001That's everybody else. That would take me all month. The time is 6:00 p.m. This March 16th, 2026 regular meeting of the New Canyon Independent School Board of Trustees is hereby called to order. Let the minutes show that all members are in attendance with the exception of Mrs. Tomkins. This meeting has been called in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 551. All items that will be discussed or voted on this evening have been posted as required by state law. I would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone here tonight. We are pleased that you joined us this evening. On behalf of New and the board, we are pleased that you have joined us and will celebrate that achievement. We set goals, listen to reports, approve budgets, contracts, personnel appointments, and
002policy for our district. We are not here to make management decisions or to solve problems with individuals. Management is the responsibility of the superintendent. This is a meeting in the public, not a meeting of the public. And as our guests, we welcome you to observe and to listen. Again, we're pleased that you have taken time this evening to join us. Thank you for your interest in our school district. And we now ask that you would silence your cell phones. Please rise for the invocation to be given by Mr. and remain standing for the pledge of allegiance and honor the Texas flag to be led by Mr. Al. >> Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing us all here safely tonight. God, we pray that you would deliver us all safely back home. We know that
003you are good and your ways are asking for your guidance, wisdom, and support. We begin this meeting. Help us to listen, discern what is right, just make decisions, serve the students, staff, and community. We guide our minds and our hearts in all that we do. >> United States of America and it stands nation for all. flagisible. Item two on the agenda is open forum. The board will now hear comments from those persons who have signed up to speak. We have we have one person, Mr. Veron. >> Hi while you come on up here. And um I gotta read our disclaimer here. >> I'm sure you've heard it before. >> Up there. >> You're right there. Be fine. >> So, the board encourages comments from citizens of the district or from employees. Any wish anyone wishing
004to speak either as an individual or a representative of a group may do so at this time. The board asks that the comments pertain to public education issues and be no longer than five minutes. Remember, the board may not discuss any issues that are not posted on our agenda. And if an issue mentioned is listed on tonight's agenda, the board will defer discussion until appropriate time during the meeting. In addition, the board has adopted complaint policies that are designed to secure at the lowest administrative level a prompt and equitable resolution of complaints and concerns. Those policies are available on the district website. So get >> Okay. >> All right. >> First of all, thank you guys for serving. I know it's uh not a very well- paid job. Um, I've actually served on a school
005board myself before and I know what it takes and and it takes a lot of time and I appreciate it and and so thank you for your service. Um, the main reason I'm here is to I wanted to acknowledge our girls basketball team. Um, I don't know if you know what their record was this year. I don't know if you know what their record was last year. Um, but it just doesn't seem like it gets brought up. It doesn't seem like it gets acknowledged. Um, and I think they deserve a little bit of attention. So, uh, and for the most part, I'm here. I was going to give Dr. Miller, we we got him a plaque. Um, unfortunately, he's apparently in Hawaii or on his way home. So, my plan went to the, uh, toilet.
006So, uh, anyway, we got him a plaque because he comes to every game, whether it's away, whether I don't care how far it is. And he supports the girls more than anybody I see in the district. And it's awesome. He doesn't have to. and he enjoys it and they see him there and it makes a difference. So, I wanted to give him this plaque and I brought some girls. Um, if you mind, can I have them come up? The girls, uh, girls, come on up. So, a lot of the girls couldn't make it because they're in other events and whatnot, but I was just going to read off a little bit about what their accomplishments were this year. Um, come over here. And so, we have two seniors on the team. Uh Jana Nickerson, she
007ended up being MVP of the district. She was first team all district. She's the all-time leading scoreer in Porter history. Uh and she's on the academic all district uh also. And I think we just found out today that she made the all area team. So that's pretty that's pretty good accomplishment. And not to mention she's uh got a four-year ride uh for two sports, basketball and track. So congratulations to her. Next on the list was Josyn Jones. Uh she is first team all district and academic all district. She also got a four-year ride. Um we only had two seniors. We have two juniors. Natalie Willis, she's not here right now, but she got defensive player of the year in the whole district. Um and first team all district. Alexis Sturdy is not here. She got
008honorable mention. And academic all district. We have two s one, two, three, four sophomores. Uh Jalisa Esla, she is here. Thank God. Uh, first team all district as a sophomore and academic all district. Dusty Von, my daughter, first team all district. Academic all district. Sydney Allen, honorable mention, academic all district. And Annayia Utlesen, she got honorable mention. So that leaves us with three freshman. Uh, Carrington Heck, she didn't make it here, but she got second team all district, academic all district. Kennedy Stampley got second team all district and Kendall Barnhill got honorable mention and um academic all district. So if you uh see that's a lot of awards for one basketball team. So I just feel like they should be acknowledged. I feel like uh they don't get enough praise in this day and age.
