October 10, 2024

Reminder: Early release tomorrow, no school Monday

All Northwest ISD schools will be closed Monday, October 14, following the early-release day on Friday, October 11. Enjoy the three-day weekend, and we look forward to the return of students on Tuesday!

For Friday's early release day, elementary schools will dismiss at 11:45 a.m., middle schools will dismiss at 12:55 p.m. and high schools will dismiss at 12:30 p.m. (Steele ECHS at 12:20 p.m.).

Visit the following links for the complete 2024-2025 calendar and school hours.

School Absence Note (absence.nisdtx.org) will be down for maintenance starting Friday, October 11 at 1 p.m. It will be available again before school resumes on Tuesday, October 15. Thank you for your patience.

VATRE designed to retain and recruit high-quality educators, maintain student programs

Continued teacher and staff raises

Each year, the Northwest ISD budgeting process prioritizes retaining and recruiting high-quality educators and staff. For the 2024-2025 school year, several neighboring districts were unable to provide staff raises, leading Northwest ISD to recruit dozens of award-winning teachers.

If approved by voters, VATRE funding would be used to provide competitive compensation for high-quality staff. In recent staff discussions at every Northwest ISD campus, educators cited competitive compensation as a key factor in their decision where to teach.

Maintain student programs

Northwest ISD’s VATRE is designed to maintain both academic and extracurricular program offerings for students. If approved by voters, new revenue generated would be used to sustain these programs. 

School districts across Texas have cut student programs to reduce deficit budgets, eliminating opportunities for learning. In 2018, Northwest ISD eliminated several student programs as a result of lost state funding, such as AVID, which the district has slowly tried to reimplement. With additional funding generated from a VATRE, Northwest ISD would continue to provide current program offerings. Learn more at www.nisdtx.org/vatre. 

Preliminary renderings of high school extracurricular expansions

Following months of coordination with schools, architects and general contractors, Northwest ISD can now reveal the first preliminary renderings of extracurricular and cafeteria expansions at Byron Nelson and Eaton high schools, including home stadiums. 

Approved by voters in the 2023 bond elections, the upgraded Bobcat and Eagle facilities are focused on providing an outstanding community atmosphere to support our students. Stadiums will also continue to be used for youth sports games and other community events. Learn more in this news article.

Funding for both home stadiums and high school common area expansions were approved by voters in the 2023 bond referendum. By law, bond funds cannot be used for general operations expenditures such as teacher salaries. Northwest ISD has called Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election to address operational areas such as maintaining student programs and class sizes as well as teacher raises. For information about the VATRE, visit www.nisdtx.org/vatre.

Academy Nights hosted for future CTE students in October

In-person Academy Nights will be held across the district during the month of October, and all Northwest ISD middle school students and their families are invited to attend. This is the perfect opportunity for current eighth-grade students to see if an academy is the right choice for them! 

The Career and Technical Education department will host tours through the district's four high school academy facilities, providing an opportunity for interested students to visit with academy teachers and learn more about available programs. Each Academy Night begins at 6 p.m., with Byron Nelson hosting its event on October 15, followed by Steele on October 17, Northwest on October 21 and Eaton on October 22.

Learn more at www.nisdtx.org/academies.

College & Career Fair taking place October 24

Get a head start planning for your child's future by visiting Northwest ISD's College and Career Fair! Students of all ages and their families are invited to learn about college from university and district staff, and some career options will also be presented. 

This year's event will feature more than 100 organizations participating, which will provide a great opportunity for students and families to visit in person with college, career and military recruiters from across the United States. The fair is Thursday, October 24, at Byron Nelson High School from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Admission is free. View this page for more information.

NISD announces 23 National Merit Commended Students

Northwest ISD is proud to announce that 23 students from the Class of 2025 have been named Commended Students by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. 

Selection is based on the students' scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). With this achievement, some of these students will become eligible for special scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.

All of these students are part of an elite group representing fewer than one percent of U.S. high school seniors who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. These selections come just days after six NISD students were named National Merit Semifinalists.

