The Crowley school district was about to have its very own high school football stadium after funding for the project was approved by voters during a 2007 bond package.

Fifteen years later, the project came into fruition with the first football game Thursday night.

North Crowley recorded the venue’s first score and first touchdown, and went on to upset Class 5A Division 2 No. 3 Lucas Lovejoy, 28-20, at the new Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium. The Panthers improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2005 when they won their first five games.

“We talked about the moment, seizing the moment. It’s the moment versus the mission and this was a moment in the middle of our mission this year,” said North Crowley coach Ray Gates, who was hired in February after being at Cedar Hill. “We had one opportunity to seize it and our kids did.

“I’m super excited for our community, super excited for our kids. It’s the first time we’ve been 3-0 since 2005 and I can’t tell you the last time we beat a ranked opponent in the state. So it’s a great win for North Crowley and our community.”

The 8,000-seat stadium is located just south of downtown Fort Worth off Risinger Road and Hemphill Street and features a field house with locker rooms and training areas and a split-level press box. It also has a 3,000 square foot community room and a 60 by 30 foot LED video scoreboard in the north end zone.

“To be able to open up tonight 15 years later and to see the stands full, the kids get the chance to experience it, it’s phenomenal,” CISD superintendent Michael McFarland said. “This is going to be a destination spot. We hope to host quite a few playoff games, band contests and soccer games.”

Trailing 14-3 at the half, Lovejoy (1-2) scored on its opening drive of the third quarter, a 1-yard run by 3-star LSU commit Kyle Parker to pull within one possession.

The Leopards came in averaging 50 points a game after putting up 52 in their Week 1 win over College Station and 49 in their Week 2 loss against Argyle.

North Crowley answered the bell when on fourth-and-1, Cornelius Warren broke outside down the right sideline and scored on a 66-yard touchdown run to make it 21-10 at the five-minute mark.

The Panthers picked up momentum when they forced a Lovejoy punt, but the return was muffed and the Leopards recovered, and capped it off with a 8-yard touchdown catch from Parker to make it 21-17 with 2:11 left in the third. Parker is ranked No. 55 among all Class of 2023 receivers in the nation.

Warren finished with 175 yards rushing and added his second touchdown, from 5 yards, to extend the Panther lead to 28-17 in the fourth. He also had two catches for 42 yards.

North Crowley had over 400 yards total offense.

Sophomore QB Chris Jimerson had 166 yards passing and one TD, and rushed for 48 yards.

“We came in as the underdog. They all thought we were going to lose,” Jimerson said. “Came out here and worked all week, played hard and came out with a W.”

“We talk about this all the time, when you make a play, flush it. When you miss a play, flush it. It’s on to the next play,” Gates added. “So when they make an answer, we’re going to make an answer. We knew it was going to be a dog fight, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”

The defense was led by 4-star Texas committed linebacker S’Maje Burrell, No. 12 in the S-T Top 100 and a pair of interceptions from Devon Jackson and Armani Green. Burrell had several big hits all night and tipped a pass that led to Green’s interception. Anthony Toliver also had a big fourth-quarter sack for the Panthers.

“We wanted to set the tempo,” Gates said. “We wanted to come out and make them say ‘OK what do we have to do’ and when it gets late in the game, in the fourth quarter we’re going to take them to the deep end and see if they can swim with us for four quarters.”

North Crowley got a break on the opening kickoff when the ball was mis-kicked and Jaydon Davis recovered at the Lovejoy 35. Warren picked up 20 on the end around and two plays later, the Panthers scored the first touchdown.

Jimerson found 6-5 3-star Vanderbilt commit Ka’Morreun Pimpton on a 9-yard strike, but the extra point was missed. However, North Crowley landed the first punch, 6-0 less than two minutes into the first quarter.

Pimpton is the 34th ranked Class of 2023 tight end in the nation, according to 247Sports.

He’s also the 62nd ranked player in this year’s Star-Telegram Top 100.

The North Crowley defense also responded on Lovejoy’s first drive, holding the Leopards to four yards and a three-and-out. The Panthers drove across midfield, but the drive ended in a Lovejoy interception from RJ McIntosh, who had a nice return to the North Crowley 33.

One play in and Brayden Hagle hit big tight end West Wilson for 24 yards to the 9.

North Crowley’s defense had a nice goal line stand and held Lovejoy to a 21-yard field goal from Caden Carlock making the score 6-3 with 2:32 left in the opening period.

The Panthers drove into Lovejoy territory again, to the 17, but three straight incomplete passes turned it over on downs. But the defense came up big again when three plays later, Jackson picked off a Lovejoy pass, which North Crowley would turn into points.

Pimpton made a nice one-handed grab for 37 yards to end the first quarter. and Dejuan Lacy capped off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. Pimpton again made a great catch in the corner of the end zone for two and the North Crowley lead grew to 14-3 with 8:25 left in the first half.

Pimpton finished with five catches for 104 yards.

