Nacogdoches Independent School District

Nacogdoches ISD is considering modifications to the 2020-21 academic calendar because of the real possibility of delays and closures this coming fall and winter related to the COVID-19 threat. Parents of students are asked to answer these questions to provide NISD guidance for holding in-person classes this fall as well as direction on distance learning options available should a closure be necessary. There is still much to determine about the upcoming school year, and directives and guidance from Texas Education Agency still forthcoming will impact the district’s decisions. The survey is open until 5 p.m. Friday, June 5.

Gerald Fonzie has been named principal at Nacogdoches ISD’s Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary, replacing Tom Miller, who announced his retirement earlier this year.

The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) provides benefits to buy food from any retailer that accepts the Texas Lone Star Card. P-EBT is a one-time benefit of up to $285 and will be issued on an EBT card to assist families during this unanticipated school closure. The online application for P-EBT is now open. Fill out an application here: yourtexasbenefits.com/Learn/PEBT. ALL NACOGDOCHES ISD CHILDREN up to 21 years old are eligible for this benefit because NISD is a Community Eligibility Provision district that provides free meals to all students.

Graduates with Nacogdoches High School Class of 2020 have received more than $4 million in scholarships, scholarship offers and military contracts. And that number is expected to grow in coming weeks as graduates continue to receive more honors and awards.

Nacogdoches ISD’s Board of Trustees will hold a budget workshop at 5 p.m., Tuesday, June 2. Because of ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 crisis, the meeting will be conducted through Zoom, a video conferencing app.

While Nacogdoches ISD is finalizing plans for how best to implement its summer school instruction, classes would not begin until July 6, providing the district time to fashion its plans to best fit the restrictions and guidance issued by the state.

Nacogdoches ISD Student Nutrition will continue providing meals for students during the month of June at five distribution sites: Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary, Fredonia Elementary, Mike Moses Middle School, McMichael Middle School and the NISD Central Kitchen located on Hughes Street.

Nacogdoches ISD’s Board of Trustees will hold a special board meeting at 5 p.m., Tuesday, May 26, for new board member orientation. Because of ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 crisis, the meeting will be conducted through Zoom, a video conferencing app.

Nacogdoches Independent School District will be applying for federal funding under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for the 2020-2021 school year.

Nacogdoches ISD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo shares this message with our staff, students, parents and patrons.

Emily Long is Nacogdoches ISD’s Elementary Teacher of the Year, and Charles Zemanek is the Secondary Teacher of the Year. Long teaches fifth-graders at Thomas J. Rusk Elementary, and Zemanek teaches science at McMichael Middle School.

Nacogdoches ISD’s Board of Trustees will hold a regular board meeting at 5 p.m., Thursday, May 21. Because of ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 crisis, the meeting will be conducted through Zoom, a video conferencing app.

Nacogdoches High School will hold a hybrid graduation ceremony later this month, allowing for in-person presentation of diplomas in front of the graduate’s family members.

Nacogdoches ISD’s Board of Trustees will hold an agenda review meeting at noon, Monday, May 18.

Temporary phone numbers have been established for parents and patrons to contact Nacogdoches ISD campuses and other departments within the district during the ongoing school closure. The special numbers will be manned during normal business hours for the district, Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and on Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Nacogdoches ISD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo shares this message with our staff, students, parents and patrons.

Three members of the Nacogdoches ISD Board of Trustees were sworn into office during a special meeting held Thursday, May 7. The meeting took place via Zoom, an online meeting app, because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Lee Container Corp. donated $10,000 to Nacogdoches ISD on April 21, money that can be used by the school district to offset costs associated with its response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Teresa Morales has been with Nacogdoches ISD Student Nutrition for 27 years. Peggy Thorn, for 30 years. It’s likely they’ve never seen anything comparable to this. Since March 16 – when NISD students were due to return from spring break, but didn’t – Morales, Thorn and their co-workers have been serving meals for children. First daily, and now, twice a week, with multiple meals provided at one time.

Nacogdoches ISD will hold a special board meeting at 5 p.m., Thursday, May 7. Because of ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 crisis, the meeting will be conducted through Zoom, a video conferencing app.

Nacogdoches ISD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo shares this message with our staff, students, parents and patrons.

Nacogdoches ISD has posted an updated grading procedure that applies to the 5th- and 6th-six week grading periods and the spring semester of the 2019-2020 academic year. Instead of assigning numerical grades we’re all accustomed to, the procedure will use a pass/fail method to assess student work completed in the 5th- and 6th-six week grading periods.

