001She's architecture. You can come to the podium at this time and you have 3 minutes to speak, sir. Yeah, there we go. All right, put my glasses on so I can see. Uh Richard Cropp uh the senior vice president for Claycomb was not able to be here tonight. He planned on being here to do this, but he had to be in Rockport at another meeting, so I was excited to come here in his place just so I can see everybody again, but I would like to read his the words that he had prepared for you. Uh We appreciate the opportunity to work alongside Port Arthur ISD. Supporting your district in the successful successful passage of last year's bond was truly an honor. It was a historic moment for the community and it speaks volumes about
002the leadership of this board and the shared vision for creating better opportunities for your students. We are proud to have played a role in that effort by helping communicate the vision, engage the community, and build the support that ultimately led to that success. While we are disappointed that we won't be continuing into the next phase of work, we recognize that the details around the contract must align appropriately. We want you to know our respect for this district and this board has not changed. We remain strong supporters of Port Arthur ISD and the work you are doing. We continue to serve school districts across this region and we are always willing to be a resource as you move forward. It is our sincere hope that this is not the end of our relationship, but simply a
003pause and that we may have the opportunity to work together again in the future. Thank you again for your trust during this bond process. We wish you continued success as you bring these projects to life for your students and community. That that was from Mr. Cropp. I would like to just say a couple things. First of all, Dr. Porter, and I I value the leadership that you do for this community for your district, but more importantly, I value our friendship. Thank you for the trust you put in Claycomb and in me and coming in and to this board. What can I say? Y'all make the hard decisions and uh but y'all make those decisions based on your kids and I I I totally respect the decisions you make so that they can have the resources
004and the facilities that they need to excel [clears throat] and to compete with everybody else in the state of Texas. So, I commend you. I hope this is not a goodbye, but a see you soon and I'll look forward to to uh hopefully meeting up with y'all again. Thank you all very much. Dr. Porter, thank you. >> Thank you. At this time, we're going to move to staff reports, Dr. Porter. Thank you, Vice President Norris. At this time, we will ask Dr. Christie Lewis, principal of Thomas Jefferson, to come to the podium and introduce the many many many many many people that she has with her this evening. Uh I would like the Ignite students to join me at the podium as well. I just wanted you all in Again, greetings and good after good
005evening. Uh on behalf of the faculty, staff, students, and stakeholders of Thomas Jefferson Middle School, I bring you and bid you greetings and I thank you for accepting our proposal on last year this time and I just wanted you all to see the students that have been impacted by this. We have a short video to show and then we'll move forward. It is a great day at Thomas Jefferson Middle School and a great day to be a Titan. Hello, I'm Christie Lewis, the principal of Thomas Jefferson Middle School. Today, we'll be showcasing and getting testimonials from our parents, teachers, and students on the impacts of Ignite. We are excited about the new cohort that we brought to this campus and we have successfully implemented the Newcomers Cohort, the Applied Program, and now we're on Ignite.
