001All right, guys. >> Good evening. It is 700 p.m. The board of trustees of the Leaport Independent School District, Mr. Shopppee, is now convened. I wish to extend kid. I wish to extend a warm welcome to everyone present. Every student success is our number one priority. As Leaport ISD board of trustees, we are here to set goals, adopt policy, approve budgets, contracts, personnel appointments, and communicate the district's vision and success to the community. It is not the role of the board to make day-to-day operational decisions. The management and day-to-day operations of the district are the responsibility of the superintendent. This is a public meeting of the board of trustees, not a meeting of the public. Schoolboard meetings are open to all who wish to attend and hear the matters discussed. Audience participation is limited to
002the patron presentation portion of the meeting. And board members may not respond to the public comment section. These proceedings may be recorded and I respectfully ask that you please refrain from talking while others are speaking. Thank you for taking time this evening to join us and for your interest in the Leaport Independent School District. I was remissed at the beginning of the meeting. Uh we do have a quorum. Uh we are missing Trustee Crutcher and Trustee Thompson and we look forward to having them back with us next week. Uh with that being said, this time we will stand for the pledge of allegiance. Normally we would have our RT students, but because we do not have school today, they we uh did not make them come in. So, if you will please join me in
003the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Now, the Texas flagg to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible. Father God, we thank you for again for this uh this chance to come together and I thank you with all my heart for these men and women that pour back into our district each and every single day, our administrators, our teachers. We thank you, Father, for the families that put their trust in this district uh with with their most precious uh possessions, Father God, their children. We ask that you continue to provide protection over every single one of these uh individuals. We ask certainly for wisdom
004and guidance on this board as we go forth and path direction of our district. Father God, just be with us in this meeting. We thank you for all these things in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. >> Please be seated. >> All right, guys. We have staff recognition. [Laughter] Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. As you know, October is National Principles Month, and that provides an excellent opportunity to thank our Leaport ISD campus administrators for their hard work and dedication to the students they serve. And we'll begin with our elementary principles. Leaport ISD elementary principles include Tammy King Beayshore Elementary School, Lisa Basile, College Park. Linda Hyde Heritage. Karen Lawley, Leaport Elementary School. Alicia Pales, Lomax Elementary. Stephanie Davis, Jenny Reid Elementary School. and Maria Gara, Leo A. Rudo Elementary. Now we move to our secondary principles beginning
005with Tracy Greenwood, James H. Baker, sixth grade campus. Jason McConnell, Leaport Junior High. Jessica Rose, Lommax Junior High. Tmaine Wikliffe, Leaport ISD Academy of Viola DeWalt High School. And finally, Dr. Kate Griffin, Leaport High School. Come on. >> You're still not tall. >> That's why we Ladies and gentlemen, I'll now hand the microphone over to Miss Terry Cook, our partners in education coordinator, for her October recognitions. Thank you. It is my pleasure tonight to recognize one of our outstanding business partners as well as one of our outstanding community organizations. And we're going to start tonight with Lubers Bayport. Lubersaw Bayport plant recently demonstrated its support for education in Leaport ISD by donating 100 backpacks filled with school supplies to the district. These backpacks were designated for students at our sixth grade campus, our junior high
006schools, and our high schools. And Lubresol consistently provides muchneeded supplies for our students each school year. We're very grateful for the company's involvement and support. And tonight we have with us Amy Vander Vanershot. Did I say that right? Do I get it right? Okay. The plant manager at Liberal Bay Fort, Amy, if you Thank you so much. Thank you, Amy. For many years, the Bay Area Service League, which was formerly known as the Assistance League of the Bay Area, has provided support for Leaport ISD students in many, many ways. Uh, among their philanthropic programs are some very special projects that have specifically impacted Leaport ISD students. the ready for school program. During the 202425 school year, the service league provided new clothing, shoes, and hygiene kits to 24,445 students in eight districts, including Leaport ISD.
007More than 200 Leaport SD students were served by the service league in this capacity last year and this year. So, it's a really important program for our liquidity. For those of you who are not familiar with the program, students who are recommended by their school counselors have the opportunity to shop for new school clothes at Target or J C Penney through this organization so that they feel confident going back for for a new school year. They also are involved in the snack attack packs. From June 2024 to May 2025, the service league provided 10,480 snack attack packs, which include a microwave meal, sweet and salty snacks, and a drink to help children in three school districts, including Leaport ISD, who are dealing with a lack of food at home on the weekends. During the 2025
00826 school year in Leaport ISD, they are on track to uh give us 4,000 snack attacks. Operation Cinderella. In 2025, the service league assisted 165 high school seniors, including Leaport ISD students, with dresses or stu suits for prom. Female students are assisted with a selection of formal dresses, shoes, jewelry, and purses. And male students are provided with a custommade suit, shirt, tie, and shoes so that they have a positive prom experience. The service league spoke at the Rotary Club meeting of the Houston Yacht Club the other day and after the meeting was over, two of the young women who worked there came up and told them that they had been uh helped by Operation Cinderella and how much it meant to them. So, we really appreciate that support. They also uh operate the little free
009library at Northwest Park in Leaport. And they work with the Leaport Police Department to deliver carrying kits to provide victims of abuse with a new a full change of clothing and hygiene supplies when their clothes are taken for evidentiary purposes. So, we appreciate all the service league does for us. And we have a a small group. They're a big group, but we have a small uh group of the their volunteers here today. Uh Cindy Singer Lewis, if y'all come up, please. And Cindy's husband Stan also serves on our education foundation board. Uh, Brook Sema, Lisa Hullbrook, Sarah Fols, Joanna Vincente, Maryanne Jay, is Priscilla Magnus here? I don't I don't think she's here. Okay. Uh, Elizabeth Arseno, Isela Dornell, and and this last volunteer for the service league is kind of an icon in Leaport.
