Category: School News

Principal Gomez takes reins of DHS

By Kayleen Holder
Editor
Former DHS graduate, Principal Michael Gomez was selected to lead Devine High School in the upcoming 2025-26 school year.


“I am a proud graduate of Devine High School (Class of 2002), and I’m honored to return to my alma mater,” Gomez said. “It’s an incredible honor…. I have so much pride in our school and deep love for this community. Devine shaped who I am, and I’m committed to giving back and helping our students build their own path to success.”


Principal Gomez most recently served as the principal of Devine Intermediate School for three years, and also currently serves as the district’s Safety Coordinator. Prior to returning to Devine ISD, Gomez was an assistant principal at Lytle High School.


Gomez has over a decade of experience in education, serving as a teacher, coach, and instructional leader. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M University–San Antonio and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas. Gomez holds certifications as a Superintendent, Principal as Instructional Leader, and in Business Education.


“I’m excited to begin this new chapter at Devine High School and look forward to continuing to serve the students and families of Devine ISD—carrying on the tradition of excellence that makes our district so special,” Gomez adds.

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Meet Devine’s new AD…Doug Bull

By Kayleen Holder, Editor
This week, Devine welcomes new Athletic Director Doug Bull, who has over two decades of experience building up athletic programs across Texas. Bull prides himself on implementing systems that support student-athlete success both on and off the field.


“I am very excited about the opportunity to serve as the athletic director for Devine ISD,” Bull said in a short chat Tuesday morning.
He was getting straight to work, meeting with principals to discuss coaching vacancies. When asked what he looks for in a leadership team, he stated, “My coaches are passionate, hardworking people with integrity, who are going to do what’s best for the kids.”


Prior to coming to Devine, Coach Bull served as the AD for Medina Valley ISD, where he oversaw their rapidly growing athletic department for a little over two years. Prior to that, Bull served as Assistant Athletic Director for Corpus Christi ISD for over three years.


His career began with six years of experience at the collegiate level (Naval Academy, Illinois State and Northern State Universities), before transitioning to the secondary level and serving impactful roles in Edna, Dalhart, Galveston, and Deer Park. At Deer Park ISD, he was part of the leadership team that helped guide the district through its most successful athletic decade, marked by multiple state tournament appearances and state championships. As director of Strength and Training, Bull helped take volleyball, soccer, softball, and baseball to state.
Coach Bull is a certified athletic administrator through both the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and the Texas High School Athletic Directors Association. He also holds a Texas Principal Certificate. He earned his M.S. in Education from Northern State University and a B.S. in Exercise Science from Fort Hays State University.


Throughout his career, Coach Bull has remained committed to the holistic development of student-athletes—as students, leaders, and individuals of character. His leadership fosters championship-level culture, professional growth for coaches, and long-term success across athletic programs.
Look for a more in-depth interview in the coming weeks.

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Local schools still have 45+ job openings to fill before upcoming school year

Devine ISD
Elementary School Instructional Aide (PK-2)
Must meet ESSA ‘Highly Qualified’ requirements (48 college hrs./2 hrs. or attend TOPP training at ESC20) and local criteria. Must have knowledge of basic computer operations and skills; ability to operate personal computer and educational software; ability to work with students and teachers effectively; effective organization, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Intermediate School Assistant Principal (3-5)
Full Texas Administrator’s Certification; Assistant Principal’s experience preferred; T-TESS evaluator; working knowledge of elementary school curriculum and instruction; strong organizational skills; STAAR Test coordinator skills and an ability to evaluate instructional programs and teaching effectiveness; implement policy and procedures; and to interpret data as well as use a variety of software applications for data disaggregation.

Intermediate School Teacher (3-5)
Generalist EC-4 and/or 4-8 or Generalist EC-6 Bachelor’s degree with valid Texas teaching certificate; knowledge of curriculum and instruction; ability to instruct students and maintain highly structured and orderly environment; strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Intermediate School Instructional Aide (3-5)
Must meet ESSA ‘Highly Qualified’ requirements (48 college hrs./2 hrs. or attend TOPP training at ESC20) and local criteria. Must have knowledge of basic computer operations and skills; ability to operate personal computer and educational software; ability to work with students and teachers effectively; effective organization, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Continue reading “Local schools still have 45+ job openings to fill before upcoming school year”

Devine ISD calls meeting for June 26 to hire Athletic Dir. & HS Principal

The Devine ISD Board of Trustees called a meeting for Thursday, June 26 at 6:30 pm at the Superintendent’s Office to possibly hire a high school principal and athletic director as well as the start of school closes in, only five weeks away. The hiring of other professional staff will take place as well.


