001The time is now 6:40, and we're going to reconvene with our open meeting. Public participation, we have none. Staff reports, Dr. Porterie. >> Yes. Well, we're excited tonight. Uh we have two of our supervisors here, and we're going to hear from Ms. Kennedy Moore, and she's going to talk about our new lit camp that's going to occur this this summer. So, Ms. Kennedy Moore, please come to the front and tell us about the exciting lit camp that we're going to >> Good evening, everyone. As Dr. Porterie stated, I am Ms. Karen Kennedy Moore. I am the elementary RLA supervisor, and this summer I'm excited to introduce for the first time ever we have the Titan summer lit camp kickoff, and I did bring the flyer with me for you all to kind of glance over.
002And thank you, Ms. Lott, for posting it for us today on our district website. We wanted to do something different. Um traditionally for summer school, we usually focus on all four content areas, but this year our focus is literacy. So, for lit camp, students will be immersed in reading and writing all day. We will have 16 days of instruction, where students will attend starting June the 1st until the end of June, June the 30th, from 8:00 until 2:00. Now, in an effort to get students excited about lit camp, we will have a kickoff scheduled next Tuesday, May 19th, from 5:30 until hopefully about 7:00 p.m. It will be held at the Civic Center, and we will also partner with uh the public library here in Port Arthur, as well as Lamar University, the reading center
003the Nancy Evans reading center, excuse me. Um they're going to be working in conjunction with us, as well. And what the summer lit camp is, we are partnering partnering, excuse me, with Scholastic. They will provide us with the resources that we will utilize for students to practice reading and writing all day long. And when I visited with Dr. Porter and of course Dr. Pappion and Dr. Owens as well and my counterpart behind me, Ms. Berrientos, my vision was for students to have the opportunity to be immersed in read-alouds provided by the teachers, have opportunities to write daily, be immersed in vocabulary because that's an area that needs to be targeted as well, practice fluency, and build their comprehension. So, with Scholastic, the the way it's designed, it's a transformational type of program. So, it breaks
004the monotony of the traditional just sit and get where you do worksheets. They will actually have a a camp theme where it's for students in pre-K all the way through fifth grade. So, we're targeting our tiniest Titans all the way up to fifth grade at the elementary levels. And students again, each grade level will have a specific bunk color. In the morning, they will meet and they will have camp songs or some type of poem. And again, they will be engaged in a variety of reading activities. So, we wanted to do a special kickoff next Tuesday where those students who are enrolled in the program will have an opportunity to come out with their parents or their guardians. Um during that kickoff, we will have Clifford the Big Red Dog will be present, so they'll
005have the opportunity to take pictures. We'll have refreshments there. Also, we'll have a proclamation by the mayor there as well. Uh they'll have an opportunity for parents to sign up for library cards. And of course, Mr. Dagry also wanted to embed a little bit of STEM activities as well. So, we want students to feel like it's a good thing that they're coming to the program. I get to read. Not that I have to go to summer school, I get to go to summer school. They'll have t-shirts at the end of the program. And our mantra is kind of like read, imagine, and grow because we know that reading plays an integral part of everything that you do. You can't do math if you're not able to read. You can't do science. You can't do social
006studies. So, we want them to have the opportunity to read daily, to use their imagination. And again, some students may never have had that opportunity to experience uh the opportunity to go camping. So, I like that theme. And then, [clears throat] of course, we want them to have that opportunity to grow. So, although it's only 16 days, we want those 16 days to be meaningful. And again, next week uh is our kickoff. We want the energy to be positive. We want to build a positive rapport with our parents, letting them know that reading is something not that we do just at school, but also at home. So, we'll provide them with some activities that they can do as well to bridge the gap at home. So, in just a moment, I'm going to ask my
007counterpart to come forward as well to share some additional activities because she and I have been working collaboratively as well because again, it's for pre-K students uh all the way through fifth grade, but we're working with our bilingual students as well. >> Good afternoon and thank you. Uh yes, our focus for my students will be kindergarten and all the way to second grade when they transition from a bilingual program into English only. So, our goal with this camp is to help them make that transition using games and activities that they can enjoy and grow. And uh we chose this program with because it targets self-confidence. It helps the students build themselves with uh themes like friendship, my love for community, um um what else? We have uh individuality, character. So, we're going to target those
