Welcome to Steele ECHS

Welcome to Steele Nation!

Welcome everyone to the new school year. We are so excited to see our new Steele students and to see our students returning from last year. We have an incredible school with awesome students and outstanding teachers. Already this summer, we had four students compete at Microsoft Nationals and Steele Junior, Noah Kiura placed 3rd. Congratulations to Noah Kiura, Valerie Abai, Leilani Lopez, and Aryan Singh. Checkout the story here. Great things are happening in Steele Nation!

Below we have important information about Summer Bridge, Fish Camp, Meet the Stallions Night, Green Cord program, and so much more. In addition, make sure you are following our Steele Campus Calendar and our Steele Social Media accounts (see below). Every two weeks, you'll receive a Steele Newsletter from me, usually on Sunday. Take time to keep up on Steele updates, events, activities, and so much more.

This summer we have had students completing hundreds of hours of volunteering and community service. We have an online system called x2VOL for verifying and keeping track of the hours our students volunteer. I encourage all students to get active in our Green Cord program, see the information below.

Senior Parking Spots and student parking passes are currently on sale in the front office. Senior Parking Spots will be available to purchase from July 21 through August 14th at 1:00 pm.

As you have heard, there is a new state law that prohibits students from using personal digital communication devices during the school day. Click HERE to see the announcement from NISD. I will have more information about this new law in our August newsletter.

Enjoy the summer and we'll see you soon! We Are Steele!

Todd Rogers, Steele ECHS Principal

A huge shoutout to our 25-26 Steele student leaders and sponsors in Student Council (StuCo), National Honor Society (NHS), and Distributive Educational Clubs of America (DECA). Our big three student organizations lead and coordinate most of our events, activities, and programs on campus. They do an incredible job of being positive leaders on campus. They are meeting this week on campus to plan and work on programs for the 25-26 school year. We are so proud of our Steele student leaders!

A huge shoutout to Valerie for her awesome leadership this summer helping with the Northwest ISD Engage Conference. This is a large conference for all the NISD teachers and Valerie was an incredible student leader helping the conference all three days. Way to go Valerie!

The attachment below is our Steele 2025 - 2026 School Supplies list. Or Click HERE. Families needing help with school supplies can contact our Steele Counselor, Sheneka Davis, for available school supply resources. sdavis01@nisdtx.org

To register your returning student:

1. Log into the Home Access Center (HAC) and select the student you wish to register near the top right corner.

1. Select the Registration icon toward the top of the page and click the Update Enrollment tab.
2. Click on the word START to access your child's 2025-2026 enrollment form.

If you need assistance and are unable to retrieve your login credentials using the "Forgot My User Name or Password?" link on the sign-in page, please contact your student's campus

If your student will utilize the NISD bus, make sure you indicate this when you complete your registration. If you have any questions about NISD transportation, Click HERE for the NISD Transportation Department. Or you can contact them at 817-698-1287.

Afternoon Dismissal - For those parents who pick-up their student at the front of the school, we need your help. North Walnut Street in front of the school is a fairly wide city street. When vehicles park on both side curbs of the street, a single lane is created in the center of the roadway. There is enough room for one vehicle to pass through on the single lane but not much more than that. I am asking those who park out front of the school on the street, to park on the northside curb only. Please refer to the overhead view of the school below.

If all parents picking up their student would park on the northside curb (the curb closest to the school), two vehicles could still pass on N. Walnut Street. This would make it safer for the students because they would not have to cross between the vehicles on a congested street. This would also make it easier for emergency equipment (Police/Fire/EMS) to use N. Walnut Street to respond to an emergency here in Roanoke. The City of Roanoke is currently looking at placing signs on this section of the roadway to ensure the safety of those who travel on N. Walnut Street. Thank you for your help.

Here is a good article with questions you should ask when visiting a university/college, Click HERE.

Seniors (Class of 2026),

The college application for UNT is now open in ApplyTexas (opened July 1st) and it opens on August 1st in Common App. You can now apply to UNT through ApplyTexas. Reminder, many universities/colleges applications open on August 1st. Don’t wait, make sure you apply early!

We Are Steele! Go Stallions!