Nacogdoches ISD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo shares this message with our staff, students, parents and patrons.

Teachers and administrators in Nacogdoches ISD – not to mention, across the nation – have been thrust into rapid response situations, crafting online and distance learning packets as schools have closed down due to the spread of new coronavirus.

Nacogdoches ISD will hold a Board of Trustees meeting Thursday, April 23rd at 5 p.m. Because of health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 crisis, the meeting will be conducted through Zoom, a video conferencing app.

Beginning Monday, April 6, Nacogdoches ISD campuses are revising the process of distributing paper education resources packets for NISD students that cannot access the resources on the Internet. Plans also include procedures for returning the packets to the campuses.

Nacogdoches ISD Student Nutrition will adjust its food distribution schedule beginning Tuesday, April 14. At that time, distribution will take place twice a week, with multiple meals supplied for students age 18 and younger.

Today, April 6, is the first official day on the job for Dr. Gabriel Trujillo, superintendent for Nacogdoches ISD. This is a column Dr. Trujillo wrote that was published Sunday in the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel:

NISD learned this month it was recognized as a winner of National Association of Music Merchants (or NAMM) Best Community for Music Education. Seven hundred fifty-four school districts around the nation received this distinction, including 87 recognized here in Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott today amended his earlier declaration and has now extended the closure of schools in Texas through Friday, May 1. The earliest classes in Texas could resume is now Monday, May 4, unless the closure is otherwise extended.

Nacogdoches ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved Thursday the hire of Dr. Gabriel A. Trujillo as the district’s new superintendent. Trujillo is expected to begin work full-time with NISD on April 6.

Nacogdoches ISD will hold a Board of Trustees meeting at 5 p.m., Thursday, March 26, to consider a limited agenda. Due to health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 coronavirus, the meeting will be conducted through Zoom, a video conferencing app.

Nacogdoches ISD Student Nutrition Department will provide FREE meals while school is out Monday through Friday. Student Nutrition staff will offer Grab-and-Go lunches via curbside service at Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary, Fredonia Elementary, Emeline Carpenter Elementary and at the NISD Central Kitchen located at Hughes Street behind Thomas J Rusk Elementary. The lunch bags will also include items for breakfast the next morning.

Nacogdoches ISD Cancelled Events

Dr. Gabriel A. Trujillo has been named lone finalist for the position of superintendent by Nacogdoches ISD Board of Trustees. The unanimous vote took place during a special meeting held Wednesday. Texas law requires the NISD board wait 21 days before formally approving a contract with Trujillo; a regular meeting of the NISD trustees is planned for March 26.

NHS performed “Rabbit Hole,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama written in 2006 by David Lindsay-Abaire.

An outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, has caused an outbreak of respiratory illness in other parts of the world. The United States has confirmed a handful of novel coronavirus cases, mostly related to travel. I want to assure you that our school district is keeping track of this situation through proven and trustworthy sources: our local health department, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These health officials believe the risk to our school community is low at this time.

Bulldozers and earthmovers are on location along SE Stallings Drive where the new Emeline Carpenter Elementary will be constructed. On Tuesday, the construction team briefed members of the Citizen Bond Review Committee, or CBRC, on progress made so far on projects being funded by the 2018 bond proposal

Drawing on her own experience of growing up surrounded by less than desirable conditions, Kimberly Mathis shared her thoughts on life as a teen with female students at Nacogdoches High School.

Emily Patrick planned on submitting a sculpture work for the Texas Art Education Association’s Youth Art Month Capitol Celebration. But when the sculpture was unable to be used, the ninth-grader at Nacogdoches High School improvised and went a different direction.

District plans reception for outgoing superintendent

Nacogdoches High School junior Braxton Roberts will be the next lieutenant governor for Key Club’s Region 10. Rebecca Jaramillo, the group’s sponsor at NHS, has even higher office in mind for Braxton… governor of Texas.

Kindergarteners and first-graders at Nettie Marshall Academy of Dual Language learned Tuesday there are a lot of things Ginny Goblin isn’t allowed to do.

Teachers and administrators from Nacogdoches ISD and around East Texas will “Rock Your Tech” Feb. 22 at Thomas J. Rusk Elementary.

McMichael Middle School’s UIL One-Act Play cast, crew, and directors won first place at the district competition held Feb. 1 at the Lindale High School Performing Arts Center. McMichael also brought home five individual awards.

