Graham ISD Community,
It’s been a great start to the 2025-2026 school year. Thank you to all our families for providing support and encouragement to your child. Please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher or school counselor if you have any concerns related to academics or social emotional growth.
While we expect some enrollment fluctuations throughout the year, I am pleased to report that we are up about 35 students over our May enrollment. With about a month to go until the October Snapshot date, Graham ISD currently has 2,146 students in Early Childhood through Grade 12. As an open enrollment district, we will continue to welcome new students to our district throughout the year. If you have family or friends who wish to have their children attend school here, please encourage them to enroll on campus.
Equally as important as keeping our enrollment up is ensuring good attendance. Consistent attendance when your child is healthy leads to improved academic performance and interpersonal connections. Your child is missed when not in class, and it impacts not only their own learning, but the collective learning of their classmates. State funding depends on average daily attendance, so let’s all work together to ensure good habits. Of course if your child is feverish or sick, please keep them home to recover and protect other students and staff from illness.
We introduced our newly adopted Strategic Plan to the community in June. We will continue our commitment to transparency, effective communication, and engagement by launching a new Dollars & Sense finance project this fall to explain the school budget, Texas school finance, and how we put your tax dollars to work for the children of GISD. I cannot wait to share more with you about this in the coming weeks and months.
We will also soon be forming a Facility Planning Committee as we commit to excellence in facilities that promote innovative, healthy, and welcoming learning environments. Stay tuned to more information coming on how to share your feedback on this important topic as we implement Strategy 4.1 of our plan to create a sustainable and comprehensive long-term facility plan.
Committed to Excellence,
Dr. Johnston
Superintendent
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The Graham ISD School Board met for its monthly meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 10. In addition to student and staff recognitions, the Board voted to amend the budget, spending up to $238,000 on new technology devices for employees. Staff laptops were last replaced about five years ago and cannot be updated, leading to slow and unreliable performance. This necessitated the replacement of these devices.
The Board also adopted an order authorizing the defeasance and redemption of up to $1.3 million in outstanding debt obligations. Each year Trustees adopt two parts to the school tax rate, the Maintenance and Operations or M&O rate, and the Interest & Sinking or I&S rate. The I&S rate previously adopted by the Board of Trustees provides the opportunity for defeasance, which is a prepayment of debt that will reduce the District’s overall debt service requirements. By paying debt down early, the Board can help save GISD taxpayers significant interest costs over the life of the bond.
Board Policy GKD (LOCAL) permits non-school use of designated District facilities for educational,
recreational, civic, or social activities when these activities do not conflict with school use or with this policy. Throughout the spring of 2025 GISD convened a group of stakeholders to improve GISD’s procedures for managing facility usage. The goal of this committee was to develop guidelines that clarify district procedures and expectations regarding the use of facilities. Revenue from facility rentals was a consideration of this committee. This revenue may be used for staffing and maintenance resulting from facility use. To see the fee structure and make a request for use of a GISD facility, visit the Facility Usage page on the GISD website.
In other business, the School Board:
- Approved a class size waiver for Graham Elementary School; the state requires school districts to request a waiver and notify parents if a PreK-4 class exceeds 22:1. Graham Elementary has one class that requires a waiver;
- Heard a report on Academics including topics such as Curriculum Nights, Instructional Technology, Curriculum Design Teams, Accountability and Assessment;
- Approved a request to submit a waiver for Remote Homebound Instruction for a student that requires Homebound services;
- Approved the Consent Agenda, which consisted of previous meeting minutes and financial reports, as well as an anonymous donation from a family who wish to donate the funds needed to cover the 10-cent increase in school lunches for 2025-26. This donation keeps the meal prices the same as 2024-25;
- Heard a report on a SECO Energy Grant totaling $200,000 which will help districts replace interior and exterior overhead lighting, wall packs, and all other qualified lighting with high-efficiency LED lighting systems. Excel Energy Group has performed an energy audit within GISD facilities that will lead to a proposal including scope of work to consider.
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The College Board National Recognition Program awards academic honors to high-performing students to help them stand out to colleges and celebrate their hard work. Students of all backgrounds from schools nationwide are eligible to claim an award based on their achievement on AP® Exams and/or PSAT-related assessments. By claiming a National Recognition Program award, eligible students have a tangible way to share their academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs.
The 2025 College Board National Recognition Program offers three award designations:
- School Recognition Award, a new addition that honors the top-performing students in high schools nationwide.
