Midway ISD Invests in Preparing Students

from Greater Waco Business Spring 2022 - Waco: A Quality of Life Community

The Art of Recovery

by Traci Marlin, Director of Communications, Midway Independent School District

Midway Independent School District (MISD) is one of the largest school districts in the Greater Waco area and serves thousands of students. A $31 million, 57,000-sq. ft. investment in building the community’s future workforce opens this August nearly adjacent to Waco’s Industrial Park. Midway High School’s massive new wing expands the campus capacity by 400 students, and it is entirely dedicated to Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs that align with some of the strongest job needs: Information Technology, Health Science, and Engineering. Many of these programs require specific facilities and industry-grade equipment and software so students are learning skills that can be immediately applied and transferred into the workforce. New CTE facilities will allow for student growth and access to industry-standard equipment and technology in Engineering; Computer Science and Cybersecurity; Health Science and Biomedical Science; A/V Production and Communication; Graphic Design and Commercial Photography; and Fashion Design. A portion of the construction project opened during the 2021-2022 school year providing students with upgraded facilities used to study Welding and Agriculture Mechanics.

Primarily due to the booming population in the MISD area, Midway facilities are expanding from prekindergarten services through high school college credit programs. In the past five years, the student enrollment in Midway ISD has grown by nearly 850 students and it is projected to climb an additional 2,300 students in the next few years.

Facilities opening for fall 2022 include construction of one new elementary school, and renovations to current campuses that will create another new elementary campus and a second middle school for the district. The former Food Lion in Hewitt has an entirely new facade and purpose as the district’s information technology center, staff training center, and the launch of Midway High School’s new Horizons Program. Horizons will serve 100 students in a non-traditional high school environment focused on work-study or early college credits. Renovations also include significant upgrades to Midway Middle school, as well as HVAC systems and roofs across the district.

**Project Lead the Way Teachers Brady Gibson and Susan Jones, and 2020 Graduate Ben White**

**Computer Programming Teacher BJ Williams with Superintendent Dr. George Kazanas**

Such growth is indicative of the district’s highly soughtafter programs. As a 1:1 district, every single student is issued an iPad managed and equipped by the district for future-focused learning. Students are in fact future ready as indicated by a 91.4% College, Career and Military Readiness rating. 99.8% of the students graduate not only just walking the stage, but staying with their class cohort, with 100% college acceptance through MCC. Teachers are prepared and supported for successful, innovative classroom learning through Texas’s best professional development program (Learning Forward’s Outstanding Professional Development Award 2022), and professional learning systems such as the district’s new teacher mentor program and Texas’s only in-house National Board Certification program.

Midway High School is the Waco area’s largest high school, competing in UIL 6A athletics and fine arts. For well over a decade, MISD has been named one of the Nation’s Best Communities for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation due to the significant investment in education in the arts beginning in prekindergarten. Midway schools host the area’s only orchestra program beginning in 6th grade. Students in choir, band, and orchestra perform and compete at the state level for UIL and TMEA on an annual basis.

Pride in athletics excellence runs deep from a rich history of state-level success. Several dozen athletes sign to play at the collegiate level every single year. Midway Athletics fosters quality training in early years through community partnerships that can utilize MISD’s facilities including an indoor full-length football and soccer field. Midway High School also has the only school swim and water polo teams in the Waco area.

Midway ISD provides age-appropriate introductions and integrations with Career and Technical Education, Fine Arts, and Athletics beginning in elementary schools. Together, these programs provide robust opportunities for a well-rounded education that can benefit all students with the ultimate goal to prepare students to excel in a global society.