During March’s meeting, the Angleton ISD Board of Trustees approved key measures to support district initiatives, including early childhood education and teacher development.

The board approved the 2025-2026 Pre-K tuition rate for students who do not qualify under free Pre-K eligibility requirements established by the state. The rate will remain the same as it was this past school year, and the district will continue to offer free Pre-K to those who do meet the state’s eligibility requirements

“Our goal is to continue to provide high-quality early learning opportunities for our AISD families,” AISD Director of Elementary Education Maria Macedo said. “We know how important it is to lay a strong educational foundation as early as possible and, therefore, think it’s critical to offer a rate that is as low as possible to our families so we can help as many future Wildcats as possible find success starting from the earliest of age.”

In addition, the board approved several new hires, including Tony Stewart as the new fine arts director and Mike Harmon as the new transportation director.

Human Resources Director Cyndy Pullen also presented an update on Grow Our Own (GOO), AISD’s initiative to support and develop future educators. The program works with current employees and substitutes to provide financial assistance and guidance as they work toward becoming certified teachers. Pullen highlighted the program’s impact in strengthening AISD’s teacher and professional pipeline and investing in homegrown talent.

“It’s a great relationship with the participants in the program because we are helping them achieve their goals, which in turn gives AISD a great pool of candidates who then work in our classrooms and commit to our district,” she said. “We're fortunate to witness our staff's growth and success within the program as they achieve teaching certifications, advanced degrees and,  ultimately, their educational goals."

Pullen says that the district is continuing to grow the GOO program.

“We see the potential to expand the program and add more opportunities to help those interested in becoming teachers and even advancing their careers at AISD,” she said. “We want to increase the participants in the program, adding to our numbers of student teachers and interns, alternatively certified teachers, Advanced Placement teachers, and Master’s Degree program.”

AISD Superintendent Phil Edwards is happy with the GOO program’s success and potential expansion of the program.

“I believe the growth of our Grow Our Own program reflects our ongoing commitment to workforce development, which leads to enhancing and increasing student success,” he said. “We get to see the staff in the Grow Our Own program find success, and we love to be a part of that journey. Our investment in the program and the Grow Our Own candidates will continue to benefit them as well as our district through their commitment to the program and AISD. We will continue to look at employment opportunities for areas of high need and expand the program as needed.”

In other business, the board also approved the following items:

• Superintendent’s recommendation for administrator and professional contracts and issuance of contracts

• Order of Cancelation for election

• Property (including windstorm) Insurance renewal

• Liability Insurance renewal

• Classroom TV upgrades

• Resolution regarding purchases of furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) and technology for Heritage Junior High and Heartland Elementary