009It doesn't cost anything to uh say thank you or good job or anything like that. when I was at the other school, uh, when I was on the board, uh, we always brought them in at the school district at our, uh, board meeting and gave them a certificate and showed them off for everybody. And I thought that was a great idea. Another thing that we did, uh, we did a sendoff when they made the playoffs. So, the cops came and they they gave them the escort out and the fire trucks came. That's all stuff that's free. We don't do it. And it makes the girls feel good. It gets the community involved. I I I think there's so much more that we can do. Um there's more than just football out there. So, uh I
010don't know why we don't do that. Maybe that's something we can look into and do. Um so, another thing that's a little disturbing is there's no banners in our gym. There's we've won banners that they're they're nowhere to be seen. The trophies that the girls won, they're nowhere to be seen. I don't know if you know, but I was told that last year was the first time in Porter's history that the girls won district in basketball. Then we won our first playoff game in the history of Porter. Nobody nobody recognized or said last year. Then this year, I don't know if y'all realize, we went undefeated in district. That's very hard to do. That's awesome. And nothing. So, it's a little disappointing. Um, I don't know why that happens, but I'm sure we can get
011something done and and and get that addressed. Um, other than that, that's really all I have. Uh, I just feel like we need to do a better job recognizing our students. There's so many things that kids are doing out there now that are bad or or that aren't representing the school like we want them. So, the ones that are doing it, I think they deserve to be acknowledged. So, uh, thank you for your time and and, uh, when Dr. gets here, we'll give him his splat. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Mike, for taking the time to come and tell us about that. And girls, thanks for coming and we want to wish you congratulations. Item three on the agenda is public hearing on the Texas Academic Performance Reports or TAPR for New Penny ISD
012campuses presented by Mrs. Lan. Good evening and thank you for this opportunity to talk about the 2024 2025 Texas academic performance reports for New Kenny ISD. Starting out with the district accountability score for last school year. Uh we were a C and we also had a 2025 special education determination status of needs assistance. I'm going to review the elementary campuses for us and then Dr. Kandarco will also present about the secondary campuses. I'm sorry I don't think I introduced myself. Nicole Anne, executive director of elementary education. Starting out in alphabetical order, Ben Branch Elementary with a letter grade of B. Brookwood Forest Elementary with a letter grade of B. Also a top 25% in comparative academic growth distinction. Dollwood Elementary School a letter grade of a D. They are also additional targeted support um due
013to their school improvement grant and monitoring only phase. They are also on a targeted improvement plan that we will discuss and you guys will review that proposed plan for approval later. Our school board will um then we move on to Kings Manor Elementary. They have a letter grade of C. New Kenny Elementary has a letter grade of B. Oakley Elementary School has a letter grade of D. They are on a local improvement plan that is monitored locally, not submitted to the state. It can be called if if if necessary. Um they are unacceptable due to state accountability. Porter Elementary School has a letter grade of C with a distinction in academic achievement in ELA reading. They are also identified federally as a targeted support school. Um they also are on a local improvement plan as
014well. Robert Krippen Elementary has a letter grade of C. They have a distinction in academic achievement in science. Sorters Mill Elementary has a letter grade of C. They are fed federally identified as an additional targeted support school with a local improvement plan. Tavola Elementary School has a letter grade of B. They have two distinctions. Top 25% in comparative academic growth and top 25% in comparative closing the gaps. And last but not least for elementary schools, we have Valley Ranch Elementary with a letter grade of B. They have two distinctions as well. Academic achievement in science and top 25% in comparative academic growth. And we'll hold questions for the end. um of our public hearing. >> Thank you, Nicole. Um I'm Caesar Kandarco, executive director of secondary instruction. And so I am going to kind of
015reiterate what Nicole said, but for the secondary schools and so we will start with our middle schools. We'll start with Pine Valley Middle School. They had an overall rating of a D. They were they were also um additional target support and they're also on a local improvement plan. Um, Kefir Crossing Middle School um had a a grade of as an F. Um, their additional targeted support reidentified and they're on a TAP or a turnaround plan and you'll hear more about their plan here in a few minutes. Um, White Oak Middle School had an overall rating of a D. Their additional targeted support reidentified and they're also on a local improvement plan. Woodidge Forest Middle School is a rating of a C. They're um identified targeted support and also in a local improvement plan. Um, for
016our high schools, New Kenny High School had an overall rating of a C. Porter High School had an overall rating of a B. And they also had three distinctions. Academic achievement in math, top 25% comparative academic growth, and top 25% comparative closing the gaps. West Fork High School had an overall rating of a B. They had five distinctions. academic achievement in math top 25% comparative academic growth top 25% comparative closing the gaps academic achievement in social studies and also post-secary readiness and then we had Infinity Early College High School they had an overall rating of an A. Um they also had three distinctions. Academic achieving achievement in ELA reading, academic achievement in social studies and post-secary readiness. That concludes our overview of all the campuses of New KYD. Now we are open for public comment
