Five Dulles High School students and their instructor brought home 24 medals after representing Team USA at the 2025 World Martial Arts Games in Oslo, Norway. They are among 2,309 Fort Bend ISD middle schoolers now enrolled in Kickstart Kids, the martial arts program offered at all 16 district middle schools.
Alainah Nabi, Hyatt Nellippallil, Teagan Nellippallil, Lily McConnell and Johanna Reyes competed in November 2025 through the Dulles Middle School Kickstart Kids program, according to a Kickstart Kids news release. Together they earned 13 gold, 10 silver and 1 bronze. Instructor Tracy Armstead, who traveled with the team, also competed and won two gold and two silver medals.
Student achievements in "world karate" were among recognitions at the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees' Sept. 4 meeting, according to the district's post on X.
Stafford Middle School sent its own squad to Oslo under instructor Rommel Gargoles. The Stafford Municipal School District team collected 29 gold, 5 silver and 1 bronze. Student Anthony Haas earned the Junior Black Belt Overall Weapons Grand Champion title along with 5 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze.
The program, founded in 1990 by martial artist Chuck Norris, lets sixth- through eighth-graders take martial arts in place of traditional PE. The curriculum also emphasizes honesty, kindness and respect, according to an FBISD news release published Sept. 14.
Robert Nunez, the Kickstart Kids instructor at Bowie Middle School, joined the program as a sixth grader after his mother encouraged him to try it for one year. Twenty-one years later, he teaches FBISD students.
"To some students, this may just be another class, but to others, this might be the only place where they get to be themselves," Nunez said in the district's release.
Nunez credited Garcia Middle School instructor Brandon McRae as a lasting influence, saying McRae taught him that traditional martial arts doesn't change. It changes the people who practice it.
Students can earn a new belt each semester. Reaching a black belt generally takes four to five years, according to FBISD.
The board approved a five-year, $5.76 million contract with Kick Drugs Out of America, the organization that operates Kickstart Kids, at its June 15 meeting. The agreement runs through June 2031, according to board records.
