JANDRUCKO NAMED BEST IN STATE IN H-E-B EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AWARDS
Mansfield ISD is proud to announce that Dr. Sarah K. Jandrucko Early Learners Academy is the winner of the 2025 H-E-B
Excellence in Education Award for Early Childhood Facility. The award is given to the top Pre-K campus in the state. H-E-B celebrated the winners in a ceremony in Austin on Sunday, May 4.
“ We are honored to receive this recognition for the excellence that happens every day at our Jandrucko Early Learners Academy,” said MISD Superintendent Dr. Kimberley Cantu.“ Our experiential learning allows our youngest scholars to thrive and places them on a course to be successful throughout their entire educational careers.”
Each year, H-E-B announces a statewide call for nominations and applications to recognize outstanding educators, campuses and districts in Texas. Three separate judging panels selected five early childhood facilities as semifinalists and conducted site visits to determine the winner. As part of the award, Jandrucko received $ 25,000.
The Mansfield ISD community has been so impressed with Jandrucko’ s success that voters approved funding in the May 2024 bond election to build a second early learners academy for the district.
Since the campus opened in 2019, Jandrucko has become a model for other districts around the country. Hundreds of educators and administrators have visited Jandrucko for professional learning, coming from as far away as California and Wisconsin to learn how to create experiential learning facilities in their own districts.
BEN BARBER STUDENTS EARN NATIONAL RECOGNITION AT 2025 PROSTART INVITATIONAL
At the 2025 National ProStart Invitational, themed
“ Burn Bright,” students from across the country showed their passion, creativity and hard work. After earning top honors at the state level, Ben Barber Innovation Academy’ s Restaurant Management Team placed second in the nation, and the Culinary Team finished sixth.
The culinary team was challenged to cook a three-course meal in one hour using only two butane burners— without running water or electricity. Judges scored them on knife skills, teamwork, safety, cleanliness and how well they followed their recipes.
The restaurant management team impressed industry judges with a complete restaurant concept, including a menu, staffing plan, marketing ideas and a business plan.
More than 260 high schools in Texas take part in ProStart, a national program that teaches students about cooking and restaurant management. In Texas, the program is run by the Texas Restaurant Foundation, the workforce development arm of the Texas Restaurant Association.
Ben Barber staff and the school community are proud of both teams for their talent, hard work and leadership. They set a high standard and represented their school with excellence.
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