Share input on school food services

Northwest ISD’s food services team would like your input! What are your thoughts and input about the food and services in school cafeterias? Provide your input by campus level using the links below. The survey should take five minutes or less to complete.

NISD Band Showcase puts top talent on display

All three comprehensive high school marching bands, plus all seven middle school bands, were on hand for NISD's annual Band Showcase earlier this week!

High school bands performed their competition shows, middle school bands played from the stands at NISD Stadium, then all students combined on the field for one big performance.

Check out the full photo album for nearly 300 pictures from the incredible night!

Byron Nelson and Eaton celebrate Homecoming

Byron Nelson and Eaton high schools have enjoyed celebrating their homecomings in October!

The Eagles celebrated last week with a parade and community pep rally, then capped off the week with a 49-14 win over Keller Central.

The Bobcats are celebrated homecoming this week with a parade and pep rally last night, followed by their homecoming football game against Keller tomorrow night at NISD Stadium!

Haslet Elementary hosts Little Eaglet Story Time

Haslet Elementary School welcomed many of its community's youngest learners to campus this morning for Little Eaglets Story Time!

Librarian Courtney George started the tradition last year, and once a quarter the Eagles invite 2-year-old and 3-year-old children to the campus library for story time and a fun project!

Nance and Schluter elementary schools partner together for Family Book Club

Sonny and Allegra Nance Elementary School and Carl E. Schluter Elementary partnered together for their first ever Family Book Club that featured the book "Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla!"

Students and their families kicked off the evening by painting Ivan-inspired art before sitting down for story time with Nance's librarian April. Scott. Ivan himself even made an appearance! 

Love Elementary hosts first Hispanic Heritage Festival

There were lots of smiles, singing, dancing and celebrating at Clara Love Elementary School's inaugural Hispanic Heritage Festival on Tuesday!

The Texans were joined by Mariachi Águilas de UNT and Abuelitos Unidos del Condado de Wise to kick off the evening. There were performances followed by a piñata contest winners announcement and lots of traditional Hispanic foods.

NISD takes you Inside the Classroom

For the 2024-2025 school year, Northwest ISD has introduced Inside the Classroom, a series that visits NISD campuses throughout the year and highlights the magical moments that happen between teachers and students each and every day across the entire 234 square miles of NISD.

The next two editions of Inside the Classroom featured Adams Middle and Prairie View Elementary. Click below to learn how Shiela Greene's robotics students are embracing failure, or to see how Estrella Rodriguez's fifth graders are putting their Chromebooks to work on a journey around the world for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Upcoming editions of Inside the Classroom will feature Love Elementary School and Northwest High School, so stay tuned!

NEF Resource Store and Library in need of books

The Northwest ISD Education Foundation’s resource store and library provides support to NISD teachers and students through free resources and educational materials. NISD teachers can “shop” for school and classroom supplies, snack packs, books and more. All items are free to district educators! Already this year, more than 700 teachers shopped the store!

You can help by donating from the store’s online wishlist. Immediate needs include nonfiction elementary level books. You can also help by volunteering in the store! Volunteers help sticker and prep inventory, restock shelves and fulfill online requests from teachers. 

Mobile Food Pantry open October 19

Northwest ISD is partnering with Tarrant Area Food Bank and the Northwest ISD Education Foundation to offer a monthly mobile market to provide groceries and assistance to families in need.

Time: 9 to 11 a.m. - Saturday, October 19

Location: NISD Temporary Administration Building

2001 Texan Drive in Justin

Interested in volunteering at the monthly food markets? Sign up today!

Official ribbon cutting held for Neffie

It was a beautiful day for the Neffie official ribbon cutting earlier this month! Thank you to the Metroport Chamber for helping us celebrate, Neffie, the Northwest ISD Education Foundation's mobile resource store and library. We can't wait to see the impact Neffie continues to have on Northwest ISD teachers and students!

Special thanks to our Neffie founding donors, NEF Board of Directors and NISD Board of Trustees. We also want to recognize our local leaders, the business community, and family and friends who joined us for the fun! Check out a full photo album from the event.