2025-2026 Bearcat Blast

Please take note of upcoming student and staff holidays! Friday, August 29, is a student holiday and staff workday. Monday, September 1, will be a holiday for both student and staff in observance of Labor Day. We hope you'll take this time to relax and recharge, and we will see everyone back in class on Tuesday, September 2!

Bearcat Nation, thank you for being All in Aledo Friday night at Meet the Bearcats & Ladycats! What an incredible kickoff to the football and volleyball seasons, complete with autographs and outstanding performances from the Bearcat Dance Team and Aledo High School Cheerleaders. Moments like these are #ExceptionalExperiences that highlight the heart of our community and what makes being a Bearcat so special.

Click here or the button below to take a look at some of our favorite Meet the Bearcats & Ladycats moments through our lens.

Starting this school year, the first Wednesday of every month is College & Career Readiness Day! Bearcats, show off your future path by rocking a shirt from your favorite college, career, or military branch. Together, we’re celebrating goals, inspiring dreams, and Growing Greatness - the Aledo way. Let’s go All in Aledo as we build a future-ready culture!

The very first one is NEXT WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3. Don’t miss it!

For the seventh consecutive year, the Aledo ISD Board of Trustees adopted a budget that included a lower tax rate on Monday night, lowering the rate by $0.0110, bringing the seven-year total reduction to more than $0.40.

“It has taken three years of tough decisions and continued fiscal responsibility to be able to pass a balanced budget this year, so we are grateful to Superintendent Dr. Susan Bohn, CFO Earl Husfeld and our entire staff for doing the difficult work to get us to this point,” Aledo ISD Board of Trustees President Forrest Collins said. “We are grateful for this work and thankful to be able to prioritize teacher and staff pay with the additional funding given to us by the Texas legislature.

Over the last six years, the Maintenance and Operations side of the tax rate has been compressed after the passing of House Bill 3 in 2019. Trustees adopted a new total tax rate of $1.1942 on Monday night.

The Aledo ISD Board of Trustees voted to approve the charge and purpose as well as to appoint new members to the 2025-2026 Aledo Growth Committee on Monday night.

This new committee - which is composed of many members of the 2022-2023 Aledo Growth Committee plus new parent, staff and community member representatives to fill vacancies - is only working on future facilities planning, specifically future high school space planning and visioning.

“The input, ideas and approval of our community are invaluable as we continue to grow and look toward additional high school space,” Aledo ISD Board President Forrest Collins said. “We want to maintain what it means to be Growing Greatness in our community while being prudent in our decision making and fiscally responsible with our taxpayer dollars. I am excited to see what the AGC works on and ultimately recommends.”

The district’s growth has slowed since the formation of the 2022-2023 AGC so in an effort to be proactive in long range facilities planning, the 2025-2026 AGC’s scope is limited to planning and design; they will not at this time be developing or recommending a bond package to the Board of Trustees. The 2025-2026 AGC will play a key role in working with the community to shape and refine conceptual designs that may be used in a future bond proposal once student enrollment reaches a level that necessitates additional capacity.

During the 2025-2026 school year, it will be imperative to know where each student is academically at the start of the year so that we can ensure that instruction aligns to individual student needs. In order to obtain this information and monitor progress throughout the school year, the district will be administering an academic screener in math and reading according to the schedule below.

Pre-Kindergarten:

CIRCLE Progress Monitoring Reading and Math Assessment

• CIRCLE Progress Monitoring Webpage
• BOY Screener Window: September 15th-October 8th

mCLASS Texas Reading Assessment

• mCLASS Parent Information Guide
• Guía de información para padres de mCLASS
• BOY Screener Window: August 25th-September 12th

IXL Diagnostic Math Assessment

• IXL Parent Information Guide
• Guía de información para padres IXL
• BOY Screener Window: August 25th-September 26th

MAP Growth Reading and Math Assessment

• MAP Growth Parent Information Guide
• Guía de información para padres de MAP Growth
• BOY Screener Windows:
• Elementary Campuses: September 2-4
• Secondary Campuses: September 9-11

Students at Lynn McKinney Elementary had the opportunity to try out some delicious and nutritious "Apple Fires" with yogurt dip at lunch.

Breakfast for lunch at all campuses on September 28!

