Impact Award - Coach Coordinates Breakfast for Heroes

Travel back in your mind to the end of summertime… Volcanic temperatures, long sunny days, and for campus faculty and staff – summer planning retreats! The staff from Asa Low Intermediate held their fourth annual retreat on August 8, 2012.

During the retreat, the team split into groups to tackle various objectives and plans for the upcoming school year. At that time their ideas were just notes on paper, but four months later, plans have sprung into action and expectations have been exceeded.

Coach David Rinearson led a Community Outreach planning group. Upon his recommendation, the team prepared plans for a “Breakfast for Heroes,” event that would benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.

The Wounded Warrior Project is a military-based program that provides programs and services to severely injured service members during the time between active duty and transition to civilian life.

“The goal is to help them get their life back,” said Rinearson. “Sometimes it’s through counseling, sometimes it’s through helping them purchase prosthesis.”

Rinearson worked with the local Applebee’s to coordinate a community pancake breakfast to raise money for the project. He also enlisted Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 6111 in Arlington to help publicize the event. 

The students of Asa Low were also instrumental in the success of the event. After gathering donations from family and community members, they raised a grand total of $1,400! Principal Jason Short was impressed with the way the students responded to the event.

“We wanted not just to involve the kids, but to teach them,” Short said. “We teach a lot about character around here, so we wanted them to tie those messages together, and this activity did that.”

On November 11, a group of veterans from Post 6111 came to the campus to accept the check, which was presented by school namesake Asa Low. As a token of their appreciation the veterans presented Rinearson with a special VFW coin. The coin is presented to those who do something beyond the normal scope of duty, and is considered a great honor.

On behalf of the MISD Administration, congratulations to Coach David Rinearson for making a positive impact in his school and community and for being named our latest Impact Award recipient. Job well done!

Watch the Impact Award video on YouTube:

Impact Award: Career Tech Instructors Soar with Solar Power

When Jackie Bishop was researching home solar panels online last spring, he came across a project that would soon make Mansfield ISD history.

The Solar Car Challenge was founded to motivate students in science, engineering, technology and alternative energy – plus, it involves some pretty cool race cars!

After discovering the challenge, Bishop, an Auto Tech teacher at Ben Barber Career Tech Academy, quickly enlisted the help of Rob Goodson, an Engineering teacher on campus. The enthusiastic duo recruited a group of about twenty-five students to form “The Shine Runners,” MISD’s first ever solar car team.

Their mission was to design and construct a solar car to compete in the Solar Car Challenge, which is held at Texas Motor Speedway each summer. Since forming in 1993, the competition has grown from a high school extracurricular activity to a national event drawing over 65 schools from 20 states.

As construction on the car kicked off at the end of the school year, Bishop and Goodson enlisted the help of students from auto tech, engineering, media tech, graphic design, welding and construction; each of whom offered a level of expertise in their area.

In addition to uniting students from across the campus, the solar car project drew interest and support from several community businesses, including Mouser Electronics, The Power Store, ExelTech and Lockheed Martin. These sponsors contributed to the success of the project through donations of funds, equipment and even brain power.

A senior electrical engineer from ExelTech logged about 300 hours working closely with the students.

“It was a huge benefit to work with industry professionals,” said Bishop. “They learned about technology we wouldn’t typically learn in class. The experience they gained from this is something they will never forget.”

The team worked long hours throughout the summer, to ensure the car would be ready for its debut at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Shine Runners emerged victorious from their first race, with the 6th place title and the prestigious William Shih Award, presented to the solar car team with the highest level of technological achievement.

“It was probably the safest one out there,” said Goodson of the solar car. “It may not be the fastest, but it was most structurally sounds and had the best overall features. We are very proud of them for that.”

Following the success of their first race, the Shine Runners are already looking forward to their next challenge. They plan to take part in an eight-day cross-country race from Dallas to Los Angeles in July of 2013.

On behalf of the Mansfield ISD Administration, we wish the Shine Runnners the best of luck in their future challenges and we congratulate their fearless leaders, Jackie Bishop and Rob Goodson, for receiving our latest MISD Impact Award! They have truly earned their place in the sun.

Campus Strives to Make a Community Impact

The faculty members of D.P. Morris Elementary approached the 2011-12 school year with a fresh, new perspective. As a team, they made a purposeful effort to focus on doing good things for others and fostering a strong sense of community. Through various programs, events and fundraising activities, the team at Morris grew closer together through helping others.

A key example of this service-focused strategy is the Holiday Open House event held on campus last December. The goal of this program was to take a simple event and transform it into an opportunity to do something great for students and families in need during the holiday season.

The campus staff identified 25 D.P. Morris families that were in need of assistance and each classroom worked together to make crafts, ornaments, snacks and goodies to sell for $1 or less.  The event had a tremendous turnout and resulted in a collection of over $2,500 to donate to the families in need.

The good will demonstrated through the Holiday Open House helped provide a memorable holiday season for those families as well as the staff and students of D.P. Morris, particularly one family that had never been able to afford a Christmas tree.

“You think that’s a simple thing and that a Christmas tree is just automatic,” said Secretary Linda Moss. “In this case they had never had one, so we were able to fulfill that wish.”

The success of the Holiday Open House event is just one example of the type of positive impact the Morris staff made last school year. The campus also united to raise money for a Morris student battling illness this spring. The campus Principal, Billy Snow, believes these activities benefit students and staff by reinforcing positive values and emphasizing the importance of helping others.