017or questions. Do you Nicole, do you want to just explain what a local improvement plan mean for the campuses that are on a local plan? >> Yes, ma'am. We do follow the effective schools framework um which is for your tap or tip campuses that have a much intensive more intensive plan that is submitted to the state for approval. We follow that o we follow that template if you will and keep it and maintain it locally and occasionally tea will request that for auditing purposes to make sure that it's a legitimate plan that we're following and things like that but basically we identify the problems through that process and then solutions to that that actionable items that we will be forming performing on the campuses through that school year. >> Yes ma'am. >> Is that available
018for the public? >> It is. Yes ma'am. Yes, it's on their website. >> The local improvement plans. Um, >> no, because it's maintained locally, but after our April board meeting, yes, it will be. >> Okay. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Great question. >> How is it evaluated? How like as we go, how do we determine growth or accomplishment of the plan? >> Yes, ma'am. Great question. And we meet periodically. It's it's in the plan to meet periodically with these campuses to do check-in based on data like on mock or MAP which are universal screeners. And we basically make adjustments as needed to make sure that we're meeting and improving performance overall is basically the point of it. >> How often >> do you assess? >> Yes, ma'am. At our more um intensive campuses, I we're meeting
019on a monthly basis. um with those lower scores of D's and Fs to be to be honest the other um campuses that are at an overall C that are on those lips those local improvement plans I would say we're meeting with them I mean we meet with principles monthly um about their lip what would you say every two to three months yes ma'am >> we also collect milestones along the way as artifacts that show our actions towards completing those goals >> yes ma'am Any other questions from the board or the public? Thank you all. And that concludes our public hearing regarding the 202425 taper reports. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Land. >> Item four on the agenda is the superintendence report that's presented by Mr. Calder. Yes, ma'am. Want to recognize some of our
020staff that are here tonight. So, if I overlook you or or mispronounce your name, forgive me for that, but I'm just going to start here with our elementary campuses. Um, from Ben's Branch, we've got Miss Sutter, Miss Cowsley, Brookwood, we've got Miss Davis, Krippen, we've got Miss Brent, Dogwood, Miss Kale, Collins, Mr. Carile, Kings Manor, Miss Salem, Nanny L, Miss Cessa, Oakley, Miss Nolenberg, Porter L, Miss Canelis, Sorters Mill, Miss Tomhave, Davola, Miss Leo, Valley Ranch, Miss Trout, uh, Keeper Crossing, got Mr. Sios, Mr. Tomhave, Miss Martinez, Miss Perkins, Turwigger, uh, Miss Horton from Pine Valley, we got Miss Collie from Wide Oak, Miss Maize from Woodridge, Mr. Reese, uh, New Kenny High School, we've got Miss Beard, Miss Davis, and Mr. Honeyut. Um, we've got Mr. Cook here from Porter High School. West Fork
021High School, we've got Miss Tiny, Miss Tatum, Mr. Perkins, Mr. Patterson, Miss Coker or Mr. Coker, Miss Laura. And then from TLC, we have Miss Babs, and Miss McGee. Um, from our departments, we've got from public relations, we've got Dr. Powers, we've got Mr. Velder here, director of life, safety, emergency management. Then we've got our director of marketing, Mr. Papus from our finance department. We've got Miss Shallette, Miss Hunt, and Miss Garcia, as well as Mr. Castile. Administrative services, Miss Gates, Miss Kelly, Mr. Powell, Miss Alano from operations, Mr. Carol, Mr. Carr, Miss Thacker, Mr. Martinez. Uh, from instruction, we've heard from a couple of them already. Miss Lan, Dr. Gutierrez, Miss Low, Dr. Mr. Moran, Dr. Mesmer, Miss Monroe, Miss Gray, Miss Miss Angelic, Miss Cipper, Miss Cobbs, Angelic, Miss Cipper, Miss Cobbs, and
022and Miss Waldrip, as well as some of our Miss Waldrip, as well as some of our special ed leadership team that's here, Miss Snder, Miss Shure, Miss Benetti, Miss Reed, Miss Schrader, and Miss Von Cotton, I believe. And then from uh our athletic department, we have Coach Plunk. And then we've got facilities and planning, Mr. Wrestler, and our chief of police, Kevin Potter, is here. So, just recognize our staff for being here tonight. Mesmer, Miss Monroe, Miss Gray, tonight. Um, so with that said, on to some of the fun things. We will start with our campus recognitions this month. And first up will be Dogwood Elementary and Miss Kale. Y'all come on down. Good evening. >> Good evening and thank you board for letting us recognize some of our ducks tonight. I'm going to start
023with with our teacher, Miss Candace Golden. She's one of our special education specialized support teachers who works with our third graders. She's an integral part of the third grade professional learning community. She collaborates closely with the general education teachers to ensure her students can successfully access grade level curriculum. In classrooms, you'll often see her conferencing with students and supporting learning all across the room. Um she's very intentional about asking guiding rather than leading questions and making sure that students are doing most of the work and building their own understanding. And her commitment to collaboration and student growth makes a meaningful impact on our campus every day. Stand over here. Uh, next I'd like to recognize Lesie Avionetta. She's one of our incredible pair of professionals. Um, she's a vital member of our MTSS team and
024she supports students and staff in so many ways across our campus. She is always willing to learn and step in and do something new, whatever is needed. And in fact, she's even trained to be our backup nurse and our backup front office. There's no limit to what she can do. and her willingness to take on new challenges makes her an invaluable part of our team. Okay. Uh next we'll do our child nutrition member, Sylvia Miranda. She has been a valued member of our district at New Kenny ISD for 5 years and she is known for her consistent kindness towards students and for the joy and dedication she brings to work each day. Sylvia is greatly appreciated by those who have the opportunity to work alongside her because she maintains a positive and professional attitude at
