District News

Bob Bean, a retired educator from Community ISD and a member of the CISD Hall of Honor, will be inducted into the Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas Hall of Fame on Friday, July 28.

Mr. Bean taught agriculture at Community High School from 1980 until his retirement from Brave Nation 25 years later. You can read more about Mr. Bean in his CISD Hall of Honor profile by clicking here.

According to their website, the Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas (ATAT) Hall of Fame exists to recognize and honor agricultural science teachers whose careers, achievements, and contributions stand exemplary. Inductees are known as well-rounded professionals who have proven their success with FFA activities, in the classroom, as well as community involvement. They have proven their desire to provide students with opportunities for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success over a significant period of time.

Mr. Bean and the rest of the Class of 2023 inductees were required to meet the following criteria for selection:

• Nominees must be an agricultural science teacher eligible for honorary membership from the Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas.*
• Nominees must be retired from teaching for at least one year to be eligible for induction. Nominees are not eligible for induction in the same year that they retire from teaching.
• Nominations must be accompanied by a $1,000 donation to the Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas Scholarship Fund.

After considerable improvements and upgrades to the walk paths in South Bear Creek at Grand Heritage, Traditions at Grand Heritage, and Crestridge Meadows, these neighborhoods are now considered safe to walk by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), and have been approved as a walk zone for NeSmith Elementary by the Community ISD Board of Trustees.

This walk zone designation, pictured in the map below, was made possible by the addition of sidewalk paths throughout the Crestridge, South Bear Creek, and Traditions neighborhoods, and will now make it possible for students to either ride their bicycles to and from campus, walk themselves, or be walked to and from campus by a parent/guardian. With this new change, NeSmith Elementary will be adding several new bike racks to the front of the elementary school to accommodate the expected increase in students riding to and from campus.

In addition, Community ISD will have a table at the City of Lavon's Bicycle Safety Rodeo event on July 27 from 6 pm to 8:30 pm at Lavon's City Hall Park. This event will feature free t-shirts, free snow cones, free reflectors, and plenty of information about proper bicycle safety. The event will end with a foam party in the park!

This change does also make NeSmith students living in these areas ineligible to receive transportation to and from campus from Community ISD. Edge Middle School and Community High School students living in these areas that were previously eligible for transportation remain eligible for those services, and were unaffected by this new designation. Parents/guardians can still drive their students to and from campus as well.

If you have questions about your student(s)' eligibility for transportation services, please reach out to our Director of Transportation, Terry Buse, at Terry.Buse@communityisd.org.

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we make this transition for the 2023-24 school year!

Heaven Jarvis, who just graduated from CHS in May 2023, will be receiving her FFA Lonestar Degree during the 95th FFA State Convention on Wednesday, July 12. Heaven has been an active and involved member of the Community FFA program for the entirety of her high school career.

"She has shown exceptional leadership skills working her way up to the role of chapter officer, participated in a wide array of Career Development and Leadership Development events, and grown her livestock showing projects focused on sheep," said Community FFA sponsor and CHS instructor Dr. Loren Gross.

The State Degree, called a Lonestar Degree in Texas, is the highest award the state level organization can bestow upon members. The National FFA Organization says that of total membership, only three percent of members receive this award based on eligibility requirements. When there are almost 700,000 members nationally, this is a huge accomplishment.

Community Independent School District earned the National School Public Relations Association Award of Excellence for its 75th-anniversary logo in the branding and image package category.

CISD began its 75th-anniversary celebration on July 28, 2022. On that date, the district revealed a mark to celebrate this special time. The communications department incorporated the original Braves symbol from 1947 on the left, plus the current one on the right. The diamond and number were also key components of the award-winning logo. Community ISD utilized this mark as part of a year-long celebration enjoyed by past, present, and future Braves.

In addition, the district received honorable mention honors at the national level for video and calendar efforts. The recognized video featured football student-athletes revealing the team's 2022 schedule, while the calendar featured a creative design to showcase important dates and other information for the academic campaign.

The logo and video were both previously recognized at the state level, receiving coveted Gold Star honors from the Texas School Public Relations Association. 

The Community ISD communications staff includes department director Cooper Welch and social media specialist Chris Mycoskie.