NISD marks School Counseling Week

Nacogdoches ISD campuses will be holding special programs in February for Black History Month.

Rebecca Jan Holland likes nothing more than to talk about her Nacogdoches High School cosmetology students, such as the 23 (the most ever) she’ll be carrying next month to a regional Skills USA competition.

Law enforcement officials with Nacogdoches ISD met Wednesday with counterparts from the city and county to establish the groundwork for safety and security arrangements between the agencies.

The Nacogdoches High School Model UN team won individual and team awards Jan. 16-17 in a competition held at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Children’s author David Goodner will visit Nacogdoches ISD campuses Feb. 3-7.

Third-graders around Nacogdoches ISD will participate Feb. 10 in Texas Reads One Book, when students across the state will read “The Lemonade Crime,” part of Davies’ “The Lemonade War Series.”

Nacogdoches Independent School District is sharing this information about the district and your child’s campus with you as part of its obligations under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA).

Nacogdoches High School fans attending the basketball game at Lufkin High School on Tuesday, Jan. 28, are instructed to enter the gym on the left side front entrance doors. All NHS fans will sit on the left side of the gym as they enter the building for the game. All areas will be visibly marked, and security will be set up to help guide fans to the correct areas.

The U.S. Young People’s Poet Laureate handed out writing tips Wednesday to some Nacogdoches High School seniors. Naomi Shihab Nye was at NHS as part of her visit this week to Stephen F. Austin State University.

Nacogdoches High School’s boys and girls swim teams swept to victory once more in the District 17-5A swimming championship Friday at the Boys & Girls Club in Nacogdoches.

Student Council is doing big things at Nacogdoches High School. And more projects are in the pipeline for the spring semester.

A full contingent of Nacogdoches High School swimmers are ready to participate in the District 17-5A swim meet at 3 p.m. Friday at the Boys & Girls Club. The Dragons will be defending last year’s boys and girls district championships.

Nacogdoches Independent School District will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m., Jan. 23, 2020, for discussion of the district’s 2018-19 Texas Academic Performance Report.

Construction continues on the $3.36 million renovation and expansion of Nacogdoches ISD’s transportation center located along NE Stallings Drive adjacent to the high school.

Nacogdoches ISD will join 1,025 school districts throughout Texas to celebrate January as School Board Recognition Month. “Our school board members are volunteers who shoulder critical responsibilities and often make difficult choices for our district, all without pay. Their goal is always focused on the future success of the children in our district,” NISD interim Superintendent Alton Frailey said. “Celebrating School Board Recognition Month is one way to say thanks for all they do.”

Nacogdoches Independent School District received a rating of “A” for “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ School FIRST financial accountability rating system. The “Superior Achievement” rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Nacogdoches ISD’s financial management and reporting system.

The Ford Event, held Dec. 6 in the automotive garage at NHS, allowed students to get a closer look at careers in the auto industry, particularly roles in auto repair, such as technicians, service directors and similar careers. It also gave them an opportunity to hear from professionals in the industry – include Coats and Tipton Service manager Jeremy Terrell as well as Ford Motor Co. official Gabe Zambrano.

Nacogdoches ISD will be closed for Christmas break Monday, Dec. 23, through Friday, Jan. 3. Teachers and staff will return to work on Monday, Jan. 6, and students will return to classes on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

Nacogdoches ISD is one of 250 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement in the 10th annual Advanced Placement District Honor Roll.

Free Flu Vaccine Clinic for students Wednesday, December 18, 2019 At Student Support Services 421 N Fredonia St. 3:00-4:30pm No out of pocket cost. Bring insurance/Medicaid card if you have one. No insurance fee.

After 10 rounds and more than 140 words, Chloe Daniels edged out Kennedy Ellis to win the Thomas J. Rusk Elementary Spelling Bee on Thursday, Dec. 12.

Olivia Ajero and Mikaela Skipper dueled back and forth, requiring 40 rounds of competition before Olivia spelled “shepherd” to bring to a close the Raguet Elementary Spelling Bee on Friday, Dec. 13.

Raguet Elementary’s choir visit to Rotary Club of Nacogdoches marked the 65th year the school sent its students to the service club at Christmas. The tradition of an NISD choir visiting Rotary goes back even further, 75 years, to 1944.

A Stephen F. Austin State University group made a donation this week to Nacogdoches ISD social workers of gift cards and undergarments, both of which will be used to benefit students within the district.

Holiday performances across Nacogdoches ISD are set for the upcoming weeks.

