91͵ board member Stephanie O'Dell provides a summary of the events and items covered during the regular 91͵ Board of Trustees meeting held on Monday, March 25.
Due to the accelerated housing development within the current attendance zones for Frazier Elementary, Press Elementary, Scott Johnson Middle School and McKinney North High School, the 91͵ Board of Trustees approved minor adjustments to the school boundaries for the 2024-2025 school year. These adjustments aim to avoid the imminent overcrowding of these schools experiencing fast housing growth.
After careful consideration and planning, the district has made the decision to move the Elementary GT program to a new campus for the 2024-2025 school year due to growth at its current campus. The program is currently housed at Webb Elementary and will be moving to Walker Elementary.
There is a growing threat to the health and safety of our youth that we want to bring to your attention. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), within the last two years, teen overdose deaths related to fentanyl have tripled.
Fentanyl is a manufactured legal opiate drug that is generally used in the medical field to treat severe pain. Sadly, an underground market has developed for illegal use of this drug such as repurposing fentanyl patches stolen from home medicine cabinets and fraudulently intercepting prescriptions illegally.
While the initial form is regulated and controlled by the FDA, the underground market can taint, concentrate, or “lace” other drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, or heroin. Unfortunately, drug traffickers disguise pills that include dangerous fentanyl to look like legitimate prescription drugs, and even candy to target children, who rarely ask about the strength/dosage or the source. You cannot see, taste, or smell fentanyl. It is almost impossible to tell if a drug is laced with fentanyl unless tested with a fentanyl testing strip. Oftentimes, the teen has no idea that what they are taking contains fentanyl.
91͵ students receive instruction in the dangers of Fentanyl and other illicit substances during their Health courses. In addition, campuses have periodic awareness special events and signage to raise awareness throughout the year.
What can you do?
91͵ now stocks Narcan as a part of our emergency supplies on all campuses. We hope to never need to use it. Together, we can help our youth make better choices to avoid this dangerous drug and to keep it out of our schools and communities.
91͵ Pre-K and Head Start pre-registration are just around the corner! The Head Start online application for new students opened on March 4th, and online applications for Pre-Kindergarten will take place from April 1 – June 7.
Head Start is a full-day program for qualifying students ages 3 and 4. The day stats at 7:15 a.m. and ends at 2:22 p.m. This is a free, federal program for qualifying students and bus transportation is available. The program provides a learning environment that supports children’s growth in many areas such as language, literacy, and social and emotional development. Head Start emphasizes the role of parents as their child’s first and most important teacher.
Lawson hosts a full-day Pre-Kindergarten program for 4-year-old students. The Pre-K school day begins at 7:15 a.m. and ends at 2:22 p.m. The program is free for qualifying students, and bus services to and from the student’s home or daycare (must be located within 91͵ boundaries) are offered. Some of the qualifying criteria include if child is non-English or limited English (not fluent) speaker. Family is homeless, Child is/was in foster care in the state of Texas (Form #2085 from DFPS required), Parent is on active military duty or has been killed/injured in action.
The focus of the Pre-Kindergarten program is to develop oral language, prerequisite skills for emergent readers and early math concepts, and to build readiness skills for successful entry into kindergarten.
Our goal is to build readiness skills for students to be successful in kindergarten.
Recently, 91͵’s Lawson Early Childhood School created an interactive grocery store classroom, where students get to engage in hands-on exploration. The students participate in several jobs including: stocker, cashier, bagger, floral shop, coffee shop, and ice cream shop. In each “job,” students practice social and math skills essential to academic success.
Six 91͵ seniors from McKinney Boyd High School, McKinney High School and McKinney North High School who qualified in the fall as National Merit Semifinalists have been named Finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Richard Jeong, an 11th grader at McKinney Boyd High School, has achieved what only about one-quarter of 1 percent of ACT test takers accomplish—earning the highest possible composite score of 36 on the ACT.
Empowering student voices in guidance: 91͵ student Natalie Rangel joined with Dr. Jeff Cranmore at the Texas School Counselor Conference in San Antonio, February. Together, they explored innovative ways to involve students in shaping campus guidance. From lesson design to active participation, they advocate for working with students to support all students.
Nelli Helton teaches art at Dowell Middle School, and her plan to connect cultures unfolded this fall and winter between her 8th grade students and art students from Kyiv, Ukraine.
On February 23 and 24, 91͵ 8th Grade Gifted & Talented English classes participated in the annual Mock Trial that takes place at the McKinney Collin County Courthouse. The Mock Trial is a two-day event that consist of 15 91͵ teams as well as teams from other districts.
On August 8, 2024, 91͵ will open preschool programs at Bennett Elementary and Malvern Elementary
The 91͵ Two-Way Dual Language Program offered at Caldwell Elementary will be accepting applications from February 20, 2024, through May 7, 2024, for the 2024-2025 school year.
Serenity High will host their 2nd Annual Fundraising Breakfast on Tuesday, April 2 from 8-9:30 a.m. at the 91͵ Community Event Center. The event will feature a keynote from attorney, author and mental health awareness and recovery advocate Brian Cuban. Click the link below to learn more.