Monday morning 13 North Texas school districts welcomed students back to the classroom including Irving Independent School District.
The district, which educates about 32,000 students, welcomed students for the 2024-2025 school year with the theme "Ignite Irving."
"This theme embodies our commitment to igniting passion, curiosity, excellence, and all of the other traits that create success for every student and educator in our district," said Irving ISD on its website.
"I'm so excited for the new school year," said Francisco Rico, the principal of John R. Good Elementary School in Irving. "Our vision on campus is that every student who walks through our doors will grow academically, socially, and emotionally."
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He said they're implementing three new curriculums for reading, math, and science.
"That's a lot of change, it's a challenge however we are excited because we know at this point before the new curriculum, teachers were struggling to come up with what to teach and create lesson plans. Now the teachers are going to have the lesson plans ready and they will only have to worry about how to teach," explained Rico.
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This year educators in the district will have access to a new wellness center that focuses on mental health and offers yoga classes and work space.
Irving ISD also added new safety and security features thanks to a 2023 bond package. The campuses will have cameras monitoring the schools in real time and monitored.
The bond also included renovating 32 schools across the district to help update buildings. The district said the average age of Irving ISD facilities is 47.6 years.
There's a plan to introduce two 'Baby Universities' which would be tuition-based employee childcare centers for infants to toddlers. It's part of a bigger effort to appeal and retain teachers as many districts experience shortages.