010She was a longtime Leaport High School educator and counselor. Mary Wy, thank you for all that y'all do for us. Are we even good? >> Thank you so much for all that you do. Go to item five, public comments. The board will now hear those who wish to make comments and who have completed and returned the public comment participation request. Section will be conducted in accordance with the Texas Open the Meetings Act and board policy. Complaints and concerns for which other resolution channels are provided shall be directed through those channels. Mr. Vice President, do we have any speakers this evening? >> We have none. >> All right. We will turn now to section six, our administrative reports. Dr. Jackson. Thank you, Mr. President, and good evening board members. President Martin, the Port IC begins the
011second 9-week grading marking period of the 2526 school year this week and we are pleased to share that our district's tradition of excellence remains strong. Our teachers are fully engaged in instruction and our students are actively learning and for the first time publicly shared with the board this year. We're proud to announce our students earned 33 AP scholars, one AP international diploma, and 33 I'm sorry, 39 College Board awards this year. I think that deserves these achievements highlight their dedication and college level success, and more details will be forthcoming. Continuing Leaport ISD's proud tradition of excellence, our nationally recognized band and color guard are off to a strong start. Highlighted by a first place finish at last weekend's US band contest, they'll compete in the UIL marching contest this coming weekend. But you can get
012a preview of their routine this Friday at Bulldog Stadium during the Bulldogs game against New KY Porter. Let's give the band a round of applause. Our volleyball and football teams are off to strong starts as they begin to set their sights on playoff scenarios. And our cross country teams qualified for UIL regionals last week. Meanwhile, several of our water polo players earned all district honors and our head coach was named district girls coach of the year. Testament. This is a testament to the talent and hard work across our athletics programs. We invite everyone to come out and support our student athletes as well as our students, performers, and trainers who all play vital roles in our school community. Let's just give them all a hand here. And we are certainly proud to celebrate two of
013our Leaport ICD teachers. One recently named a Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge winner, earning $20,000 to transform her classroom science lab. and another who participated in the prestigious Holesworth retreat. Both are shining examples of our educators dedication uh and excellence. Let's give our teachers a wonderful round of applause. And finally, Mr. President and board of trustees, our student success is driven by dedicated teachers supported by ongoing professional development and strong campus leadership of the principles that we supported and recognized tonight. I'm grateful to our academics team and our campus principles for their commitment. And as we celebrate National Principles Month, please join me one more time in thanking our wonderful principles for their leadership and support to our campuses and the district. Thank you very much. And on behalf of our administration, teachers, and staff,
014we thank you board and the Leaport Independent School District stakeholders for your continued support as we carry on our legacy of excellence. We cannot do this work alone. It takes all of us working together and we certainly have a strong vision at the top with our board of trustees. So, thank you. And this will conclude superintendent's comments for the evening. Thank you, Dr. Jackson. We'll now turn to uh item B, academic update, Miss April, Mr. Ail, Mr. Vitor, Mr. Chandler, Mrs. Smith, Mr. Bedford, and Mrs. Huffman. >> Listen, I came prepared with an army. >> Good evening. Um, President Martin, board of trustees, um, Superintendent Dr. Jackson, we thank you for the opportunity to present this evening. Um, Dr. Jackson asked us to give you an academics update and I wanted to be able to
015allow my my team to to speak on behalf of the great things that are h happening in our department. So, I'm going to introduce my team, some of the faces you haven't seen before or you have, and I just want to reorient you who they are. Um, so we have Angie Deore. She's our executive director of teaching and learning. Hi, Angie. >> We have um, Mr. Joe Chandler. he's our executive director of school leadership. Um Dr. Amanda Smith, she's our director of research accountability and federal programs. Um Justin Bedford, he is our coordinator of data analytics. And we have Belle Huffman. She is our district bilingual and ESL facilitator. They are going to provide you with an update on all the great things happening in academics. So I'm going to turn right. >> Thank you.
016>> Let's see what you did there. >> Thank you, Miss Abram. Um good evening uh trustees and um to our board and um to our board President Martin and Dr. Jackson. We are very excited about the opportunity to present to you the academics update for October and um as you know we have a team here and we are going to celebrate several things. First of all we're going to talk about our academic top priorities. Going to talk a little bit about our tier one instructional systems in place, our campus success with collaborative PLC's. our campus utilization of the district progress monitoring tools and our bilingual ESL update. And finally, a hot off the press STEM celebration. And so, as you can see, our work is is rooted um and rooted with the our tree that
017we are our tree of success here um in Dr. Jackson's academic top priorities um which include the a positive culture of high expectations and support, highquality tier one instruction, and data-driven systems for continuous improvement. And I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Chan. >> Hey, good evening guys. Um just a couple things here. I think really if you look at these pieces, these bullet points really talk about hard work. Um, and I don't think it's anything that's new, but it's I think what we're asking teachers and what principles are doing is they're going deeper in the process. And anytime you do something a little bit different that's new, it gets people out of their comfort zone. And I kind of equated it to like like Dr. Jackson talked about all the great sports that's
018going on in this district. That's through hard work and practice. Practice isn't made to make you feel comfortable, but it if it's geared right through with relationships and hard work, it makes you better. And so our principles back here um are masters of doing that, raising those expectations with their teachers, but building relationships to make them feel secure as they go through this process. So let's highlight a couple things here. Nothing is new here. When you talk about PLC's is about what we want kids to learn. Um and more importantly, how do we know they've learned it? So, uh they go through a structure, it's a protocol, um from student work analysis to asking hard questions of their practice. Uh you get into at bats. That's the practice lab. That's where right now it probably
019feels very administrative driven, but eventually the goal will be where it becomes more of a grassroots movement where teachers are giving feedback to teachers. less administrative. They may be asking those probing questions as they should, but it's been driven by teachers. And obviously, we're always going to be looking at labs or what we call laps or look force. Look for is the evidence to know that kids have gotten it. Um teachers know what by through content they know what they're looking for. So, as they're working with kids, they can see evidence that kids are being successful. And then finally, I really we talk about get better faster. It's a researchbased approach to coaching and support. It goes hand in hand. And we all of our systems as you look at these things are geared to
020create the right environment for kids to learn, for all kids to learn. Well, but but it's hard work, guys. It really is hard work. And I think what what principles are doing, they're they're not managing from their offices. They're in the field. They're in the work. They're in and out of classrooms to support teachers, to guide teachers, and to help them through this process. And rest assured, they're doing their hard work. I promise you that. So, as Mr. Chandler talked about, we really want to set the stage first with a positive culture and high expectations. And of course, we don't want to forget our supports. Um when we have those things in place and those conditions right for success, we want to think about a highquality tier one instruction for all students. Um our instructional
021team helps our principles and our teachers with intentional planning and the implementation and monitoring of high-quality tier 1 instruction. Some of the tools we use as the um learning framework that was collaboratively developed with our principles and assistant principles over the summer. Some of the things we want to highlight that we're currently working on is critical reading and writing in all content areas. We want to make sure students are engaged in discourse with one another as well as with the teacher in the classroom. If we don't hear student voices, we don't know if they're learning. So, our our teachers are really focused on um making sure that we are working through student discourse in the classroom. During PLC's and professional learning sessions, our instructional team supports our teachers um to implement these engaging instructional strategies.
