FRISCO, TEXAS – January 13, 2021 - Frisco ISD is a destination district for families around the globe, and excellence in academics, student opportunity, and safety is consistently achieved through the collaborative efforts of over 8,000 employees. During Rene’s first term, she has played a significant role alongside this team to manage significant growth (adding almost 4,000 students, and 4 new campuses), expand programming and student opportunities (i.e. Navy National Defense Cadet Corp, CTE course and pathway expansion, STEM based courses like Computer Science and Video Game Development, and the IB Diploma programme), strengthen school safety and mental health resources, deliver robust and meaningful increases in teacher/staff compensation and benefits, achieve the lowest tax rate in decades, and to attain stellar financial transparency ratings.
Aiding in the continuity of the district’s COVID-19 response has continually been top of mind for Mrs. Archambault during the last 9 months, and will most certainly be a top priority as the district moves from response to recovery, “As a board, we know that this has been a tough time. We've balanced staying future focused while working to solve the day-to-day challenges that this crisis has presented. Our goal was to take advantage of every single moment that our community of children were in our care, both online and in person, and to provide the excellence in education for which Frisco ISD is known. Student outcomes and success for all of our learners, and creating a safe and physically and mentally healthy environment for teachers, staff, and students remained our top priority and is always the central focus going forward.”
Looking ahead, the incumbent Trustee wants to focus on COVID-19 recovery related to academic progress and mental health support, managing growth while keeping class sizes low, continued expansion of student opportunities and programming, expansion of resources for special education, maintaining the district’s low tax rate and exceptional financial transparency and management ratings, and the successful completion of the community based accountability system/strategic plan.
Rene Archambault is the Deputy Director of Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Guildhall program, one of the nation’s top graduate programs for video game development and design. She has worked in this capacity for SMU for the last 18 years. She also serves on the board of Frisco FastPacs, the advisory council for Dallas ISD’s Conrad High School, the steering committee for Richland College (DCCCD), and volunteers through the Frisco Women’s League and the City of Frisco. She graduated from Texas Christian University with an undergraduate degree in business and from Southern Methodist University with her master’s degree in education policy and leadership. She and her husband Randy, a business intelligence analyst, have been married for 19 years and have one daughter, Zoe, who is a Freshman at Wakeland High School and is involved in athletic training, the FFA, and theatre.
Ivy Sun will be a new face to the campaign and will serve as Treasurer. Ms. Sun was a college administrator prior to immigrating to the US over 20 years ago. She is heavily involved in the community, including serving as the Advisory Board Chair for the Youth Entrepreneur Society, Board Member for Tomorrow’s Leaders Today, and the Executive Vice President of the US-China Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Sun was a graduate of the Frisco ISD Insight Class of 2017, served on the District’s Improvement Team, and currently serves on the District of Innovation committee, as well as the District’s Legislative Leadership Committee. In 2019, Ms. Sun was recognized for her dedication to the community by being awarded the Frisco Women’s League Volunteer of the Year