- First-Generation Recognition Award, honoring students on track to be the first in their family to complete college.
- Rural and Small-Town Recognition Award, which elevates students from high schools in smaller communities that are often less well known by colleges.
Students are eligible in their 10th- and 11th- grade years for their exceptional academic performance. To qualify, students must:
Take the PSAT/NMSQT™ (10th, 11th), PSAT™ 10 (10th), and/or AP Exams (by the end of 10th grade).
Earn a cumulative GPA of B+ or higher (at least 3.3 or 87%−89%) by the time of submission.
Demonstrate further academic achievement:
- Be one of the top 10% of test takers─in their high school, among first-generation college students in their state, and/or among rural and small-town students in their state OR
- Earn 3 or higher on 2 or more distinct AP Exams in the 9th and/or 10th grade.
To view the complete list of students recognized, visit our website.
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Trustees recognized Jimi Bates and Brooklyn Walls as recipients of a grant that awarded them the 2025 Workforce Solutions North Texas Externship over the summer. Mrs. Bates and Mrs. Walls reviewed their learning from their externships this summer, as well as applying what they learned with their students. |
From time to time, Graham ISD schools may implement one of five Standard Response Protocols as part of the district’s emergency response plan. These protocols include Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, Shelter and Hold. We will be using space in our monthly community newsletters to review the procedures and purposes of each of these protocols.
The first protocol explained for the 2025-26 school year is a campus Secure. A Secure is typically announced over the intercom system to alert students and staff members to stay safely inside the building.
During a Secure, students and staff are safely locked inside the building due to a situation or threat outside. This is different from a Lockdown which is implemented when the threat to students and staff is imminent and more likely inside the building.
Depending on the circumstances of a Secure, classes and learning are likely to continue, but no one will be allowed in or out of the building while the Secure is in place. Before placing a campus in Secure, all students and staff outside the building must be alerted and brought safely inside. All exterior doors are then locked prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving the building. Students and staff are typically free to move from class to class inside the building, but cannot go outside until the situation has been resolved.
Examples of when a Secure could be ordered include when first responders must address a threat or police situation in a neighborhood or area around the campus, to capture a stray animal on school property or to manage a chemical spill on a nearby highway.
Typically in a Secure, there is no imminent threat or emergency to the students or staff as long as they stay inside the building. The Secure SRP merely gives the administration and first responders the opportunity to address a situation outside the building before giving an “All Clear.”
Often, a Secure lasts only a few minutes but it typically warrants an email communication to all parents to explain the facts and to reassure them that students and staff are locked safely inside. During this time the campus will not allow visitors, deliveries or outside recess or activities. Once the “all clear” is given, staff and families should be notified in writing and across the intercom system that the Secure has been lifted.
If you ever have questions about any of the district’s SRPs, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your campus principal.
For Our Parents: Watch for #GrahamSafe announcements through the ParentSquare mobile app.
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In order to establish a safety-focused system and provide partnership with our community members who would like to attend our Pep Rallies, we will be implementing a process for visitors/any adults for Pep Rallies this year.
Parents/Community Members who would like to attend pep rallies will need to scan/link to the QR Code or link to register and provide the required information (this system is similar to processes for class parties at elementary schools.) This will need to be done for each pep rally by 8 a.m. the day of the pep rally. This will give our office staff enough time to print and organize the badges. The QR Code will be shared each week through a reminder email, GHS Website & GHS Facebook.
Here is the Day of Pep Rally Process:
- On Pep Rally Day, Parents and Community Members who have pre-enrolled will enter through the gym doors and will receive their pre-printed badge.
- If you do not enroll before Friday at 8 a.m., you may scan the QR code at the check-in table by the gym before the Pep Rally to receive your visitor badge.
- Parents and Community Members will sit in the reserved area on the home side section closest to the gym doors. When the space fills, parents and community members will be directed to the upper section.
Thank you for your continued support of safety on our campus.
Go Steers and Lady Blues!
Mr. Adam Anderson
GHS Principal
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We are excited to launch our Silver Steer and Lady Blues Club for our Graham Senior Citizens. Our first meeting will be Oct. 16 from 9-10:30 a.m. at the Graham Learning Center. We will have more information on Facebook and in our next edition of the teleGRAHAM on Oct. 9. |
Pioneer Elementary
- Counselor or Assistant Principal
- Paraprofessional
Crestview Elementary
- Teacher, 1st grade beginning Jan. 5, 2026
New Substitute Training
We love our substitute teachers. Our next training for new substitutes will be Wednesday, Sept. 17 from 8:30-11:00 at the Graham Learning Center. Please make sure to apply online for the substitute position. Fill out this form to RSVP for the training on Wednesday.
