Gator Bytes

Dickinson Independent School District

E-Newsletter

Paid Advertisement

Paid Advertisement

Contact Us

2218 FM 517 East
Dickinson, Texas 77539

281-229-6000

Visit us on the Web:

www.dickinsonisd.org

Follow us on Facebook

www.facebook.com/
dickinsonschools

Follow us on Twitter
#dickinsonisd

Labor Day Holiday

Dickinson ISD schools and offices will be closed on Monday, September 7 for the Labor Day holiday.

Week of August 24, 2015

Gators ready for another exciting football season starting Friday

With an exciting and successful 2014 football season still fresh in their memory, the Dickinson High School Gators Varsity Football Team is ready to take to the field to retain the UIL District 24-6A Championship they earned last year.

The Gators will start the season this Friday night, August 28 with a home game at 7 p.m. in Sam Vitanza Stadium against Aldine MacArthur High School.

Advance tickets will be sold through 12 noon Friday at the Athletic Office on the Dickinson High School campus for $8 reserved section, $6 general admission and $4 for high school students. Ticket prices at the gate Friday night are $10 reserved section and $8 general admission.

The community was able to get in the Gator spirit earlier this week at the "Meet the Gators" Community Pep Rally where all fall sports were recognized, as well as the DHS Marching Band, Cheerleaders and the Dickinson Diamonds. In addition, younger students involved in the community Little Gators and Lions football teams were also introduced.

Dickinson ISD welcomes 500 additional students
Board votes to keep tax rate the same at $1.54 while adopting $84 million budget

Despite the fact that Dickinson ISD is a very fast growing school district, the Board of Trustees approved a tax rate of $1.54 per $100 valuation which is the same as it has been for many years. Previous school bonds were estimated to raise the tax rate by about three cents; however, with continued housing growth and existing bond payoffs, the district was able to keep the tax rate the same for 2015.

On the second day of school last week more than 500 additional students were attending DISD schools when compared to the start of the 2014-2015 school year.

At the start of the 2014-2015 school year, the district had just surpassed 10,000 students with 10,077 children enrolled in DISD schools. As of the second day of school last week, 10,616 students were enrolled. Given the trends over the past few years, this number will continue to rise throughout the school year.

All grade levels saw increases with 229 additional elementary students, 45 middle school students, 93 junior high students and 169 more students at Dickinson High School. DISD's growing student enrollment has been a trend for several years, having increased by 3,745 students in the past 10 years.

The elementary and middle school growth will be alleviated a year from now with the opening of the new Lobit Education Village, which includes Louis G. Lobit Elementary and Elva C. Lobit Middle School. The new schools are being built on the west side of the school district on FM 517 between Calder Road and Cemetery Road. Administrators will be working with a demographer later this school year to redraw the elementary and middle school attendance boundaries. These new boundaries will be publicized next spring and put into place in August 2016.

The 2015-2016 DISD school budget, which was approved by the Board of Trustees last week, also reflects an increase to accommodate the needs associated with more students. These include hiring more teachers and support staff, additional program costs, transportation costs, as well as the start-up costs needed for the two new schools.

The new budget of $84,434,630 is an increase of $6.4 million from last year. The 2015-2016 budget allows for a three percent raise for all employees, plus an additional 32 teaching positions and 34 support and auxiliary positions. These are needed accommodate the growing student enrollment and the start-up positions required at the end of this year for the two new campuses. Superintendent Vicki Mims and her administrative team monitor class sizes and campus enrollments very closely during the first two weeks and weekly throughout the year. The budget includes 12 vacant instructional positions for the Superintendent to use should class sizes during the year require additional teachers or other instructional support positions.

Welcome Back...

Elementary students
get to "Meet the Teacher"

All six Dickinson ISD elementary campuses hosted a "Meet the Teacher" Night the week before school started with hundreds of parents and students coming out to kick off the 2015-2016 school year. The event is held annually to give students a chance to meet their new teacher, drop off school supplies and have parents get information to make the first day of school go as smoothly as possible.

