Thank you Dr. Waggoner!

The beginning of the Spring Break marks the end of Dr. Waggoner's tenure as superintendent of GCISD. Under Dr. Waggoner's leadership, the district saw dramatic changes. In the last 6 years, our TAKS scores increased significantly, earning our district the Recognized status from the Texas Education Agency. We also have 10 out of 17 (traditional) campuses ranked Exemplary. The district continued to earn the Superior Achievement rating under the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas.

Our district has a graduation rate of 95%, and has one of the strongest Advance Placement programs in North Texas.  Our students continue to scored significantly higher than state and national averages on ACT ad SAT college entrance exams.

During her time in our district, GCISD established important partnerships with the JPS Health Network (health clinic), Alliance Waste Management (recycling program) and the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital (Dyslexia program). The district also opened the Early Childhood Development Center for children of our employees. Finally, GCISD passed the 2005 Bond program, and completed all related projects on time and under budget.

Thank you Dr. Waggoner for your excellent service to GCISD!

The search for a new superintendent

On February 20th, our School Board officially started the process to find a new superintendent for GCISD. The process started with the selection of the search firm that will assist us in finding the candidates to be considered. After the search firm is selected, the process moves to the development of the profile for the position.

There are many important characteristics the superintendent for GCISD should have. I believe it all starts with strong leadership, but there are others traits we need to have. A strong communicator and motivator, high ethical and moral standards, strong focus on college readiness, curriculum and instruction background and fiscal responsibility are also highly important when considering candidates.

I would like to hear from you! Please feel free to post your comments on what kind of superintendent you would like to see leading GCISD.

Dual Language Camp Out at Silver Lake Elementary

The parents for 18 kindergarten students camped out yesterday night in front of Silver Lake Elementary, as they wanted to be the first in line to sign up for the new dual language immersion program at the school. I had the opportunity to speak with the parents at the camp out, and they were extremely excited for the opportunity to take part of this great program. If the program is successful at Silver Lake, GCISD will consider expanding it to Cannon and Timberline Elementary Schools.

Our dual language program was featured in today's news on CBS 11.