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“When my daughter faced a problem at Crestview, Ms. Roberts and Mrs. Thompson advocated for her and worked hard to remedy the situation. I’m so thankful to have BOTH principals listen to parents’ concerns and care deeply for the students at Crestview!” - Submitted by Anonymous |
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“Coach Walls is the director of GHS Spirit Programs overseeing the cheerleaders and Blue Crew. Coach Walls has gone above and beyond with an amazing attitude to see school spirit soar in Graham. Her and her family want to see the Graham tradition continue on and thrive. We are thankful for her willingness to help these programs grow, flourish, and shine. Thank you Coach Walls. Keep up the amazing work!” - Submitted by Erika Schmidt |
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Have a Graham ISD student or staff member that deserves a shoutout in an upcoming newsletter or social media post? Take a few moments to share information about the achievement or contribution the staff or student made and share photos if you have them using the form provided below. |
We’re proud to share that sign-on bonuses have been delivered! We’re so excited to have new employees to kick off the start of a new school year. Thank you to all of these dedicated new team members! |
Crestview Elementary had their first “Fist Bump Friday” last week! Students were greeted with smiles and school spirit by the Graham Steers Football Players, Bella Blues, Cheerleaders, Blue Crew, and Lady Blue Volleyball Players. It was a great start to a fantastic Friday! |
The football festivities are in full gear! We’re grateful for our many Band Boosters and the volunteers that take the time to make our home games so special. |
Graham High School celebrated the first home football game with an all-school pep rally! Thanks to the Cheerleaders, Blue Crew, and Student Council for all you did to organize and host this exciting event to kick-off the season. We look forward to welcoming Crestview Elementary tomorrow to the Pep Rally with the Disney Theme! |
Campus Curriculum Nights:
- Sept. 11: Pioneer (PreK 5:00, K 5:30)
- Sept. 17: Woodland (4th 5:00, 5th 5:30)
- Sept. 22: Crestview (1st 5:00, 2nd 4:30, 3rd 5:30)
- Sept. 24: Graham Junior High (6th-8th 5:30)
Important Dates:
- Sept. 19: Graham ISD Closed/No School
- Sept .26: Pink Out Pep Rally/Home Game for Football
- Sept. 30: ACT Test Day
- Oct. 3: Parent/Teacher Conferences/ No School
- Oct. 7: Pink Out Game for Lady Blues Volleyball
- Oct 9: End of 1st 9 weeks grading period
- Oct. 10: Professional Learning for all Employees /No School for Students
- Oct. 17: Homecoming!
Check out the Online GISD Calendar for a more comprehensive list of upcoming academic, athletic, fine arts and extracurricular activities.
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In this section, you will find information from PTO or Parent Class Officers each month! We will have more updates in August in this section.
We appreciate our parent groups that support our campuses. Below are links to the Dues/Payment Options for $20 Class Dues for the Grade Levels. These groups sponsor the 8th grade Dance and the Prom to name a few.
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QR Code to Pay $20 Dues
Please note: user must have the Venmo app to access this payment form.
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QR Code to Pay $20 Dues
Please note: user must have the PayPal app downloaded and QR code payments set up.
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QR Code to Pay $20 Dues
Please note: user must have the PayPal app downloaded and QR code payments set up.
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QR Code to Pay $20 Dues
Please note: user must have the PayPal app downloaded and QR code payments set up.
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QR Code to Pay $20 Dues
Please note: user must have the Venmo app downloaded.
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Woodland PTO is kicking off their Big Kahuna fundraiser this month. We highly recommend the cookie dough and wrapping paper. Find a Woodland Elementary student to order!
To keep up-to-date on all things Woodland PTO including volunteer sign ups, calendar of events, minutes from the most recent meeting, and more, visit the Woodland PTO Link Tree!
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Graham ISD Pink Out games are coming up soon and t-shirts are now on sale! Key Club designed the shirt and the proceeds of the sales will help members of our community who are battling cancer. The online store closes on Monday, Sept 15 - order today!
The Pink Out Pep Rally/Game is on Friday, Sept. 26 for Football and Tuesday, Oct. 7 for Volleyball. For those who ordered shirts, they will be available for pick up at Graham High School on the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 24.
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400 Third Street | Graham, TX 76450
940-549-0595
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