Princeton ISD celebrated a milestone today with the 8,000th student enrolling in the district.

 Kindergartener Sally-Rose David Agana arrived at Harper Elementary last week and she joined students in Jennifer Riano’s room for her first day of classes.

Sally-Rose was even treated to a special tour of the campus with a celebrity guide, the Princeton Panther mascot.

Superintendent Donald McIntyre was on-hand for the special event to welcome the new student, who beat out several other newcomers as the No. 8,000 enrollee. This includes Menna Alshaikhly, who arrived at Harper minutes later for her first day in kindergarten but was just in time for a high-five from the Panther.

The rest of the student population on campus, as well as the office staff, welcomed all the fanfare today and took advantage of the special guests for hugs and high-fives.

Officially, as of Jan. 18, the district’s enrollment sits at 8,011, compared to 6,912 on this same day in 2022 – a difference of 1,099 students.

Because of this unprecedented growth explosion in PISD, Sally-Rose wasn’t alone in her class as a newcomer. Her teacher, Mrs. Riano, moved to Texas from California recently and joined the staff at Harper after Christmas break two weeks ago.

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By Jean Ann Collins | [email protected]