Hays CISD 2017 Year in Review
We accomplished a lot at Hays CISD in 2017. Let’s look at the year in review.
New Superintendent
We hired a new superintendent. Dr. Eric Wright starts on January 1, 2018. Dr. Wright started his career in 1989 as a teacher and coach and then became a superintendent in 2004. Most recently, he was the superintendent for Fredericksburg ISD. The School Board started the process in June and ended the search in December with Dr. Wright’s hiring.
50th Anniversary
May 6th was a huge day. We celebrated our 50th anniversary of the consolidation election that merged the Kyle, Buda, and Wimberly schools into the Hays Consolidated Independent School District. The new district had 1,157 students. Currently, we have almost 20,000 students. We celebrated with a parade and all 23 campuses had a float.
Bond Election
In addition, on May 6th, two bond measures totaling $250,000, the biggest in our history, passed with comfortable margins. The 2017 Hays CISD bond included funds to build high school #3, Elementary School #14 and a replacement campus for Buda Elementary. The bond also included roof replacements, heating ventilation and air condition replacements, career and technical education and library improvements and much more.
Rezoned Elementary Schools
New elementary school zones were created for our new elementary school #14. Several schools were impacted by the new school – Blanco Vista, Hemphill, Science Hall, Tobias,
Named Two Schools
We named our two newest schools. High School #3 will be known as William Moe and Gene Johnson High and is expected to open in August of 2019. Mr. Johnson was the founding superintendent of the district and Gene, his wife, made numerous contributions to the Hays CISD, including writing the book, A Tribute to Vision, Courage, and Trust: The Story of the Hays Consolidated Independent School District. In addition, our newest elementary school will be named Uhland Elementary. It will open in August of 2018.
AVID
The AVID Program, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, made its debut at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. AVID helps to close the achievement gap by preparing students for college readiness. Hays CISD made it clear that we are serious about reaching all students.
STEM Expansion
The Saturn V – STEM Program was expanded to the Lehman High School feeder pattern when the school board decided to add it to Kyle Elementary and Tobias Elementary. The STEM program is a heavily integrated project-based teaching approach with an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and math. It started at Carpenter Hill and Pfluger Elementary schools in 2010.
Post by Willie Tenorio, Jr. – Hays CISD Board of Trustees