025all times. She is also always willing to support her team when help is needing needed, offering a helping hand and contributing to a collaborative work environment that benefits the entire school community. Sylvia Miranda. Prof. collabor. All right. And next, we'll recognize our custodial staff member, Beatatric Romos Garcia. She's a valued member of our custodial team. She is known for being hard-working and responsible individual who consistently carries out her duties with dedication. She treats everyone in our school community with respect and kindness, helping create a positive environment for staff, students, and visitors. We are grateful for her commitment and the pride she takes in her work every day. Singaporees. All right. And finally, it's my privilege to recognize one of our outstanding students, Natalie Oieto, a fifth grader who has been part of the Dogwood family
026since kindergarten. Natalie is a member of both our pep squad and our safety patrol. And when it came time to train the fourth graders who will step into these leadership roles next year, Natalie took the initiative to create a presentation in Canva to ensure that they were prepared and trained properly. Her leadership responsibility and pride in serving our school truly stand out. While we hate to say goodbye as she heads to Kefir next year, we are so proud of her and cannot wait to see what all she accomplishes. Dogwood Squad. Canva exception. Foreign All right. While they're getting their pictures done, I'd like to ask Miss Trout if she will come on down to recognize Valley Ranch Elementary. Good evening and thank you to the board and Mr. Calbertt for the opportunity to be here
027tonight and highlight just a few of the incredible wranglers from Valley Ranch Elementary. It is always a privilege to share the stories of the students and staff who make the ranch such a special place. Tonight, we are proud to recognize a few individuals whose hard work, perseverance, and heart truly represent the spirit of the Wrangler family. A school that runs well each day depends on people who work behind the scenes getting everything ready for our students and staff. As our head custodian, Charmin Cantrell plays an essential role in making sure our campus is clean, safe, and prepared to welcome our wranglers every single day. Miss Cantrell joined the Ranch family in the middle of last year, stepping in when we needed her most. From the very beginning, she jumped right in and has worked hard
028to ensure our building is safe, clean, and prepared for learning. She has also done an incredible job bringing together a strong team of support staff who take pride in caring for our campus. She is always thinking ahead, planning for assemblies, events, and the daily needs of our school to make sure everything is set up and ready to go. Her attention to detail and commitment to staying one step ahead helps our campus run smoothly, ensures our wranglers walk into a space that is prepared for them each day. Miss Cantrell, we are thankful for the work you do every day to support the ranch and to make sure our building is ready to receive our wranglers. Taking care of our wranglers is at the center of everything we do and that care extends far beyond the classroom.
029Our cafeteria is a safe place where students are welcomed, supported, and fueled for the learning ahead. As our cafeteria manager, Martha Martinez plays a key role in making sure that happens each and every day. Mrs. Martinez leads her team with organization, planning, and a strong commitment to our campus. She carefully manages food ordering and inventory, ensures meals are prepared and served on time, maintains strict health and safety standards, and keeps the cafeteria running efficiently for every grade level. She is always thinking ahead, anticipating needs, and communicating clearly with staff and administration so that everything is ready for our students each day. Because of her leadership and dedication, our cafeteria runs like clockwork. And our wranglers know they are walking into a space where they will be taken care of. Mrs. Martinez, we are thankful for
030the work you do each day to ensure our cafeteria runs smoothly and that our wranglers are well are well cared for. Thank you. All right. And for our teacher that we would like to recognize, the VRE mission is to ensure high levels of learning for all Wranglers and supporting the whole child is truly at the heart of the work we do. Mr. Danny McGomery has played an important role in that work this year. In his first year serving as our be behavioral specialist, Mr. Mr. McGomery stepped into a brand new role and partnered with our administrative team to help design and build the support structure we now use across campus. Each day, Mr. McGomery works with students from kindergarten through fifth grade through a 15minute check-in cycle across the campus. Through these consistent connections, he
031provides encouragement, accountability, and the kind but firm guidance our wranglers need to grow. His work focuses on helping students develop self-regulation, confidence, and positive habits so they can return to their classrooms ready to learn. Just as important, Mr. McGomery has built strong relationships with both students and parents. He approaches every interaction with care and consistency, helping students feel supported while also holding them to high expectations. Because of his dedication, our BSS system has grown strong this year and continues to support both student behavior and classroom learning across the ranch. Mr. McGomery, thank you for the work you do each day to support our Wranglers and help them stay on the path to success. All right. Miss Jennifer Zlanki is an important part of the ranch family and a strong support within our BSS program. This
