Each month, after our board meetings, McKinney ISD will provide our community with a brief summary of events and items covered during the session. Visit the Board of Trustees page for more information.

The McKinney ISD Board of Trustees approved the 2025–2026 MISD school calendar at their regular meeting on Monday, December 16, and it is now available on the MISD website.

You can view the calendar here: https://5il.co/33c51

The 2025-2026 school year will begin on August 12, and will conclude on May 21, with graduation for all three high schools planned for May 22 at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen.

"The district had several goals while putting together the 2025–2026 calendar," said Dr. Shelly Spaulding, MISD assistant superintendent of public relations, communications, and support services. "We wanted to seek input from our stakeholders, and we utilized a variety of staff, student, and parent committees and groups to gather feedback. It was also important that it remain in line with Collin College and neighboring districts; that the school year would start in August and conclude before Memorial Day; that we offer professional learning opportunities throughout the school year for our teachers and staff; and that it would again this year include a Fall Break for students and teachers. And, we were able to achieve all of those goals."

Click here to learn more.

A Community-Based Accountability System (CBAS) empowers our McKinney ISD community, students, parents, and educators to design their own assessment and accountability systems. Developed from community input, it’s part of our McKinney ISD Strategic Plan, outlining goals and strategies measured by CBAS.

CBAS tells unique student stories beyond standardized testing, complementing state ratings. It uses various measures, not just tests, reflecting students, parents, and staff. CBAS offers a comprehensive view of our system’s strengths, challenges, and progress toward community-defined educational outcomes.

This journey began in the Fall of 2023 through our work on our McKinney ISD Strategic Plan, the Texas Public Accountability Consortium (TPAC), and a mission to discover what matters most to our community when it comes to education. Surveys and committee meetings revealed areas of interest that matter most to our stakeholders.

Each year, McKinney ISD will publish this report on those specific indicators showing both performance and progress overtime.

Click here to review the McKinney Accountability System District Scorecard.

Representatives of the United States Marine Corps presented scholarships on December 4, 2024, at McKinney High School to two MHS Marine Corps JROTC Cadets: Cadet Captain Paul Bachman III and Cadet Sergeant Major Rafael Aviles.

Each cadet received a $230,000 scholarship to assist in their tuition or room and board for college. It’s amazing for more than one applicant to receive scholarships at the same time, and we congratulate the McKinney High School JROTC program on their continuous accomplishments and successes.

Congratulations to Cockrill Library Media Specialist Lauren Scott who has been named an All-Star Librarian by the Texas Association of School Librarians for the third time!

Scott began her career in McKinney ISD 18 years ago at Wilmeth Elementary where she taught kindergarten through second grade. After earning her master’s degree in library science, she served as the media resource specialist at McKinney North High School and is currently the library media specialist at Cockrill Middle School.

Scott was the 2021 Cockrill Middle School Teacher of the Year and has served in numerous leadership roles across the district, as well as through the Texas Library Association (TLA) and the Texas Association of School Librarians (TxASL). She is currently on the editorial board for the TxASL blog and graduated from TLA’s TALL Texans Institute (Texas Accelerated Library Leaders) in November. This is her third year being recognized as an All-Star Librarian by the Texas Association of School Librarians.

Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Midwestern State University and a master’s degree in library science from Texas Woman’s University.

The McKinney High School cheerleaders captured their first-ever NCA Regionals win last month in program history! We are beyond proud of this group for their hard work and dedication to a new cheerleading division and style.

Wilmeth Elementary's 5th Grade Choir, lead by music teacher Stacy Caldwell, makes it a tradition each December to take their holiday choir concert on the road. The Wilmeth Choir visited three local McKinney nursing homes to sing holiday songs, spread holiday joy, and to pass out holiday cards created in Art class, art teacher Rae Curren. It was a day filled with joy, laughter, and the holiday spirit!

