Parent & Students

**NEW: NOW REQUIRED** District-Issued Devices for Grades 6-12

Get ready for a great year of learning! Aledo ISD is committed to helping every student start strong. Find your grade-specific (PK - 8) school supply lists here and make sure your Bearcat is prepared for a successful school year! If your student is entering grades 9-12, teachers will give a list of supplies needed during the first week of school. Sending your student with paper and a pencil/pen on the first day should suffice until you get further instructions from teachers.

See 25-26 School Supply Lists here: aledoisd.org/schoolsupplies

One of the best parts of being a Bearcat is the amount of community support we have, and VOLUNTEERING is a huge part of that! We are grateful for all of our parent volunteers and want to remind you that, each year, all volunteers must complete a Volunteer Background Check as well as safety training on each campus where they volunteer in order to begin volunteering. Don't forget that a background check and volunteer training also must be completed for parents/guardians to go on field trips! Each campus will communicate times, dates and places for their volunteer safety training.

Registration for bus transportation is completed during the school registration process this year. However, if you missed registering your student or need to update your bus registration, you may still access that through the Ascender Parent Portal at any time.

It is important when you are registering that you enter your address correctly with Street, Lane, Road, Way, etc. Please only register once, and please take the time to go over the 2025-2026 Transportation Handbook for Students and Parents with your student(s).

Transportation Deadlines

Please remember these important Transportation deadlines:

• The bus transportation registration deadline for students utilizing bus transportation the first week of school (August 13-15) will be on Monday, August 4.
• Any registration after August 4 means your student may begin riding the bus on Monday, August 18.
• Registering your student on or after August 18 requires three business days before they may begin riding the bus.

Please remember that whenever you register your child for bus transportation, they will be in the routing system and assigned a bus only after three full business days have passed.

Bus Tracking/Information

Please download the Versatrans MyStop app to track your students’ bus location and arrival times as well as to receive notifications on delays or other pertinent information.

Bus Routes Online August 11

On Monday, August 11, you will be able to view bus routes/times through Versatrans MyStop. Username is your student ID# and Password is student date of birth XX/XX/XXX.

Click here to access the Pre-K-1st School Bus Rider Release form. It is the policy of Aledo ISD that all Pre-K, kindergarten and 1st-grade students must be met at the bus stop each afternoon by a parent or guardian unless granted permission to the Director of Transportation for an older sibling or other approved family member to meet the Pre-K-1st-grade child after submission and approval of this form. Parents/guardians must be at the bus stop each day on time for their student(s) until they receive notification of approval of this request. This form must be renewed each year. Please print, fill out and sign this form and return it via email to lreece@aledoisd.org.

If you live in a gated neighborhood that is served by our bus system, please have your HOA president or a neighborhood representative (only one per neighborhood!) reach out to our transportation department as soon as possible to discuss pickup and drop-off location options for this school year. You may email LaShonda Taylor at ltaylor@aledoisd.org to discuss the options for your neighborhood.

School hours will remain the same for the 2025-2026 school year:

A new Texas law bans the use of personal communication devices, including cell phones, by students during school hours in Texas.

With such an engaging and supportive parental community in Aledo ISD, we have no doubt that our parents will partner with us in setting expectations regarding this new law with their children. We are working to follow the law and hope you will encourage your students to do the same.

The simplest way to put it, in Aledo ISD BELL to BELL, NO CELL! Aledo ISD students must have cell phones, smart watches, personal tablets, Bluetooth devices (including wireless headphones, earbuds and AirPods), gaming systems, personal laptops or any other personal electronic device capable of telecommunication or digital communication put away and out of sight bell to bell during the school day.

We have created this very detailed list of FAQs for you to review related to House Bill 1481. Thank you for reviewing these with your children. This is a big change for our high schoolers! Please do not hesitate to reach out to your campus administrators with any questions you may have that have not been answered in the FAQ.

Just as it is to you, this law is new to us, so we appreciate your understanding as we potentially refine our practices throughout the year to make them better. Don’t worry - if there are any changes that need to be made, we’ll let you know with plenty of heads up! Thank you for your patience!

The AISD Instructional Technology Hub includes new information regarding how students and teachers may use AI for learning, information about training students on digital citizenship and responsible use of AI, and parent resources.

Thank you for partnering with us in our efforts to promote a safe digital learning environment for students at school and at home. Please join us in reinforcing the importance of responsible and appropriate technology usage at home. Our staff are trained and we will offer learning opportunities and resources for parents/guardians about how to best support and facilitate a safe digital learning environment at home throughout the school year.

AISD Instructional Technology

Aledo ISD’s goal is to leverage technology in the classroom to elevate and enhance teaching and learning. As Artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a bigger part of how we live, learn, and work, we know it can be a valuable tool to support learning for all. We recognize AI presents both opportunities and challenges, and AISD is taking a thoughtful, careful approach to using AI, always putting student safety, growth, and learning first. Our goal is to help students use AI with confidence, curiosity, and responsibility as they navigate their future.

Please take a moment to review AISD’s Instructional Technology Hub to learn more about instructional technology in Aledo ISD, which includes new information about AI usage and safety in AISD.

Artificial Intelligence Literacy Instruction & Responsible Use

As technology continues to evolve, it's essential that students learn to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly. In Aledo ISD, we emphasize digital citizenship to help students use technology ethically and responsibly. Building on this foundation, we will provide AI literacy instruction and responsible use for grades 3-12, using resources from Common Sense Media and the News Literacy Project, tailored to meet students’ developmental needs. All students in grades 3-12 will receive digital citizenship lessons at the beginning of the school year during their advisory time and parents can review and reinforce these lessons with students at home. Digital citizenship lessons that will be shared with students can be accessed on the AISD Instructional Technology Hub.

Thank you for partnering with Aledo ISD to ensure students learn to use AI tools responsibly, safely, and ethically. Your support plays a vital role in helping us prepare students to navigate emerging technologies with confidence and care.

At Aledo ISD, your child’s safety, privacy, and learning experience are our highest priorities.

Each Aledo ISD campus serves breakfast and lunch daily in the cafeteria. Aledo ISD utilizes MySchoolBucks as a prepaid meal account for students. Also, it is time to apply for free or reduced-price meals for those who qualify based on financial need or household situation. All students who qualify for reduced-price meals will receive breakfast daily for free. Apply at www.myschoolapps.com for free and reduced-price meal benefits; you must submit an application each year.

Camp Fire After-School Care

Aledo ISD partners with Camp Fire for after-school programs at each elementary school. Please visit the Camp Fire website for more information and to register your student.

Bearcats Beyond the Bell: After-School Enrichment for Elementary Students!

Aledo ISD has expanded its after-school opportunities for elementary students to include more exciting learning experiences. Aledo ISD is All In on Growing Greatness by offering a variety of opportunities designed to engage, inspire and develop new skills for our elementary Bearcats.

For the 2025-2026 School Year, all Bearcats Beyond the Bell Enrichment Opportunities will be available at ALL Aledo ISD elementary schools! Joining LaPuerta Spanish Center this year is The Pierce Institute that offers a fun STEM-based curriculum.

Stay tuned as we may be adding more after-school enrichment opportunities for our elementary Bearcats!