032year marks her sixth year officially serving our campus. Though her connection to the ranch goes back even further. Miss Lumpky began volunteering and supporting our community in 2012. And after taking a year away to focus on her family, we were so happy to welcome her back to the ranch this year. Miss Lumpkkey works closely alongside Mr. McGomery to support our BSS program and help ensure the systems that support our students are running smoothly each day. Their teamwork helps create a consistent structure for students who need additional support so they can continue to grow both behaviorally and academically. She is often one of the first smiling faces our Wranglers see in the morning and one of the last to wish them well in the afternoon. Miss Lumpkkey has a natural ability to connect with students and
033meet them where they are, helping them feel supported, valued, and encouraged throughout the day. She takes the time to truly listen and get to know people around her, which is one of the many reasons both students and staff trust and appreciate her. Her willingness to step in whenever she is needed, and her positive approach to every situation make her a valued member of our team. Miss Lumpkkey, we are thankful for the care, dedication, and heart you bring to the ranch each day and for the support you provide for our wranglers and our BSS team. Okay. At the ranch, we believe every Wrangler story matters. Some stories are about quick success, while others are about determination, growth, and the courage to keep going even when learning feels challenging. Today, we celebrate a student whose journey reflects
034a strong commitment to becoming his very best. Over the course of this school year, Diamond has shown us what steady progress and to and determination look like when a student refuses to give up. His journey has been one of growth not only academically but also in confidence, participation, and believing in himself as a learner. Early in the year, Diamond faced challenges in reading. But he never allowed those challenges to define him. Through hard work, persistence, and a willingness to keep trying, he began putting in the effort each day to strengthen his skills and build confidence as a reader. Because several staff members have had the privilege of working closely with Diamond throughout the year, I ask a few of them to share what they have seen as they supported him along the way. Miss Martinez,
035our math instructional coach, shared that Diamond has worked hard to push through challenges and continues to grow academically each day. What stands out most is his willingness to participate, ask questions, and build meaningful relationships with the teachers who support him. Mrs. Mshik, our MTSS specialist, shared that during reading intervention, Diamond consistently comes ready to work, sets goals, and celebrates the progress he is making as a reader. His positive attitude and determination have made it incredibly rewarding to watch his confidence grow. Mrs. Porter, our reading instructional coach, shared that Diamond has shown tremendous growth both academically and personally. Personally, he now participates more confidently in class, advocates for himself when he needs support, and has made strong progress in his writing and his use of text evidence. Diamond, your journey this year reminds us all what
036determination and perseverance can accomplish. We are incredibly proud of the effort you have put into your learning and the confidence you continue to build each day. Your story is still being written. And if this year is any indication, your future is full of possibilities. Diamond, thank you for showing us what it means to stay the course. The ranch is proud of you, but more importantly, you should be very proud of yourself. All right. While they're getting their picture made, um going to ask Dr. Miller to come up if you don't mind. I I hear we heard your name earlier, sir. So, I just wanted you to take this opportunity to step back up. funny to say >> Mr. Veron, >> did you want to present that to him, sir? >> It's not for me. It's
037from the girls. So, they they just we we just wanted to come and and present you with this plaque for being our I feel like our biggest supporter in in girls basketball. You go out of your way to go to all the games, whether home or away. You're you're there whether we're up or down and and you always support them and and it doesn't go unnoticed. So, I just want to tell you thank you and and they they appreciate you being there and like I said, it doesn't go unnoticed. So, thank you. So, >> I'd like to say I'd just like to thank our girls basketball team are doing a phenomenal job. It's one of the best times I had this year watching them uh do a great job and I can't wait till next
038season. Oh, yeah. All right. Next up, um I'd like to recognize Miss Land again to share some highlights from the current school year for um things going on our elementary campuses. So, Nicole, come back up. Good evening again and thank you for this opportunity to share an update on our elementary campuses following our March data meetings with principles and instructional teams. Um board members, you do have lovely little individual campus overview, but I'm just going to speak about the elementary campuses in general where the foundation begins. So overall, we are seeing very strong instructional systems across elementary campuses and we are proud of the work taking place in each classroom. We are seeing increasingly strong tier one instruction in classroom. Teachers are aligning lessons closely to standards and assessments and using strategies such as structured
039student discussion, modeling, and writing tasks that mirror the rigor of state assessments. Many campuses noted that the alignment between PLC planning and classroom instruction has significantly improved. One of our greatest strengths continues to be the use of professional learning communities, also known known as PLC's. Across campuses, teachers are meeting regularly to analyze student data, review common assessments, and make instructional adjustments based on what students need. Another strength across the district is our intervention and progress monitoring systems. We've made great strides in this area. Campuses are using assessment data to create flexible intervention groups, provide targeted retach opportunities, and closely monitoring student progress. This includes not only intervention but enrichment as well. Instructional leadership teams are also very active in classrooms, principles, assistant principles, and instructional coaches. The whole ILT are conducting frequent walkthroughs, providing feedback,
