Closing a Successful Year & Decade

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As the fall semester comes to a close, and with it, the 2019 calendar year, I wanted to take some time to share some of the successes we achieved in the final year of the decade. We have a lot to cheer about in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, and you have much to be proud of from your local school district.

Our fine arts students continued to impress. Forty-eight students were named All-State musicians in January. Cypress Ranch High School theatre students earned two Tommy Tune awards in April. A Cypress Woods High School art student was one of eight national art portfolio scholarship recipients this summer.

Cypress Ranch theatre student Mia Velasquez, left, was named Best Leading Actress in the Tommy Tune Awards in April; and Cypress Woods graduate Taylor Powers, right, with teacher Tina Fox, won a $10,000 Scholastic Art scholarship in June. 

We had many University Interscholastic League (UIL) achievements, highlighted by Cypress Woods winning CFISD’s first-ever UIL Academic state championship in the spring. We also had individual athletics gold medals from Cypress Creek High School swimmer Hayden Miller and wrestler Amanda McAleavey.

Cypress Woods HS students and staff celebrate making history by winning CFISD’s first-ever UIL Academic state championship in May 2019.

I was proud of our community for helping raise $110,000 for the Cy-Fair Educational Foundation at the sixth annual Superintendent’s Fun Run in March. Save the date for the seventh annual event on March 21, 2020 at the Berry Center!

Runners begin the 5K at the sixth annual Superintendent’s Fun Run & Festival. The event raised a record $110,000 for the CFEF!

Voters approved a bond referendum in May that will address many critical district needs for the future. Among the bond’s components are a new visual and performing arts center and many safety and security upgrades that are already underway at numerous campuses.

The 2019 bond package includes a new visual and performing arts center that will be located near Cy-Fair High School.

A year that perfectly encapsulated Opportunity for All included 17 National Merit semifinalists and finalists. More than $670,000 was given to Livestock Show and Sale projects. Our New Arrival Center language immersion program won a prestigious national award. More than 8,200 Class of 2019 graduates earned diplomas.

We kicked off the 2019-2020 school year by launching a STEM Academy for Automation, Robotics and Computer Science (ARC) at Cypress Springs High School, and we piloted Spanish Language Action Based Learning Labs at Andre’ and Sampson elementary schools. The Leonard Brautigam Center opened with a district career and technical education (CTE) trade building, supporting programs and certifications in welding, HVAC and electrical trades.

 

New additions for 2019-2020 – the STEM Academy for ARC at Cypress Springs High School and Spanish Language Action Based Learning Labs at Andre’ and Sampson elementary schools.

The new year will bring more positive change for the district, as we expand our full-day pre-kindergarten program throughout our elementary schools. Our human resources team has been hiring qualified pre-K teachers to accommodate the transition. If you know of an interested educator, it’s not too late to apply!

2019 was a special year, and I look forward to 2020 as we usher in another promising decade of outstanding educational opportunities for all children in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. Enjoy a safe and restful holiday break, and I will see you back in January!

~ Mark Henry, Ed.D.