To help open the meeting, the Davis Elementary School safety patrol led in the Pledges of Allegiance to the United States and Texas flags.  

Davis Elementary School Safety Patrol perfoming the Pledges of Allegiance

After the pledges, Plano ISD Board President David Stolle invited Ms. Toya Ware, who serves as Counselor at Davis Elementary as well as staff supervisor for the Safety Patrols to the podium to share a little about her group of students. "It's been an honor to work with these students, our safety patrol promotes leadership as well as citizenship. This group of young ladies and gentlemen really do well at serving and supporting our campus."    

Ms. Toya Ware, Counselor at Davis Elementary School, described the mission of the Safety Patrol.

After hearing from Ms. Ware, each student took time in introducing themselves. As you can see in the photo above, each student was wearing a different edition of a Davis Elementary T-Shirt. When Trustee Lauren Tyra inquired about the reasoning for doing so, students explained that it represented each year of students passing through Davis, or specific school related events such as field day or seasonal festivals.

This performance was close to home for Board President David Stolle, as he is a former Davis Dolphin himself. "I went to Davis a long, long time ago. In fact, the 1972 shirt you're wearing would be relatively new" he joked. "This is special for me to see you all. I want to thank you all for coming, it's great to see Davis represented in our pledges and those in attendance."

Board President Stolle asked former Davis Dolphins in the crowd to stand

Davis Elementary School Safety Patrol

Next, Assistant Superintendent for Student, Family & Community Services introduced Frankford Middle School Teacher and Title I Specialist Sahar Khoshkar for the evening's first staff recognition. Every year, the Texas Alliance of Black Educators (TABSE) recognizes distinguished individuals who have made both local and state contributions to the education of students, staff and our profession as a whole. This year, the Plano Alliance of Black School Educators nominated Ms. Khoshkar for this honor, which she received and was named at the annual state conference in February as TABSE’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. She was joined by her colleagues from Frankford Middle School - teachers Beth Spaulding and Caleb Rogers, as well as assistant principal Elliott Monteverde.

(left to right) (front row) Sahar Khoshkar, Frankford MS Title 1 Specialist and TABSE Teacher of the Year. (back row) Barksdale Elementary Assistant Principal and Former Frankford Staff Member Conny Pan; Montrail Davis, PABSE President;  Caleb Rogers, Frankford Teacher; Elliot Monteverde Torres, Frankford Asst. Principal; Beth Spaulding, Frankford Teacher; Justin Parker, Frankford Title 1 Teacher

Lastly, Deputy Superintendent for Leadership and Operations Dr. Selenda Freeman invited President of Plano ISD Council of PTAs, Ross Cornell, to close out board recognitions by awarding 3 Plano ISD campuses the Texas PTA Voice for Every Child Platinum Membership Award.

"Studies have reliably shown that when families are involved in their children's learning both at home and school, their children do better in school. Parent-teacher associations, and parent-teacher-student associations in Plano ISD are a crucial component of family engagement. These programs provide structure and guidelines for families to be involved with their student's education, both on and off campus. Over the years, the National PTA has identified six standards for family-school partnerships. Among those, is standard number four: speaking up for every child. Families are empowered to be advocates for their own and other children to ensure that students have access to learning opportunities that will support their success. With those concepts in mind, Texas PTA recognizes that PTA membership is a key indicator of the strength of parent engagement at a campus. to that end, they have created awards that campuses may earn based on the number of PTA or PTSA members compared against the overall campus enrollment. These are known as the Voice for Every Child Award, and they are Texas PTA's most prestigious membership awards..."

• If a campus has membership that is ≥ 50% of their enrollment, they are eligible for the Silver Voice for Every Child Award.
• If a campus has membership that is ≥ 75% of their enrollment, they are eligible for the Gold Voice for Every Child Award.

The crowning achievement of these awards is the Platinum Voice for Every Child Platinum Award. Andrews Elementary, Gulledge Elementary and Saigling Elementary have achieved an active PTA membership that is ≥ 100% of student enrollment. These campuses join an elite group of only 50 campuses across the state to achieve such a milestone. 

Andrews Elementary School

Dr. Joy Lovell, Andrews Principal; PTA member; PTA member; Ross Cornell, PISD PTA Council President; Nancy Humphrey, Plano ISD Board VP

Gulledge Elementary School

Nancy Humphrey, Plano ISD Board VP; Erin Sears, Gulledge PTA Membership VP; Ross Cornell, PTA Council President; Sheetal Ghandi, Gulledge PTA President; Deni Bleggi, Gulledge Principal

Saigling Elementary School

Plano ISD Board VP Nancy Humphrey; Lauren DeBree, Saigling PTA President; Chris Dunkle, Saigling Principal; Ross Cornell, PTA Council President