022We also are working on questioning strategies for our students at high levels, but also our students asking questions and engaged with one another. Um, these sessions help teachers to provide tools and resources to support their planning with highquality instructional materials and implement engaging rigorous lessons for all of our students that are aligned to grade level standards and to provide, as we said, these engaging instructional strategies. We also want to uh scaffold our students who are maybe not quite on grade level, we want to make sure they're always exposed to on-grade level instruction, but if they need those scaffolds and supports, um we're helping teachers to plan for those also to plan their retach as we were talking about in PLC's. If we decide students maybe did not understand that, we need to plan some retaching
023together. Also, we might be planning small group interventions for students who need that extra support. Really what we're looking at is not only providing those scaffolds as we shared and interventions, but also challenging our students who are at meets and masters to continue um to focus on those levels. >> This is probably the dumbest question I'll get all night. >> You go right ahead. >> I I've seen it a thousand times, but what how do we define tier one? Like what is that? How's that different than other instruction? >> It's a very good question. So tier one is for all students and so all students will receive that instruction and it's usually based on um on grade level. We look at our TEACS. We want to make sure we're looking at the the verbs of
024the tease and seeing how we need to be teaching that and all students are engaged in that and it's a part of every lesson. Sometimes um we might have a warm-up before but then we always have um where everyone receives that instruction and then it might be in small groups. They might receive intervention to help scaffold up to that level if they're needing additional support. There are students who might already have learned it and that's part of our PLC questions. If students have already learned it, what's what's delivered in tier one, it's certainly we want to make sure that they do they are exposed to that, but then we also want to make sure we um Yes, we help them with that. Did that answer your question? >> Yes. >> Perfect. Okay, we want to
025now because we're talking about setting conditions for success and we want to spotlight Junior High. Um Mr. Brown Connell, if you will come on up. Evening Dr. Jackson, President Martin, board of trustees. Uh truly my privilege to be up >> uh to talk about Leaport Junior High and what we've been doing on that campus uh in regards to tier one PLC process. Uh if you guys remember when you bought your first car, the feeling of buying the first car, Armor Hall, take care of it. Same thing in Leaport Junior High. When I came on board, the PLC process was more of a meeting. It was those kids, not our kids, and teachers weren't, you know, invested as far as really looking into the what their kids were doing and things like that. And so through
026a lot of hard work by a lot of great people, we've really bought into the PLC process. Um I was lucky to experience it with Solution Tree and Dickinson. And uh and now it's to the point where our teachers are running the meetings. They're looking at data on their kids. It's it's our kids. They're taking ownership. to come to the PLC's prepared to talk about um you know information on the kids what they've been learning where the gaps are how we're going to address those things and u you have that process that Joe was talking about uh we have teachers presenting to their teammates on lessons that have been assigned and they collaborate together to create highquality lessons that meet the level of rigor that we want our kids to to reach and uh implement
027that every day. So uh the the PLC process is truly the the brains behind the operation on the campus and any kind of academic success we have there starts with starts and ends with that process and the quality of those meetings. So >> thank you for sharing. >> Thank you. >> Now Dr. Smith is going to come up. Good evening. As Mr. McConnell just mentioned, ownership and identifying and addressing gaps are critical to supporting student success. Supporting the big rock of datadriven systems of continuous improvement. We have several tools that are built by Justin Bedford, who's with us here today, to provide an essential layer of empowerment for our campuses as they monitor the student progress throughout the year. The data systems work is foundational in identifying strengths and opportunities through multiple assessments including CBAs,
028MAP, STAR, and Telpass. Here are several of the assessments utilized through the school year. Let's give you a couple seconds to read. After the assessments are provided to the students, this is the time in which the data analysis begins. The data monitoring work is driven by campus's unwavering commitment to student success and the guiding principle no one goes backwards. Student and teacher learning trackers promote ownership, guide instruction, and support goal setting through transparent, accountable data use. These tools are designed to champion our principles and will be actively used in upcoming campus level short cycle data meetings. You see, principles play a pivotal role in leading ongoing data conversations and ensuring the continuous improvement of uh student learning is supported by not only themselves but instructional specialists and interventionists. Collaboration is key. All reference tools that
029I'm talking about and that Justin's going to take you through are embedded within the instructional commitment framework. This is accessible in the principal data portal and the leadership weekly. Justin will now walk you through the data monitoring systems and the tools developed for principles that bring this work to life. Good evening. This is our data system support. So starting with the principal portal, this is our centralized data location that houses our data and data resources for our campuses and next is our data drop calendar. So this is highlighting the assessments that were previously mentioned. Um this provides uh the campuses with the assessment dates for when they're provided as well as the data drop dates. We think it's important to highlight when the data will be dropped for these campuses because it facilitates these data
030conversations and it provides uh insight for these data meetings to occur for the campuses. Next is the curriculum based assessments or our CBAs. So these are our most common assessments that we give throughout the district and these assessments are um they provide a snapshot for the student in order to uh showcase how they are showcased on our where they are performing proficiency wise. And this tool uh pro provides a summary for the assessments for all tested subjects as well as it provides the campuses with a way to drill down to the campus level, teacher level or the student level as well as if they want to drill down to any demographic information if they want to compare any nine weeks information or if they want to drill down to any certain CBA performance as well
031as this tool also provides a way for the campuses to understand where they're performing in domain one. It's the first star level. Next is NWA MAP. So, NWA MAP is a norm reference test uh provided three times a year to showcase and allow a guide for students to move towards star proficiency, but it also provides a STAR projection for each individual student. And so, this tool looks similar to the CBA tool as it provides an overview for performance across every assessment tested. And this test also uh me uh provides a similar filter breakdowns as well highlighting grade levels uh subject areas um test administration as well as if they want to do a year-to-year comparison and as well as it also compares the domain one as well. It provides that as well. Next is the