006And we're going to continue this because we don't just hope that it works. We make certain that it does and it's working for the students, the staff, and the community. And so, here we grow again at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. We are Thomas Jefferson Middle School where exposure expands expectations. My name is Lilia Gonzales. I'm a sixth grader at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. I'm part of Ignite. Ignite helped me get better at talking to people. And before Ignite, I used to get bad grades in science. Now, I have better grades because of Ms. Lawal. Ignite makes learning fun because they teach us in a way we understand and can learn. My favorite Ignite memory is the first field trip to the Color Factory in Houston. My name is Sydney Eldridge and I'm a sixth grade
007and I go to Thomas Jefferson Middle School and I'm a part of the Ignite program. And Ignite helped me get out of my shell and not be shy because, for example, a half of my classes, I already presented a project in front of all my classmates and it was scary because I never presented a project in my classes before. But thanks to Ignite, being shy is not a thing no more. Before Ignite, I used to not be that good at science, but now, thanks to Ms. Lawal, I have improved on my science because she is nice, fun, and we do a lot of cool things in labs. And Ignite makes learning really exciting because we do projects and field trips and which makes learning pretty real. My favorite Ignite memory was we was at the
008Color Factory and we was in Houston and it was on my birthday, too. Sydney's attitude has changed so much. Soon as she gets in the car, she talks about labs she's done in her science classes, all her favorite teachers. She loves all of her teachers in the program and she talks about all of the assignments she's done throughout the day. I feel like I used to always tell Sydney, "Let me see your folder. Let me see what you have for homework." and that has completely changed. She has took full responsibility in all of her assignments and what she needs to do. I feel like GT, people tend to think that that means more work, more homework, more assignments. I recommend Ignite so that parents can know Ignite program is real world, real life experiences, project-based
009learning to further enrich our students. Ignite has influenced her motivation and independence because she's taken on more of a leadership role. I can see when we were doing projects at home, normally I would try to sit and help her. She told me, "Mom, I have it this time." so she was able to do the projects on her own. She's enjoyed the many field trips that they taken her on um and that the field trips relate to the lessons that they are learning in class. I do believe that Ignite is enhancing her for future academic success. I believe that she will be ready as she enters high school with everything that she's learning here in the Ignite program. Ignite has really changed how students think. Instead of just looking for the right answers, they're asking why,
010they want to know how, they're more curious, and they're willing to try different solutions and actually learn from their mistakes. So, I've had a couple of students who came in very quiet at first, but through Ignite activities, they've started um taking more leadership roles. Over time, their confidence has grown and that is very important to me. Ignite has helped me as a teacher become more student-centered. I focus more on getting them to come out of their shell, getting them to be more collaborative, getting them to do more group work, and getting them to present as well, to be out there, be able to learn, and be able to share what they've learned as well. Um it has strengthened engagement. They're like really hands-on and they're like always wanting to be active, up, moving around. So,
011the success story that I can share is when we went to the Color Factory and it we talked about it at the time, mental and emotional health thing. You could see like when they went to the Color Factory, like it released like everything that they had going on and they were just like happy and smiling and just joyful. I have several success stories from the Ignite program because anytime you introduce students to a new activity and they understand it, they accept it and they enjoy it, that is success to me. But one of the biggest success stories I have would have to be the bicycle unit. In the unit, only four out of the 18 students knew how to ride a bicycle. We had a big task at hand, a long road ahead of us,
012but through all the blood, sweat, and tears, by the end of the unit, all 18 were riding confidently. And I even had one young lady tell me that she wants to ride bikes every day for the rest of her life. So, to me, that's success, that's impact, that's Ignite. With my students, I've noticed that in the beginning of this program, the day tends to be more shy and not want to participate in class discussions or different projects, but I notice now that they have begins to take ownership in their learning and they begin to just take charge in the classroom. It provides opportunity for students to make more real world connections. So, for example, the students were able to take a field trip to learn more about a issue that we are learning about in
013our classroom. So, the students were able to make more connections to what they saw in real life and what they see in the classroom. Because of Ignite, my child now has confidence. The biggest difference I've seen is her ability to take more initiative to do things on her own. Ignite turns I can't do it to watch me work. We are Ignite, TJMS proud and TJMS strong. >> [applause] >> At this time, I'll introduce those with me on today at the Thomas Jefferson Middle School faculty and staff, may please stand. >> [applause] >> SO, WE HAVE UH A A BIG PLETHORA OF OUR staff here today and uh at this time, could the Ignite teachers remain standing? Everyone else can sit. >> [applause] >> So, our Ignite teachers who are servicing our sixth graders currently, uh