008aspects of the children's lives as we transition into readings that help them grow not just in literacy, but also themselves. >> Once again, thank you all for the opportunity to speak and share and hopefully if your schedules permit. Again, that's next Tuesday at 5:30 at the Civic Center. We hope that you all are able to come out and join us. At this time, any questions? Any questions? >> What would be um do we have a projected number of students that we're probably going to have in this program this summer? >> There were several hundred um at this last. I don't have the exact number with me. We do have three sites and we are combining campuses. One site is Adams Elementary. We have Washington Elementary and then we have Travis. So, I'm going to go
009out on a limb and say roughly about 500 students to total. Oh, also yeah, in partnership with the city about oh, the wreck program as well. Making sure that those students they have their own program in place, but we're going to also include them with the lit program as well. So, we're going to make sure that we bring materials to that those sites as well. So, students are immersed in literacy there. >> With the with the summer program? >> Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Any other questions? >> I didn't have a question. I had a comment. First and first and foremost, thank you so much for coming and present. Um and thank you for presenting with enthusiasm as well. It helps us get through the information. What I I to first um usher into the comments
010is there's a saying that says from pre-K to third grade, you learn to read. From third grade and beyond, you read to learn. And I think that what this initiative is going to do is going to help us target those students and help them really get on target for those that are needed. Um I definitely want to say kudos to you all for coming up with this initiative. I think this is a way to think outside the box and really reach the people that we need to reach um and get them enthusiastically involved in their education in reading to understand. I'm really excited to know that um this is also going to be uh a really out of the box type of method because it's going to give them exposure. As you mentioned, most kids
011don't get a chance to really go camping and it's going to get them a a chance to really expose and be exposed to something new right here in our own backyard. My comment and I I already talked about Dr. Ford ring, but I I would hope that we can find some type of way in the future to continue a program like this. It's doing these types of things that we're able to reach students where they are and reach them in a way that's going to keep them engaged and consistency is going to be the biggest key possible. Um I think this is a great start. Um as I was sitting here listening to you, it made me think as well we have such a vast community of retired educators in our in our district and
012I think that would be a great demographic to tap into to see if they'd be willing to come and help in the future to kind of I don't want to say scale it back, but to to keep this this this program and keep this initiative. I think this is going to be a game-changing opportunity for those students, but also it's going to be a way that I feel upon its success we can actually use the data to actually continue this program and keep the continuity going while also reach the people that we need to reach. Cuz as as as you mentioned in the presentation, it's really hard nowadays to really get kids interested in the things that we should be interested in. And I think that, as I mentioned, this right here is one of
013those ways. So, if we can continue this and keep it going, I think it'll be a great thing for the district, but it'll be even better thing for those students. And then also here the component with the the bilingual students. I had a chance to go to two campuses today and I was able to see exactly the work that you all are doing in the classroom to make sure they have the necessary measurements put in place to make sure they still are getting the education as well. And I think that's going to help not only them, but the district in our in our grades and our in in giving [snorts] them the support that they need. So, kudos, but let's see if we can find a way to keep this program going, for sure. >>
014Thank you so much. And then I do have a correction. I underestimated the number of students. As of today, our projected number of enrollment is 795. So, almost 800 students. So, thank you. Any other questions? If not, thank you so much and I hope you all have a wonderful evening. >> Ms. Lot. Ms. Lot. >> There we go. >> Okay. So, here are district highlights since we last met. Um >> [clears throat] >> the arc is Channel 6 school spotlight and we had a nominee, Lashay Antoine, from Booker T. Washington, who was recognized. Someone from the community nominated her to be recognized, so she was featured on a news segment. Our prom queen is Naomi Washington and our prom king is Shay Washington. So, that's a picture of them from prom. And then, uh on
015Friday, we celebrated School Communicators Day. And as you can see, I do not do this alone. It takes all of the people listed on there to help me to be able to communicate to the community. And we have um 28,000 followers across all of our social media platforms, which is uh an additional 7,000 from last May. At the bottom left, uh Ms. Eddie produced a transitional and vocational fair for our uh special education and fiber four students. So, they were able to uh visit with a variety of resources from the working world and um helping them to be able to transition to life after high school graduation. And it was featured on Channel 12 News. And there's also a video on um LD Ray's YouTube channel with more in-depth interviews. And here are 14 additional
016observa- observations throughout the month of May. Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, Mental Health Month, Speech and Hearing Month, Military Appreciation Month. We celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week last week and also School Principals' Day, just to name a few. Um our multilingual migrant department held a Spanish Language Commemoration Day Contest, and here are pictures of our winners um with the principal at Memorial High School. We have some for the first time in the history of Memorial High School, we have students who are representing us on the state level in UIL competition. So, here are their pictures and their uh regional win categories. And um this has not happened in the school district since the '90s. So, we are really proud of those students for this great historic accomplishment. Port Acres Elementary students created dioramas. So, those
017are some of the pictures on the left-hand side. And over the last week or so, our tiniest Titans from Weekly Element Weekly School of Early Childhood has been visiting all of our elementary campuses. So, those are a couple of pictures from them at Sam Houston, Travis, and Lake View. Uh Alpha hosted a UIL competition meet day for middle school, and there were some winners from the campus who were present at last week's student advisory council meeting. So, that was a successful event, and I feel like it boosted the confidence of our Alpha students. We had opportunity for our choir to represent our high schools in our district at in Houston at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church along with Texas Southern University's choir in the spring concert. There were other high school choirs that were also featured
018on this program. And we hosted three different performances, and this particular performance featured soloist Kaylin Gardner and Imani Hendricks, and it has been seen over 33,000 times. It has been loved nearly 1,000 times with over 100 comments and almost 200 shares. So, I did let Kaylin know at the advisory council meeting last week that the video has gone viral. Our yearbook sold out, but students can still seniors can still order them online. Camp Seaport is recruiting for its July the week in July that they're hosting the Camp Seaport. Um and they have the information on how to apply for that. Our Gear Up students have the opportunity to attend a 2-week STEM camp this summer at the high school. We welcome to our multilingual department Jennifer Foreman, who is the new secondary emergent bilingual instructional
019specialist. And we had our teacher and rookie of the year breakfast last Friday, where we introduced or named announced our elementary district-wide teacher of the year, Cynthia Magallan from Sam Houston. And then our secondary teacher of the year is from our alternative campus, Evette Rogers. Motiva awarded over $235,000 in STEM and business scholarships to 46 Southeast Texas students, and 10 of those students were from our school district. Town and Country Ford donated $1,000 [snorts] scholarships each to our homecoming queen and king. Uh the Lathe Memorial Scholarship awarded um I don't want to say the amount because I don't want to say the wrong thing, but they awarded a nice scholarship to Keenan Green. Um our theater arts teacher, she mentioned at the when she presented that they were having a showcase for theater arts. At
020that showcase, they presented a scholarship to one of their theater arts students, and the scholarship is named after the teacher's predecessor, Henrietta Haynes. Um our Lake View teacher of the year and Principal Sampson were honored by Tyrian Lodge number 187, and they actually presented her with a check for her hard work and presented him with a plaque for his volunteerism with their reading program. And then we had a an event where all of the top AR point earners in the school district were celebrated, and they also named who had the most AR points on the secondary level and the most AR points on the elementary level. Here is all of our senior scholarship recipients from the Superintendent advisory council. So, every senior who has served was able to receive a $500 scholarships. And most of
021these seniors have been on the advisory council since they were in middle school. So, 6 and 7 years of service was rewarded. Our CTE students, we have five new CNAs. They received their certification. And we have five new H-back certified students. And we also have nine new students who are certified pharmacy techs. So, we are proud of these 19 CTE students for those accomplishments. And if I don't know if I mentioned this, but the graduation for Wilson and some of our CTE students from Lamar Port Arthur is going to be this Friday, May 15th at 11:00 a.m. at the Carl Parker. Um as Dr. Brown mentioned earlier, we do have some state qualifiers. I apologize because I didn't know about the two relay teams, but I did know about the young lady from Wilson who
