Message From The Superintendent

Dear Gainesville ISD Community,

It is with great pride that we present to you the 5th edition of our “Spotlight” magazine where we highlight the awesome work taking place here in the Gainesville Independent School District. This work has been heavily driven by our recently adopted strategic plan, entitled Vision 2026, which is a compilation of the wants, desires and recommendations of our faculty, staff, students, and community. It is through collaborative efforts such as these that we can fully understand programmatic expectations as well as identify other needs within our school organization and community. As I have continued to say, TOGETHER we can accomplish anything. Over the past 4 years we have gone from a TEA District accountability rating of 70(C) to an 84(B). That’s a 14-point difference……. WOW!!!!!! This is an AMAZING accomplishment, but we are not finished. Our teachers and our kids are working hard to achieve an accountability rating of an “A”.

We have taken a comprehensive look at what needs to be done in order to return GISD to “flagship” district status, but more importantly to better prepare our students for an ever-changing world. We find ourselves trying to hit a moving target, due to the fact that we are preparing our kids for jobs that do not currently exist. One of the most asked questions a child tries to answer is,” What do you want to be when you grow up?” Answers vary from a police officer to a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer, a mechanic, an astronaut, gamer and the ever-popular YouTuber. In a 21st century world, the options are endless. We want to equip every GISD student to follow whichever path they so choose, whether that means college, starting a career, or joining the military. Parents, this is where we need you. One of the key pillars of our strategic plan is CONNECTEDNESS. This is not just referring to our kids, but our community of adults as well. We strive to have more parental presence on our campuses working together with our staff as we continue molding the leaders of tomorrow. Campuses are open for volunteers and we are actively recruiting dads for our WATCH DOG programs at Edison, Chalmers and Gainesville Intermediate. We also have an increasing number of parents involved in my Superintendent Parent Advisory Committee. So, if you have one minute, one hour, or one day that you can spend on one of our campuses, we will welcome you with open arms.

As we plan for the future, it is imperative that we ALL have a seat at the table. The reality that we face in GISD, is that we are GROWING. For us, this is super exciting, but also a huge concern. Currently in GISD, 4 out of our 5 academic campuses are over 90% capacity, which means that with new growth, we could be forced to look at portable learning spaces to accommodate all students within a classroom setting. To better plan for the years to come, I will be putting together a facilities steering committee so that as a collective community we will have the opportunity to discuss the state of our instructional facilities, safety & security, and student learning. It’s time for the GISD community for ALL to get CONNECTED. Lastly, let me say THANKS for your ongoing support of our GISD faculty, staff and students. Because of you, our kids come to school every day ready to learn and be successful. TOGETHER we will get this done. Thanks for ALL that you do for the faculty, staff and students of GISD.

Sincerely,

DesMontes Stewart, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools