March 2024

Construction of the new Kendrick Elementary is officially underway and was celebrated with a groundbreaking to kickoff the project. The new 93,000 square foot building will be completed in May 2025. Click here to learn more about the benefits that the new school will provide our students and staff. Click here to view photos of the event, and click here to watch the groundbreaking celebration.

Superintendent's Scholars Celebration

Waco ISD honored more than 100 scholars in 8th-11th grades whose performance on the PSAT placed them not only top in the district, but in the nation! These students have bright futures and their desire to learn is cultivated through the Superintendent's Scholars program in the Advanced Academics program, under the direction of Paula Miller. Congratulations to these amazing students, and a special thank you to their parents for continuing the love of learning at home! Click here to view more photos of the event. Click here to watch the full ceremony.

Men's & Women's Empowerment Summit

This year's Waco ISD Men's and Women's Empowerment Summits were a success thanks to the help of our community partners. Thank you McLennan Community College, the Junior League of Waco, and Baylor University for hosting the events. Also, thank you to our guest speakers and the numerous volunteers for helping to provide this incredible experience to our middle school and high school students.

To view more photos from each summit, please click below:

Men's Empowerment Summit

Women's Empowerment Summit

Waco ISD Special Olympics Basketball Game

The Waco ISD Special Olympics unified basketball game was a great reminder that inclusion matters! Special Olympic athletes played together, side by side, on the court with their fellow students cheering them on to victory. Congratulations to the Waco High Lions who came away with the win! Click here to view more photos from the game, and here to watch the game recap.

Theater Arts and One Act Play Success

Both Waco High and University High One Act Play performers advanced to the district one act play competition. Also, a group of Waco High theater arts students are advancing to the state level in UIL Theatrical Design. Congratulations to these amazing students and their hard working directors.

Awards for University High Theatre Troupe:



Tech Award - Daisy Barco

Honorable Mention All Star Cast - Kimberly Hernandez

All Star Cast - Avion Anderson & Jimesha Pringle

Best Performer - Derrick Thomas

Awards for Waco High Theatre Troupe:

Outstanding Technical Performance-Savannah Ellis-Cooper

Honorable Mention -Chorus (Tesharme Bell, Rylie Figley, Lydia Allen, Lily Howell, and Eleanor Rhodes), Claire Prather

All Star Cast - Adam Perez



Best Performer - Sarah Townsend

Awards for Waco High Theatrical Design:

Lily Howell - Scenic

Lydia Allen - Hair and Makeup

Eisley Lawson - Costume

GOOOOOOOOOAL!!!

Best of luck to the University High School Trojans as they enter the 4th round of the soccer playoffs! We are proud of our Trojans and their coaches!

Dear Waco ISD Community,

Thank you to all of our incredible community members who participated in this year's Waco ISD Empowerment Summits. The support and engagement from our community ensure that these events are both meaningful and memorable for our students.

Last week, we came together in celebration of the next big step in bringing our 2021 bond plan to life with construction underway on the new Kendrick Elementary, the last of our projects to break ground. This would not have been possible were it not for the community’s incredible support of our neighborhood schools.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the ways that you continue to support the students and staff. 

Sincerely,

Stephanie Korteweg

Did you miss the March 28 Board of Trustees meeting? Get a quick update by watching the meeting recap video. 

Click here for the full board meeting

from March 28, 2024.

The next regular meeting will be held on Thursday, April 25, beginning at 6 p.m. in the WISD Conference Center, 115 S. 5th Street, Waco, Texas.

Each month, Waco ISD recognizes a community partner making a difference for students and staff with the award for Outstanding Community Partner. In March, STARS Book Clubs was selected. STARS has partnered with the district for more than a decade, developing a love of literacy in our students!

Dear Waco ISD Community,

Celebrating the start of our fifth and final project of the 2021 Bond program last week brought me great joy and evoked memories from my childhood. When I was a fourth grade student, I experienced moving into a new elementary school in the middle of the year. To this day, I can remember the excitement of that move and some of the details of the new school such as the shiny floors and new orange lockers. It was truly a special time.

Being the first in a new building is something I have carried with me for a lifetime, a moment of elevation that I will never forget. I’m sure that our students will feel the same when the doors to the new Tennyson Middle School open this summer and the new Kendrick Elementary and Waco High School open in the fall of 2025. 

Special moments of pride and celebration for students have come this month as the University High Boys Varsity Soccer team advanced to the third round of playoffs, the Association of Future Educators (TAFE) students advanced to Nationals, and our students earned honors in UIL One Act competition. Those too are memories that we hope that our students will carry into adulthood.

We will continue to share the accomplishments and celebrations of our students as we close out the school year. As always, thank you for your continued support of our students and staff.

Sincerely, 

Susan Kincannon, Ed.D.

Thank you to Andrew Billings of the Chicago Bears, and the Billings Family Find-A-Way Foundation, for their support and generosity! Mr. Billings awarded a bicycle to each student who had excellent attendance at Provident Heights and J.H. Hines.

This month's Classroom Close-Up gives great insight into how Waco ISD invests in preparing students for life beyond high school with the Boys to Men program at Alta Vista Elementary for fourth and fifth grade boys and the Men's Empowerment Summit for secondary male students. A future edition will feature how Waco ISD is preparing its female students for adulthood.

Attention Class of 2024! Don't miss your opportunity to apply for scholarships through the Waco ISD Education Foundation!

Community Resources