022qualified uh to for the state meet in the discus and the shot put. Our volleyball team is in its third week of spring volleyball. And they have been playing at Port Neches on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the last couple of weeks. And there are even eighth graders uh that are in eighth grade now playing with the team. So, that's that vertical alignment. Our basketball program is having middle school open gym this weekend. Early next week, we're hosting a golf camp. And then our high school is already promoting its summer band camp. Our Flames drill team had a successful spring review. So, they posted the pictures and the video to the performance on their socials. They also named their offices for next year and their members. They had their annual end-of-year banquet and they also named
023their superlatives. So, all of those screenshots come from their Facebook page. We have four senior Titan players, soccer players, who were selected to represent the school district and their schools in the annual Southeast Texas Senior Showcase game. And that game was last Friday at PNG. Um the band also announced their section leaders, band captain, drum majors, and field general for next year. And then our eighth grade boys soccer team at Thomas Jefferson has won back-to-back middle school soccer tournament titles. So, there's a group picture of the team on the field. As far as community engagement, our parent and family engagement coordinator has had meetings. The The group picture at the top, she met with several clergy from our community and at the bottom she met with several business leaders from our community um to discuss
024ways that they can partner with the schools in the district. Um Ms. Eddie uh hosted a mental health awareness symposium and there were, as you can see, most of the presenters were from the um Port Arthur ISD. We had social workers, counselors, and um Ms. Eddie herself. And that was at uh Lamar University last Saturday. Kelly Educational Services has been um recruiting people to become substitutes, and not just substitute teachers, but substitutes in all positions on campuses. More community involvement, uh Jarvis Christian University is now offering a criminal justice associate's degree that anyone can earn in up to 18 months. So, um there was an event um to promote that, but I'm pretty sure anybody who's interested can still contact the university. Our choir had a spring concert last week. Our CTE students have participated
025in community service activities like this is a park cleanup. We have been uh promoting our summer school registration. All students who are required to go to summer school, their parents have been notified. So, now we need the parents to register the students. And then on May 23rd, the CTE campus is having a plethora of activities. Um and I think it's from 10:00 to 2:00 on the campus. They're having a first responders appreciation luncheon for our um police officers, firefighters, and uh paramedics. If you are a senior citizen age 65 and older and you actually make an appointment, you can have a free oil change. And it's not just for that particular day, but it's also like for the week following that May 23rd. So, I think it's like the You have to call to make
026an appointment. It's not just that Saturday. Like the I can't read the date on there. It's small, but whatever the end date is, I think it's through the 29th. You can call and make an appointment and uh 65 and older for a free oil change. And so, I hope people that they really take advantage of that cuz oil changes are expensive. Um they are also having a vintage car show. So, there's a QR code if you want to register your car, there is a reduced rate for students who want to register their classic cars, and then another rate for adults. And they are going to have a health and wellness check. Um where they'll check things like your blood pressure and um some other things and provide you with some health and nutrition education and
027they are the construction class is going to give away a picnic table and chair. Uh as far as alumni accomplishment, we did have a former Titan to be drafted to the NFL to the Carolina Panthers. I'm not sure if this has changed, but this was what I actually saw on Facebook. I know sometimes they get drafted and then get traded somewhere else, but so I apologize if this is incorrect, but he is in the league now. Um and then we also had another alumni Powell Francois who donated scholarships to two of our students at Memorial. So that's a picture of he and his wife and the scholarship recipients in the middle. Um we honored the memory of Harvey Blankenship who was a recent retiree from the bond department and then Maggie Bolton who was a
028former maintenance clerk for the school district. And then here's our uh social media stats for the month. >> Thank you, Mrs. Lott. Uh just to piggyback off a couple of things, the parent workshop that you saw with the clergy and with uh community, if you would recall during the summer, we talked about during our superintendent board retreat some of the things that you wanted to see. And the culmination of that conversation was more parent involvement. You wanted to see things happening. There were some things that you wanted us to do and we did. We moved forward. We've been meeting with parents all year. And a couple of weeks ago, there was a culmination at the high at the high school high school gym. Some of the board members were there and I'm telling you, I've