This story was originally published September 8, 2022, 9:48 PM.

FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — A man from Jasper, Texas is breaking barriers in North Texas. CBS 11 is highlighting him during Black History Month.

In 2017, Dr. Michael McFarland became the first Black superintendent in Crowley ISD.

"We tell kids they can be anything but often times if you can't see it, it's hard to be it," McFarland said. "So, I think it's important for people that look like me to be in leadership roles."

McFarland came to Crowley ISD after serving as superintendent of Lancaster ISD. He said he didn't always know what he wanted to do.

As a child McFarland started playing football and thought he wanted to be a football coach or an athletic director, but one conversation changed that. "Ms. Marva Cauley, she sat me down and asked me what I wanted to do, and in high school I didn't know. But what I told her was I want to do what you're doing."

"Eventually, once I got into this system, I realized I had an opportunity to make a much larger impact by being a principal and then eventually a superintendent," McFarland said.

He received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University, a Master of Education in educational administration and superintendent certification from Stephen F. Austin University. Then he graduated with his Doctorate of Education from Baylor University. After that, he began to live out his dream by making a difference in the Texas school system.

"It's something that we're really proud of but also it's something that we share and show what we can actually do," McFarland said. "Our district is performing at high levels for the first time in nine years."

He hopes as kids continue to see him, they know that anything is possible.

"To see kids in the classroom… makes the effort that we put forward tangible and it makes it worthwhile for me," McFarland said. "It starts off with believing that you can, even in some cases when you don't see it but believe that it's possible."

Alexis Wainwright

Alexis Wainwright is an Emmy Award-winning journalist. Before moving to the Lone Star State, she was a reporter and performed some anchor duties at KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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CROWLEY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — The Crowley Lady Eagles volleyball team is determined to serve up their first playoff appearance since 2007. And this season, it's more important than ever that they hold nothing back.

"Enjoy the moments with people because you don't know when the last day is. People say that, but they don't really take it in," Crowley High School junior Jasmine Quinn said.

Junior Cienna Rodriguez agrees, saying, "a lot of people say that, but really mean it. Just take in every moment that you have."

It's not a perspective a teenager usually has, but their pink shoe laces are representative of the fact that they've been forced to grow up quickly. Their head coach Catherine Bruder entered this season by sharing some news with the girls that has forever changed their lives.

"Last year, I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and kind of didn't tell anybody," Bruder admitted. "May came around and we finally told them and they had the whole summer to process."

A summer to process that the coach they know and love has cancer that has spread to her liver, lungs, and bones.

Despite having a survival rate of six months to three years, Bruder is not afraid.

"Before I thought that I had all the time in the world. Now, I don't know if I have all the time in the world," she shared. "In reality, knowing has helped me be more present than if I didn't know."

On and off the court, her players think about it as well.

"It's really scary thinking about not knowing the time length of it," Quinn said. "It's really hard."

But not only is Bruder getting support from her family and volleyball players, she's also getting support from their opponents.

Whether it be the supportive hashtag from Burleson, the flower arrangement from Weatherford, or the group team photo with Boswell High, it's clear what coach Bruder means to the entire community.

"You don't know how appreciated you are to other people, until something like this happens," she said.

As for Bruder's volleyball girls, they believe their mission will allow nothing to stand in their way.

"The whole team has a real reason to really fight this year. We want to make it to playoffs for her," Quinn said. "We all remind each other why we're here and what we're doing this for. For her."

Keith Russell

Keith Russell is our morning news anchor and was a sports anchor/reporter for CBS11 starting in 2015.

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AUSTIN, TX, March 4, 2021 — OnRamps and Crowley ISD today announced a new partnership to expand excellence in education that will help its middle- and high-school teachers advance their distance learning expertise and improve academic and social and emotional learning outcomes as districts across the state continue to seek ways to support students.

Crowley ISD teachers of grades five and up will have free and unlimited access to 20 customized professional development modules, by way of the OnRamps Distance Learning Catalog. Designed by OnRamps, a signature initiative of The University of Texas at Austin, and made possible through a grant from the Sid Richardson Foundation, this partnership enables Crowley ISD to address critical classroom needs through self-paced professional development modules on distance education. It also is designed to ensure that all students are closer to achieving learner outcomes that put them on the path for college and career success.

DISTANCE LEARNING TO SCALE

Crowley ISD’s customized Distance Learning Catalog reflects the evolving needs of teachers and students in online learning environments. Applicable to all instructional modalities, each module contains interactive activities and downloadable documents that support direct application to classroom contexts. Additionally, teachers receive CPE credit and additional incentives for completed modules. The modules are divided into “bundles,” which sequentially build skills and knowledge in four key areas:

“The Catalog draws from our nearly ten years of experience in distance education and evidence-based professional learning and development, and this expansion of our years-long partnership with Crowley ISD allows us to share this expertise with teachers and students at a time when it is needed most,” says Dr. Jennifer Porter, managing director of OnRamps. “We look forward to supporting these educators as they continue their invaluable work to advance student success.”

