Wylie ISD Community News
January 25, 2024
Celebrating the 2023-24 Teachers and Paraprofessionals of the Year
Through a celebration-filled tour around the district, the Wylie ISD Board of Trustees, Superintendent Dr. David Vinson and other district leadership announced and recognized the 2023-24 campus Teachers and Paraprofessionals of the Year!
From assemblies to classroom pop-ins, each campus announced its teacher of the year in a unique way. Campuses also invited the families of our TOY and POY winners to help with the surprise, and there were many smiles and happy tears to go around!
These fantastic educators were selected by their peers and will represent their campus in the upcoming district Teacher of the Year and Paraprofessional of the Year competitions.
The 2023-24 Wylie ISD Campus Teachers of the Year are:
- Jason Swilley | Akin Elementary School
- Nevien Albanna-Wilson | Birmingham Elementary School
- Ashley Barrett | Bush Elementary School
- Lorena Reyes | Cox Elementary School
- Susan Rose | Dodd Elementary School
- Ffion Zarcaro | Groves Elementary School
- Tiffany Montez | Hartman Elementary School
- Terri Knagg | Smith Elementary School
- Melanie Brune | Tibbals Elementary School
- Eric Trauthwein | Watkins Elementary School
- Miranda Huggins | Whitt Elementary School
- Tiffany Shankles | Davis Intermediate School
- Christina Phu | Draper Intermediate School
- Jordan Hutchison | Harrison Intermediate School
- Melissa Poston | Burnett Junior High School
- John Poe | Cooper Junior High School
- Susan Carlisle | McMillan Junior High School
- Patty Maxwell | Wylie East High School
- Kimberly Campbell | Wylie High School
- Nicholette Terzis | Achieve Academy
The 2023-24 Wylie ISD Campus Paraprofessionals of the Year are:
- Jennifer McGovern | Akin Elementary School
- Emilee Fisk | Birmingham Elementary School
- Nikki Keith | Bush Elementary School
- Edna Hernandez | Cox Elementary School
- Nicole Stevens | Dodd Elementary School
- Gloria Arce | Groves Elementary School
- Tami Harris | Hartman Elementary School
- Ashlea Petzold | Smith Elementary School
- Emily Wilson | Tibbals Elementary School
- Emily Gilchrist | Watkins Elementary School
- Patricia Shahan | Whitt Elementary School
- Ashley Blagburn | Davis Intermediate School
- Jami Henry | Draper Intermediate School
- Lorna Bradford | Harrison Intermediate School
- Diana Martinez | Burnett Junior High School
- Leanna LaRose | Cooper Junior High School
- Ana Sanchez Delgadillo | McMillan Junior High School
- Jamie Williams | Wylie East High School
- Beth McPherson | Wylie High School
- Collin Kaiser | Achieve Academy
District News
Wylie ISD Named School District Finalist in 2024 H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards Program
H-E-B has named Wylie ISD a school district finalist in its 22nd annual Excellence in Education Awards program. Wylie ISD is one of only five districts statewide to be named a finalist in the “large district” category. This is the second time Wylie ISD has been named a district finalist by H-E-B in three years.
“We are honored to be recognized for a second time for the great work happening in our district,” Superintendent Dr. David Vinson said. “Our community is the best around, and we can’t wait to welcome H-E-B into our schools so they can see firsthand the excellence in our classrooms. We are grateful for H-E-B’s ongoing support of public education.”
The H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards is the largest monetary awards program for educators in Texas and one of the largest in the nation. Since the program’s inception, H-E-B has awarded more than $13 million in funding to benefit outstanding Texas public schools. The grocer’s school district awards category honors those committed to student achievement, parent and community involvement, and professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators.
For the next phase of the awards process, a panel of judges will visit the district in early February. The panel will tour two campuses and meet with various district representatives, including students, staff, and community members. After visiting each district finalist, judges will determine overall statewide winners. H-E-B will announce winners at the Excellence in Education Awards ceremony in Houston in early May. The winning large district will receive $100,000. All large district finalists will receive $5,000.
Wylie ISD is joined by Allen ISD (Allex, TX), Galena Park ISD (Harris County, TX), Klein ISD (Klein, TX), and Pasadena ISD (Pasadena, TX) as large district finalists.
WHS Junior Develops App for Touch Football
When he’s not kicking a soccer ball, he’s kicking around code to develop a software application.
For the last three months, Wylie High School junior Malik Savage has developed a graphical user interface to enhance the interactive sport of two-hand touch football.
The interactive football technology uses conductive thread wrapped around the football with active electronics in the jersey and glove. This thread communicates with the WAAVS unit to catalog the actions of players. The WAAVS unit is a device that plugs into the PC or laptop, reads the code, translates it to serial data, which is then output into a meaningful graphical user interface.
“It sends that data back to a WAAVS unit,” Savage said. “I developed the part where you plug your computer into the WAAVS unit where it decodes serial data and displays it into a graphical user interface that makes it easy to see what happens in the game.”
You can read more about Malik's work by reading the full story on our website.
Week in Photos
Happening Around Town
951 South Ballard Avenue, Wylie, TX, USA
972.429.3000
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