Leopard Pride News
Every Leopard, Every Day!
January 23, 2026
STUDENT INTERVENTION DAY CANCELLED MONDAY - ALL DISTRICT OFFICES CLOSED
School Board Appreciation Month
It’s Board Appreciation month so our Board of Trustees was treated to a delicious steak dinner prepared by our Chartwells team! In addition to serving our students nutritious meals daily, they are available for catering district meals! The board members also had lots of goodies from all of our campuses as a way to say thank you for all that you do for GISD!
Board members are: Corey Hardin - President, Marvin Royal - Vice President, Nathan Dempsey -, Secretary, Latecia Hendricks, Dan Doss, Laura Otts, and Jennifer Presson.
District Students of the Month!
Congratulations to all of our January students of the month!
Bugg Kemp, 12th grade
Mailyn Jaramillo, 11th grade
Levi Liyanasuriya, 8th grade
Adalynn Love, 7th grade
Jonathan Teel , 6th grade
Oliver Tyler-Morgan, 5th grade
Barbara Mercado, 3rd grade
Kade Taylor, 3rd grade
Bryson Muthiani, 1st grade
Amarachi Emegwa, Kindergarten
Charlotte Bullard, 4-year-old class
Isael Ortez, 3-year-old class
Gainesville ISD Education Foundation
Tickets are on sale now through January 31st! Join us for the 2nd annual Winter Wonderland Dinner & Auction Gala!
------>>>> Get your tickets here! <<<<--------
Coins of Excellence
A little bit of a delayed presentation, but we are so happy to finally be able to present Coach Sagrero & Coach Franco with GISD Coins of Excellence for the Cross Country team going to state!
January High Five Awards!
Congratulations to our amazing teachers and staff at GISD!
Board of Trustees Election May 2
The Gainesville ISD Board of Trustees election will be held on May 2, 2026. The three trustees places that are on the ballot are:
Place 1, held by Latecia Hendricks (3-year term)
Place 2, held by Marvin Royal (3-year term)
Place 3, held by Dan Doss (3-year term)
Candidate packets are available at the GISD Administration building at 900 N. Grand Ave. and may be returned between January 14 - February 13. Office hours are Monday - Thursday 8am - 4:30pm, Friday 8am - 4pm.
Early voting will take place on weekdays between the hours of 8 am - 5pm at the Gainesville Civic Center beginning April 20 and ending April 28.
For all election information, please visit our election page.
HOSA Area Competition
Our Health Science students have been preparing all year for the Area competition! We are so proud of their hard work! Congratulations to Nurse Dunn and Nurse Lawson!
Sadie Larraga - Medical Assisting - 2nd Place - State Qualifier
Julianna Rivera - Patient Care Technician - 2nd Place - State Qualifier
Reese Dunn & Lilly Allen - Health Career Display - 2nd Place - State Qualifiers
Addisyn Putnam - 5th Place - Clinical Nursing
Hazel Becerra - 5th Place - Patient Care Technician
Jasmine Alzubi - 5th Place Health Career Photography
Jessa Burk - 8th Place Medical Spelling
Mia Rodriguez - 9th Place Medical Spelling
TMEA All-Region Band Clinic & Concert
Andres Costilla, William Drew, Phoenix Kemp, Autumn Farr Overstreet, Rithika Chitoor, Ruby Kemp, Jazmin Huerta, Emily Flores all performed at the TMEA All-Region Band Clinic & Concert. Congratulations on this achievement!
Nortex Communications Cooke County Shootout
7th Grade Runner Up
8th Grade Champions
TMEA All-Region Band Clinic & Concert
Eric Zamora and George Fields performed alongside other junior high and high school students at the All-Region Band Clinic & Concert. Congratulations on this achievement!
**Gainesville Intermediate**
GIS robotics students did great at the TYRA Robotics competition in Sulphur Springs. They all had excellent sportsmanship, scored points, and collaborated with other elementary school and junior high teams. We had one team make finals, and they ended up in 6th place out of 33 teams! Congratulations Jordan Fields, Cannon Turnham, and Lorenzo Lerma.
Download the SMART Tag Parent App for Bus Riders!
We are excited to introduce the SMART Tag system for our bus riders! The system began rollout in the spring and is now used for all bus riders at all campuses.
Beginning Saturday, December 13, you can download the SMART Tag parent app. The app is available for ios and android. https://www.qbit.codes/q/smart-tag-parent-app.
App registration begins with the Primary Parent – the parent associated with the student in the school district’s system. The primary parent must complete their app registration and confirm their student before any co-parent can register for them. Co-parents who wish to register for a student must submit a request to the primary parent within the app. In cases where there’s no response from the primary parent, the school district can review and approve.
Please visit our transportation website for additional details on the SMART Tag system as well as the Parent App. https://www.gainesvilleisd.org/departments/transportation/smart-tag
Nominate at GISD staff member for a High Five Award!
The Leopard High Five program is a way to salute any Gainesville ISD employee who goes above and beyond for our students, staff, and community. Whether you are a parent impressed with a specific interaction with your child, or you are a coworker who thinks the campus secretary doesn't hear often enough about the great job she is doing - you can send a Leopard High Five! Nominations can be made by any staff member, parent, or community member, and any GISD employee is eligible to be nominated for a High Five.
All nominations should include a specific example of how this staff member has gone above and beyond for a student, a peer, or the community and must align with one or more of our GISD core beliefs: Equity, Excellence, Diversity, Innovation, Partnership, Safe and Comfortable Environment.
Stayalert
As a vital partner within our district, we want to take this opportunity to inform you about our district’s participation in the StayALERT School Safety Program. StayALERT is a safe and secure place to confidentially or anonymously report unsafe behaviors, suspicious activities, bullying, acts of violence, harassment, and any other school safety concern. Download the app to quickly make a report. Users may report concerns 24/7/365 via any of the five reporting modes:
1) Call or Text 1-206-406-6485
2) Report Online: www.stayalert.info
3) Send an E-mail: report@stayalert.info
4) Download the app: www.stayalert.info/stayalertapp
In a time when concerns for school and student safety are paramount, we would ask that you be aware of this tool for both your own use and to help bring awareness to the students within our district.
Note: StayALERT is NOT a substitute for reporting an emergency. Please call 911 or your local police, fire or EMS if there is an urgent situation.
Stay Connected!
Follow our official district and campus social media accounts:
Facebook
- District @gainesvilleisd
- Athletics: @leopardathletics
- GHS @ghsleopards
- GJH @gainesvillejuniorhigh
- GIS @gainesvilleintermediate
- Chalmers @chalmerselementary
- Edison @gisdedison
- Head Start @gainesvilleheadstart
- District @gisdleopards
YouTube
- District @gainesvilleisd