Burks Elementary School recently held a successful donation drive to benefit the Collin County Animal Shelter, collecting an impressive 325 items for the animals in need! Kindergarten won the “Golden Bone Award” for collecting the most items—152 to be exact—helping to keep the puppies and kitties warm and happy during the winter months!

Our Burks Ambassadors, the 5th grade student leadership group, played a key role in organizing the event. They counted the items, announced the winner, and loaded everything up for the shelter. This marks the 12th year of this special community service event, and we're so proud of our students for their kindness and generosity.

Santa’s elves have got NOTHING on the 4th and 5th grade choir students at Glen Oaks Elementary! Weeks ago the multi-tasking singers combined choral practice with art class in an effort to spread good will and cheer to the community this holiday season. Art teacher, Tracie Holt, and music teacher, Aaron Flores, teamed up for this service project that delivers both music and a made-from-the heart ornament for residents in assisted living facilities in McKinney.

Officials from the McKinney Education Foundation (MEF) and McKinney ISD gathered for one of their favorite days of the year — MEF teacher grant delivery day!

Eight teams fanned out across the district to deliver a total of $124,116.74 in teacher grants to more than 70 educators on 15 campuses. The grants ranged from just a few hundred dollars to more than $10,000 and will be used for specific classroom needs that will directly impact learning. Teachers applied for the grants, which were funded by voluntary teacher payroll donations and community support.

Amado Gonzales knows that the holiday season is a magical time for kids. But, for those families who may be experiencing homelessness or struggling financially, the brightness and joy of the season can, by contrast, make the shadows in their lives seem that much heavier. Amado, who works at the MISD Central Distribution Center, wanted to do something to push the shadows back. 

 So, earlier this month, he organized a wiffle ball tournament for kids and used it as a platform to collect toys for those in need. While a rainy forecast threatened to derail the effort, Amado and the players pushed through and collected some 50 new toys. Working with the MISD Counseling Dept., Amado will make sure they go to kids who need them most.  

 "Baseball has always been a big part of my life," said Amado. "I wanted to use this platform to give back to the community and also share with the young men on my select baseball team what it's like to give back." 

 He plans to do it again next year so that he can help even more kids. It's folks like Amado throughout MISD and our McKinney community who help to remind us that kindness matters, and that it makes a difference.

On Dec. 3-5, MISD held its annual Career & Technical Education Tours at the MISD Community Event Center for the district's 8th graders from Cockrill, Dowell, Evans, Faubion and Scott Johnson.

The event aimed to build student awareness of the broad range of high school CTE programs before they begin the process of selecting courses for 9th grade—to provide a foundation for career paths and college readiness as they begin to chart their course for high school and beyond.

During the tours, groups rotated through 19 stations where they met current MISD high school students who provided course overviews and answered questions about their respective CTE programs—everything from aviation to cosmetology to welding.

Visit https://www.mckinneyisd.net/page/career-technical-education to learn more about MISD's CTE programs!

Please join us in celebrating 100 years of being name Fanny Finch Elementary. A ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, January 28 at 8:15 a.m. at Finch Elementary (1205 S. Tennessee St., McKinney, Texas 75069). Please RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/Finch100rsvp. Click here to view the invitation.

McKinney ISD Fine Arts has partnered with the Rockley Foundation to host a piano and instrument sale from January 2 - 4, 2025. A large selection of grand pianos, baby grands, digital player grands, vertical (upright) pianos, hybrid pianos, digital pianos, violins, violas and cellos will be available. Prices are deeply discounted.

The sale is by appointment only. Visit https://www.rockleyfamilyfoundation.org/McKinneyISD/ for complete details.

Join us for an informative presentation about the Individualized Education Program(IEP) and the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) process. David Mapps, Special EducationTechnical Assistance Manager at the Texas Education Agency will share information that is designed to answer questions families may have regarding the IEP and ARD process. We will discuss what happens during the ARD committee meeting and who should be there.

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