RCISD School Board held a board workshop and a regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, October 17, 2024. We aim to keep you informed and up-to-date on board activities with these brief recaps. As always, complete minutes from each meeting are publicly posted upon their approval each month for your reference.
BOARD MEETING LOCATION CHANGE
Royse City ISD Board Meetings are now held in the Event Center located in the south end of Royse City ISD Stadium at 670 South FM 2642! You may find agendas and school board information at: https://www.rcisd.org/page/board-of-trustees
ELEMENTARY ZONE DEVELOPMENT FOR SARA MOSS ELEMENTARY
District administrators and third party demographers presented three drafted elementary zone maps for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years. The opening of the district’s 8th elementary school, Sara Moss Elementary, in August of 2025 prompts the zoning development process. Goals for the rezoning are to create a zone for Sara Moss Elementary and reduce enrollment at Ruth Cherry Elementary, W.R. Fort Elementary and Davis Elementary which are all over capacity. The district will publish a proposed boundary map for public input and hold a Rezoning Talk opportunity in November for in-person feedback. More to come on this important growth related project.
PLEDGE LEADERS FROM BOBBY SUMMER MIDDLE SCHOOL
Four middle school students led the school board and guests in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America and Texas. They were Brynlee Blair, Amelia English, Antonio English and Lily Pena. They represented Bobby Summers Middle School well!
NATIONAL RECOGNITION FROM THE COLLEGE BOARD
RCHS Principal Brooke McMaster recognized 34 RCHS students who have been honored by the CollegeBoard National Recognition Program for their exceptional academic performance in school and on assessments.To be eligible, students must have maintained a GPA of at least 3.3 or 87% or higher, be ranked within the top 10% of PSAT test-takers in their state, or have earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP® Exams by the end of 10th grade. Eligible students can submit their applications during their sophomore or junior year and are recognized at the beginning of the following school year. Click here for more information!
STAFF RECOGNITION
Principal Melissa Harvey and board recognized Bobby Summers MS’s Kelli Johnson and Vicky McCoy for recent awards earned at the Texas Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development conference. Mrs. Johnson was recognized for the Strong Content Area Framework Award and Mrs. McCoy brought home the Innovative Practices Award. Congratulations to these educators!
PRINCIPALS MONTH
Chief Academic Officer Lorie Squalls honored each of our 11 campus principals for their dedication and commitment to the staff, students and families that they serve. She shared the dedication that RCISD principals show in building school cultures and communities that foster relationships. Click here to learn more!
CAMPUS SPOTLIGHT
Each month, the school board gets a glimpse into life on campus. The month of October brought a spotlight on Bobby Summers Middle School. Principal Melissa Harvey took the opportunity to share brag on the hardworking staff and administrative team. Watch to learn more about the amazing things happening at school!
MULTILINGUAL SERVICES UPDATE
Director of Multilingual Services Lacy Packard offered an update to the board and guests on the growth and programming of the department. One in six RCISD students is emergent bilingual, meaning they are developing their home language while learning English. At present, 1,677 students are identified as emergent bilingual. 48 languages are spoken other than English across the families of RCISD. Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic and Yoruba are the top four. The district offers English as a Second Language services across all grade levels and Dual Language Immersion (one-way) in PreK to 5th Grades.
STRATEGIC PLANNING 3.0 GEARING UP FOR TAKE OFF
Chief Communications Officer Adi Bryant shared an updating on the upcoming strategic planning process. RCISD has contracted with MoakCasey to develop a 3-5 year strategic plan. A Community Advisory Council is in development and dates for future meetings will be announced soon. This marks the start of the district’s 3rd strategic plan since 2012. The two previous plans were fully executed and are now operational.
COMMUNITY-BASED ACCOUNTABILITY CONTINUANCE & SCORECARD
Tyisha Nelson, Senior Executive Director of Federal Programs & Strategic Initiatives, updated the board on the district’s ongoing commitment to community-based accountability. RCISD will soon publish the 6th annual Community Scorecard to report on key areas of interest identified within the community. This process is designed to create local accountability that expands significantly deeper than state issued assessments.
WORTHY FATE HIGH SCHOOL GROUNDBREAKING - NOVEMBER 4
Royse City ISD will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at 400 E FM 522 in Fate to celebrate the construction of Worthy Fate High School. The event will take place on a paved portion of the construction site on November 4 at 2:00 p.m. Guests should enter the site from FM 522 and not from N. King Road. WFHS will open in August of 2027 with Freshmen and Sophomore students. The boundary development for the new campus will begin next Fall to inform families well ahead of the school's opening.
ENROLLMENT UPDATE
The first day of school on August 13 welcomed 9,518 students and by October 17, the enrollment stood at 10,022 total students. Demographers anticipate that RCISD will add 800-1,000 students annually. Growth continues throughout the school year across our booming communities.
BOND 2023 UPDATE
Bond issuance is underway for many large projects in Bond 2023. Groundwork has begun at Worthy Fate High School off of FM 552 which is expected to open in August of 2027. Newly named Sara Moss Elementary has vertical steel beams in place as construction proceeds. The campus will open in August of 2025. Plans are also underway for David & Shirley Magness Middle School on FM 35 just south of Royse City High School. That campus will open in August of 2026.
BOND 2021 FINAL UPDATE
Approved projects in Bond 2021, including the recent completion of the RCISD Event Center and opening of Paula Walker Elementary in August, are complete. The $230M approval afforded the district the ability to open new campuses, expand and upgrade existing facilities, purchase land for future schools and more. Thank you to the Royse City ISD voters for approving these much needed growth related projects.