040and supporting teachers to ensure strong instructional practices are implemented consistently. As we look ahead, our district-wide focus will con include increasing the level of rigor and highlevel thinking in instruction, the cognitive lift, student product, continuing to improve uh outcomes for stu key student groups, and strengthening science instruction. Overall, we are very proud of the work happening across our elementary campuses. The collaboration between teachers and campus leaders is strengthening instructional practices and positioning our students for continued growth and success. Any questions for me before I go about elementary? >> Okay. Thank you. >> All right. Dr. Kandaro, you want to come give a secondary update? Yes, sir. And thank you again. Um I just want to reiterate a lot of what Nicole said and specifically for our secondary schools at middle schools. Um we are seeing
041positive momentum through better data usage and a shift in campus culture. Um some key highlights include some widespread academic growth. Most campuses report measurable improvement across all tested subject areas um and bundletobundle unit growth. Um we have strengthened math and literacy. Significant progress is being made in math departments through high quality materials and extended constructed response scores are on the rise. Systemic consistency. Schools are successfully implementing the PLC like Nicole said, professional learning community process with intentionality leading to better collaborative data analysis and a more solutionoriented mindset among staff. And there has been a cultural shift. There's a notable shift towards growth mindset across campuses with dis discipline improving in teams showing a high willingness to pivot or seek help to meet students needs. At the high school um they are demonstrating stability and high
042performance particularly in core and of course subjects. Key highlights include rapid subject area progress. There is significant growth um from bundle one to bundle two particularly in algebra, biology and US history. In some cases, nearly all teachers in these subjects moved up a letter grade. High performance standards. Multiple campuses report that over 70% of students are reaching meats or higher in biology and US history teams are consistently consistently achieving allevel scores. There's been effective professional systems. PLC's and PD Fridays are cited as highly effective tools for driving instructional refinement and maintaining high rigor. And there has been growth for all learners. There is documented success documented success in improving outcomes for subpops and across various student brands. Overall, I know our team and I want to speak for Dr. Mesmer, Miss Monroe's team, and everyone
043that's that plays a role in in going to our campuses and helping our principles. I'm very proud of the collaboration that is happening between our campuses with our principles, our instructional coaches, and our teachers. um they have bought into our collaborative data meetings and taking away action plans and they're strategically using data to make decisions on campuses. And so with that being said, um I think we want to invite Kefir Crossing Middle School up here. >> Um and we can, you know, kind of talk more a little bit more about their TAP plan and where they are at Kefir Crossing specifically. >> So I just want to introduce Mr. Sios the principal there. We also have Miss Destiny Cook, one of the instructional coaches, and Miss Britney Horton, the dean of instruction there at Kefir
044Crossing. Uh good evening and um thank you Mr. Cover and board members for uh giving us an opportunity to present a brief update uh about the wonderful things that are happening over at at Kefir Crossing uh middle school. Um beginning with uh I want to begin with my goals for our campus and uh my goals are within a couple of years within two years um I look forward to seeing KCMS grow into a a B-rated campus. Uh we have a lot of work to do but uh but we're excited about uh the trend that we're currently seeing uh seeing on our campus. Um that will be done uh through creating a safe campus where we uh students have a sense of belonging but also through data driven collaborative processes uh on a campus where we
045take pride in in growing students and also celebrating that growth. Um part of that pride also includes uh teacher feedback which is exactly what we did uh in order to help us generate our mission and vision for KCMS. Uh what we did is we collected teacher input uh which allowed us to create a mission and vision that focuses on a whole child on the whole child through consistent growth and also by focusing on collective commitments um as a campus. Um, back in September, uh, during our first 10 days when we first arrived at Kefir Crossing Middle School, uh, we completed a campus needs assessment, uh, we also, uh, implemented some, uh, building and operational adjustments, um, and some classroom expectations were also put in place, um, including Kodiak standards, uh, which essentially are non-negotiable for
046students, um, because we feel like accountability is an important, uh, factor to to our success. Um, Miss Horton and Miss Cook have additional information they'd like to to share with you. >> Once we kind of got to Kefir and we got everything kind of ironed out with behavior, what we wanted to focus on next was our instructional updates because we knew that was going to help impact our student achievement in a great way. And what we realized was that we have some of the hardest working teachers in New KYSD, but those teachers quickly communicated to us that they felt that that hard work wasn't always seen in student performance. So what we did was we really helped to focus that hard work into a few processes that we really feel has helped maximize student success.
