Forney Chamber of Commerce Names Forney ISD Superintendent 'Citizen of the Year'

The Forney Chamber of Commerce recently announced that Forney ISD Superintendent, Suzanne McWilliams was named the Forney Citizen of the Year for 2017-18. The announcement was made at the chamber's annual awards banquet held on Tuesday, March 1, 2018.

Mrs. McWilliams was nominated as Citizen of the Year in January. All active members of the Forney Chamber of Commerce had the opportunity to vote on all of the candidates that were nominated. Mrs. McWilliams was selected as Citizen of the Year by the members of the Forney Chamber of Commerce.

Mrs McWilliams was nominated and selected as Citizen of the Year for making a significant impact on the community of Forney through her leadership, guidance and success in making Forney ISD a top rated district in the State of Texas, thus improving the quality of life in Forney and making the city a destination community.

Under McWilliams leadership, Forney ISD has experienced a great deal of academic success and educational advancements. She coordinated a strategic plan with parents, students, teachers, staff members, board members and the community to develop a structured set of goals to lead Forney ISD into the future. The result of this collaboration was Forney Focus, a set of six goals that have become the pillars of the district’s operational structure that has led to a great deal of success and achievement by both students and the district as a whole.

McWilliams has been instrumental in the financial stability of the district which has strengthened to include a fund balance of more than $23 million dollars. In addition, the district has been paying off long-term debt through annual refinancing while maintaining one of the lowest tax rates in Kaufman County and other surrounding fast growth school districts.

Since being named Superintendent of Schools, Forney ISD has developed several programs to enhance and advance the educational progress for all students. The district implemented the Synergy Program where students work side-by-side with district administrators creating lessons and designing a Future Ready Curriculum for all students. The district also developed and implemented a new higher education partnership that has produced an increase in dual credit student participation by more than 60 percent. In 2016, the District began implementing a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, better known as STEAM.

Forney ISD continues to be one of the leaders in technology across the state by providing a Chromebook for every child in the 4th through 12th grade and integrating technology into classrooms through the learning management system, Canvas.

McWilliams was also instrumental in helping the district partner together with the City of Forney, the local business community and other community organizations to prepare for future growth. These partnerships helped develop new business relations designed to support career programs such as electrical engineering, culinary arts and business.