GAINESVILLE, Texas — Gainesville ISD is lining up the last steps before classes return, with Meet the Teacher night set for Aug. 10 and required substitute orientation dates posted for the 2026-27 year.
The school board held its final meeting before the new year on Monday afternoon, the Gainesville Daily Register reported. “It’s hard to believe that in three weeks we’ll be in school,” Superintendent DesMontes Stewart said. “I don’t know where the summer months have gone, but they have flown by, and we are burning the candle at both ends, trying to get prepared and ready to usher in the 26-27 school year.”
Meet the Teacher — Monday, Aug. 10
Meet the Teacher is scheduled two days before students return to class that Wednesday. Times are staggered so families with children on more than one campus can make multiple stops:
- Head Start: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
- Edison Elementary: 4:30 to 6 p.m.
- Chalmers Elementary: 5:30 to 7 p.m.
- Gainesville Intermediate School: 6 to 7:30 p.m.
- Gainesville Junior High: 5 to 6:30 p.m.
- Gainesville High School: 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Early STAAR review and strategic plan
Monday’s meeting also included an early look at 2026 STAAR results. Overall scores were up from 2025 across grade levels, with softer results in seventh-grade math and Algebra I that district leaders said matched a statewide pattern.
Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Dana Cudenhoeffer said honors students who once took the seventh-grade test are now in advanced courses and take the eighth-grade assessment instead, which changes how seventh-grade results look. Stewart said the district is reviewing staffing in those courses.
Trustees also approved a five-year strategic plan. Near-term goals include raising the share of third-graders meeting grade level from 22% to 35% in reading and from 20% to 35% in math, and lifting the share of graduating seniors meeting college, career and military readiness criteria from 95% to 100%. Broader priorities focus on rigorous academics, instructional leadership and student support systems.
Substitute orientation
Separately, GISD posted substitute orientation dates for 2026-27. New and returning substitutes must attend one session before they can be approved for employment. Orientation runs 9 to 10 a.m. at the GISD Administration Building, 900 N. Grand Avenue, with additional single-session options on Sept. 9, Oct. 7, Nov. 4, Dec. 2, Jan. 13 and Feb. 3.
New substitutes must finish an online employment application before training and bring a current driver’s license, Social Security card and official high school or college transcripts. Questions go to Human Resources at 940-665-4362 or avela@gainesvilleisd.org.