014Ms. Harris is right here in the front. She is our English ignite sixth grade teacher. Uh currently serving science. Y'all heard them talk a lot about Ms. Lawal Mrs. Lawal O. She just recently was married. So, we're learning her last name, but we're going to call it O. So, Mrs. Lawal O. Ms. Boudreaux is art. Ms. Palomo is math. And then we have Ms. Allen is our social studies and then up and coming will be Ms. Johnson who will be teaching one of their CTE high school credits on next year. So, again I am grateful and thankful thank you all so much. I'm grateful and thankful for the team that we put together and we have already been in motion to put those those parts together for next year because that program will continue going
015that cohort will continue and so I again thank you to the to the superintendent of course Dr. Porterie and the entire school board for listening to our proposal, hearing it and making certain that we implemented it and implemented it with fidelity. And so, I'm going to just ad-lib a little bit more. Ms. Harris also just recently had one of our sixth grade students publish a book. So, we now have a student author on campus and so we are very very proud of that. So, again welcome. This is an ignite program we're calling it Thank you. Okay, we're calling it ignite inspiring growth, nurturing innovation, talent and excellence. As you know our motto is exposure expands expectations. I believe in exposing children so that you can have higher expectations for them. I want them to get
016out of Port Arthur. I want them to see that there's more to life than just Port Arthur, Texas. Yes, we have things in our in our backyard that can make them a successful human being and a successful nucleus of society. However, I want them to know that the world is bigger than just Port Arthur, Texas. The parents have been phenomenal. Let me take a moment to ask the parents TO PLEASE STAND. >> [applause] [applause] >> IF YOU CAN REMAIN STANDING, THESE ARE OUR parents and when I tell you they show up those are parent meetings in those bottom corner pictures and they're packed every single time. That's the type of parental involvement that we so much seek and desire and they signed our handbook and it states that they must be very active in their
017child's education as a part of the ignite. Thank you, parents. And so again, I'm grateful for the parents. Anytime we call, they come. Anytime we call, they answer and that's what we need in order to see and actually benefit a successful student and a successful pupil in the schools. And so again, we are grateful for the parents. We do hold ignite meetings, parent meetings to let them know and keep them abreast. We have also taken the kids to the Holocaust Museum cuz that's a unit that they cover. They've been to the color factory. They're constantly exposed to different things and so that is a part of our um our program. Now, these some of these snippets and slides are from our initial proposal and again, I just want to revisit and I want to come
018back to the board with an update because you all basically took a chance on us. I didn't know what I was doing when I came this time last year. I just knew I wanted something better and something more for the children. And so with that, I came to you with the introduction. At Thomas Jefferson Middle School we strive to meet the diverse needs of all students ensuring that each learner reaches their full potential. However, our current curriculum did not fully address the needs of all of our high achieving and gifted students. Implementing the ignite program provided these students with necessary academic challenges and enrichment to keep them engaged, motivated and successful. So, when you read that and when you see that this was this time last year, we had no program. We were just coming
019and but the type of person I am, if I started, I'm going to finish it and I'm going to see it through. And so as you know with our newcomer cohort, with our applied cohort and with everything we've implemented, we've seen it through and it continues to thrive today. And so when I came with ignite, I had a group of staff members and faculty that believed in me, believed in us and we sat down and we wrote it out together. And then we came as the same group and I could not do it without my team. My team is so um integral to our success at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. They're supportive. They come morning, noon, night. Whatever I ask for, they answer and I could not pray for a better team and I'm really
020blessed to have the team that I have. But back to the introduction, we came this time last year. We didn't know if it was going to work or not, but I knew that we were going to make certain to put forth the resources to do so. Then we have what is ignite. It provides enrichment. It allows acceleration. When you heard the parent testimonies, you heard them a lot of the common threads there were that the kids are taking ownership. The kids are wanting to do things on their own. And those are the things that we wanted. We wanted to encourage critical thinking skills, allow for acceleration in certain subjects. And so with that, we got that. Key benefits of a GT program, we're still um meeting our goals. These are the things we told you
021we would do and we delivered. Requisitions, I put out $20,000 and 40 $20,040.09 based off of local funds. I utilized the budget that I already had and I did that. Fully funded through available local budget balances. If we could get an ignite program allocated budget, that would be fine, but if not, I'm going to still see it through with the local budget that I currently have. That's the fund the funds that the teachers requested and that's the funds that we delivered on that. With that, lifetime sports the coach Knowles coach, she actually it kind of brought back I don't know if you all remember lifetime sports back in the 90s with bowling and cycling and golfing and tennis and table tennis and badminton. So, we we brought those things back to try to teach children
022to get out of their horizon. All athletics is not about basketball, football, track. You know, they need to learn how to play those fundamental skill sets so that they can be well-rounded and exposed when going out into society. So, where it all began. This was us this time last year at the board meeting and then on that lower on that lower picture, that was us at the proposal and then of course that's the proposal team to your right. And so your right may be my right, your left. And so those are the the the individuals that believed in us. Dr. Porterie was in there. We went to pitch it and that and there we had it. Ms. Harris' class was hard at work at creatively connecting English concepts through an engaging podcast project. So, they
023actually create podcasts in English and you have to do things that are culturally competent for students to be able to thrive and to actually be interested in the work. And so that was our main thing there. These are photos of them at the Holocaust Museum playing flag football, bicycles being put together thanks to Mr. Lofton and his crew for help coming on a Sunday when they told me they could have been playing football. I mean watching football. And so they came and they put together bikes for our students and so those are the 18 bikes that coach Knowles was but it was a little bit more. We had about 30 something bikes so I do appreciate that. But making the community a part of it also is assisting us. And then the pathway development for
024students at TJMS, creating a pathway for the students. Two programs piloted within the last four years are moving with positive outcomes. That's the applied, that's our sped program, the newcomer cohort and now ignite. Expected growth from ignite program, more high school credits offered on the middle school level. So, eventually I want to get English one on the middle school level in eighth grade and biology on the middle school level in eighth grade. But currently, we have expanded to high school credits currently offered which is algebra one. That's one high school credit. We have CTE touch data systems, that's a half high school credit. And I just recently implemented dollars and cents, that's another half high school credit. Principles of info tech, one high school credit in seventh grade. Spanish one, one high school credit in
025grade eight. Lifetime nutrition and wellness is a newly implemented program on the campus, that's a half credit for the first semester and interpersonal studies half credit for the second semester, but it will be one whole high school credit cuz they will stay in those classes. And that's in grade seven and eight. And then of course we have the language development acquisition for newcomers which is still um is we're still looking into it, but if if that is able, that is one high school credit. So, you're looking at an opportunity for a total of six high school credits in the middle grades. You only need six to be classified as a sophomore. Now, that's not saying they can go from eighth grade to a 10th through 12th campus. No, cuz they still have to go to
026the ninth grade campus to get, you know, their their their needed course on that ninth grade level. However, they could possibly be classified as a 10th grader when they leave middle school and they can open up the pathways for a three-year program, three-year programs of study cuz some kids don't want to stay in in high school four years, you know. And so just to make certain that we're constantly developing opportunities for the students, making certain that we nurture them and make certain that we doing we're doing within their best interest. And I often tell the staff we're not here for adult comfortability. We're here for student success. And so if it means an adult will not an adult being uncomfortable so that a student can succeed, sometimes that's just how it will have to move.
027And again, our conclusion here is a gifted and talented program at Thomas Jefferson Middle School provides much needed opportunities for our gifted students to thrive academically and socially. By implementing this program, we ensure that our students receive the education they desire fostering a culture of excellence and innovation. We're going above average ability, creativity and commitment. We service special ed students of course with their needs. We service the general ed population. We service the emerging bilingual population and I'm proud to say that we are servicing our gifted and talented students to excel above and beyond average. THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> [applause] >> ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? OH, MS. OH, SORRY. DR. LEWIS. Could you explain I I I know I know, but could you explain how the kids are selected for this
028program by how do you how you application and actually uh working with the elementary principals like Dr. Taylor and Lakeview. Yes, thank you so much and Mr. Taylor is here. Thank you so much Mr. Taylor. If you could please stand. I know everyone may know Mr. Taylor. He is one of our feeder pattern principal and he is a big supporter of us as well and so I do get the feeder pattern principals involved. And so my feeder pattern principals will consist of Mr. Taylor, Mr. Sampson and Mr. Hernandez and then a few depending on the zone and I I get a few kids from Adams and a few kids from Sam Houston. And so what we do is well back in You can come up Mr. Taylor. Maybe back in January. I want him to
029speak on it as well on how we involved the feeder pattern campuses, but we we get them involved maybe starting in January or February. We pass the packets out. We give them about a month and so and so forth, but he can kind of tell you more about how they disseminate it, but I meet with them. I've had Google Meets with the feeder pattern principals. I give out the packets. I make the copies. They give out the packets and they have the guidelines attorney and they have criteria that their counselors and everyone gather with. I'll let Mr. Taylor explain more about how that works. Yes, good evening everyone. And as she was saying as Dr. Lewis was saying it's not just for the gifted and talented. She looks at every student. All of them are
030given an opportunity to apply and see if they will be selected. They go through a lot of testing. Uh if they're not already identified, they go through so it's on their own merit not that oh I've been in this program my entire school career. It gives them an opportunity to have a leg up if they want to. And a lot of interest is spread. We talk with our parents about the opportunities that the program provides, the transition, how this is something new and they have bought into that. We had more applications than she had slots to be selected. And also it really is an integral thing to have kids really be able to explore the world from a different perspective and not just always in the classroom being given more opportunity to travel and have
031real world experiences as problem based learning is something that I feel is very beneficial for the child to truly understand and grasp a concept. Thank you and I have some ignite teachers here too if you had any questions for them and how their classrooms go, but yeah we definitely do not just select just kids who've already been in GT or because we want to give every child an opportunity because some kids that are in the GT programs currently don't have an interest to be in the ignite program. But then you have some that are not and they do. So I don't just use CogAT scores. CogAT is how you test the gifted and talented. I don't just use those scores. I use I utilize a battery of things in order to allow children into the
032program. We start we look at star scores. We look at the CogAT scores if they've already been tested. If not, we do test them. We have that test coming up. They'll be proctored by Mrs. Mallard also. And then we look at their behavior. We look at their discipline. We look at their attendance because this is these are programs that you have to be active in and you have to be engaged in. And we and the the teachers are not going to stop and start doing discipline in the ignite program because these kids are on a level that we are not going to deal with discipline in these classes. Now we do have specialized classes that we deal with our discipline because we give every child an equal opportunity and a free and appropriate education. However,
033ignite will not be the the place for that for that. Dr. Lewis, I wanted to congratulate you. You did you presented this to us last year and you have delivered and I'm so proud of all of you. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Yeah, first and foremost I'm to echo the sentiments that's already been ushered into the room. I really appreciate that we actually have tangible results that we can see. And I remember very very very very clearly especially when you all came on last last time. You had a quote in there that that rang so many bells in my head and it was if students cannot learn the way we teach, then maybe we should teach the way they learn. And when you presented this ignite program, I already knew it. You can go
034back to the board meeting. I knew that it was going to be something great, but I'm I'm really appreciate seeing the actual data driven results that you have showcased. I think one of the things I would like to highlight is the connectivity that you have amongst principals and amongst schools. I think that I really appreciate it being on this level specifically because typically we wait until high school to expose students to the world. And by that time those that are able to they do. Those that don't they fall by the wayside. This really attacks it and hits it right at that peak where students are trying to figure out who they are, trying to figure out what they want to do and it gives them an opportunity to learn something new. One of the things
035I would like to challenge as we move forward this is to see this expand to our high school level as well to continue on that continuity while we have your interest peaked. And I think that this is the absolute framework here because you've already done the work and I would do want to take time to congratulate all of you all, parents, staff, yourself and the students for going forward not knowing exactly what to expect, but allowing God's work to be done first and foremost, but allowing the heart and the passion of the people to get it done. So I think what can really expand this program and make it better than where it is now is where where it's going to go by by continuing on this trajectory of I was an ignite student at
036Thomas Jefferson and guess what my flame did not leave. It ignited higher when I got to high school and because of that I did ride that bike every day because once I left that high school once I left middle school, it was still with me. I did continue on with art because guess what when I went to that to the color factory, I got a chance to see that my moves do change this way. I was able to to to get exposed at this level and it was consistent on. So I think that's that would be the next step that I would like to see, but I could not get to the next level without appreciating what you all have done and I thank you because so often so many times we miss opportunities to
037really showcase our students and showcase them to the world, but also showcase what the world has to offer. And we wait until it's too late and those that don't get it they don't get it. So I appreciate this. And thank you Dr. Porter as well for allowing this presentation to come forward to showcase exactly the work that gets done in this district because not only is it being showcased to us, but it's being showcased to the community and those that will see this video. So for those of you who are watching right now or will be watching on your TV screens, we need to surround and rally around our teachers and and our support support them in these efforts because this is something that's great. I don't want to let it be known or I
038don't I don't want to let it leave loosely. We had students who didn't know how to ride a bike. We had students who didn't even get a chance to go to the color factory before. We have students who haven't even been outside of our nine boundaries. Or they've been to Houston but hadn't had a chance to experience it in a different way. These are the type of opportunities that we present when we have employees who have vision and have a support system and have a district that supports them. So kudos to you. Keep it going. I'm not in in in the position to say what we can and can't do budget wise, but I will say what we can do I think we should do because I think this program needs to be offered in
039just the cohort that we have now to expand it because we have so many students who will benefit from it without them even knowing that they have. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Dr. Lewis, and you wonder why your school is overcrowded. >> [laughter] >> May the works I do speak for me. And your work that you're doing is speaking very loudly right here with this program. Just to see the commandment that you have with the the parents to Parents, I'm going to give you a self applause for the parent participation because we we talk about that across the district, across the board about parent participation and then to see this side filled with parents and students is something exciting to see and the future that we have for PAISD. And just
040with you having your your staff here available for you to come after hours to come to a board meeting that you all probably don't want to be at, but but you all are here. It it speaks a lot on seeing that you have a great work that you're doing at Thomas Jefferson. So don't wonder why you everybody's trying to get over there. We see why they're trying to get there because you have some special things that's going on over there at Thomas Jefferson and I'm very proud to say I know you're very proud to see that you brought this forward and I'm looking forward to the future to see what you can bring bigger and brighter to PAISD. And this is for Ms. Cavell because I know this is on you. I wear size large
041in those jerseys standing there. >> [laughter] >> I DON'T WANT TO BELABOR THE POINT, BUT I ALSO just wanted to add as well I'm glad that you also documented this because this is also an opportunity for us to showcase to the rest of the state the type of talent that we have and I know for a fact there are other districts and other in other areas that could benefit from this and we actually have the opportunity because of you all to become trailblazers within our region and within our state with things like this because I'm telling you this is definitely a game changer as it relates to students and giving them opportunities, but also connecting teachers with parents and community engagement. So if we can, let's shop this around once we get the the the
042final blueprint to showcase what we're doing here and also help trail trailblaze the path for other districts [clears throat] around them. Ms. Harris, our English teacher, is actually working on a portfolio for the sixth grade students that were are going to be fulfilled with are filled with photos and testimonials from the students' perspective. Also and it's going to be all the students. A lot of our kids are camera shy, so I had to It was like pulling teeth to get the ones that I did get to do the testimonials for the media team. Thank you, Ms. Lott, for that. And uh I just want to again appreciate my entire staff for standing behind me, supporting me, pushing me, pulling me, and and most of most importantly allowing me to be me. And so with that
043Dr. Porterie With With that again, I do appreciate the entire board and Dr. Porterie for putting up with all my antics. And Dr. Babino, Dr. Owens, thank you all. Oh, Ms. Davis probably here hurting right now, but I appreciate all of y'all and for answering all my phone calls. Thank y'all so much. Anything else? No, we'd like to thank you as well, Dr. Lewis. >> Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. >> No, no, no, no, you're good. That's it. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. >> [applause] >> NEXT ON THE STAFF REPORT, FIRST WE WILL HAVE MR. Stan Stansel, director of transportation. He will talk on Texas Senate Bill 546 mandates that all school buses in Texas be equipped with three-point seat belts by September 1st, 2029. So, he is coming forward to let you all know that you
044will have to spend some money. Good afternoon. Yes, we will have to spend some money eventually. Basically, I'm coming to give you an update on Senate Bill 546 and what it says in a nutshell is by September 1st, 2029, all buses, uh regardless of the age, must have three-point seat belts. We're in a kind of good position because the buses that don't have seat belts, we got about 13 of them. The oldest is 2014, the newest is a 2017. Uh and only one of those buses are route bus. It's a weekly bus, so we able to put the Star Hornets on it, but it still will need seat belts in the future. Uh hopefully, like Dr. Porterie said, those buses are getting ready to be retired. They're coming up on 10, 11, 12 years of
045age, so it's time to start getting rid of those buses, but all this will need to take place before September 1st, 2029. That's Senate Bill 546. Y'all have any questions? Very short and sweet. Thank you. Yeah, I didn't know Any questions from the board? No, it was very self-explanatory. All right, thank you. All right, appreciate it. Next, we have Mrs. Lott. The fine report. I said the fine report. Uh district highlights. Uh since we last We have had some very big UIL wins, so these are some photos of our kiddos who with their medals and their plaques from UIL. And then we also have uh to tonight going on at the same time as this meeting, our theater arts department, who was at our last meeting, is having their extravaganza over at the high school
046auditorium. These are our observances for the month of April. Uh Lakeview Star Prep Day, their theme was racing to success, so you see the race race car flags. We have an all girls welding team at our CTE campus who competed in a competition in Houston. Uh Sam Houston's lunch with the principal, that's a popular incentive program for students. And then in the the bottom right corner, our tiniest Titans are learning the life cycle of butterflies. So, they're seeing the caterpillar come out of the cocoon as a butterfly. We had a very successful in-person career fair uh given by our human resources department, and we actually just posted a highlight video of that on our YouTube channel today. So, if you get a chance, take a look at that. Those are some photos from the event.
047In the middle, we also had a very successful gifted and talented Bluebonnet Brunch. And that's something that the the GT students look forward to every year to find out which book won as the Bluebonnet book. And we also have a highlight reel for that as well that we previously posted on our socials from our YouTube channel. And when Dr. Lewis was talking about the lifetime sports, there's a photo of uh the PE class learning how to bowl. In the bottom right corner, the Beaumont Enterprise did do a story on our career fair with a lot of nice photos. We have highlighted We have some VOE students who are actually at Woodrow Wilson, but on Fridays, they work in our technology department repairing our laptop devices, so we did a video where we are interviewing them
048and their supervisor. We also did a family spotlight on Ms. Sams, who teaches second grade at Travis, because she has a son who's in the third grade there. And then her oldest son initially started out in PAISD in the third grade at Travis and is now about to graduate as a senior, but he works at Travis as one of the student tutors. So, he works in the class with his little brother at the school where his mom works and his little brother attended, that he also once attended. And then we have a at the bottom left corner, Ramona Mitchell is one of our flag girls for the Marching Heat Band, and she does not allow her hearing impairment to stop her from feeling the drum beats in order to be able to participate and dance
049with rhythm and on beat with the flag corps. So, we did a highlight video on her. Our GEAR UP program sponsored an escape room event last week, and uh the high school is advertising the chance to study abroad this summer. So, we started to post that on our socials and on the ninth grade academy and high school socials, the opportunity is open to students um in grades 9 through 12, and there are also opportunities to be able to um afford to travel abroad and earn uh high school credit while you are studying abroad. At the top right, we have some students um at the Youth and Govern- Youth Leadership of Southeast Texas Conference representing our school district. And then at the bottom right, these are some We put We posted a photo gallery. We shared
050The one that you see is shared from the Chamber of Commerce, but we also posted our own photos, and we also posted the entire video of the annual Pathways to Success Luncheon, so that video is also on our YouTube channel. And that's where our CTE students um showcase their their programs, and then the Lamar State College Port Arthur programs are also on exhibit. And the top 10 students from Wilson and the top 10 from Memorial, and those CTE students are able to network with industry professionals over lunch and then hear some good uh college and career prep advice from some of the industry leaders. At the top left corner, our Port Arthur um Association of Association of Retired School Personnel donated brand new books, over 100 titles, to Sam Houston's third grade students. And then
051our tiniest Titans learn how to milk a cow with a hands-on simulation. It's very uh Lincoln and TJ students to be able to come to the band hall to experience what it's like to be a part of the high school band. Our Wilson Early College Kingsmen recently served um This was at um Constable Bates Scholarship uh banquet. They were some of the servers. And then Memorial High School is also going to host an interest meeting for any of high school students, incoming freshmen and also ninth uh 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students for next year who will be interested in earning dual credit. There's a list of courses, as you can see, there are plenty, and so they are inviting students and parents to come to that interest meeting so that they can find out
052how to earn college credit while still in high school through Lamar Port Arthur. In our uh athletics, the Lincoln Fine Arts Concert Band achieved a one on stage and a one in sight reading, and that's the highest honor that you can um attain. So, those are some different group shots of the different sections of the band and then the band as a whole. We have some track and field athletes to set some new records, and uh we posted our middle school soccer schedule, so we do have soccer teams on that level, and those are a couple of pictures from one of the games that they had at the stadium. Uh the volleyball team has started practicing for spring league, and so they are welcoming eighth grade to 12th grade students interested in playing volleyball to