“We’ve focused a lot on student engagement as a team, and all of the things we’ve done together have really bonded us as a campus,” said Snow. “We also talk a lot about how it’s our calling to be teachers, and to make a difference.”

Check out the latest Impact Award video. On behalf of the MISD administration, congratulations to the entire staff of D.P. Morris Elementary for receiving the final Impact Award for the 2011-12 school year for demonstrating phenomenal community service and teamwork!

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The Impact Award was established to recognize individual staff members, departments, campuses or other employee groups that have promoted teamwork and unity by initiating a program or event that made a positive impact within Mansfield ISD and the community. Impact Award winners may be nominated by staff, students or community members.

Winners are selected each month throughout the school year. Staff members who receive The Impact Award are eligible for other district honors.

Community Partnership Impacts School and Church

Frazier accepts Impact Award on behalf of Nash Staff. Also pictured,
Principal Rennda Branson and Superintendent Dr. Bob Morrison.

When Leigh Anne Frazier’s church congregation was in search of a group to sponsor through their community outreach efforts, it didn’t take her long to make a suggestion. As a member of Community of Hope (COH) United Methodist Church of Mansfield and a Title I Reading Teacher at Erma Nash Elementary School, Frazier was placed in a very special position.

“I’m on a committee at church that focuses on helping groups in our community,” said Frazier. “I also work at a Title I school where our students and their families have many needs including educational, financial, physical and emotional.”

With the assistance of Frazier and the staff at Erma Nash, a mutually beneficial partnership between Nash Elementary and COH was born. Over the course of the year, COH extended support to Nash families in need through donations of clothing, school supplies, food and money, including an anonymous check for $1,750 which funded the purchase of technology equipment for the classrooms and students.

Church members were also able to make an impact throughout the holiday season. Another Mansfield ISD employee/COH member Shelley Trammell has had the opportunity to experience the dual benefits of the partnership

“To see both groups come together, working as one for the education of our little ones has been more than breath-taking,” said Trammell. “As a member of COH I head up our Angel program and this year all of our efforts went to adopting Nash students and their siblings. The church went bananas with donations – it was incredible!”

Many students and families at Nash have benefited from the amazing outpouring of support from the Community of Hope congregation, and the joy is definitely felt by both parties. 

“Being able to see one help the other has been so life-changing for me,” said Frazier “Most of all this has been great for the kids.”


On behalf of the Mansfield ISD Administration, congratulations to the entire staff of Erma Nash Elementary for receiving the Impact Award for helping to foster such a fantastic partnership with the Community of Hope United Methodist Church in Mansfield.

Science Teacher Makes an Impact in Space

Teachers can make an impact in the classroom and even in the community, but have you ever met a teacher that made an impact in space?

Patricia Londono, a Science Teacher at Asa Low Intermediate School, was the driving force that brought the NASA Downlink “Teaching from Space” event to her campus and Mansfield ISD in January 2012.

The monumental event allowed students to have a live Q & A with the astronauts on the International Space Station, and until this year, there was only one event of its kind held in the DFW area.

When Londono’s first proposal to NASA was rejected in early 2010, she refused to take “no” for an answer.  She contacted NASA for input, tweaked the proposal and resubmitted it the following school year. Her persistence paid off, and in July of 2011, Londono received word that Asa Low Intermediate School had been awarded the downlink.

 “I remember when the first proposal was turned down, she immediately began working on improvements for the next draft,” said Principal Jason Short. “Instead of hanging her head, she chose to persevere, especially because she knew the program would be great for the kids.”

Upon receiving the green light from NASA, Londono pulled a team together and got the ball rolling on plans for the event. Over several weeks, Londono helped coordinate over 100 space-related lessons, projects, webcasts and a Space Night event that featured genuine moon rocks and a NASA space suit. The excitement surrounding the event spread districtwide when the Mansfield ISD School Board approved a resolution to ceremonially rename the campus “NASA Low Intermediate School” for the month of January.

 “I started getting feedback from other campuses and people out in the community and I began to see what kind of impact this program was making,” said Short.

After months of planning and anticipation, the event culminated on January 31, when Mission Commander Dan Burbank spoke the words, “We’ve got you loud and clear, welcome aboard the International Space Station,” upon establishing a connection through the satellite feed. 

“It really seemed surreal that day that it was actually occurring,” said Londono. “It had taken so long to get to that point and so much work and so many ups and downs. It was amazing to finally get there.”

The Q&A session was viewed live by thousands of MISD students and many others throughout the community. In event was covered by several local news stations, and was also highlighted on CNN.   

The experience was definitely a teaching dream come true for Londono, but after all is said and done, the students remain the driving force behind all of her hard work.

“They [the students] probably won’t remember my name but they’ll remember they got to talk to the astronauts and that’s what is important,” said Londono.

On behalf of the MISD Administration, congratulations to Patricia Londono, a very deserving winner of the Impact Award!



[Watch this video inside the MISD network on the Video Portal.]
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The Impact Award was established to recognize individual staff members, departments, campuses or other employee groups that have promoted teamwork and unity by initiating a program or event that made a positive impact within Mansfield ISD and the community. Impact Award winners may be nominated by staff, students or community members.

Winners are selected each month throughout the school year. Staff members who receive The Impact Award are eligible for other district honors.