portraits

    »     AMARILLO ISD

5

 AISD Board of Trustees

F. Scott Flow - President

John Ben Blanchard – Vice-President

Jim Austin

John Betancourt

Robin Malone

Renee McCown

Cristy Wilkinson

District Leadership

Interim Superintendent

Doug Loomis

General Counsel

Andrea Gulley

Chief Financial Offi cer

Pati Buchenau

Chief Human Resources Offi cer

Doug Loomis

Chief Technology Offi cer

Jeff Roller

Chief Leadership & Support Offi cers

David Bishop

Kevin Phillips

Sandy Whitlow

Directors

Denise Blanchard, Community Partnerships 

Susan Hoyl, Community Relations

Tracey Morman, Counseling/College & 

    Career Readiness

Kelly Morrison, Special Education 

Holly Shelton, Communications

Amarillo Independent School District

Volume 9 • 2019

AISD Portraits, an award-winning magazine 

published by the AISD Community Relations 

Department, serves as an annual report 

to the community. The stories inside are 

intended to educate and inform readers of 

the district’s ongoing efforts to graduate 

every student prepared for life and success.

Holly Shelton - Editor

Denise Blanchard - Advertising Director

April Brownlee - Lead Writer

Susan Hoyl, Melynda Bettis and 

     Lauren Ebben - Copy Editors

Amarillo Independent School District

7200 West I-40

Amarillo, TX 79106

www.amaisd.org 

Through my lens:

Begin with the end in mind. That simple 

idea has really stuck with me lately. Whether 
it’s the fi rst day of kindergarten for your 
fi rstborn or the fi rst day of restarting that 
New Year’s resolution (for the fi fth time 
since January), the start of something 
may sometimes seem ordinary or not-so-
monumental, but it is the start -the small 
fi rst step- that can grow into something BIG.

Walk through an Amarillo ISD elementary 

school, and you’ll see small but big things 
happening fi rsthand. The friendships and 
academic foundation being laid in our 
elementary schools prepare children to grow 
up as lifelong learners and leaders. As an 
open transfer district, parents can choose 
the campus that’s right for their student, 
even if it’s not their neighborhood school. This means the opportunity to choose from a 
variety of colorful offerings from campus to campus including STEM labs, Makerspaces, 
art, environmental science, bilingual education, a robust GT program, hands-on learning 
under the big sky with outdoor education days and even a piano lab. In this issue of 
Portraits, we’ll explore some of the early childhood building blocks offered in the fi rst 
years of school. 

The journey includes the opportunity to not only start in AISD but to seamlessly Thrive 

through college. During the middle and high school years, students can explore STEM 
fi elds with access to engineering and robotics. Career and Technical Education programs, 
like PRO internships, graduate students career-ready. A 1:1 laptop program means a 
notebook computer for every student for the duration of high school. AISD is home to the 
Panhandle’s only International Baccalaureate Diploma program, considered the world’s 
most prestigious high school diploma. Starting with the 2019-2020 school year, AISD 
students will have another diploma option, not offered elsewhere in the Panhandle, the 
AP Capstone. Both of these elite diplomas help highly motivated students stand out in the 
competitive university admissions process. 

For those students who want to start the pursuit of a certifi cate or degree at their 

hometown community college, there is the Thrive Scholarship. Students who enroll in an 
AISD high school in ninth grade and meet basic requirements can earn 60 hours of tuition 
including books and fees at Amarillo College. Inside this magazine, you’ll meet a proud 
scholarship recipient in the very fi rst class of Thrive scholars.

Beginning early and continuing through the years, Amarillo ISD is home to exclusive 

choices, exclusive opportunities and now the exclusive Thrive Scholarship. Feel free to grab 
a cup of coffee, kick up your feet, and read on about how AISD is shaping futures and the 
future of our community… one start, one beginning at a time.

Editor’s Column