TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
WELCOME TO CLASS NOTES! The time for going back to school has arrived once again, bringing with it a sense of excitement and anticipation for the fresh academic year ahead. Local school districts are busy putting the finishing touches on their preparations for the upcoming school year. Teachers are decorating their classrooms, while sports teams and student activities are already in full swing with practices. Let’s take a look at some highlights of what’s happening in our local schools as we welcome the 2024-2025 school year!
ASHDOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS • Ashdown Public Schools is dedicated to being a K-12 STEM District, offering a wide range of programs of study that provide valuable educational opportunities for students in today’s rapidly evolving world. • Ashdown students have a unique opportunity to graduate with an associate’s degree through the Associate Degree Pathways program, which is in partnership with Cossatot Community College. HOOKS ISD • HISD placed 25th in the UIL Lone Star Cup, which is awarded annually to six high schools, one in each of the six UIL classifications (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A), based on team performance in district and state championships. Hooks High School (HHS) tied for 25th out of over 225 schools in Class 3A. The Lone Star Cup is a prestigious accomplishment, and for the second year in a row, HHS has been in the top 25! • Hooks Elementary was recognized as an ERP Honor Roll Campus. This is the ninth year that ERP has presented the Honor Roll—the only school recognition program presented in partnership with state and local business leaders, using solely objective student achievement data as the criteria for recognition. The goal of the Honor Roll is to find and highlight successful schools and districts and encourage collaboration among educators on best practices for raising student achievement. LIBERTY-EYLAU ISD • Liberty-Eylau ISD’s baseball team won the Class 4A State Baseball Championship, led by alum Coach Zach Fowler. • Liberty-Eylau ISD introduced the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NNDCC), the only Jr. ROTC program in Bowie County, under the instruction of retired Chief Kimberly Battle.
MAUD ISD •
Maud ISD received a Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) Designation from the Texas Education Agency (TEA). • Maud ISD pays for students’ academic and workforce dual credit courses and the books/ supplies that go along with the course. PLEASANT GROVE ISD • Construction on many facility upgrades across Pleasant Grove ISD is complete. Pleasant Grove High School students will begin the year with a new cafeteria, career counseling center, theatre scene shop, athletic field house, and an expanded band hall to accommodate the rapidly growing music program. • The high school has added eight new Career and Technical Education classrooms, including a health science suite, an engineering classroom, an audio/video production studio, and a robotics lab complete with competition arenas. RED LICK ISD • Red Lick ISD was voted #9 Best School District in Texas ( SchoolDigger ), #5 Districts with the Best Teachers in Texas ( Niche ), and both campuses were named “Best Public School” ( U.S. News and World Report ) • Red Lick was named #1 Best Place to Raise a Family in Bowie County ( Niche ) REDWATER ISD • Redwater ISD received the District of Distinction Award for the fifth consecutive year from the Texas Art Education Association (TAEA). • Redwater HS, Redwater JH and Redwater Elementary were recognized in ERP’s 2023 list as top performing schools in East Texas.
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CLASS NOTES
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