Dear MISD Parents,

Along with cooler weather and rain, this week brought lots of great things to MISD. Campuses across the district participated in different activities for Patriots Day. On Monday morning, at Centennial Park, the Midland ISD Air Force JROTC students hosted a ceremony to commemorate events that took place 22 years ago, on September 11. Local law enforcement and first responders joined the ceremony to remember those who lost their lives on that day. Amazing job to the Midland Senior High Choir and Band on their beautiful performances during the ceremony.

Earlier this week, I had the honor of being a part of the ribbon cutting for the opening of the Midland College PreK Academy! The impact the public/private partnerships can have within our community when we come together, is an incredible commodity to witness! This is one step forward in opening up seats for Midland's youngest learners.

Thank you to the Petroleum Museum for hosting MISD for this month's 2023 Lunch & Lecture Series. I had the honor to inform individuals on how we are working to better serve our students. Their facilities are a valuable forum for events & education!

Midland High School's Homecoming festivities have been taking place this week, and the fun was "Texas-sized"! Awesome job by the MHS floral design students who brought an extraordinary 10-foot mum to life! Not only are our LHS and MHS floral design programs getting students ready for homecoming, but as one initiative of the 27 CTE programs offered, they are preparing students for opportunities after graduation.

As for tonight, I will see our bulldogs at the home football game. It is going to be an exciting one, as the Midland Bulldogs take on the Monterey Plainsmen and celebrate Homecoming. Good luck to our rebels as they are on the road.

Don't forget, the Midland Senior High volleyball team will take on the Del Rio Rams this evening at 5:30pm. Be sure to come on out and let's get loud in the stands as we cheer on our Lady Bulldogs!

Have a great day and weekend!

Stephanie D. Howard, Ed.D.

Superintendent, Midland ISD

9/11 CEREMONY AT CENTENNIAL PARK

On Monday, September 11, the Midland ISD Air Force JROTC hosted a ceremony at Centennial Park to commemorate 9/11. The Midland Senior High School Choir performed The Star-Spangled Banner and a member of the Midland High School Band performed, Taps.

Law enforcement, fire departments, and first responders joined the ceremony to remember and honor the heroes that took part on that day.

GO FOR LAUNCH PROGRAM

Go For Launch is a multi-day program (not overnight) that uses Space Exploration as a platform to launch student involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), STEAM (Art), teamwork, communication and leadership. This program was developed to reach high school-aged students.

The event takes place October 30-31, 2023 and it is held from 8AM-6PM each day. Students 8th-12th are welcomed from everywhere! Please keep in mind that students must attend the full day, each day of the event. For more information and to register, please visit www.higherorbits.org.

COLLEGE NIGHT

MISD invites 9th-12th graders to attend the 2023 TACRAO College Night! The event will take place on Thursday, September 21st, from 6pm-8pm at the

Midland College AI G. Langford Chaparrel Center. For more information on registration or to see the list of schools/representatives that will be present at the event, please check out the flyer below! Or go to https://bit.ly/2023collegenight.

MIDLAND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL HOMECOMING PARADE

On Thursday evening, the Midland Senior High School put on an amazing parade! It was so wonderful to see the community come together and celebrate with all of the fun! From the band to the colorguard to the very creative floats, everyone did such an amazing job and it is times like these that will be remembered forever!

BOND 2023 UPDATE

Aerial renderings of the new high schools are complete. Find out more information about the Midland ISD 2023 Bond by visiting midlandbond2023.com.

These renderings are for visualization purposes only and are subject to change. Final designs will involve additional community input and customization for individual campuses.

For more information about Ranchland Hills property, please click here!

FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH

By completing the free and reduced lunch application, this helps many areas beyond free or reduced-price meals. One form even ensures multiple benefits! Scan the QR code below or visit the website to apply!

MIDLAND ISD MEAL CHARGE POLICY

The purpose of this policy is to establish consistent meal account procedures throughout Midland ISD. Unpaid charges place a financial strain on the Child Nutrition Services department and Midland ISD. The goals of this standard practice are:

• To treat all students with dignity in the serving line regarding meal accounts
• To support positive interactions with district staff, district business policies, student and parent/guardian to the maximum extent possible
• To establish age-appropriate meal policies
• To encourage parent/guardian to assume responsibility of meal payments and to promote self-responsibility of the student
• To establish a consistent district policy regarding charges and collection of charges

September 29th will be the last day of the Supper Program due to the lack of student participation.

CHARGING MEALS

Click here to read more about the Midland ISD Meal Charge Policy for further information on charging meals, low and negative balances, payment of delinquent meal charge debt, and alternative meal pricing. Alternative meal prices are $1.50 for elementary and $1.75 for secondary schools.

TEXAS SCHOOL SAFETY

As required by Texas Education Code 37.222, the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC), in collaboration with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), is providing each school district and open-enrollment charter school, information and resources regarding the safe storage of firearms including information on section 46.13 of the Texas Penal Code. Districts must provide this information to the parent or guardian of each student enrolled in the district or school. 



In 2021, 4,613 Texans experienced gun-related deaths. Restricting access to guns is critical in reducing acts of violence, whether as self-harm or towards others. Guns should be stored unloaded in a safe or locked container, with ammunition stored elsewhere. You can learn more and find additional resources from the Texas DPS at https://safegunstoragetexas.com.

NWEA MEASURES OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS GROWTH (MAP)

Midland ISD will administer the NWEA Measures of Academic Progress Growth, or MAP Growth assessments as part of a comprehensive assessment system. NWEA MAP Growth is a nationally normed, standardized achievement test which measures what students know and informs what they're ready to learn next by using a computer adaptive test that adjusts to the ability and knowledge of the student.

Each child's teacher will use the results of the NWEA MAP Growth assessments to better understand student individual needs and to help students progress in the assessed area. Because the assessment is a growth measure, it can track the growth of the student between testing events over multiple years of testing.

Midland ISD students will be administered the NWEA MAP test in reading, math, and science between now and September 15. Parents will receive a family report from the school with key results to communicate with families regarding their child's progress by September 30.

ATTENDANCE