Construction is progressing on the $3.36 million renovation and expansion of Nacogdoches ISD’s transportation center located along NE Stallings Drive adjacent to the high school.

Nacogdoches High School’s Dragonette Drill Team will present “Christmas with the Classics” in two performances at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 18, and 6 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 19.

While Nacogdoches ISD students and staff enjoyed Thanksgiving break last week, the district Plant Services Department kept right on working.

Some of the best sounds of the season will be available when the Nacogdoches ISD high school and middle school bands hold a combined Christmas concert at Nacogdoches High School.

Nacogdoches ISD Board of Trustees voted 7-0 Thursday, Nov. 21, to enter into a contract with Arrow Educational Services Inc. to conduct the district’s search for a new superintendent.

Raguet Elementary teacher Jennifer Hiebert counted out the erasers while the small group of fourth-graders stared intently at their project, a bridge constructed entirely of paper.

At the tail end of a PE class, first-graders finished up playing a game that greatly resembled a full-sized, human version of Hungry, Hungry Hippo in the Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary gymnasium.

Community and parent outreach programs at Emeline Carpenter and Fredonia Elementary were named one of six statewide winners of the Parent and Family Engagement Promising Practices Award, which is sponsored by the Title I, Part A Parent and Family Engagement Statewide Initiative.

Nacogdoches High School forward Nana Antwi-Boasiako is going to play basketball for his hometown school. The 6-foot, 9-inch senior signed a letter of intent Wednesday afternoon with Stephen F. Austin State University.

Nacogdoches High School Theatre is putting on its production of “These Shining Lives,” a drama rooted in history, telling the true story of four women poisoned during the 1920s while painting a radium compound on to watch faces.

Emergency crews, including ambulances, fire trucks and two medical helicopters, will descend on Nacogdoches High School around 9 a.m. Nov. 15.

This year the College Board has moved the AP test registration deadline to November. AP students were required to register for their AP exams by today, Friday, Nov. 8. NHS is paying $20 towards each AP exam taken. The original price of each AP exam is $94. With this discount, each exam will be $74 with a minimum amount due of $40 for each exam. If a student qualifies for free and reduced lunch, the price of each exam is $20. Please see the payment process on the parent letter below.

Fourth-graders from Raguet and Fredonia elementaries spent Tuesday morning immersed in experiments and demonstrations, the Wild About Science program held at the Stephen F. Austin State University Native Plant Center.

Leaders come in all shapes and all sizes, and appear at unexpected times and in unexpected places, Paul Smith told Nacogdoches High School students Oct. 30.

Nacogdoches ISD campuses will hold Veterans Day programs beginning Friday, Nov. 8.

Parent Academy at Fredonia Elementary School will include nine workshops that parents can choose from. Children won’t be left out, either. They will rotate through a series of enriching activities while the parents attend workshops.

More than 45 colleges, universities and branches of the military will be on hand next month at Nacogdoches High School for a College Fair.

The varsity boys and girls cross country teams from Nacogdoches High School finished second last week at the district meet and qualified for the Class 5A Regional Meet, which will be held Monday in Dallas.

Nacogdoches ISD trustees on Thursday voted unanimously during a special meeting to seek qualifications from search firms to begin the process of finding a permanent superintendent. Alton Frailey, who’s been with the district since April 2018 as interim superintendent, will continue to serve in that role for the time being.

It’s Red Ribbon Week in Nacogdoches ISD. Activities at NISD campuses include dress up days, rallies and decorating contests.

Phi Upsilon Omicron is working with Nacogdoches ISD social workers to provide items needed by students during the school year. On Monday, the honor society within Stephen F. Austin State University’s family and consumer sciences program presented nap mats donated by Walmart to be used by pre-K students at Emeline Carpenter Elementary.

It’s all “1s” again for Nacogdoches High School’s Golden Dragon Marching Band. NHS earned a First Division rating Saturday evening during the Region 21 University Interscholastic League Marching Contest at Stephen F. Austin State University’s Homer Bryce Stadium. The Dragons received 1s from all three judges at the contest. This is the 39th time since 1980 the Golden Dragon Marching Band has received a First Division rating at the regional contest.

Nettie Marshall Academy of Dual Language celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with an Art Exhibition Oct. 15, the final day of the month-long celebration.

Nacogdoches ISD student representatives came bearing questions when they got the chance to meet this week with top school administrators.

Two juniors and seven seniors from Nacogdoches High School will participate Oct. 22 in Junior Achievement’s Student Stock Market Challenge event.