July 29 - Summer Bridge (8:00 am - 4:30 pm)

August 11 - Fish Camp (5:30 pm - 7:00 pm)

August 11 - Meet the Stallions Night (7:00 pm - 8:30 pm)

August 13 - First Day of School (School starts at 8:15 am) (Front Doors open at 7:45 am)

August 15 - School Picture Day (8:15 am - 12:00 noon)

We are here to help and support all our students and families. If you have any questions about the classroom, our Steele teachers are always available to help. Below are a few of our office staff available to help and support our Steele families.

Dorian Ruiz - Attendance, Front Desk, & Registrar - dorian.ruizrivera@nisdtx.org

Mrs. Ruiz can help you with questions about attendance, registration/enrollment, who to contact, and other Steele questions.

Kimberly Flanagin - Office Manager - kimberly.flanagin@nisdtx.org

Mrs. Flanagin can help you with questions about payments/fines, events/activities, who to contact, and other Steele questions.

Sheneka Davis - Counselor - sdavis01@nisdtx.org

Mrs. Davis can help you with questions about schedule, dual credit, graduation, college/career/military readiness, CTE, academic planning, and other counseling topics.

Kendra Langston - ECHS Facilitator - klangston@nisdtx.org

As the ECHS Facilitator, Mrs. Langston, can help with questions about dual credit, TCC, academic planning, and the ECHS program.

James Stueart - Assistant Principal - jstueart@nisdtx.org

Mr. Stueart can help with all Steele questions, attendance, day-to-day operations, safety & security, Behavior Coordinator, ECHS, academics, and so much more.

Todd Rogers - Principal - trogers@nisdtx.org

Mr. Rogers is here to help and support all students and families.

Hello Steele Early College High School students! As a reminder, you are invited to participate in the Steele ECHS Summer Bridge on July 29th. This one-day event will allow all new ECHS students to “Bridge” their learning to the rigor and expectations of the collegiate level. As you know, you will begin your first college classes as a freshman, and we want to help you be best prepared for this new academic adventure.

Summer Bridge includes honing skills that students will need to maximize success in dual credit collegiate work as well as registering for fall dual credit classes. As a reminder, students MUST have their TCC ID numbers as well as have taken the TSIA exam in order to register for dual credit classes.

Details for Summer Bridge:

· What: Steele ECHS Summer Bridge

· When: July 29

· Time: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

· Where: Steele ECHS (students can enter through the front door)

· Bring: Student computer and charger

· Lunch: Provided (if a student has dietary restrictions, please bring a sack lunch with you)

• Morning Schedule: students will be learning and refining skills to help them be best prepared for high school and collegiate work; we will be exclusively on the Steele campus for the morning and lunch sessions
• Afternoon Schedule: students will go on a field trip to TCC; our bus will leave at 12:30 pm Students will then return to Steele at the end of the day in which I will be meeting individually with them to make sure all documents/testing needed by TCC is complete. Students must return their signed permission slip on Tuesday (July 29) morning in order to participate in the TCC trip. I am including an attachment of the permission slip below.

All Steele Freshmen and students new to Steele have Fish Camp on Monday, August 11th from 5:30 pm till 7:00 pm at Steele ECHS. This is a great time to get to know other students, learn your way around Steele, and have a great time. Yes, we will have pizza! This event is just for students.

Next, we have Meet the Stallions Night on Monday, August 11th from 7:00 pm till 8:30 pm. This event is for students, parents, and families. At Meet the Stallions Night, you will meet our staff, learn about Steele programs, student schedule pick-up, Nurse/medications, dual credit, CTE, transportation, food services, student parking, and more. We look forward to seeing all our families at Meet the Stallions! We Are Steele!

The first day of school is Wednesday, August 13 and school starts at 8:15 am. The doors to the school will open by 7:45 am or earlier.

Look your best of Friday, August 15, it's Picture Day at Steele. We'll do school pictures from 8:15 am till around 12:00 noon. Students will receive their new student ID this day.

I keep hearing about Power Hour at Steele but what is it? Everyday from 11:19 am till 12:32 pm, we have Power Hour. There are no classes during Power Hour, this is the time we have lunch, tutorials, advisory, organizations/clubs, Fun Day Friday, and more. Power Hour is broken up into two parts, Block A and Block B. This is a great time for students to get work completed and/or meet with teachers/professors for tutorials. We encourage students to be pro-active and to meet with teachers/professors before tests/exams so they are prepared to be successful.