032star growth projections tool. So this tool helps campuses understand how they're performing and it gives them an understanding of how their growth is looking for the school year as each major assessment takes place. So as you can see uh this takes this provides student information for each individual assessment as each individual assessment takes place. It provides an overview for how each individual student is performing as well as it gives them a growth point calculation for each assessment compared to STAR just to give them an overview of how each individual student is projected to give them for growth for domain 2. And so this p this page is of the previous table summarized. So this page is similar to the star growth tables in domain 2 where it gives you an overview of how the campuses
033are looking growthwise for each individual assessment compared to star. Um and it provides a similar filter breakdown for um uh if they want to look in the teacher information class period subject area etc. And we just think it's important for the campuses to understand how their growth is looking for their campuses overall each for each individual assessment which is why we provide different growth tables. >> Are these are these proprietary are these these formulas that they come with projections where they coming from is something you guys came up or is it >> it's based on star. So it's the star it's star based of how their growth is calculated. It's just converted to the map or benchmark or B M O EI map. >> I have a question. So, this is great data. I would
034have loved to have had this when I was in the classroom, but how is this going to be affected by the new STAR process? Like we give map three times a year. Will we still be able to collect all that data? because I had read something about they wanted to limit the number of um testing that we did as a district. >> Sure. So, at this point, >> TDA has not fully laid out what that's going to look like. So, we can't make our projections on how we're going to approach that until they lay it out. And once they do, then we'll bring it back and kind of share this. But right now, we're just trying to you utilize it for what we have. But once they share that with us, we'll we'll we'll share
035that ne probably in the spring, you know, or early fall of next year how that's going to roll out, but we're not really sure because he hadn't rolled it out just yet. >> Okay. >> And next is our teacher learning tracker. So we're this year we're rolling out a learning tracker for each individual teacher to be able to track their students individual CBA performance across the entire school year. And so at this also this not only provides an average for how the student is performing but it creates a conversion uh in accordance with whatever test they want to compare to either star or map. And so this conversion performance can be compared to their previous test information. So it can only give them a gauge of how they're performing but it can give them a
036gauge of if they're growing as well as if they're meeting their goals that they're setting as well. And I'll remind the board that a huge piece of the whole STAR process for our students is growth. And so you hear that term growth a whole lot because so much rides on growth. Am I right, madame uh deputy? Right. >> It's it's the entire domain too and part of domain. >> So you hear us talking about growth so much because we're trying to grow every child. And the most challenging of that and I don't want to get ahead of you, Justin. You're doing a phenomenal job. But what I don't want to what I don't want to I want to remind you of is students that do really really well and they come to us already here
037it's extremely difficult to move them. Am I correct principles? You know and so that growth piece becomes extremely challenging when when you do that. So that's why we talk about growth so much. All right. I I want to say that Justin needs a secret service detail. I know you're you're the secret weapon. He's the man. We got you. You got 24-hour security. >> He's the man in grade. >> Good job. >> When students track their own learning, they become more engaged, reflective, and motivated to grow. That's why we recognize the highest leverage strategy for student success is putting data tracking directly in their hands. While this may be a shift for some, it's a proven practice that accelerates learning. Tonight, we are excited to spotlight two campus principles who have led this work with purpose.
038Please help me welcome Miss Linda Hyde of Heritage Elementary and then Miss Tracy Greenwood of Baker 6th grade campus, both servant leaders who have embraced data monitoring systems to drive meaningful student outcomes. All right. Well, good evening board. Um, it's nice to be here. Uh, you've heard a lot of talk about instructional PLC's and the importance of those systems and I would agree that they are they are extremely important to make sure we have good solid tier one instruction as well as tier 2 and tier three instruction. But we also have this have a system for monitoring is that instruction really effective. And so that's our our data systems that we use. And so at Heritage, it's been said that if there's a spreadsheet for that, I probably have it. Um although my spreadsheets look
039nothing >> like Justice. And so um but we really have embraced this system for monitoring our student data through data PLC's just like those instructional PLC's that that you um heard about earlier. So in the last couple of years, we've really dug into data. We've looked at student individually. We've looked at CBAs and MAP and STAR. And we really look with kind of a a telescopic lens on how specific students are doing on specific assessments. And then we design instruction to help fill in gaps and to to fill in those needs or to support teachers. But what we were noticing um about two years ago out of our campus needs assessment, we noticed that despite a lot of focus on data, we still weren't getting kids to where they needed to be. And so I
040began to look at what why was that? And there were kids who were not successful that were never on our radar. Despite how much we looked at data, they weren't on our radar. But when I went back and looked at them in a wear, which is where we had all that data stored, they should have been, right? So they were always right there on the cusp. Um, and so when it came to a big assessment, they weren't successful. So we started last year implementing a very rudimentary student data tracker, nothing compared to what Justin has given us this year, but to really look at kids across the board. So we can now, it's kind of like the trifecta. We have our data PLC's on our specific assessments. We have a student class tracker where we
041can look at how every student is performing in accordance with their goal. So we do use a goal setting tool to help kind of give kids a target of where we want them shooting for. We know that all kids can't achieve at the M's level, but they should be able to master the curriculum, which is to achieve at that meets level. So, we help our students set goals and then we can monitor every single data point on how it compares to that goal. And then we added those students success folders. So, those students tracking their own goal folders. So, I think that the three pieces together just really hopefully will serve to be a trifecta for Heritage. We all know about the data. We talk about it open and honestly, and we're really excited for
