February 2025 BoardBits

Congratulations: Awards & Recognition - Feb. 18 Meeting

Health Professions teacher Diego Leal receives a certificate recognizing his recent National Teacher Board Certification. — Pictured, from left to right: Henry LeVrier, STISD Board President; Dr. Michele Guajardo, Health Professions Principal; Diego Leal, Health Professions Teacher; and Dr. Tony Lara, STISD Superintendent of Schools

Consultant from TASB Business Services Sales & Marketing presents STISD with a $62,300 jumbo rebate check during the Feb. 18 board meeting for participation in the BuyBoard Program. — Pictured, from left to right: Melissa Rodriguez, Consultant, Sales & Marketing – Business Services with the Texas Association of School Boards; Marla Knaub, STISD Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations; and Dr. Tony Lara, STISD Superintendent of Schools

Construction Updates: Health Professions Gymnasium + Mercedes and Edinburg Athletic Fields

The Board of Directors received reports on the ongoing Buildings & Grounds projects, including the Health Professions Gymnasium project, and the Edinburg and Mercedes Athletic Fields projects.

The following are photos of the progress on these projects, as shared at the meeting.

Health Professions Gymnasium interior construction progress as of February 2025 — *Construction progress on the interior of the Health Professions Gymnasium*

Health Professions Gymnasium exterior construction progress as of February 2025 — *Construction progress on the exterior of the Health Professions Gymnasium*

Mercedes athletic fields construction progress as of February 2025 — *Construction progress on the Mercedes Athletic Fields*

Board approves Academic Calendar for the 2025-2026 school year

The STISD Board of Directors approved the academic calendar for the 2025-2026 School Year during the Feb. 18 board meeting.

The calendar taken to the Board was previously approved by the district's Educational Improvement Council.

The district school calendar must include at least 75,600 minutes of instruction (HB2610), which is exceeded within the approved calendar. The first day of instruction is Aug. 18, 2025, and the last day of instruction is May 22, 2026. The district calendar aligns with colleges and universities to ensure our students are provided with all the resources needed to succeed.

In addition to the academic calendar, the Board also approved the Employee Legend, which can be accessed through the district website.

Click here to access the calendar documents within the Calendar section of the district website

STISD is now a fully-approved Teacher Incentive Allotment system!

During the Feb. 18 meeting, Lissa Frausto, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, provided a report to the STISD Board of Directors about the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA).

STISD’s local teacher designation system has been reviewed and accepted by the Texas Education Agency after undergoing a data validation process, meaning STISD can now officially designate high-performing teachers and receive funding through the TIA program. Our district now has a fully-operational system to identify and reward top teachers based on their performance data.

Human Resources will work with campus administration to provide more details to the teachers in the TIA 2023-2024 cohort. We do not yet know the dollar amounts which will be provided to our designated teachers; that information will come later this spring.

Other Board actions

The Board approved the request for one new professional position and the announcement of vacancy:
- Visually Impaired Teacher Co-Op
The Board approved the addition of the Career & Technical Education (CTE) Automotive Expansion to the 2024-2025 Capital Projects, with Gomez Mendez Saenz, Inc. as the architect of record for the project. The Board also approved the budget of $2,000,000 for the project and the use of Job Order Contracting as the procurement method.
The Board approved the proposed 2025-2026 budget calendar.

STISD students place at National History Day Regional Competition

On Saturday, Feb. 6, STISD was represented at the National History Day Regional Competition, and students placed in every category in which they competed. Congratulations to our students who placed 'Top 3' in the junior and senior divisions!

Congratulations to South Texas ISD Rising Scholars Academy student Ayden Hernandez for placing 2nd and advancing to the State Competition in the junior division exhibit.

The following are the students who competed in this round across the district and their placements:

🥈 Ayden Hernandez (Junior Division - Individual) - South Texas ISD Rising Scholars Academy
🥉 Natalia Leos (Junior Division - Individual) - South Texas ISD Virtual Academy
🥉 Braulio Andalon, Joel Araguz and Valeria Escobar (Senior Division - Team) - South Texas ISD Medical Professions

Three Medical Professions students pose by project presented at the National History Day Regional competition

Rising Scholars student poses with his project board presented at the National History Day Regional competition.

Rising Scholars student holds up second place ribbon earned at the National History Day Regional competition alongside his teacher sponsor.

Virtual Academy student earned 3rd place in the Junior Division: Website at the National History Day Regional Competition.

Three Medical Professions students hold up ribbons earned at the National History Day Regional competition

Health Professions hosts inaugural Biomedical Sciences White Coat Ceremony

On Feb. 26, STISD Health Professions held its Inaugural Biomedical Sciences White Coat Ceremony.

During this special event, 20 students from across all four grade levels were recognized for their participation in this program.

This special ceremony is not only a symbol of their hard work, dedication, and passion for health science, but also a moment to recognize the incredible journey they've begun toward becoming certified professionals.

Congrats to all the students for their hard work, and a huge thank you to our administrators, faculty and staff, and all parents/guardians who have supported our students along the way!

Health Professions Biomedical Science students receive certificates and don white coats during the Inaugural White Coat Ceremony

Preparatory Academy hosts Career & Technical Education (CTE) Career Day

On Feb. 12, STISD Preparatory Academy in Edinburg hosted a Career & Technical Education (CTE) Career Day, providing 8th-graders at the campus with the chance to explore various career possibilities and hear from professionals who shared their journeys and expertise in their respective fields.

Kudos to those who organized this impactful event and for those who took the time to be here and share your experiences. We appreciate you!

Students participating in CTE Career Day at Preparatory Academy

STISD hosts two-day NASA HUNCH Event: Critical Design Review + Culinary Challenge

In late February, STISD hosted a two-day NASA HUNCH (High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware) Event at its Central Administration Building Teaching & Learning Center in Mercedes and the STISD Medical Professions campus in Olmito.

Our students continue to prepare for an opportunity of a lifetime through the NASA HUNCH program, where they design and create a prototype that could lead to space.

Day 1: Students from Health Professions, Medical Professions and Science Academy presented their concepts to a team of NASA engineers in the Critical Design Review round for this region. Students will now take this expert feedback and fine-tune their designs and submit final materials in hopes of advancing to the Final Design Review at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in April.

Day 2: Students from STISD Science Academy faced off another Rio Grande Valley school in the HUNCH Culinary Challenge, where they created a meal designed to nourish astronauts during space missions. A huge thank you to our panel of judges— chefs, business owners, culinary experts, nutritionists and educators— for their valuable insights, and to the competing teams for making this first experience one for the books. We can’t wait to see if our students will qualify to compete at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.