PARTNERING SINCE 2016

OnRamps and Crowley ISD’s partnership first began in 2016, when the district brought four OnRamps dual enrollment courses to two high school campuses. Dr. Michael McFarland, superintendent of schools at Crowley ISD since 2017, noted the value that OnRamps brought to his district, and saw the opportunity to bolster the already significant academic gains being made for the community. Now, Crowley ISD offers eight OnRamps courses to over 300 unique students across three campuses, and the addition of the customized Catalog will support its teachers in growing their distance learning expertise and reaching countless more students.

“By expanding our partnership to include this customized Catalog, every teacher in our district will have the skills they need to foster meaningful experiences and a quality education in the virtual classroom.”

-Dr. Michael McFarland, Superintendent of Schools, Crowley ISD

"Our work with OnRamps these past five years has proven the impact that thoughtful and robust professional learning can have on a classroom,” says Dr. McFarland. “By expanding our partnership to include this customized Catalog, every teacher in our district will have the skills they need to foster meaningful experiences and a quality education in the virtual classroom.”

# # #

OnRamps is one of The University of Texas at Austin’s signature initiatives designed to expand access to high-quality educational opportunities across Texas that can be scaled across the nation. For nearly ten years, OnRamps has been serving secondary and higher education communities in Texas through dual enrollment distance education courses and professional learning and development to high school teachers. Serving more than 34,000 students and over 1,200 teachers in partnership with districts and higher education institutions across the state, OnRamps is helping to reduce barriers to college readiness and increase the number and diversity of students who are on the path to postsecondary success. Learn more at onramps.utexas.edu.

ABOUT CROWLEY ISD

Crowley ISD serves approximately 16,000 students across 25 campuses with excellence in education so that all students achieve their full potential. The district is committed to equipping its students with the social, emotional, and academic skills to thrive as citizens in a diverse, evolving, global society, and to ensuring its teachers are supported to deliver quality, aligned curriculum for college and career success. Learn more at www.crowleyisdtx.org.

Heads up parents: The State of Texas is requiring elementary teachers to incorporate STEM – that’s science, technology, engineering, and math studies – in all elementary school subjects by 2025.

One local school district is getting a jump start on it.

On Thursday, Crowley ISD is celebrating “STEM For All Day”.

"Our motto here is stem for all so it doesn't matter where you come from. You don't have to go in and apply for a specialized school,” said Silvia Valencia, coordinator of innovations for Crowley ISD.

Crowley ISD is one of the very first districts to fully implement these types of lessons on all their elementary campuses.

NBC 5 caught up with teachers this week as they prepped and transformed their classrooms for this new journey, one they have spent the last two years preparing for.

"We have some students that are building air-powered cars with balloons. We have some students making bricks and testing their durability. We have students learning about shapes are making different creations. And we also have students making different buildings or learning the architecture,” said Lauren Kelly, STEM and GT specialist at Oakmont Elementary in Crowley. "Really building up what we call the soft skills so that students are prepared for future jobs and careers."

To prepare for this role, Kelly even spent a weekend in Houston to get trained on NASA programs and meet astronauts.

The latest news from around North Texas.

“We got together with about 60 of us and then we got to spend a week together, just really diving into STEM activities. And I brought back all of this knowledge to help my students here in the district with different space-related activities and content” said Kelly.

The Texas Education Agency is pushing ahead on a mandate that all teachers in all grade levels will add STEM practices to all subjects at elementary campuses by 2025. Valencia said it’s part of an effort to address the ever-changing world we are living in, as technology evolves and the workforce needs to evolve with it.

"We're not teaching students for all of them to be doctors and engineers and architects. We want them to start thinking like one. How can we solve real-life problems that are happening today?" said Valencia. "They can just use all of these skills as they go through middle school, high school, and into college – into other future careers. Also teaching them about the different possibilities that they have."

Science, technology, engineering, and math skills are needed now more than ever and those career fields are growing.

Right now, all Texas school districts are slowly putting together a STEM plan in elementary schools. They still have three more years to get it done.

Crowley ISD got the ball rolling two years ago when the TEA first announced this mandate but it's not easy. That's why the district is just getting to a point where teachers are trained and ready to launch.

“Our STEM teachers are not part of our rotation. They are standalone specialists who go and push lessons and model lessons,” said Valencia.

Valencia added that exposure to STEM lessons at a young age can unlock new potential brain power, especially in much younger children. Another big goal through this mandate is more opportunities for underrepresented groups like women and minorities.

Right now, Crowley ISD is paving the way.

“There are some districts that don't have anything at all yet,” said Valencia. “We're very excited that we're going to be a model district, where other districts can come and see how we implement STEM on all campuses.”

Educators say now might be a good time for parents to check in with their child's school to learn more about the STEM studies plan, as teachers work hard to prepare for the state mandate.