042the results that it will bring. >> So, good evening. Um at Baker we are really embracing the fact that in elementary school the students have been goal setters for themselves probably since second grade is where they can really um understand conceptualize and start making realistic grades I'm sorry goals for themselves. So we're working we're taking that and we're using it in sixth of course because it's just a continuation. So our students all have data folders as well. They have data trackers for all of the different um assessments. They have a CBA data tracker. They have a math data tracker. They have uh which goes into our STAR or benchmark data tracker. We we're just really I feel like the more the students are involved in that and they're making their own goals, the more we
043have buyin and engagement. And I can tell you, and I know everyone else in this room can tell you, that when MAP comes around, the kids get super excited because MAP gives you your your um results immediately. So, the kids know before they get up from that computer if they met their goal or not. So, the cafeteria is usually buzzing with everyone who's met their goal, and they just can't wait to come up and tell an adult, I met my goal. I I I wanted it to be here, and I met it by or I exceeded it by 12. And I'm like, that is amazing. And we put incentives together and things like that. Now, what we do at Baker also is for the student, I'll bring in my PLC. So, at the beginning of
044each month, we decide, we determine, we look at our assessment calendar and we determine which PLC is going to be an intervention PLC and which one's going to be a data PLC based on our assessment calendar. So, when it's a um a data PLC, that's real quick. That's very shortly after um an assessment. So, we're looking at fresh data and we like Linda said, we we discuss it openly. We're super transparent with our um with our data and you know, some people might get a little hurt by that, but it's very important for us to all own it as a team and not in silos. So then whenever we get to our intervention, that's when teachers bring in exemplar work samples. They bring in work samples of a student that they're even struggling with. They
045need ideas. They need help. How do I get this kid to understand this? And we might take one of the teachers that had a really good result in that specific TE and say, you know, you're going to do an atbat next week and you're going to show us what you did for this type of question. And um so those are the two different types of PLC's we have. And it's just really powerful. And I'm going to tell you the atbats is a game changer this year to watch those teachers get up and teach in front of each other and and they even speak to us like we're their students and it's really neat. It took them a little bit to get used to it, but now they really like it. And I have a couple
046of brand new first year teachers who need to see that they need and then they need to do an atbat so that their colleagues can let them know, no wait, don't forget this step or don't forget, you know, it's just so powerful to practice something in front of your peers before doing it in front of students and make a mistake. So, you know, teaching is a craft. So, we need to practice before we are on the stage. So those that's kind of what we're doing with um with our learning trackers. My assistant principal, Mr. Arisbee, is working on a dashboard which is similar to what Justin has provided us. He's amazing. I agree. He's awesome. He has given us our high targeted kids, our um our list that you know just takes away so much
047not work but just he helps us really hone in and and focus on those kiddos. So we're going to be making a dashboard also for our teachers to plug things in so that they can see how the kids are um doing that or you know how they're progressing. But there you see some of our trackers that we use that took a team to get all those together. So, but are there any questions? I wish I had all this when I was in the classroom also. But we came from back in the day in the 1900s where you had to pull your own, to segregate your own, come with your own, >> braid your own. I do like I do like this at bat thing cuz we have so many teachers that come to us that
048have never even done any student teaching or anything like that. So I think this is >> this is really and some of them are we've got experienced teachers that have never had another teacher watch them teach >> and trust me I've walked into classrooms before when I was teaching and gone you just did that cuz they don't even know how to talk to students. They know their subject matter. They're great at it but it's um >> it's that delivery. Yes. So, I think that's a that's a really good opportunity for some of and for some of our more seasoned teachers who kind of have lo lost some of their excitement. It's it's it's helpful to get, you know, >> and if they can get an ounce out of that lesson that's being modeled for them,
049they might say, you know what, I hadn't said it like that, but that's pretty neat. That's great. >> And we've had we've had feedback with that as well. >> Great. >> You know, my take away from the whole presentation is really just the collaboration and the synergy that's being created. Um, I know a couple years ago was a point that we really that there were silos. Some one of you said the word silos and everybody was kind of cordoned off. It was like this campus campus kind of competition and yet we all rise together in terms of we want to be evaluated as a district total and I think you're seeing more of that and uh just you know like I said it gets it's infectious and uh it sounds like things are are crazy.
050Yeah, >> my comments kind of the same line as go Hanks like so if I understand it so we we the district provides kind of a high level uh assessment tools but every campus has the ability to kind of go in and tweak it and modify it to their >> their discretion right and that's amazing do you guys have the chance I assume this is happening too but y'all have the chance to come together and collaborate and say hey this is what's happening in Baker and you guys can do it over here >> we have principal PLC's really nice >> we do we have principal PLC's as Thank you all so much for sharing your job. >> As we highlight the power of data monitoring system, it's only fitting that we share some of our
051own data with you tonight. We've just completed our beginning of the year MAP, which is the measure of academic progress testing, and are excited to celebrate some outstanding results for elementary. When we look at 2024 to 2025 in reading, our current fifth graders are perform performing higher at a meets that's plus 3% level in RLA than they were last year. For math, our current third graders are performing at a higher meets that's plus 3% level in math than they were this time last year. Current fourth graders are performing at higher than approaches and meets level in math both plus 3% than they were last year. And our current fifth graders are are exceeding their math scores with 10 10 plus um percentage in approaches and meets and um their star scores from last year. Sorry.
052>> Wow. Pretty good. And for secondary, our for reading, our current eighth graders are outperforming last year's eighth graders at the approaches level by about 5%. For math, our current sixth graders are outperforming last year's sixth graders at the mast's level at 14%. And our finally, our current eighth graders are outperforming their previous star performance at the approaches 15% and meets level 5%. Next, I'd like to introduce our ESL and bilingual facilitator, Belle Huffman. Good evening everybody. Um, again, my name is Bel Huffman. I'm the facilitator for the Bangalore ESL program. Um, I'm going to walk you through the report for um Oh, sorry. Okay. our report for the school years 2024 and 2025. And I'll um begin by defining what or the population that these language programs serve, which is our emergent bilingual student.