047And so a few of those things that we'd like to highlight is we created a planning model that shifted um the focus to what are students learning rather than what are the teacher moves we're doing in class. The next thing we did was we really helped teachers to create a consistent classroom model that followed the gradual release for instruction so that students didn't have to guess what am I going to do? How am I going to get this information? But instead, teachers were all kind of doing this. I'm going to model something for you. Then we're going to build confidence and practice it together and then you're going to have an opportunity to practice that and show your work on your own. And it really helped to boost student achievement. And the last thing that
048we did was we really um helped to s create tiered professional learning that helped um support students to or to help support teachers um in presenting this classroom model to students um so that everybody felt like they were supported and successful in delivering this 5e model. The next thing that we want to show is our data. Um based on our local assessments, we have seen in our data that we have grown from an F to a D in all subject areas and even beyond that in a few other areas. Our current campus domain one rating has gone from a 58 to a 69 to really trend in that C direction that we're trying to achieve this year and then towards that B in a few years. We really wanted to highlight what we believe has
049helped move that needle the most in one year. And what we believe that is is the process of student goal setting. The sheet that you see up there is a goal tracker that all teachers were required to use to have classroom conversations with their students to make students believe that they can truly grow. At Kefir Crossing, we believe 100% of students can grow. But if kids don't believe that, then we're not going to see it in academic process. And so we really challenge teachers to say, "Hey, this is your current reality. I don't expect you on the next assessment to get a hundred from a 58. I just expect you to grow by 10 points and show incremental growth. And once the kids believed in that, we truly saw the success and the growth. Another
050one of our goals was to increase our emergent bilingual support. And so some things that we did was we highlighted some professional development strategies that focused on speaking and writing um strategies that were easy to implement in the classroom. We did two different intervention programs. Um one during school and one after school. the afterchool program grew from 40 students per week to a 100 students per week. So it was really exciting to see that the students were wanting to come and get that extra support. We had Dr. ET come to present um how to break up with pass and the message just really resonated with the students and they felt empowered and encouraged um to perform on those tests and implement those strategies that they learned in that session. We also had every member of
051the ILT team meet with about 10 to 15 students to set goals with them and encourage them individually. So we believe all of this led to student um language proficiency increase that we hope to see on the TP pass. This is my favorite slide. Um, because we knew that when we arrived at Kefir, we could implement all of the instructional and operational change, but what we really needed was the whole community. We needed our staff, our students, and our community to buy in. And so, we wanted to create a culture where Kefir was a place where you wanted to be and you felt supported and valued. So, some things that we did was a student incentive activity where we celebrated students that completed their work and had good attendance and behavior. We did some monthly
052um staff and student celebrations and some staff and student spotlights. All of these things along with our community outreach, we had a Hispanic heritage night. Um we had a fall festival night and a cultures continues night and we have an upcoming Laria night. So by building this culture with staff, students, and community, we've seen really meaningful change, and we're so excited and proud of just the growth and hard work from both our staff and our students. >> Um, and to close and to add to what, uh, Mrs. Cook said, um, I want to close by recognizing some of our staff members because it genuinely has been a team effort over at Kefir. So, uh, they play a critical a critical role in all the successes that we're having at Kefir and all the continued success
053we're going to we're going to have. So, it's okay with you. I would like to ask him to stand just to recognize all our Kodiaks in attendance tonight. Thank you. >> Thank you again for allowing them to come up and speak um real quickly on just the great things that are happening at Kefir. And I just want to reiterate and I know Miss Land feels the same way. Um I feel like all of our teams across the district um from ILT teams to teachers to students are working really hard. As you all know, we have about four weeks of school left until we start taking our STAR test. And so, there's been some really focused, intentional, um, targeted instruction going on the last few weeks, and I know there's some great things happening in the
054next few weeks to bring our parents up there to just show them how they can help us out, um, and, you know, crossing that finish line across the end of the school year. So, again, thank you guys for giving us the time um, to speak to you tonight. >> All right. U, this time, I'd like to recognize Mr. Bachelder. come up for a intruder detection audit reports. >> Good evening, Mr. Coward and School Board. The top priority of New Kenny ISD in the state of Texas is keeping students and staff safe every day. The Texas School Safety Center recently conducted an intruder detection audit at one or more of our campuses and corrective actions have taken place. The audits test whether the campus is accessible to an unauthorized individual. This audit is conducted as a
055part of the Governor Abbott's school safety directive for all school systems following the tragedy of u seeks to help seeks to help districts identify how campuses can improve safety for students such as ensuring exterior doors are locked. The audit provides us with an opportunity to create a safer learning environment for our students and staff. We are working closely with our district safe and secure committee to ensure that we are training all of our staff and securing our doors for the protection of everyone at our campuses. The support from the state and conducting the intruder detection audits is just one of the many actions we are taking to ensure our schools are safe. We know that this work does not end and we appreciate the board's support. We acknowledge that parents and community members are likely
056very interested in the details of the audit results. However, it is in the best interest of the students that we do not share this information to the broader public as it could lead to compromising important campus security information. Specific details of the intruder detection audit will be discussed in the executive discussion with the safety and security session and with the safety security committee. New Kenny ISD is committed to providing a safe and secure learning environment for all of our students and staff. Thank you. >> Um I did want to say thank you to the staff at Kefir who came and supported your administrators and your administrators thanks for coming and presenting to us. Let us know the great things. We know there's a lot of great things going on as it is across the district,
