Midlothian ISD named a top 5 finalist in HEB Excellence in School award

MIDLOTHIAN – The Midlothian ISD has been named as a top five finalist for the H-E-B Excellence in School award. The winner will receive a $100k grant.

“We are truly MISD Proud to be one of five finalists for the H-E-B Excellence in Education award,” MISD School Board Trustee President Gary Vineyard said. 

“To simply receive a nomination is a tremendous honor, so hosting a site visit with the judges is incredible. Throughout the day, I felt so much pride.” 

The H-E-B site visit team spent most of the day in the district as part of the process of determining the winner.

The team toured two secondary campuses and several classrooms. They met one-on-one with Superintendent Dr. David Belding, and the day concluded with a round-table lunch with the site visit team. 

Tammy Kuykendall, MISD, executive director of communications said they were able to invite 12 stakeholders to meet with the judges over lunch. 

“This allowed the site visit team to ask our stakeholders questions about MISD. The panel included teachers, principals, students, parents, and community members.”

The community members included Midlothian Mayor Justin Coffman, Chamber of Commerce Executive Melissa Shook and Methodist staffer Kasy Cheshier.

This is the first time Midlothian ISD has been named a finalist. 

“We consider the nomination itself to be a huge win and a reflection of the heart of MISD – our students, staff and community,” Kuykendall said. “To even be considered for the award, H-E-B puts out a call for nominations. Districts are not allowed to nominate themselves.

“To know someone in our MISD community took the time to complete that process is a rewarding feeling.”

After the open call for nominations, H-E-B notified MISD to inform them that they were eligible to complete their award submission packet, which included a series of seven deep-dive questions about student learning and achievement, teacher support systems, leadership opportunities and development, spending priorities, key stakeholder involvement and specific innovations that the district has undertaken in the last three years. 

The district has not yet determined where the funds would be used if awarded, but like so many Texas school districts, MISD is facing additional budget challenges.