EMag 2015 | Page 2

WELCOME FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT with Nacogdoches ISD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Fred Hayes Greetings, Nacogdoches ISD parents and students, We are days away from opening the 2015-16 school year here at Nacogdohes ISD and are anxious to welcome you all back. There are many exciting updates for the new year that include the planned openings of the Nacogdoches County Technical Training Center and the new Nacogdoches ISD Ag Farm. Both locations will offer our students hands-on opportunities to gain skills they can carry into future careers. See photos of both of these projects in the works on page 9. This year, we also will have a new approach to leadership for the former Emeline Carpenter Academy of Technology & Science. The campus has been broken into two separate schools —Carpenter Elementary School for PreKindergarten through Second Grade and Carpenter Intermediate School for Third through Fifth Grades. Each school will have its own principal and allow for intense focus on the educational issues facing some of our Carpenter students. Read more about the new Carpenter Elementary and Intermediate principals and their plans for the schools on page 8. Finally, we ask you to take a look at our Dragon Community Partners program and our campus ParentTeacher groups and consider sharing your time and talents with your schools. We need you! Research has shown, "Parent, family and community involvement in education correlates with higher academic performance and school improvement," according to the National Education Association. "When schools, parents, families, and communities work together to support learning, students tend to earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and enroll in higher level programs." Furthermore, the NEA also stated, " Researchers cite parent-family- community involvement as a key to addressing the school dropout crisis and note that strong school-family-community partnerships foster higher educational aspirations and more motivated students." Learn more about the opportunities to become involved on pages 7 and 21 of this issue. Together we can make a difference in the lives of Nacogdoches children. Sincerely, Dr. Fred Hayes The Nacogdoches ISD Ag Farm moved from its former location on Appleby Sand to district-owned property on Stallings Drive near Lowes. Architect Army Curtis shared this photo of the new barn under construction on the site. 2