Message from CFISD Superintendent
Dear CFISD Community,
We are excited to kick off the 2022-2023 school year, and our facilities, operations and maintenance teams have been working hard to prepare all campuses for welcoming back students on Monday, Aug 22.
A new year comes with positive news from the Texas Education Agency: CFISD has been named an A-rated district—the largest one in the state with this top designation! The academic success we achieved during the 2021-2022 school year throughout a difficult couple of pandemic years is truly outstanding, and I am proud of everyone for keeping the focus on students.
We appreciate those of you who participated in a community survey last spring, the results of which we recently received. We have learned that student discipline has risen to the top of concerns for staff and the community, and that one of the most important characteristics for students is respect. Undoubtedly, many campus issues are preventable when there is mutual respect in place. We approach this year maintaining high expectations for student conduct, and ask teachers and parents to work together for the betterment of students. As parents remind their children to respect their teachers, I am reminding our staff to respect students. Together, we can set a great example that respect is essential for us to have a successful school year.
Safety and security are equally important precursors to that success. In June, I shared a letter detailing the layered approach to school safety that we have been working on for more than a decade. Since then, we have made even more improvements to better protect our students and staff. We will continue to review our Safety & Security Action Plan throughout the year, modifying and enhancing as necessary while uniformly training all staff.
As more vehicles including school buses are on the roadways this month, I ask that you please show patience with the increased traffic as we make sure students are delivered safely to and from school. Similarly, I ask for your courtesy to our school staff as they institute back-to-school procedures for campus visitors.
There is so much for us to celebrate in 2022-2023. Water polo is officially a UIL sport for the first time, and we will have many competitive teams vying for statewide accolades. We are opening our 57th elementary school, McGown Elementary, in the Bridgeland community. In the spring, we will open a new administration building and a Visual & Performing Arts Center—a world-class facility that will allow our talented fine arts and visual arts participants to shine even brighter.
Thank you for your continued support of CFISD as we all work to bring out the best in nearly 118,000 students and counting.
Sincerely,
Mark Henry, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