053practice with them and participate in spring league. Um Wilson's Tatiana Crane um is the UIL shot put champion and discus champion. She She surpassed last year's personal record um and so she's maintaining her title. And then we have five of our soccer players to receive all district honors. We also have five of our Lady Titan soccer players to receive all district honors and multiple track and field both Lady Titans and Titans to receive all district honors. These are some of our community engagements that we have been promoting and attending. We had a registration fest at Central Mall a couple of Saturdays ago to help to provide in-person help with for parents who needed to register their students for school next year. We are currently at 61% registered and we are pushing for 100% by the
054end of the school year in May. Our employees donated more than $18,000 to our United Way campaign this year, so we're very proud of that and we appreciate all of our donors. And we also want to thank First Christian Church for donating to Tyrrell Elementary. This is some more of our community engagement on on Saturday um Miss Calco's parent and family engagement, she is having a parent celebration day and it is open to parents and children. Children are welcome to come. It will be free food, gift card giveaways, free gift bags. That will be in the Memorial High School gym from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and that's this Saturday. All All of our students and families, parents are invited because parents have been calling. Yes, you can bring your kids. Uh once again, we
055are partnering with the Chamber of Commerce and the Education Foundation to solicit gifts for our top 10 students at both of our high schools. We have been posting this on our socials and the Chamber and the Foundation have also been posting. The deadline for businesses to submit their gifts, they would drop them off to the Chamber of Commerce office over in the EDC building on Proctor is before May 13th and then we will deliver those gifts to each campus, allow the representatives from the Chamber and the Foundation to meet the kids and take photos with them. The Education Foundation also awarded 20 teachers at five of our schools almost $10,000 in innovative teacher grants. And fortunately, thank God, we don't have any PAISD angels to recognize tonight. And this is our social media summary for
056April and that concludes my report. Mr. President and our esteemed board members, that concludes our staff reports. Thank you, Dr. Porter. At this time, we're going to move on to our minutes considering if appropriate to approve minutes from the March 26, 2026 Board of Trustees meeting. Can I get a motion? >> So move for approval. Second. It's been moved by Trustee Taylor Getwood and seconded by Trustee Diane Brown. Any questions? All in favor, let it be known by I. I. Any opposes? Eyes have it, the motion carries. Consider agenda, the following items which are of routine and are recurring nature have been designated consent agenda items by the board president per BE policy BE local. All of the items in the consent agenda will be except acted upon by one vote without being discussed separately
057unless requested by a trustee, in which event the item or items will be withdrawn immediately for individual consideration as in in its normal sequence after the items not requiring separate discussion have been acted upon. I'll give you all time to look at consent agenda items 1 through 15. Uh let the record reflect that Trustee Dr. Johnny Brown's arrived at 7:13 p.m. Also, just a point of information, when we vote I raise our hands if we signify when you vote. Just a reminder. Thank you for that, but that's for consent agenda Waiting on a motion. A motion. Second. It's been moved by Secretary Diane Brown, seconded by Trustee Taylor Getwood. Let it be known by I with the hand raise, please. Any opposes? Eyes have it, the motion carries. Personnel. Trustees, I've given you the list
058of teachers for consideration. I move that we approve the employment of teachers. So move for approval. Second. Thank you. Is it It's been motioned by Trustee Diane Brown and seconded by Trustee Taylor Getwood. Any questions? All in favor, let it be known by I. I. Any opposes? Motion carries. Information. Average daily enrollment, 7,866. Average daily attendance, 89.68%. Thank you. Can I get a motion for adjournment? So move. Second. All righty, thank you. The time is now [clears throat] 7:15 p.m. Meeting is ended. All right.