029never seen so many people. I mean, they were there. They came out in droves. I mean, droves. There were children, parents, ev- I mean, grandparents. It was it was extremely nice. And what And what was so I think incredibly nice about it, not one cross word. It was everybody just laughing and talking and just enjoying one another's company. Uh and then 2 weeks later, T A called called Ms. Calco and wants to come back. And we like, "Well, now wait a minute. We trying to get out of school right now, so please." Uh so they will be back in September. And so they served food. They They were serving food and everything. They did eight served food. They did everything. It was But it was a It was beautiful. It really was. It was a
030combination of parents and students alike were really, really happy. Also, Ms. Lott did say, and let me remind you, May 15th, which is this Friday, 11:00 at Carl Parker for our Wilson Early College and Memorial High School graduation is May 28th at 7:00 at uh Ford Park. May 15th, Friday, Wilson Early College. May 28th, Memorial High School and Wilson Early College, 7:00 at Ford Park. Uh board members, let me thank you for your support for the entire school year. It really has been a wonderful school year. It has been. I mean, we have worked and worked. We're doing things now that we all think we've ever did. Um And it And it's good because the energy is still there. I mean, it it has We're doing CCMR stuff. Uh We [laughter] had never done all
031of that. Cleaning up files. It's It's been incredible. And the competition between schools, we've seen a uh some of that this year, which is really good. Sam Houston and Terrell have had competition. All And I mean, serious competition. Uh we talked about and to give congratulations to Wilson Early College last year, for 2025, I think we had over $12 million in scholarships. It's over 12 million, which is wonderful. This year, at Wilson Early College alone, not including Memorial, over $20 million. And that is >> [applause] >> incredible. THAT IS INCREDIBLE. NOW YOU KNOW MEMORIAL SAID, "OH, we're not They're not going to beat us like that." So now they're they're getting all of their scholarships together. So it's fun watching them and it's all in good fun, but it's all about our children. So to
032our board members, thank you for your support. To our community, our parents, thank you. And for all of these leaders out here, thank you for the support that you all have given. It has been quite a year. It has been quite a year. I say that, but it's been a good year. So we're waiting for the end results, which we think will be good. So once again, thank you for your support and that concludes our staff reports. >> All right, thank you for those staff reports, Secretary. Moving on to minutes, consider and if appropriate to approve minutes of the April 23rd, 2020-2026 Board of Trustees meeting. Can I get a motion? >> So move for approval as presented. >> Second. >> It's been moved by Trustee Taylor Getwood, uh seconded by Vice President Diane Brown.
033All those in favor, please signify by saying I with the proper hand signal. >> I. >> Any opposed? Eyes having the motion carries. Consent agenda. The following items which are of routine and or recurring nature have been designated consent agenda items by the board president per policy BE local. All of the items in the consent agenda will be acted upon by one vote without being discussed separately unless requested by a trustee, in which event the item or items will be withdrawn immediately for individual consideration in its normal sequence after the items not requiring separate discussion have been acted upon. Trustees, I'll give you a moment to look at the consent agenda items and I'm going to pull agenda item number 21. So if you have anything from 1 through 20, let me know. If not,
034can I get a motion? >> So move for approval as presented. >> Second. >> It's been moved by trustee Taylor Getwood and second by trustee Kimberly White-Hodge Johnson. All those in favor, let it be known by I with a proper hand raise. >> I. >> Any opposes? That motion passes. Consider agenda item number 21. Consider and if appropriate to take action to approve a resolution authorizing the district to enter into a a contingent fee contract for legal services in connection with the claims arising from an industrial incident and current property damage claims against third parties. Make the findings required by the Texas Government Code chapter 2254 and approve the proposed contingent fee contract subject to review by the office of the attorney general. Can I get a motion? >> So move. >> One moment. >>
035Second. >> Okay. So it's it's been moved by trustee Kendal Lofton and second by trustee Taylor Getwood. >> Uh President Narcease. >> Go ahead, sister. >> Uh let the record reflect that I will recuse myself from this vote. >> Okay. All those in favor, let it known by saying I with a proper hand raise. >> I. >> Any opposes? That motion passes with one abstention. Oh, personnel, Dr. Porter. >> I will read um whole number one, approve of recommended employment of teachers. I'm asking for consideration and to approve the termination of a probationary employee contract. >> Can I get a motion? >> So move for approval. >> It's been It's been moved by trustee Kendal Lofton and second by trustee Kimberly White-Hodge Johnson. All those in favor, let it known by I with a hand
036raise. >> I. >> Any oppose? That motion passes. Information, Dr. Porter. >> Average daily enrollment, 7,875. Average daily attendance, 90.3%. >> Can I get a motion for adjournment? >> I move to adjourn the meeting. >> Second. >> All right, it's been moved by Vice President Diane Brown, seconded by Christie Brandon Bartz. Our meeting is adjourned at 7:11 p.m. Y'all have a great evening.