Isaacs Early Childhood School Dedication November 10

November 6, 2009

The Plano ISD Board of Trustees and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Doug Otto invite the community to the Isaacs Early Childhood School dedication ceremony to be held at 6:50 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10.

The district's newest school, Isaacs was built with funds from the 2008 facilities and technology bond program and is home to more than 600 young learners.

Pictured with Isaacs students and panda bear mascots are faculty and staff members (l-r) Rosie Cavosos, teaching assistant; Dr. Elaine Schmidt, principal; Kawtar Idrissi, Spanish bilingual teacher; Counselors Aina Carruth and Kay Glawe; and Suzana Spina, teacher leader.

With a panda bear mascot and motto "We're climbing high!," the Isaacs community has high expectations for its three- and four-year old young learners. Principal Dr. Elaine Schmidt explains that the school's "high expectations" and "happy choices" are the hallmarks of student success at Isaacs, whose namesake, retired Plano ISD educator Sara Isaacs, will be guest of honor at the dedication.

Isaacs opened in August at the corner of Parker Road and San Gabriel Drive. The students and staff were previously housed in the building that has been converted back to Barron Elementary School. "I like to say that we brought our hearts - the children and staff - and our minds but now we have a beautiful new body," said proud Principal Elaine Schmidt.

Inside the brand new facility are six "neighborhoods" of learners: jungle, arctic, prairie, forest, ocean and garden. The Isaacs panda bears are "climbing high" thanks to very high standards, explained Dr. Schmidt. "Our counselors and teachers do a great job of talking to the children about making 'happy choices.' And the children are amazing in how they respond to high standards."

For most of the children, this is their first time in a group setting. A well-articulated curriculum prepares them for kindergarten. "We hear all the time from kindergarten teachers that our students are prepared. They function well in a group, follow directions and are independent learners," said Dr. Schmidt, who has taught special needs children and served as an elementary school principal in schools in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas. She joined Plano ISD as principal intern at Thomas Elementary School and then served briefly at Wyatt Elementary when it opened. She opened Barron (now Isaacs) in 2002.

Dr. Schmidt explained that what makes Isaacs unique is its large population of second-language learners and children from low-income families."We've redefined diverse as the norm," she said. "Part of our asset is that we work hard to demonstrate respect for everyone who walks in the door, including fellow classmates and adults."

A great school begins with the a staff that has "the right attitude," she believes. "They are empathetic people who learn to listen and try to put themselves in the shoes of others. We are diverse as a staff intentionally because it is beneficial to us all. It took us a while to build such a strong culture."

Serving special populations is an honor that this seasoned principal does not take for granted. "America has come a long way since the late 1970s when federal laws first went into affect for IEPs (individual educational plans) for special needs students," she said. "Our school district is fortunate to have such vision and support of early learners and all learners with special needs. That makes it an honor to work here."

Dr. Elaine Schmidt (center), principal, is pictured with Isaacs Teachers of the Year Jane Cina and Suzette Rupp (beginning teacher) and a few of the more than 600 Isaacs students.

Sara Isaacs, retired Plano ISD educator, directed the district's first early childhood programs. In the early 1970s, Sara served as the school district's first elementary curriculum coordinator, making her the very first female administrator in Plano ISD. She continued working with educationally-disadvantaged early childhood children at the time.

As public school kindergarten (1/2-day program) began, she wrote the guidelines for Plano ISD's program. Ms. Isaacs is proud of the fact that Plano ISD's kindergarten served as the model program in Collin County, since it was the first to be offered in the county.

In 1973, Ms. Isaacs became the first female principal in Plano ISD when she opened Christie Elementary School. She served as principal there until she retired in 1986.

"The first love I had was for the young early childhood children and working with the teachers of young learners," said Ms. Isaacs.