The Nacogdoches High School Golden Dragon Marching Band will compete Saturday, Oct. 19, in the Region 21 marching contest at Homer Bryce Stadium on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. The NHS band is scheduled to perform at 8:45 p.m. Ratings for Class 5A and 6A bands will be announced after the final marching performance, which is scheduled for 9:45 p.m.

The annual Lip Sync Battle between theater departments from Nacogdoches and Martinsville high schools will take place at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 10, at the NHS auditorium.

Empowering Parents, a program presented by Nacogdoches ISD Student Support Services and Bilingual Department, is a refreshing and relevant look at raising children in today’s busy world.

Nacogdoches ISD students will participate in the Piney Woods Fair Oct. 9-13 at the Exposition & Civic Center located at 3805 NW Stallings Drive.

Paul Vidrine got his first taste last year of automotive tech classes at Nacogdoches High School, and he liked it. So much so, that by the end of the school year, the junior had won a paid internship at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts in Nacogdoches.

The highly anticipated ground breaking for the new Emeline Carpenter Elementary School is set for 2 p.m., Friday, Sept. 27, at the school’s future site located along Southeast Stallings Drive across from McMichael Middle School.

Nacogdoches ISD will celebrate homecoming this year with a downtown parade and pep rally. The parade will take place at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 25. Entries will line up by 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot at the corner of Mound Street and East Main Street. The theme of Homecoming is "Roaring '20s," a nod to this year's seniors that are the Class of 2020. NHS alumnus and former NFL player Kynan Forney will serve as Grand Marshal of the parade

The mold remediation project at Malcolm Rector Technical High School has been completed, and the campus will reopen Monday, Sept. 16 on regular schedule. The Malcolm Rector campus is located at 6003 North St. Students attending Malcolm Rector Technical High School follow an accelerated graduation plan or are part of a high school credit recovery program. The Malcolm Rector campus also houses the Nacogdoches County Discipline Alternative Education Program, or DAEP.

Nacogdoches ISD interim Superintendent Alton Frailey held his fifth Huddle Time public meeting Tuesday night at Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary.

Nacogdoches ISD interim Superintendent Alton Frailey will hold a Huddle Time town hall meeting at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 17, at Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary School, 907 N. Sanders St. The meeting will take place in the school’s cafeteria.

Tickets are on sale this week for the football game pitting longtime rivals Lufkin High School and host Nacogdoches High School. Tickets for Dragon fans are sold only in advance and are available from Sherry Smith with the Nacogdoches High School athletic office located at the back of the competition gym in the 9th-grade building. (Lufkin fans can buy tickets to the game from Lufkin High School.)

Nine schools in Nacogdoches ISD will hold meetings this month to share campus performance results and receive parent input on campus targeted improvement plans. (Thomas J. Rusk Elementary is not required to have a targeted improvement plan.)

NISD welcomed first responder representatives from around the Nacogdoches community and county during an appreciation breakfast held Friday.

Nacogdoches ISD teachers, staff and administration gathered Tuesday for Convocation 2019. The morning started with breakfast and a vendor fair in the main commons of Nacogdoches High School.

Meet the Teacher nights and other back-to-school events begin next week on Nacogdoches ISD campuses.

Nacogdoches ISD’s Back to School Conference for teachers, principals and assistant principals is scheduled for Aug. 19-20 in the Stephen F. Austin State University Student Center and the Miller Science Building.

Nacogdoches ISD teachers and staff will celebrate the start of a new school year with the 2019 Convocation on Tuesday, Aug. 13.

Nacogdoches ISD Trustee Dr. Tyrrel Grohman, M.D., has been named to the 2020 Leadership TASB Class by the Texas Association of School Boards. Grohman is one of 36 school board members from around the state that will be a part of the leadership group.

It’s been a busy summer for Nacogdoches ISD plant services and facility department. In addition to the normal projects that take place while classes are out, the department is also overseeing completion of a number of priority maintenance projects that are part of the $77.9 million bond proposal approved by voters.

Paulette Tomlinson, Nacogdoches ISD’s new Director of Fine Arts, will oversee the district’s plan to expand its offerings in visual and performing arts, particularly in the younger grades.

The grade level schedules will not be available earlier than the time listed above. If you are unable to pick up your schedule at this time you may come any time after the time listed above but not before.

Nacogdoches ISD Board of Trustees adopted the 2019-2020 instructional calendar during a meeting Thursday, April 18.