053And that is a student who is in the process of acquiring language and has another language other than English as the students home language. Um, EB students require additional support to succeed in the in the classroom and sometimes they're also they can also we can still refer back to them as students of limited English proficiency and also our English learners. Here are our language programs that we have at Leaport ISD. starting with the transitional bilingual program which is categorized under an early exit program which means that our goal is to have our EV students ready to enter an all English class by the end of fifth grade. Um so in this program model um emerging bilingual students will use their primary language as a resource while they're acquiring the full proficiency in English. And and
054I did want to note that this previous year we had the bilingual program moved from Heritage Elementary to Rudo Elementary and that was a um a it was a smooth transition and I think all the teachers and staff have already situated themselves and are really feeling like they're at home in their new campus. Um, continuing to our ESL programs, we have a contentbased program and that one in that program um the teacher the content teachers are all certified in um or ESL certified and usually we see this kind of program at the primaries because the students stay with that same teacher all day and see the same content with those teachers. So um that is why it was called all content um they're content based and then we have our pull out program which is
055um one we see more in the secondary campuses just because the students are switching between teachers or even in the higher grades. And this is where the reading and language arts teacher is the only one required to be ESL certified and she is providing the language supports that the students need. And both of our ESL programs are, you can see those are throughout all of our campuses, whereas our bilingual program is just at um Rudo and then prek is at College Park Elementary. And then we also um have our newcomers. Um Leaport has been welcoming newcomers for um several years now. And that is referring to students that are new to the country. And so um we are supporting them through various ways including the English language development block which is a specific um block
056of time where the focus is learning the English language not so much content but specifically English. Um so we add more of a social aspect for them to be able to make that transition a little more um easier. Um in the high school we also have a curriculum that focuses on this as well. It's um suited for older students um but also learning you know the beginnings of the English language. Um we also have translating devices for um them available. Um we see that a lot more in sec in the secondary as well. um they use those to translate any handouts or documents and it does it quickly and um accurately so that they have access to whatever the teacher is presenting or handing out to them. Um and we also try to um in
057um cohort them so that way they have some sense of a community but they're also still included with with the regular class. And then they also um will have extra assistance from a bilingual paraprofessional. This is our enrollment, our emergent bilingual enrollment um in Leaport ISD. And as you can see on the top bar is our ESL programs. And so they are in enrolled in our grades preK all the way through 12 for a total of five 572. and our bilingual program only goes up to fifth grade. So, um the enrollment goes up to there and then if they are still not ready to exit out of the language program, they will transition to an ESL program at Baker. And so that total is 253 for a grand total of 825 um emerging bilingual students
058at Leaport, which comes out to almost 12% of the district's student population. Okay. And we'll move on to Telpass results. Just a quick comment on Telpass. That is our English language proficiency assessment and that is designed to assess the progress of our emerging bilingual students as they're acquiring the English language. >> We were just excited to have these celebrations here and at least 40% of our EB students in second, third, and fifth grade moved up one proficiency level. And you can see in first and second grade they improved by 8% from the previous year. And then three of our elementary campuses which is part of our domain three closing the gaps improved for TP pass progress rates. In secondary two of our campuses improved for TP pass progress rates. And then in 8th and 12th
059grade and secondary um the rates of progression from for at least one proficiency level went up by at least 3%. So those are some great successes from our TP pass. Um, and then these are just specific to our emergent bilingual program, STAR and EOCC scores. And you can just see some of those celebrations in all four core. Third and seventh grade and algebra 1 all improved from the previous year, which is wonderful. Um, fourth grade improved um, positive 7% and approaches in RLA, reading language arts. Third and fourth grade approaches was up by 3% and MEETs was up by 4%. biology which was a a significant increase in meets and masters and you can see those which is which is awesome consideration because master's level is very hard to achieve and then finally social studies
060sustained master's level in that performance which is great because it's a lot of teaks that go into um our social studies. >> Okay. And we're moving into um the reclassification of our emergent bilingual students. So annually um students who meet the following criteria reclassification criteria will no longer be coded as an emergent bilingual which means they will be exiting from the program and so they have to before in order for them to do this they have to achieve a composite score of advanced high in the TLP pass um approaches are higher on English reading star and then also teacher subjective evaluation that states that the student will be successful in an all English class class with no language supports. Um in 2025 we had 59 or 7% students meet reclassification criteria and that's compared to
06179 which is 9% in 2024. So, we did see a slight dip in those numbers, but um that brings us to um our goals for 2026 for the future. Um which is of course increase the number of EB students that meet reclassification criteria by 20%. We want to get back or better to where we were. Um and and the way we're the primary way we're going to do this is by having every campus meet with each emerging bilingual student to have a goal setting conference. Um and not just a goal setting conf uh conference but also explaining you know what exactly the TelPass is doing, why they're taking it and how um how they can achieve the results they want to be able to to reclassify from that program. um we've seen in the we
062saw in the past years that a lot of the students by the time they get to the secondary they're not even really sure why they're taking that specific assessment. So we think with these conferences they'll have more of of the knowledge that will empower them more and have more control of their success on that. So we'll also review their previous results and create a plan with them to uh for them to reach their goal and continue ensuring strong components of listening, speaking, reading and writing in all of the classrooms which are the four domains that are tested in Telpass. And then we are brings me to the bilingual exceptions and ESL waiverss. Um, all school systems are required to have appropriately certified teachers for the required bilingual and ESL program. If a school system does
063not have um them uh certified teachers, then we they need to apply for two Texas to TEA for either a um exceptions or waiverss for the year 2024 and 25 school year. um in Leaport. Thankfully, we did not have to file this waiver or exception. All of our teachers who were assigned to an emergent bilingual students, they were all properly certified. So, there was no need to file the that um the waiverss and um and it looks like that for this year, we're going to have the same situation going on where we won't need to file the waiver. >> Great. >> How many uh languages are represented in our emerging bonding program? Um the the biggest is is Spanish, but we have over I think like I can't remember from 12 12 year 12 sorry
06412 different languages. I mean cuz we'll have one in each. We have a we're seeing a lot of diversity right now and so they're coming from a lot of different places that we hadn't seen in the past. So it's >> I go back Dr. Jackson and I and the board have a lot of conversations about recruiting x amount of students like our 7,400 7500 is kind of our sweet spot and I guess when I hear emerging bilingual my head always goes to like I always just assume it's Spanish only but here there's many different >> No we like I said we're see I'm not saying that we don't do that but again I'm I'm on the board I don't I didn't know that till today and so maybe that's something we advertise very >> yes
