Parent Weekly Newsletter

Free & Reduced Meal Application

Applications for free or reduced price meals will be mailed out to all families each year. A self-addressed, stamped envelope will be provided for the return of the application form. You may also complete the application online in English or Spanish! Click headline to access additional information & the online application.

PTA membership sign up

We need your VOICE - Join PTA to advocate for OUR children’s education! We host MAJOR school events, fund school trips, projects, and MUCH more! We support OUR TEACHERS!

Online Student Registration!

Student Registration 2023-2024: Online registration for the 2023-2024 school year opened April 27 for all new and returning students. Click headline for more information.

Hays CISD to Create Attendance Zone for New Elementary

The process is underway to create a new elementary school attendance zone to accommodate the opening of the district’s 16th elementary school. The new campus, located in the Anthem subdivision, will open in August 2024. In July 2023, the Board of Trustees voted to empanel a committee of 14 citizens to review proposed maps, receive public input, and create a recommendation that will be presented to the Board for a vote no later than December of this year. “Board policy requires the district administration to create at least two starting-point maps for consideration by the citizen committee,” said Hays CISD Chief Communication Officer Tim Savoy. “We encourage everyone who has an opinion to reach out to the committee by using the special ‘Zone Talk’ button on the committee’s webpage or attending one of two public forums. People can also follow along as the process progresses, view the prevailing draft maps, and see all of the materials presented to the committee on the committee webpage.”  The committee webpage is www.hayscisd.net/zone2023. Click headline or "Read More" for full story.

Hays History Day - Parent & Community Informational Meeting

Hays CISD is excited to announce the second annual Hays History Day will be held on January 20, 2024. Our district History Day competition is in conjunction with the Texas History Day competition hosted by the Texas State Historical Association and the National History Day organization. History Day's purpose is to equip students with college and career ready skills of collaboration, research, writing, and innovative thinking that come from the study of history and civics. It is a wonderful way to incorporate Social Studies and Reading and Language Arts state standards into innovative projects. The competition is open to students from grades 4 through 12. Please join us for more information at a parent and community meeting on Thursday, September 21 from 5:30pm to 6:30pm at the Barton Middle School cafeteria. We will discuss the theme for this year's project and options for student projects.  Please click headline or "Read More" for additional details.

Hays CISD to Dedicate New Fine Arts Wing at Dahlstrom MS to Honor Longtime Music Educator Leroy Gerdes

Hays CISD is proud to announce that the new fine arts wing at Dahlstrom Middle School (DMS), which includes the school’s new band hall and music rooms, will be named after Leroy Gerdes. Gerdes, who taught and directed bands for 44 years, including 34 in Hays CISD, was the original band director for DMS in 1985, when the campus opened. Though he was a band director at several schools in the district, including the then – Hays Middle School and Barton Middle School; he spent most of his Hays CISD career at DMS. He retired in 2019. “Leroy works hard for all of the right reasons. He is a very humble man who strives for success in order for his students to become life-long lovers of music, and to feel good about themselves and their accomplishments,” said Gerald Babbitt, retired Hays CISD Director of Bands and Music, and namesake for the district’s Performing Arts Center auditorium. Click headline above or "Read More" for complete News Release.

SMART Tag

Hays CISD uses the Secured Mobility Authorized Ridership Technology (SMART) tag system for all students who ride the bus to and from school. Each of our buses is outfitted with a tablet equipped with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader, mobile connectivity, and GPS. Students place their campus-supplied SMART tag ID badges on the tablet's sensor when loading and unloading their bus. Our bus drivers also benefit through improved safety and automation of tasks, better enabling them to focus on the safe transport of students. Specifically, the SMART tag wireless system transmits information to our transportation staff to include the location of each bus, the names of students on board each bus, notification of an approaching bus, and the ability to view a student’s ridership activity. The SMART tag system also offers parents a bus tracking feature through a secure Parent Portal. Parents can register to receive ‘SMART Alert’ text messages notifying them their child is 10-15 minutes from his/her bus stop. The ‘SMART Alert’ will also notify parents in the event of a bus delay or interruption in service due to a mechanical issue, traffic, inclement weather or crash. The portal may be accessed from any device with a web browser. Click headline above or "Read More" for additional information about the SMART Tag system.