Frisco ISD Council of PTAs News

LETTER FROM DR. FOUCHE

Dear Frisco ISD PTA Members,

As I step into my new role as superintendent, I want to share how honored I am to continue serving this incredible community. Having been part of the Frisco ISD family for a number of years, I have seen firsthand the vital role our PTA plays in making our schools feel like home. Your partnership is an important part of our District’s success.

As we look toward the future together, my primary focus remains on three key pillars:

Student-Centered Growth: Ensuring every child has the resources and support to reach their full potential.
Fiscal Stewardship: Maintaining the long-term financial health of our district while managing our unique growth.
Strengthening Partnerships: Fostering transparent, collaborative relationships between our schools and the families we serve.

As we prepare for the conclusion of the school year, I also want to highlight an exciting opportunity for our students. This year, we are hosting our first ever Frisco ISD Summer Camps, and we have more than 50 exciting camps available. These camps are taught by FISD teachers and include STEM, Literacy, and Fine Arts and more for rising kindergarten through 6th grade students. With flexible full day and half-day options, we hope these programs provide both enrichment and convenience for your families.

I would be grateful if you could share these camp opportunities with your friends, family, and neighbors. You can find more information and sign up for a camp on the District website.

Thank you for your warm welcome and your unwavering dedication to our students. I look forward to everything we will accomplish together.

With gratitude,

Dr. Todd Fouche

Superintendent of Schools

LETTER FROM COUNCIL PRESIDENT

Hello Frisco ISD Families,

The end of the year is our celebration season, and one of our biggest highlights is our Life Membership Ceremony, where we honor our most dedicated teachers and volunteers. This year, we celebrated 127 award recipients, and the event was especially memorable because it was the first parent event attended by Dr. Fouche as our new Frisco ISD Superintendent.

Our Council proudly presented Dr. Mike Waldrip with the Extended Service Award, the highest award a volunteer can earn through Texas PTA, in recognition of his 44 years of dedicated service to children and youth. We are incredibly grateful for his support throughout the years. As one of our Advocate members, he has joined all 73 PTAs in our district year after year, demonstrating his genuine commitment to our students and community. We wish him a happy and well-deserved retirement and thank him for the lasting impact he has made.

We also had the opportunity to celebrate our PTA scholarship recipients during our PTA Celebration Night at Riders Field. This year, thanks to your support, our Council and local PTAs awarded a total of $75,600 in scholarships to graduating seniors. It was wonderful to celebrate these students and their accomplishments, and we wish them all the best as they begin their college journeys.

Enjoy your summer break, and we look forward to an exciting and successful 2026–2027 school year!

Sincerely,

Clemencia Cole

President, Frisco ISD Council of PTAs

2026-2027 PTA COUNCIL

Congratulations to our newly-elected and installed PTA Council Board Officers! Thank you for your commitment to our students, schools, staff and community!

President - Cyndi Arakas
1st VP, Aide to President - Ryon Orendain
2nd VP, Membership - Jessica Dupre
3rd VP, Leadership Development - Clemencia Cole
4th VP, Programs - Nadia Beg
5th VP, Ways & Means - Sonia Bhatia Lopes
Treasurer - Teresa Velvaluri
Secretary - Rebecca Burnside

MEMBERSHIP

Thanks to you, Frisco ISD has 22,146 Members as of May 15th, which represents 90% of the total number of members we had last year. 542 memberships have been sold through our Membership District Initiative this year. Your support and commitment help strengthen our efforts and make a positive impact on students, families, and schools.

VOICE FOR EVERY CHILD

We are proud to celebrate four school PTAs that achieved the Voice for Every Child Platinum Award for recruiting members equal to at least 100% of their campus student enrollment. Congratulations on your outstanding achievement!

MEMBERSHIP SUPPORTERS

Thank you to all of our Community Members who joined through our Membership District Initiative this year. Your support and commitment help strengthen our efforts and make a positive impact on students, families, and schools!

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP AWARDS & EXTENDED SERVICE AWARDS

The Honorary Life Membership and Extended Service Award Ceremony was held on April 9th at Lebanon Trail High School. Congratulations to all 114 Honorary Life Membership Award recipients and 13 Extended Service Award recipients recognized by 63 local PTAs. These volunteers were honored for their outstanding service and dedication to our students.