065we do >> that's awesome >> thank you thank you Bill it's great job and we want to highlight one more campus and it's Lax Junior High because They're doing an outstanding job in monitoring their students progress. >> So, good evening. So, we did this last year. I was thinking, you know, we do a lot of goal setting with our students for academics and things like that. And so, a lot our kids take Pass then they go to summer and we don't talk about it anymore and until it's time to take it again. And so, I thought, well, we probably let's tell kids how they did. And so we merged all of the data of how they performed their previous school year and with STAR and then we all the administrative team pulled them in and
066we talked to them about what their goals were for the next year. Um a lot of them didn't number one didn't know why they were taking it. They had no idea about a home language survey when they're in kindergarten or preK. Um they had no idea how they exit from it. They're like I just know I speak Spanish and this is what I have to do every single year. And so we met with kids and showed them they we used them at K12 in our intervention block where they practice listening speaking because those are the two that are really um hard especially at a secondary level because they have to talk in a microphone and they don't like doing that. And so we purposefully met with every single student. We went over how they did
067in all four of the areas listening, speaking, reading and writing and then their composite level. And then how they did on STAR the previous year. And so then we had kids set goals. So when I'm now working in that intervention block, I know I need to practice on my speaking for this or I I'm really good at this. I need to practice on this area. And so then we had kids set goals. I had one young lady that said so I could write like a script like I do in theater. We're like absolutely. And so we were very proud this last year after doing all these goal setting of the 59 that reclassified 11 of which were from Lomax. So we were very excited for that. So we're going to do it earlier this year
068and so that way it sets a purpose for what they're working on. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you Miss Rose. As you can see and you all were sharing about the collaboration that's going on and just some some learning spots, but I just wanted to highlight the fact that we're working on growth every day for every student and they're pinpointing and drilling down with the data. I want to say how proud I am of them embracing these um and just really owning them. And um as Dr. Jackson shared when kids are already high sometimes that's the hardest part to help maintain that or help them keep growing and we certainly are committed to that to make sure that they're prepared for college and career readiness. The last thing we want to highlight is
069our STEM our STEM celebrations and just two things we want to note cuz they're timely. Behore Elementary was selected to be one of only 30 campuses in Texas to host the Texas Mobile STEM lab in in March of 2026. We can't wait till we have pictures of this, but all of our Beayshore students will have the opportunity to be um to explore hands-on STEM challenges in addition to what we already have going on in the district. But this just adds another layer for those students to have a state-of-the-art mobile trailer come and visit them. The second thing is Baker Sixth Grade Campus is one of 19 schools in Texas to participate in NASA's Growing Beyond Earth program in collaboration with Kennedy Space Center Florida. So students will have real world plant growth experiments that they'll
070have going on that were designed by NASA scientists and also we're one of the we're the only school in this region to be selected. So those are fantastic things we thought you'd want to know about and we just really appreciate you for um letting us present to you tonight. I don't know if you have any additional questions for us those things that we were selected for. >> We did. Yes. >> We sure did. Absolutely. >> And and I'll I'll add uh for the board's sake um you know 3 years ago you gave us permission uh when I brought an idea to you >> to implement STEM >> districtwide on all of our elementary campuses and including Baker. Remember that it's been 3 years now that they've been in full implementation. So, I want to just
071say kudos to this board for giving us the the u the the the opportunity to do that because our students are taking off and doing some wonderful things. And so, I I applaud certainly Beayshore and Baker, but I applaud all of them because all of the campuses are doing some really neat things and we've got some really phenomenal STEM facilitators out there uh promoting that and so we appreciate that. I I just think that's part of your vision and your legacy. We're talking about leaving a legacy. Uh that's three years in the making. And so we're beginning to see some of those things come together as well. >> Yes, sir. >> I want to acknowledge everybody, you know, the initiative to go find these programs and stuff and not accepting things as they are. And
072that's I think that's just a testament of of what this vision's been for a number of years now and it's it's paying div. So kudos to you guys. >> Thank you all so much for the opportunity. >> Thank you'all very much. will now go to item C, bond safety and security update. >> Dr. Martinez, >> good evening, President Martin, Dr. Jackson, trustees. Um, give me a second to pull my presentation up. And I clearly need to learn from my colleague over here because it's just me tonight. Um, but >> you didn't get the middle. >> I I really do uh enjoy following academics. because it it really goes to what kind of why we do what we do um in our departments and that's to provide safe learning environments for uh both student and staff
073success. And so uh this evening I just have a few quick updates for you guys just to kind of see where we are with some of our projects. Um we're almost there to where you're going to start seeing some excitement happening at the high school. Uh that's the vision for the courtyard. Um to that bottom left there um is about where we are right now. We've got uh the gravel for the turf going in. We've got the turf on site. So, we should start seeing that um within the next couple weeks. And then once that happens, that'll move pretty quickly. Um and so you'll see that that courtyard really starting to transform. Uh that steel package has been released. And so you're going to start seeing some um you know, erection of steel and actual
074building envelope start to take space uh to take place. And so that that'll be exciting to see. Um so that's where we are. Um tomorrow is going to look a little different for some of those high school students um because they've been accustomed to being able to travel u to take that pathway from the foreign language hallway to the um cafeteria. So just past the old planetarium. Um so that's changed because of um they we're working on that space now. Um Telson was gracious to give us access to that space up until the last uh possible moment. So, we will no longer have to uh be able to access that pathway to the cafeteria. Kids are going to now have to go outside. So, we try to keep them inside for as long as possible,
075but they're going to have to go. There's a canopy built, beautiful canopy built for students. Well, they'll be able to exit right there and then that will be the pathway to and from the cafeteria from now on. >> This is just phase two of that process. >> Correct. Correct. And and we knew it was coming. Um and so Dr. Griffin. Um, you know, he's making sure his folks are good to go and, um, you know, uh, we've had a pep talk and, uh, but, uh, you know, it's just, uh, one of those things that we had to have happen, uh, for the construction to continue and to be in and out of that space by August, right? That that's our goal is is to have all of that construction complete um, by August. So, um,
076everything's moving along. still, you know, I hate to say we're ahead, but we we are, you know, slightly ahead of schedule uh with our um high school renovation. And then this is just a a project that I wanted to share with you because this is another space where uh we're going to start to see some excitement happening. We we've gotten the the demo, the the cleanout, uh electrical gone in there. I really appreciate um both uh maintenance and uh technology working together to learn really about this space, what the needs are for the space. Uh we've got our conduit run. We've got data drop uh was actually going in today uh to support the uh infrastructure for the golf simulation uh that's going to take place. We're working with uh Unicor, which is the vendor
077for the simulation kits. It's a do-it-yourself kit. So, our our maintenance folks are going to be able to um put those together. Um and then again working with technology to mount the projector the projectors to have the PCs where they need to be um with the data drops and all the access points and HDMI cables. Um, again, we're we're learning some new things that that we didn't know, but we're we're adding this skill set uh to our tool belts and and we're going to be able to to pull off something um really positive for this space uh for the students and staff or >> did we need to drop the air into that room? Like what does the air flow look like coming in? Will they be will they be able to moni monitor it