• Monday - Half the students go to Lunch during Block A and the other half goes to Grade Level Advisory. Then they switch for Block B.
• Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday - Students get to select where they will go during Block A and Block B. They can select lunch, tutorials, enrichments, student organizations, clubs, study hall, and more. They can not select two lunches.
• Friday is Fun Day Friday - Grade levels compete against each other in the Gym playing volleyball, dodgeball, kickball, and other games. Half the students go to lunch and the other half compete in the Gym, then we switch. Students can compete in the game or cheer on their grade level. At the end of each semester, we have a pep rally celebration for the grade level that wins Fun Day Friday for that semester.

What is the Steele A-1 program? It is an incentive program to celebrate hard work, outstanding grades, great attendance, and positive choices. Students with A-1 status have additional options during Power Hour and A-1 celebrations. We review A-1 status every three weeks.

• 80% or higher in all grades
• Two or less absences for the semester
• No behavior issues
• No more than one tardy
• No zeros

Our goal is for our Freshmen to end the 25 - 26 school year with 7 college credits towards their TCC associate degree plan.

Fall Semester - Freshmen will take one college course (Learning Frameworks).

• Learning Frameworks (3 college credits)
• A study of the research and theory in the psychology of learning, cognition, and motivation; factors that impact learning; and application of learning strategies. Theoretical models of strategic learning, cognition, and motivation serve as the conceptual basis for the introduction of college-level student academic strategies.
• Students use assessment instruments (e.g., learning inventories) to help them identify their own strengths and weaknesses as strategic learners. Students are ultimately expected to integrate and apply the learning skills discussed.
• Across their own academic programs and become effective and efficient learners. Students developing these skills should be able to continually draw from the theoretical models they have learned.
  

Spring Semester - Freshmen will take two college courses. (Speech and KINE).

• Speech (3 college credits)
• Study and application of communication within the business and professional context. Special emphasis will be given to communication competencies in presentations, dyads, teams and technologically mediated formats.
  

• Introduction to Physical Fitness and Wellness (KINE) (1 college credit)

• This course will provide an overview of the lifestyle necessary for fitness and health. Students will participate in physical activities and assess their fitness status. Students will be introduced to proper nutrition, weight management, cardiovascular health, flexibility, and strength training.

During the first two weeks of school, our Steele Student Council (StuCo) will host a Freshmen Social during Power Hour. This is a great opportunity for Freshmen and new students to get to know each other and other Steele students. This event will be on Monday, August 18th during Power Hour.

Steele Stampede is our version of "Rush Week" where students can learn more about all our student organizations/clubs/UIL and how they can join. On Wednesday, August 27 during Power Hour, all our Steele student organizations, clubs, UIL, One Act Play (OAP), and more will be in the Gym at tables for all students to learn more about them. This is a great opportunity for students to learn how they can get involved at Steele.

Did you know that last year our Steele students volunteered over 10,000 hours in our communities and Steele had 55 students earn over 100 hours of volunteering in one year? We encourage all students to volunteer 100 hours a year to earn their Green Cord. Many of our students are earning volunteer hours this summer to reach their Green Cord goal.

The “Green Cord” Community Service Award Program is an initiative designed to help high school students gain a sense of community service, pride, volunteering, and ownership. The program is a way to encourage 9-12 grade students to contribute at least 100 hours of approved community service per school year (April 14, 2025 - April 12, 2026). Students meeting the requirements will be recognized as Green Cord award recipients in each high school year they complete 100 or more hours. Students in grades 9-11 will be recognized during the campus awards ceremony in May. Seniors can earn up to four Green Cords to wear at graduation (one per year).

x2VOL is the online program we use for students to record and approve their volunteer hours. Most Freshmen already have a x2VOL account. If you do not have an account, use the links below to create an account. x2VOL has a mobile app to make submitting volunteer hours easy.

Information for students to access x2VOL:

Click HERE for student information to login to their x2VOL account.

Click HERE for the video on how to login to your x2VOL account.

Click HERE for the x2VOL link

Campus CEEB is: 445889

Click HERE for more information about the Green Cord program and x2VOL for recording your hours. If you have any questions, see Mrs. Allen in room (310-B) for more information or contact our Green Cord Sponsor at jallen02@nisdtx.org.

Stay in touch with all things Steele with our campus calendar and our social media links below. Follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram. We are consistently updating the Steele Calendar, so save this link. Click on the four icons below to access our Steele Calendar and our Steele Social Media accounts.