057but thank you very much. Um, item five on the agenda is reports and proposals of board members. Um, I have a I wanted to give an update on our legislative affairs committee. We had a meeting u on March 10th. We had our first meeting this year on March 10th. We discussed issues relating to school safety, instruction, recruitment, retention, and school funding. The committee established a tentative timeline for presenting a draft proposal to the rest of the school board for consideration this summer. What we do is we um look at the priorities and the goals of the district and then we try to get it really uh compact and concise in order to give it to our state legislature and there are representatives so that they know what what we would like for them to do
058as far as uh school affairs are concerned. Sometimes they listen, sometimes they don't, but we want to give it effort. Our next committee meeting is scheduled in May and I'll bring an update in May. Does anybody else have anything? Item six on the agenda is a consent calendar consisting of consideration of minutes, finance reports, and curriculum items. Does anybody have any questions or further discussion regarding the consent calendar? >> Is there a motion to approve the items on the consent calendar? The motion has been moved and seconded. There being no further discussion, a vote will be taken. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed say no. >> The motion is approved. Item seven on the agenda is being tabled. Uh it was a consideration for a change order for the administration
059building, but we are going to table that item until a further meeting. And item eight on the agenda is consideration of approval for construction manager at risk for Porter High School phase three would be presented by Mr. Wrestler. Hello. >> Good evening. As we continue to uh kick off new projects, uh this is the latest and greatest one for y'all. Uh it is Porter High School, what we're referring to as phase three. Uh be some finance edition, some athletic uh turf fields, and uh a lot of CTE work as well. uh went through our our processes and procedures and uh I would like for y'all to consider approving Gamma Construction Company for a construction manager at risk project for Porter High School phase three. >> Are there any questions or further discussion? Is there a
060motion to approve Gamma Construction as construction manager at risk for Porter High School phase three? The motion has been moved and seconded. There being no further discussion, a vote will now be taken. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Those opposed say no. >> Motion is approved. >> Thank you. Um again, this one's a little different. So, we'll be bringing some uh uh guarantee maximum prices to y'all in a couple of different phases. So, that uh we'll be working on some of it. We're designing some of the rest of the the uh uh things to come over there. So, >> when is it supposed to kick off? Uh the first the first one I should be back to y'all in May and uh uh that some of that work will be uh actually
061excuse me in April. I'll be back with you with uh some of the work to be completed by August of this coming year >> and yes ma'am before school starts then there'll be another set we hope to before January 15th and then around February of 27th when we'll kick off the big bulk of the work around the school with completion of it in the spring of 28. >> Thank you. Thank you. Item nine on the agenda is closed meeting. The board will now adjourn to close session under under the Texas Open Meetings Act sections 551.071, 551.072, 551.074, 551.076 and 551.0821. We will deliberate the duties, evaluation, responsibilities, employment, and dismissal of personnel and officers, including the board and superintendent, as it pertains to any item listed on this notice or agenda. We will consult with
062the district's attorney on any subjects or matter listed in the notice or agenda, pending or contemplated litigation, and proposed settlement agreements. And we will deliberate regarding the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property property. deliberate regarding security devices or security audits and deliberate regarding student discipline matters. Should final action, vote or decision on any matter considered in close session be required, such final action, vote or decision will be taken once the open meeting covered by this notice is reconvened or at a subsequent meeting of this board. The board has adjourned to close session at 6:59 p.m. Board ended it closed meeting at 8:41 p.m. and will now reconvene and open session. Item 10 on the agenda is consideration of administrative services items consisting of personnel report contract status of professionals and teachers 2026 2027
063compensation plan delegating hiring authority for contract personnel to the superintendent and approval of outside professional services engagement presented by Mrs. Gates. >> Good evening. So um the personnel item is just our monthly list of recommendations for hire reassignments resignation and then of course um the two principal positions that are listed as well and um then the following items just to kind of summarize each March we bring forth our contracts for teachers which you've been provided a list for as well as the compensation plan for the upcoming school year with recommendations that were outlined in the board packet for your review, as well as our uh requests to extend the hiring authority of our superintendent as we enter the peak hiring season and have the opportunity to recommend and hire folks as they come uh into
064open positions. There any questions or further discussion? Is there a motion to approve the administrative service items? It's been moved and seconded. There being no further discussion, a vote will now be taken. All those in favor say I. I. >> Those opposed say no. Motion is approved. >> Mr. Calbert. >> I've got some introductions tonight for y'all. Uh first of all, I want to introduce Miss Brandy Ellenburgger. She will be our new assistant principal at Brookwood Forest Elementary School. And then we have Miss Haidet Gonzalez who will be a new assistant principal at New Kenny High School. Then I want to uh introduce a familiar face to be the new principal of Ben Branch Elementary, their current assistant principal, Miss Tracy Powley. And then one of the original Gators and OG coming back home, Miss
065Britney Horton as our new principal of Westport High School. Congratulations, guys. >> Item 11 on the agenda is consider and discuss amendments and extension of the contract to the superintendent of school. We um we were all given a copy of the proposed change to his uh contract. Does anybody have any questions about that? >> All right. Is there a motion to approve the amendment and extension of the contract for the superintendent of school? >> The motion has been moved and seconded. There being no further discussion, a vote a vote will be taken. All those in favor say I. >> I. Those opposed say no. The motion is approved. >> Congratulations. >> Um item 12 on the agenda would be future discussion topics. Does anybody have any topics that they wish to have further discuss on?
066No. Okay. Item 13 on the agenda is to consider, discuss, and potentially take action on a level three appeal for a student at Westport High School. Presented by Mr. Nickel. So, the board is going to now close this meeting under the authority of Texas Government Code section 551.0821. 821, 551.074, and 551.071 for the purpose of hearing a parent complaint regarding the discipline of a student.