Princeton ISD celebrates 12,000th student

The 2nd-grade class is one of the largest in Princeton ISD with 971 students enrolled on the first day of school.

As of Aug. 14, you can add one more to that as Bryson Williams enrolled at Smith Elementary, marking the 12,000th student in the district.

Bryson joined Stefani Grotjan’s homeroom and was surprised during lunch with a celebration, complete with the Panther band’s drumline, the district’s Panther and Jaguar mascots and Superintendent Donald McIntyre, who toted the 12K gift bag of goodies and a little PISD swag.

Not wanting to leave out Bryson’s sibling Aubrey Bowie, who is a 4th grader at Smith in Marie Cossey’s homeroom, Mr. McIntyre also visited her class to deliver a special gift bag to acknowledge her as 11,999.

More than 1,400 new students have enrolled in PISD schools since the first day of school last year.

And, Bryson and Aubrey were just two of the additional 186 students who enrolled after the first day.

There were 11,958 students who started classes on the first day across the district. 

Student No. 11,000 arrived at Clark in August of last year, while 10,000 joined the Green campus in November of 2024.

“Although this rapid growth brings with it a few challenges, getting to celebrate our students is always a special occasion,” Mr. McIntyre said. “Seeing the smiles is a favorite part of my job.”