MHS sophomore qualified for national competition in debate. (Spring 2022)

Three AVID Demonstration Schools —McKinney North High School, Evans Middle School and Scott Johnson Middle School

The MISD four-year graduation rate (on-time graduation): 97.6% for the class of 2020. Dropout rate — 1.0%.

MISD opened the brand-new 1,000 seat MHS Performing Arts Center and Sperry Performance Hall. (Spring 2019)

The McKinney ISD School Resource Officer program, a partnership between MISD and the McKinney Police Department, was recognized by the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) as a National Model Agency. (Spring 2019)

The Dallas Business Journal named MISD one of its Best Places to Work for the fourth consecutive year. (Spring 2019)

Best in Texas…Lawson Early Childhood School was named the 2020 H-E-B Excellence in Education winner in the Early Childhood School category and was chosen from among five finalist schools from across the state. (Spring 2020)

During the COVID-19 school closure in 2020, the MISD technology department completed the distribution of approximately 13,000 laptops to 3rd — 9th graders. The department loaned approximately 3,000 laptops to parents of PK — 2nd graders. (Spring 2020)

MISD earned the state’s highest financial rating for the 18th consecutive year by the Texas Education Agency. MISD has also earned recognition from the Texas Comptroller for financial transparency. (Spring 2020)

 Burks Principal Al Conley was among 62 school leaders from across Texas selected as the 2020 cohort of educators to attend summer institutes at the Principals’ Center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education—sponsored by the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation, a non-profit organization working to strengthen public education in Texas. (Summer 2020)

McKinney ISD food service provider Aramark won a Reader’s Choice Award in Food Management Magazine for offering one of the best K-12 school meals in the country. (Fall 2020)

MISD earned a multi-year contract to host the NCAA Division II Football National Championship at McKinney ISD Stadium through 2025. (Fall 2020)

In 2021, Cockrill Middle School was re-designated a TASSP School to Watch for the second time. (Spring 2021)

McNeil Elementary’s Tiffany Dudley was named TCEA 2020-2021 Texas Librarian/Media Resource Specialist of the Year (Spring 2021)

Evans Middle School Principal Darla Jackson was named the 2021 Administrator of the Year by TSCA, and MISD Senior Director of Guidance and Counseling Jennifer Akins was elected president of TSCA. (Spring 2021)

MISD was named as one of NAMM’s Best Communities for Music Education for the 6th consecutive year. (Spring 2022)

MISD was named to the Dallas Morning News list of Top Places to Work for the second time. (Fall 2021)

MISD earned the highest recognition for accounting and financial reporting from GFOA for the fifth consecutive year (Spring 2021)

2016 School Bond — McKinney voters approved a $220 million school bond package that called for a wide variety of projects to be implemented over a five-year time span, and MISD delivered more projects than it promised. (Spring 2021)

McKinney North Orchestra Director Lamar Smith earned the Director of Distinction Award from the Texas Orchestra Directors Association. (Summer 2021)

MISD GT Coordinator Dr. Javetta Jones Roberson was named the 2021 Educator of the Year by SENG. (Summer 2021)

SJMS Principal Holly Rogers was chosen as the TASSP Region 10 Middle School Principal of the Year. (Fall 2021)

Dr. Paula Kent, McKinney North High School Associate Principal was named TASSP Region 10 Assistant Principal of the Year. (Fall 2021)

MISD organized a Community Resource Night at Old Settler's Recreation Center to help connect MISD families to organizations who can help with a broad range of needs. (Fall 2021)

McKinney North Counselor Debra Fort was named TSCA Texas High School Counselor of the Year. (Spring 2022)

Seventeen McKinney ISD campuses earned the prestigious CREST Award for 2021–2022 from the Texas School Counselor Association (TSCA). (Spring 2022)