Aledo High School senior James Leising shares how his lifelong passions for rocketry and music took flight in Aledo ISD. Supported by exceptional teachers and staff, James discovered a love for the oboe in 6th grade and grew into his role as drum major for the Aledo High School Bearcat Regiment. His journey shows that In Aledo ISD, if you can DREAM IT, you can DO IT. From the practice field to the launch pad, James is Growing Greatness through Exceptional Experiences - and he’s All in Aledo.

Our Aledo ISD Police Department is implementing a new EXIT traffic pattern for after varsity home football games at Tim Buchanan Stadium. Please study this map and consider parking based on which way you are traveling after the game. Just as with new traffic patterns at schools the first week of school, we ask that you are patient with us as we implement this. We will communicate any changes that will help refine this process, if needed, after the first game.

As always, we will have Aledo ISD police officers directing traffic, and you should expect delays and traffic on Friday night home games. Gates will open an hour before kickoff for each home game. Parking lots are open at 4:30 p.m., and the road directly in front of Tim Buchanan Stadium will be blocked off for pedestrians only beginning an hour before kickoff.

With the start of the new school year, it's time to refresh your Bearcat apparel with new pieces from the Aledo ISD Bearcat Store! Along with the Texas Rangers x Aledo ISD Cody Bradford jerseys, you can find (youth and adult sizes) baseball hats, sweatshirts, vintage t-shirts, polos and more!

The Bearcat Store is open Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. in the Administration Building Lobby. The Aledo ISD Bearcat Store follows the Aledo ISD schedule for closures.

Give the Bearcat Store a like and follow to stay up-to-date on all of our new merch!

• Facebook
• Instagram

Aledo ISD and the Aledo Education Foundation are partnering once again for the Bearcat Backer program, and we'd love your support!

As our district is #GrowingGreatness through exceptional experiences that empower learners for life, we are committed to fostering relationships and partnerships with our outstanding businesses and organizations to help support our Bearcats. Your partnership provides a direct investment and benefit to our Bearcatstudents and staff.

If your business is interested in joining our Bearcat Backers program, please visit our Bearcat Backers webpage that includes sponsorship levels as well as a commitment form to fill out.

Platinum Sponsors:

EECU Credit Union
Loyal Laundry
Magnolia Learning Academy
Mathnasium of Aledo
Myser Orthodontics
The Atkins Agency
United Educators Association
W Dental
Wholesale Payments

Gold Level Sponsors

Christi James - TWFG Insurance Services
First Financial Bank
Institute for Hormonal Balance
Nothing Bundt Cakes
P1 Roofing and Solar
Redwood Financial

Silver Level Sponsors

Bearcat Financial Network
Brookshire's
Kisselburgh Law Firm
The Little Gym of Aledo
One Rock Carwash
SBK Electrical

Bronze Level Sponsors

Aaron Valencia, The A GAME Agent, Realtor
Aledo InterBank
Bigfoot Ink
First Bank
NBT Financial Bank
Paradigm Wealth Management
Turquant Builder Services

As a reminder, we have streamlined absence reporting for all of our campuses for this school year. It is very important that we have documented reasons for absences so that we can ensure your student is given an excused absence when needed. Click here or the button below for the Absence Reporting Form!

There are many Aledo ISD team members who are doing great work every single day! You can nominate any employee serving in the district for the Circle of Greatness Award.

We are looking for employees who are bringing Aledo ISD #GrowingGreatness to life, positively impacting our community, and helping us grow each and every Aledo ISD student. Click here or the button below to recognize a staff member today!

The intent behind House Bill 1481 is to limit distractions in the classroom and across campus so students can stay focused on learning. As a public school district, our Board of Trustees must adopt a policy that implements the law. Click here or the button below to learn more and check out common frequently asked questions!

Each Aledo ISD student has access to nutritious and delicious meals prepared by our amazing Child Nutrition staff. Breakfast and lunch are served everyday throughout the school week. Click here or the button below to view this month's breakfast and lunch menus.

The Bearcat Blast E-Newletter is managed by the Aledo ISD Communications Department. To submit news items, email communications@aledoisd.org.

https://www.aledoisd.org/
1008 Bailey Ranch Road, Aledo, TX • Phone: 817-441-8327
Facebook: facebook.com/AledoISD • Twitter: @AledoISD