Dickinson ISD excited to honor two special milestones during 2015-2016 school year

The start of a new school year is a little more exciting this year as Dickinson ISD is set to celebrate two special milestones in the history of Dickinson schools.

"125 Years of Excellence" is the theme for this school year as we mark the 125th anniversary of the opening of the first school in the Dickinson community. We are also fortunate to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Dickinson Independent School District.

Public education in Dickinson began in 1891 with 40 children ages 8-18 meeting in a single schoolhouse, the Dickinson Common School District, near Dickinson Bayou and what is now Highway 3. The schoolhouse consisted of one 30 x 40 foot building originally designed as a church with a steeple and a pulpit, but also with home-built desks and seats and chalkboards made of black painted flooring planks.

The little white building served students living all along the length of Dickinson Bayou who came to school on foot, by horseback, in ox-drawn buggy or wagon or by rowboat. Minnie Owens was the first "tax-paid" teacher handling students up to grades seven. School was funded for six-month periods at about $30 per month with donations providing necessities not covered in the budget.

In 1913, a new brick building was constructed for the Dickinson Common School District to allow students to complete their public school experience in one district. This building served the students until a new building was constructed in 1929, which was the former Dickinson ISD Administration Building. The 1929 building served the district for more than 80 years as a school and administration office before the district opened the new Education Support Center in 2011.

The area was growing quickly with the massive industrial complex and port in Texas City, so a new high school building was opened in 1939 in what is now the Dickinson Alternative Center, and the district's original athletic stadium was constructed. Additions were made to this high school in later years as it was home to McAdams Junior High until 2009.

In March 1941, on the 50th anniversary year of that first small schoolhouse, the Dickinson Independent School District was established under the leadership of Superintendent Martin Belcher with 594 students.

Fast forward to 2015-2016 and Dickinson ISD is home to nearly 11,000 students and we are still growing. We have 125 years of tradition and are looking forward to the years to come!

For All Your Air-Conditioning and Heating Needs. *We Service Residential and Commercial Properties. We Offer Free Estimates On New Installation. A Mackey Mechanical Maintenance Agreement Will Get You Discounts On All Parts And Equipment!! *Ask How You Can Save $100.00 On New Equipment. 281-337-6797.

It is the policy of the DISD not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or handicap for services or activities as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. It is the policy of the DISD not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap, or age in its employment practices as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. For information about your rights or grievance procedures, contact the Title IX Coordinator, Robert Cobb, at 2218 East FM 517, Dickinson, TX 77539, (281) 229-6000, and/or the Section 504 Coordinator, Laurie Rodriguez, at 2218 East FM 517, Dickinson, TX 77539, (281) 229-6000.

Es pol�tica del Distrito Escolar Independiente de Dickinson no discriminar en base de raza, color, nacionalidad de origen, sexo o discapacidad, por servicios o actividades como es requerido en el T�tulo VI del Acto de los Derechos Civiles de 1964, seg�n enmendado; el T�tulo IX de la Enmiendas de Educaci�n de 1972, seg�n enmendado; y la Secci�n 504 del Acto de Rehabilitaci�n de 1973, seg�n enmendada. Es pol�tica del Distrito Escolar Independiente de Dickinson no discriminar en base de raza, color, nacionalidad de origen, sexo, discapacidad, o edad en las pr�cticas de empleo como es requerido por el T�tulo VI del Acto de los Derechos Civiles de 1964, seg�n enmendado; el T�tulo IX de la Enmiendas de Educaci�n de 1972; el Acto de la Discriminaci�n de Edades de 1975, seg�n enmendado; y la Secci�n 504 del Acto de Rehabilitaci�n de 1973, seg�n enmendada. Para informaci�n sobre sus derechos o procedimientos de quejas, contacte el Coordinador del T�tulo IX, Robert Cobb, en 2218 East FM 517 Dickinson, TX 77539, (281) 229-6000, y/o el Coordinador de la Secci�n 504, Laurie Rodr�guez, en 2218 East FM 517 Dickinson, TX 77539, (281) 229-6000.