Dear Parents, Families and Supporters,
This is an extremely busy time in our district as both our students and staff begin the last portion of the school year. As we approach the end of the school year we’re also preparing for the new year ahead so I wanted to take a few moments to highlight those efforts.
As you know Rockwall ISD is growing quickly, just this year we added more than 300 students to our district. Our increasing student population will bring the need for additional space. A group of 60 parents, business and community leaders are evaluating the current and future facility needs of our school district. This Bond Planning Committee has been working since January to hear and evaluate the needs in our district. They will complete their work and present their recommendations to the Board of Trustees on June 15. I look forward to sharing the results of their work with you in the coming months.
Another group whose work will impact our student’s lives is the Texas Legislature. There is just over a month remaining in the regular session and many of the bills that would have the greatest impact on education are still waiting for votes from one or both legislative chambers.
We’ve included a quick summary of the bills that would impact our students on our legislative website at rockwallisd.com/legislature.
Rockwall ISD is a destination school district. I hear regularly from families who have moved to our community because of the wonderful teachers and schools in our district. On April 18 we held a job fair and had more than 500 applicants attend. The large number of applications for all of the jobs we have available means that we are able to select the best teachers and staff for our students.
Our student athletes are winning many awards this spring. The Rockwall Men’s and Rockwall-Heath Women’s Gymnastics teams are Region Champions. All four varsity teams will advance to the state competition on May 1 and 2.
During the same weekend, the Rockwall High Girls Water Polo team will be in Austin, TX for the state championship. Two of the team members, Raena Eldridge and Jordan Hummingbird, were named 1st Team All Region.
Our baseball and softball teams are also headed to the playoffs. Both varsity baseball and softball teams at Rockwall and Rockwall-Heath will compete in the post session. The Rockwall High Girls Softball team is currently ranked first in the state. The Rockwall-Heath Boys Baseball team is ranked first in the DFW area.
Our Fine Arts students are also having a successful spring. All of our orchestras in both middle and high school earned Sweepstakes trophies at their regional competitions. In addition all three Rockwall High School Concert Bands won sweepstakes trophies at their regional competitions.
During May and June, many of our campuses and groups in the district will host awards ceremonies. These ceremonies are a wonderful time to acknowledge the great things our students have accomplished this year.
The last and largest of these events are our graduation ceremonies. Rockwall-Heath High School will hold it’s graduation ceremony on June 9 at 7 p.m. at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. The next evening, June 10, Rockwall High School will hold it’s graduation at 7 p.m. at the Curtis Culwell Center as well.
I hope you’ll join me in attending these events.
Sincerely,
Jeff Bailey
Rockwall ISD Superintendent