August 8, 2024

Welcome Back, NISD!

The first day of the new school year (Wednesday, August 14) is NEXT WEEK!

Lots of important information for families can be found at the NISD Back-to-School Information web page, including...

• School Supply Lists
• Registration/Enrollment
• Food Services
• Transportation
• Much More

Meet the Teacher and Meet the Teams events

Schools will host many events prior to the start of the new year to welcome students and families!

On Monday, August 12, elementary schools will host Meet the Teacher events while high schools will host Meet the Teams events, which are community rally-style gatherings to kick off the new school year. Dates and times for orientations at the secondary level vary by campus, though all take place prior to the start of school. Visit www.nisdtx.org/backtoschool for a list of events by campus.

New school times for 2024-2025

As announced in October 2023, all Northwest ISD schools will transition to new school dismissal times in the 2024-2025 school year. These new times are posted on the “School Hours” page under “About Us” on the district website.

Northwest ISD will extend the school day by five minutes at all levels to add enough time to absorb an additional two days of school closures.

Enrollment for 2024-2025 remains open

If you haven’t yet enrolled your child for the 2024-2025 school year, do so soon! Enrollment doesn’t roll over year to year and is required annually. Families can complete an easy 1-2-3 process for returning students to quickly register their children for the upcoming school year.

For families of currently enrolled students who will return next year, the process will take a matter of a few minutes with a quick, three-step process in Home Access Center. Learn more about the documents you’ll need to enroll, or get the process started at www.nisdtx.org/enroll.

Free and reduced-cost meal applications available

For families in need, a federally-funded program exists to eliminate or offset the cost of school meals for their children. Families who meet income requirements should apply for the free and reduced-cost meal program.

Students in this program receive one breakfast and one lunch combo meal daily for their free or reduced-cost price. Families can apply online or print out a paper copy of the form. Those who previously were accepted into the program will have a 30-day grace period to reapply.

Stay up to date with ParentSquare

Additional information regarding back-to-school events and other happenings will be communicated with families via ParentSquare, the district's official communication platform.

All NISD families with enrolled students are automatically opted into receiving ParentSquare messages, but you also have the ability to personalize when and how you receive communication from teachers, schools and the district in ParentSquare! 

After accessing your account, families can select whether to receive notifications immediately or as a digest, which sends an evening recap of all notifications for the day. 

Get the ParentSquare app now so you can stay informed all year long!

Download the SMART Tag Parent App

Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, parents of NISD bus riders will need to use the SMART Tag Parent App on their mobile device in order to access all of the features offered by SMART Tags.

With the SMART Tag Parent App, families will enjoy great features such as push notifications for load/unload status, proximity to home/school alerts and real-time location of your student’s bus.

More information on SMART Tags in Northwest ISD can be found by visiting our web page.

Bus Routes Available

Be sure to check in Home Access Center now for route information. Please remember to check again early next week as routes may change because of our enrollment growth closer to the first day of school. Please do not rely on route information from 2023-2024, as boundary changes, new schools, bell schedules and enrollment increases have all affected routes.

New cellphone standards in place for 2024-2025

Beginning this year, districtwide standards are now consistent at all schools that the personal use of cell phones by students will not be allowed in the classroom to focus on the learning environment. A cell phone can remain in a student's backpack in case of emergencies, however. Cellphones have become an increasing distraction among students, and learning has suffered. For additional information about these new cellphone standards, please read this news article.

Staff honored at NISD Convocation

At the district's annual staff Convocation, NEF helped honor the NISD Rookie of the Year and four recipients of the Dr. David Hicks Excellence in Education award!

Rookie of the Year

Congratulations to the 2023-2024 Northwest ISD Rookie of the Year, Laura Miley from Byron Nelson High School!

The Rookie of the Year award is presented annually by the Northwest Retired School Employees Association to a teacher with just one year of classroom experience. That teacher must exemplify qualities of the NISD Profile of an Educator and demonstrate exemplary teaching throughout the year.

Dr. David Hicks Excellence in Education Awards

The Dr. David Hicks Excellence in Education award honors the life of late superintendent Dr. David Hicks. The Hicks family set up a fund to honor Dr. Hicks last fall, and in true Dr. Hicks fashion, they use the fund to celebrate NISD employees who go above and beyond every day to make NISD a great place to work!

Chelsea Conner (Hughes Elementary School), Ricky King (Worthington Middle School), Christy Matthews (Roanoke Elementary) and Loeida "Lulu" Taylor (Steele Early College High School) received the second annual Dr. Hicks Excellence in Education awards at this year's convocation. Each of the four winners were chosen by their NISD peers as an outstanding employee and co-worker.

Mobile Food Pantry opens August 17

Northwest ISD is partnering with Tarrant Area Food Bank and the Northwest ISD Education Foundation to offer a monthly mobile market to provide groceries and assistance to families in need.

Time: 9 to 11 a.m. - Saturday, August 17

Location: NISD Temporary Administration Building

2001 Texan Drive in Justin

NOTE: This spring a new location and drive-thru service went into effect. Click here for more information on the changes.

Interested in volunteering at the monthly food markets? Sign up today!

Help restock immediate needs in the NEF Resource Store and Library

The Northwest ISD Education Foundation’s resource store and library provides support to NISD teachers and students through free resources and educational materials. NISD teachers can “shop” for school and classroom supplies, snack packs, books and more. All items are free to district educators! Already this month, 156 new teachers shopped the store during two days that were opened exclusively to new teachers!

You can help by donating from the store’s online wishlist. Immediate needs include elementary books, snacks, binders, and Expo markers. You can also help by volunteering in the store! Volunteers help sticker and prep inventory, restock shelves and fulfill online requests from teachers.