Teacher in-service starts in five weeks on August 4th, students August 12 on the new style schedule.

Bids on tennis court, softball field and sale of building
Also the board may take action on the Tennis Court Bids and Softball Field Bids which they wanted to wait until after the final budget was set. They will also look at the bid of the Portable Building Sale.
Agenda items are as listed:

Continue reading “Devine ISD calls meeting for June 26 to hire Athletic Dir. & HS Principal”

Devine Pre-K and Kinder Registration June 4 & 5

The Devine Pre-Kinder and Kinder registration will be held June 4th and 5th from 8 am to 5 pm (closed for lunch from 12 noon to 1 pm) at JJ Ciavarra Elementary located at 112 N Bentson in Devine.
Pre-Kinder
The child must be 3 or 4 years old on or before September 1, 2025 in order to register for Head Start Pre-K. Be prepared to submit the following information to register your child:
Shot Record
Official Birth Certificate
Social Security Card
Proof of Residence
Proof of Income for 12 months (ex. 2024-1040 tax form)
SNAP Benefit Letters
Child’s Social Security Card
Federal Assistance (Medicaid, TANF, WIC, etc.)
Photo ID of parent/guardian registering child
Returned and accepted Head Start students, please stop by to schedule your required orientation f you have not done so yet.
Kinder
The child must be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2025 in order to register your child. Be prepared to submit the following information:
Shot Record
Official Birth Certificate
Proof of Residence
Child’s Social Security Card
Photo ID of parent/guardian registering child
To ensure you received your Meet the Teacher invite, registration and required documents are due no later than July 25, 2025.

Local fans back adding soccer to Devine athletics

Longtime dispute with contractor also settled

By Anton Riecher
Pablo Carmona, founder of the Devine Soccer Club, led a group of nearly 40 supporters attending the Devine school board regular session Monday urging the addition of soccer to the district’s athletic curriculum.
“When I moved here 20 years ago I was shocked to see that soccer was not in your school district,” Carmona said. “I come from the poorest school district in San Antonio and it is there. It is all over San Antonio.”
Carmona said he enrolled his son in soccer locally at age five. However, that program ended in the sixth grade “so we quickly moved him to San Antonio where he has been playing club soccer ever since.”
Meanwhile, students and players from across Medina County participate in the Devine Soccer Club locally.
“We started this soccer club for the sole purpose of ensuring that soccer players had an opportunity to play from five years old up to high school,” Carmona said. The club gives them the opportunity to choose pursuing the sport at a college or professional level.
“What is obvious is that soccer is a way for these students to earn a scholarship,” he said. “So by not having it in the school district you are really taking this opportunity away from these students.”
The infrastructure to support participating in University Interscholastic League soccer is already in place in Devine, Carmona said.
“You have the lighting and the field,” he said. “It would not take much except for those [official] steps through the UIL to be able to get approved.”
District superintendent Todd Grandjean said that adding soccer to the curriculum…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Devine ISD Summer Meal Program June 1-30

Devine ISD will be offering the Summer Meal Program at no cost this summer to provide nutritious meals for our children to learn, grow, and thrive. This program is offered to children and teens ages 18 and under, and enrolled students with disabilities up to age 21.

The Summer meal program will begin on June 1st through Jun 30th Monday through Thursday. Meals will be dined-in at our Intermediate cafeteria. Breakfast will be served from 8:00 a.m.- 9:00 a.m. and Lunch will be served from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

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Pirates sail to Semi-regionals

Lytle Pirates Varsity baseball are Area Champions after sweeping the Industrial Cobras 2-0. Lytle moves on to the semi-regional round where they face Orange Grove at Karnes City Thursday, May 15 at 6:00 p.m. Above the Pirates dowse Coach Bippert after the big win.

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House passes bill banning minors from social media

By Gary Borders-
State Capital Highlights
The House easily approved a measure that would penalize social media companies for allowing under-aged youth to use their platforms, The News reported. The bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration, would require tech companies to verify a user’s age when creating a social media account.
“Social media companies don’t care about what content they’re feeding you and your children,” sponsor Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, said. “Rather, they want you hooked on their content.”
Users would have to submit government IDs to verify ages, according to the proposal.