At a special meeting called on Tuesday, May 17, the Board of Trustees approved the hiring of Barry Norton to the position of director of athletics for Birdville ISD. He is replacing Chris Feris who has taken a similar position in Conroe ISD.
Norton has been the athletic director and head football coach at Texarkana Arkansas School District since 2017. Before Texarkana, Norton was executive director of athletics and head football coach at Texarkana ISD from 1999–2017, offensive coordinator at West Orange-Cove CISD from 1995–99, offensive coordinator at Lufkin ISD from 1994–95, and worked in other coaching positions from 1990–94.
He has many achievements as a coach, including:
District Coach of the Year (13 times)
Texas Division 1-4A football state championship in 2002
Texas Sports Writers Association 4A Coach of the Year in 2002
NIKE Coach of the Year in 2002
Arkansas 5A track state championship in 2017 and 2021
Texas 5A track state champion in 2014
Texas 5A baseball state championship in 2008
Texas 4A swimming state champion in 2003
Arkansas state bowling championship in 2002
Norton received his bachelor’s degree from East Texas State University.
At a special meeting on Tuesday, May 17, Birdville ISD’s Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Carrie Welborn as principal of Foster Village Elementary. She is replacing Sherri Gamble, who was named principal of North Richland Middle School.
Welborn has been an assistant principal at Stowe Elementary since 2019. She also was a second- and third-grade teacher at Porter Elementary from 2014–19, and a first-, second- and fourth-grade teacher at Caprock and Independence elementary schools in Keller ISD from 2006–14.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from Texas Woman’s University and master’s degree from The University of Texas at Arlington.
BISD Superintendent Dr. Gayle Stinson announced on Tuesday, May 17 the administrative appointment of Michelle Risenhoover, M.S., R.D. as director of child nutrition. She is replacing Judy Sargent, who is retiring after 40 years of service to the Birdville family.
Risenhoover has been the assistant director of Child Nutrition for BISD since 2004.
Prekindergarten-The Place to BEE! Birdville ISD Pre-Kindergarten Showcase Event
Come and learn more about our Early Childhood Program Thursday, May 19, 2022 6–7 p.m. Speak to Pre-K teachers, administrators and learn what we do in Pre-K.
Childcare will be available: Please RSVP so we know how many children to expect.
Where: Birdville Professional Learning Center 6351 Blvd. 26, North Richland Hills, TX 76180
Fifth graders from Birdville ISD’s Francisco Elementary traveled to Waco and Georgetown on an Education in Action Discover Texas Field Trip, Friday, April 8, 2022, to experience what they are learning in science. Students visited Waco’s Cameron Park Zoo and Waco Mammoth National Monument and Inner Space Cavern in Georgetown.
At the Cameron Park Zoo, students explored the Brazos River Country exhibit, tracking the Brazos River from its source near Lubbock on to the Gulf of Mexico. Students investigated many animals living in the five ecological regions of Texas through which the Brazos River passes with a focus on each animal’s unique adaptations and ecological niche. At Waco Mammoth National Monument the students experienced the nation’s only recorded discovery of a nursery herd of Pleistocene mammoths and learned about the Ice Age, how the fossils were discovered, sedimentary rocks, and why the site is one of the most important paleontological sites in North America. At Inner Space Cavern in Georgetown, students panned for, and identified, minerals found in the cavern. Through participation in hands-on demonstrations, they learned about the water cycle and the environmental benefits of the world’s wetlands and watersheds. The student scientists discussed the rock cycle and worked in groups to classify rock, mineral, and fossil samples. The students concluded their day by watching the Earth’s processes at work as they toured the highly decorated Inner Space Cavern.
”Education in Action’s Discover Texas Field Trips are based on the understanding that the most effective way for students to learn is through experience,” stated Jennifer Pasteur, Education in Action’s Executive Director. ”Student activities during Discover Texas Field Trips reinforce and supplement Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) learning objectives in fun and hands-on ways at significant Texas sites that bring the content to life.”
Education in Action’s Discover Texas Field Trips make it easy for teachers to take their 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classrooms on organized, fun, and educational site-based learning experiences. Education in Action handles all details, including round-trip charter bus transportation, meals, and reservations, and provides the TEKS-based program curriculum so participating teachers can focus on their students and making connections between the experience and what students are learning in the classroom.
Discover Texas Field Trips are presented by Education in Action, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering educated and involved young people. In addition to one-day Discover Texas Field Trips to Austin, San Antonio, Waco/Georgetown, Dallas, and Fort Worth, Education in Action also offers summer Lone Star Leadership Academy camps for outstanding 4th-8th graders. During the weeklong, overnight camps, participants experience significant Texas sites in Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin/San Antonio, or Houston/Galveston with Texas educators and a focus on leadership. For more information about Education in Action visit www.educationinaction.org and www.facebook.com/educationinaction.
Fourth graders from Birdville ISD’s David E. Smith Elementary traveled to Austin and San Antonio on an Education in Action Discover Texas Field Trip, Wednesday, March 2, 2022, to experience what they are learning in Texas History. Students visited the Texas State Capitol, The Alamo, and The Witte Museum.
During the charter bus ride to Austin, students discussed why Texans are so proud of their unique heritage and participated in activities and games in preparation for their day. In Austin the students visited the Texas State Capitol where their legislators, The Honorable Kelly Hancock, State Senator, District 9 and The Honorable Stephanie Klick, State Representative, District 91, office. Students saw first-hand where Texas laws are made as they toured the State Capitol including the Senate and House of Representatives chambers. Students then traveled to San Antonio where they toured The Alamo, one of the most famous missions in the United States, and learned about the Battle of the Alamo’s role in the Texas Revolution. At the Witte Museum students experienced how the people of the lower Pecos region lived long ago through a variety of hands-on activities including creating rock art to simulate the narratives the people created on rock shelter walls, processing the lechugilla plant for its fiber, and using atlatls to ”hunt” deer.
”Education in Action’s Discover Texas Field Trips are based on the understanding that the most effective way for students to learn is through experience,” stated Jennifer Pasteur, Education in Action’s Executive Director. ”Student activities during Discover Texas Field Trips reinforce and supplement Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) learning objectives in fun and hands-on ways at significant Texas sites that bring the content to life.”