This year, approximately 300 attendees joined us and heard inspiring messages from FISD Superintendent Dr. Todd Fouche, Texas PTA Vice President of Advocacy Rachael Abell, and School Board President Dynette Davis. Congratulations to all our extraordinary volunteers!

LEAD ACADEMY AWARDS

The Frisco ISD Council of PTAs is pleased to celebrate local volunteers, as well as PTAs / PTSAs or campuses for their outstanding leadership in exemplifying the qualities of LEAD Academy -- Learn. Engage. Advocate. Drive. Local volunteers are nominated to receive a LEAD Award, and nominations are also accepted for campuses or PTAs.

We are proud to recognize this year's LEAD Award Winners! Thank you for your dedication, creativity and enthusiasm! We are grateful for your leadership in our community!

Congratulations to Robertson Elementary PTA for receiving this year's Campus Kudos Award!

SAVE THE DATE

For our new and returning PTA volunteers at our local campuses, please save the date for our in-depth BACK TO SCHOOL training and orientation for the next school year!

Wednesday, August 26, 2026 from 6:00-8:30pm

We will have a training session for every single PTA role / position to set you up for success throughout the school year, so please plan to attend! Stay tuned for more details!

FEF SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

We were thrilled to celebrate 140 outstanding scholars from the Frisco Education Foundation at the RoughRiders game on April 24! These incredible students were recognized for their hard work, dedication, and commitment to excellence in front of a cheering crowd.

It was a night filled with pride, community spirit, and well-deserved recognition. Congratulations to all of our scholarship recipients—you inspire us, and we can’t wait to see the amazing things you’ll accomplish next!

NATIONAL SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE

Congratulations to seven new schools for being recognized as National PTA Schools of Excellence for the 2024–2026 program period!

The National PTA School of Excellence recognition program helps PTAs open lines of communication and use critical thinking to make data-driven decisions to increase and sustain impactful family engagement.

LAUNCH 2026 SCHOLARSHIPS

Texas PTA hosts a summer training and leadership conference every year for PTA and PTSA volunteers: LAUNCH 2026! Early registration ($135 fee) has a deadline of June 12, and regular registration ($175 fee) has a deadline of July 5, and week of LAUNCH and onsite registration ($250 fee).

Frisco ISD Council of PTAs awards LAUNCH scholarships to support training and leadership development among our local PTA board members, particularly for PTAs with no or limited budget for trainings.

To be eligible for consideration, the local PTA must:
1. Be in good standing with Texas PTA at the time of application;
2. Paid 2025-2026 dues to the Frisco ISD Council of PTAs;
3. Campus representation (president, principal, or council delegate) at a minimum of one council meeting in the application’s fiscal year;
4. Submit an application with the following information:
a. Year-to-date financial report showing budget-to-actual income and expenses;
b. 2026-2027 Preliminary Budget
c. List of potential attendee names and positions for upcoming fiscal year who are committed to attending if awarded a scholarship;

Recipient selection shall be based on the following:
1. Holding an executive board position in the upcoming fiscal year (includes officers, standing committee chairs, and any other executive board members as defined in the local PTA’s bylaws and standing rules);
2. Financial need of the campus PTA; and
3. Alignment of actual expenses to Texas PTA mission and purposes;

The award shall be on a per-person basis and provided in one payment (for LAUNCH early registration fees), made payable to the recipient’s local PTA. The awarded funds must be used towards LAUNCH registration only. (No reimbursement of hotel, gas/mileage, or food expenses.)

To be considered for a scholarship, please complete this application with required additional documentation. If you have questions, please contact Council Treasurer, treasurer@friscopta.org. Applications are due May 31 before 11:59pm. Furthermore, please be sure that all of your required documents are saved with your local PTA name as part of the document title.

We hope to see you at LAUNCH 2026!

FRISCO THREADS STUDENT CLOTHES CLOSET

2025-2026 COUNCIL PARTNERS

The support of these generous Community Partners makes it possible for FISD Council of PTAs to support our local PTAs and PTSAs across 73 campuses in Frisco ISD! We are grateful for your support and generosity during 2026-2026 and look forward to continuing our partnership in the coming school year!

2025-2026 COUNCIL OFFICERS

THANK YOU

Thank you to our 2026-2026 Frisco ISD Council of PTAs Officers for your incredible leadership! Our entire community is stronger because of your hard work. We look forward to another wonderful year with our volunteers who will be returning next school year!