Congratulations to our October Excellence in Leadership Award winner! Join us in celebrating Melisa Valenzuela, Executive Director of Special Services, for being recognized as this month's Excellence in Leadership Award recipient! 🎉 Mrs. Valenzuela exemplifies Evolve: Systems Thinker through her ability to turn big-picture ideas into meaningful action while empowering those around her. Her calm, thoughtful and reflective leadership continues to make a positive impact across ECISD. Congratulations, Mrs. Valenzuela, and thank you for your dedication to our students, staff and district! 💙

Thank you to our incredible ECISD custodial team for all you do behind the scenes. We appreciate you! 👏 #CustodianAppreciationDay #ECISD #ThankYouCustodians

Big support for our LBJ Knights! LBJ Elementary received $12,300 in classroom literacy supplies and STEM projects from Chevron and Kent Kwik to kick off this year’s Fuel Your School program through DonorsChoose. The investment will help give students more opportunities to read, investigate, experiment and learn through hands-on experiences. And more opportunities are on the way! Beginning October 1, eligible teachers, librarians, guidance counselors and school nurses in Midland and Odessa can submit one classroom project request for up to $1,000 through DonorsChoose. Projects will be funded weekly on a first-come, first-served basis through November 1 or until funds are exhausted. Thank you to Chevron, Kent Kwik and DonorsChoose for investing in our educators and students! Read more about this here: ectorcountyisd.org/our-distr…

Just like that, a new chapter begins at Murry Fly Elementary! Today, we celebrated the unveiling of Murry Fly’s newly refreshed library, the first completed campus as part of the Education Foundation of Odessa’s major investment in transforming ECISD library spaces. The refreshed library features new books and furnishings, vibrant learning spaces, a Makerspace where students can create and explore through STEAM and art, and a new Seed Library developed in partnership with the West Texas Food Bank and ConocoPhillips. The Education Foundation has committed an initial $1 million to the ECISD Library Refresh Project, with a long-term goal of helping transform libraries across the district. Thank you to the Education Foundation of Odessa and our community partners for investing in spaces that inspire our students to read, create, explore and dream! 📖

Some of the biggest impacts happen behind the scenes! The ECISD Development Office recently recognized five Behind the Scenes Heroes for their dedication to our students and schools: Congrats to Minerva Lares Matthew Rutherford, Santana Rodriguez, Freddy Avila, Maria Segura The Wilson & Young Medal of Honor Middle School Boys Athletics Booster Club also received the inaugural Community Impact Award for its service beyond athletics. We also celebrated LBJ Elementary PTA for maintaining good standing with Texas PTA for the third consecutive year! Congratulations to all of our honorees, and thank you for all you do for ECISD!

80 of our teachers have #LeveledUp! Tonight, we recognized 80 ECISD teachers who reached a new milestone through the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), a state program designed to recognize and financially reward highly effective teachers. These educators earned the title of TIA Level Up teachers by improving their designation, moving from Recognized to Exemplary or from Exemplary to Master. And those designations can make a significant impact. Last year, 532 ECISD teachers received TIA awards ranging from $3,393 to $22,825, with more than $6.3 million distributed to ECISD teachers through the program. The program continues to grow, too. A year ago, student data was collected for 900 teachers. This year, that number has grown to more than 1,300 teachers, creating opportunities for even more ECISD educators to qualify for TIA awards. Congratulations to our 80 Level Up teachers on reaching the next level! #TeamECISD

A busy evening: a new school board member was sworn in, returning the board to its full capacity. Trustees then adopted the new, lower tax rate for the 2026-27 school year, and made a donation to @OdessaCollege that will hopefully drive up the number of school bus drivers. You will find a recap of tonight's board meeting agenda here - bit.ly/46qLNnA.

The Oral Written Language Lab at Burleson Early Education Center, uses storytelling, play and writing to build early literacy skills. With only 12 certified labs in Texas, the lab at Burleson is working to become the first of its kind in West Texas. #GrowingForwardTogether

School's are better with art! It is #ArtsInEducationWeek, we celebrate the creativity happening in classrooms, studios and stages across ECISD. 📷 More than 22,000 ECISD students (72% of our student population) receive fine arts instruction each week, giving them opportunities to create, perform, connect and discover what they can do. And that commitment continues to earn recognition. ECISD has been named a Texas Art Education Association District of Distinction for the 6th consecutive year and one of the Best Communities for Music Education for the 12th year in a row. The awards are worth celebrating, but what they represent matters even more: thousands of students finding a place to learn, belong and shine through the arts. Happy Arts in Education Week! 📷

Congratulations, Gonzales Elementary Principal Amanda Sierra on receiving the school year’s first Excellence in Leadership Award. Given monthly to a district leader, this award honors those who live out aspects of ECISD’s Leadership Definition. Ms. Sierra exemplifies the characteristic Excel: Results Driven as evidenced by the growth Gonzales Elementary showed in her first year as the principal (2025-26) – an improvement of 21 points from a D rating to a B rating. Well done! #LeadershipMatters #ECISDproud #TeamECISD

Campus Improvement Plans and a Facilities Assessment Plan presentation made up the agenda for tonight's school board workshop. Data to Action. Find a recap of the agenda here - bit.ly/4xgmAaf

Reminder: There will be no school for students on Monday, September 7, or Tuesday, September 8 in observance of Labor Day and for staff professional development. Enjoy the long weekend! Classes will resume on Wednesday, September 9.

Our ECISD Trustees held a special meeting tonight to interview candidates for the vacant Position 1 on the board. After the interviews, the board voted to appoint Rosalita Veronica Garcia to Position 1 Trustee. She is a former ECISD teacher with more than 25 years of education experience. Read more: bit.ly/4zRMBPB

One of our teachers just did a hare-raising makeover for one of Odessa College's Jackrabbits 🎨 Ector College Prep Middle School art teacher Yennifer Cano Rojas recently brought her creativity into the community, transforming one of Odessa College’s longtime jackrabbits into Many Pieces: One Spirit. Using hundreds of individual mosaic pieces, Yennifer created a design inspired by the many people who come together to make a community. Pretty cool to see what our teachers are creating outside the classroom. Great job, Ms. Rojas!