078themselves? I'm sure it's going to get hot. >> Yeah, I mean so they'll have the controls. Um, we don't currently have a plan for for the air for for themselves, but you know, they'll be able to to we'll be able to monitor that. >> They changed it. It had good ventil. I talked last, >> right? No, it has great it's it's a um, you know, >> changes. >> No, it it feels great in that space. Um, we are going to put a camera in the space. Um, you know, and all of the data requirements are going to be there. Um, you know, but it it is it's coming along nicely. We we hope to have this project completed by December. Our goal is to complete it by the semester. Uh so what you'll see next
079is the the paint over the the conduit. Um and then we'll start carpeting and then we'll have the actual installation of the kits uh which again should go pretty quickly in that space. We hope to get the students in there soon so they can really see the vision uh from from the ground, you know, kind of ground floor um and then open that up to uh possibly booster club so they can also be involved in that process as well. So, you're welcome at any time to present for us to conduct a board walk through there through any of that uh if you as you like. Okay. >> So, that bottom left picture, that's Brad. That's our electrical foreman, Jason. U they got to go kind of see what this looks like once it's finished, which
080was really helpful and beneficial to them. Um so, they could see the matting. um see how much um you know how how many feet we need behind the the curtains, the screen um you know what the requirements are, why we have a little pony wall there and why you don't want to go up a certain height for the back swing and just um you know is really beneficial for them u to kind of see all that space and and and that's helping. You can kind of see at the very top that's a picture of what the simulation looks like. It's an overhead uh which is beneficial because it allows you to have both a left-handed and a right-handed swinger. Some of those uh kits are are, you know, only geared towards right-handed uh students or
081student athletes. And so by having the overhead, it would benefit students that may be both right and left-handed. And >> this is the same system. >> Yeah, it's it's similar to that one. Unicor, it's it's pretty much one of the um you know, standards. Uh it's it's out there. are well known um and it's a it's a good product for sure. So um a little bit on that one. And then Lommax Junior High additions and renovations. We've got uh the gymnasium is nearing completion. We're still on track to be uh finished with that space in December. And then in April, we uh again hope to finish the orchestra and band. Uh but in the gym, you've got the metal metal panels that are being installed. the gym floor is still uh acclimating uh in that
082space and and the roofing the white cap is being installed on the uh on the roof and then uh they're still taping and floating the walls um in the orchestra and band but u again moving right along with Lomax Junior High. I know several of you guys have visited that uh facility and and it looks great. Um I did want to just mention our October focus for safety and security um drills. you know, our campuses do a great job of of making sure they're in compliance with uh our our drills. Uh but we also have the partnership with the city of Leaport to do our um uh shelter in place drill which is going to be on Thursday the 16th at 8:30. And so I know Mr. Woodcliffe has sent out some instructions already with
083that to our principles to make sure that they're ready uh to uh implement that drill. And then we'll have an afteraction on, you know, what some of our needs are there might be associated with that. Um, and thenics, we're we're focusing on doing some campus testing of of our strategic systems. Um, things like, you know, we've got the beacons in the rooms, just making sure that all of them are functional. If there are any that need to be replaced, this is just a good time to make sure that um everything's working as it should. Uh we had one um Friday at Leaport Elementary and and it was u you know enlightening uh well it gave us some great information because we we had to um you know there were a few rooms that we needed
084to to make sure that beacons were there. Uh there were um the student devices it theix won't work on a student device. So if you if a teacher is using a student device um it's not going to work because it's it's with our teaching devices. And so making sure that um you know no one's just some behavioral things, right? Someone will grab a student device and they'll uh there's a reason why you probably don't want those uh with all of our student devices, but our our teaching devices, they should be. If you have a split screen, you have your uh laptop to the projector, um it will show on one and not both. So, we're working through some of the the challenges associated with that um with the connectivity and connections, but um again, opportunities
085for staff training uh just making sure our teachers know uh what the true functionality of a of that system is. Uh even uh down to bad, you know, if you push your badge multiple times, what what's going to happen with that? Um does that change the response? Uh so, those are things that we're working through. We're going to have conversations with our principles to make sure everyone is um you know aware and um that our our staff are trained and knowledgeable. So there's just a few updates again that I had for uh the construction projects but then uh just some uh efforts to keep safety at the forefront for this time of year. Any questions? >> Thank you. Turn now to our intruder detection audit report. >> Yeah, Mr. President, uh we shared some of
086that information executive and there's no action. Okay, I'll switch over item uh eight, our consent agenda. A determine approve any consent agenda items. B approve board me board meeting minutes. One, regular board meeting minutes September 9th, 2025. C receive principal reports. One, early childhood center. Two, Behore Elementary. Three, College Park Elementary. Four, Heritage Elementary. Five, Jenny Reed Elementary. Six, Leaport Elementary. Seven, Leo A. Rosudo Elementary. Eight, Lomax Elementary. Nine, James H.Baker Sixth Grade Campus. 10, Leaport Junior High. 11, Lomax Junior High. 12, Leaport High School. And 13, Vio DeWalt High School. D, receive financial reports for August 2025. E, receive human resources report. F. Approve budget amendment. G. Receive and adopt 2025 2026 district improvement plan and campus improvement plans. H. Approve second reading adoption of TASBY policy revision for CFB local. I approve amended
0872025 2026 teacher Texas teacher evaluation and support system T-ESS list of teacher appraisers. J. Approve amendment to District of Innovation DOI plan. K. Approve change order for purchase of concession beverages for the remainder of the 2025 2026 school year. L approved purchase of network switches and supporting hardware. M approved purchase of special education contract services. N approved purchase of an integrated private cloud P platform. and O authorize a superintendent to negotiate and finalize the first amendment to a lease agreement regarding district property. Vice President, will you please read back our consent? >> Yes. Uh A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O >> first of board. I see a a motion >> approval. Second. >> All those in favor, please vote. See if we get it this time.
088>> All right. >> For those that are here is a unanimous consent. >> We get to go home. [Music] >> All right. That was pretty quick. Turn to item nine, action. And our discussion of session items, we have none. Item 10, action on close session items. We again have none. I'll turn to closing comments of the board of trustees and superintendent. Trusty shop. you the person always the most talk >> I don't get to do a lot around here during this time of year uh so due to my job and the place I work at and the place Jeff loves the most but social media does keep me aware of what's going on a lot so uh that helps me uh keep up with everything that's going on in the court uh congratulations to the
089band uh they did a wonderful job last week uh football team keeps rolling uh cross country that's special one in my Uh, good luck to them at regionals. Um, and and Matt, I've got more emails asking why we don't do a barbecue after a football game at my school than I've had anywhere. And in Washington, Max, uh, I I don't I just turn around said, I can't do that. I can't do everything, you know. But, uh, uh, good job of doing that. You're doing a great job over there at Fort Junior High. Uh, I see a lot of things going on there. You dancing in the cafeteria and all that. It's a it's a good time and you know principles make sure those teachers know you love them. Um it it really pays to go
090to work knowing that your principal loves you. Uh and it makes for a good day and they become great teachers. So uh happy month for all you principles and good luck for the next nine weeks. So been a uh wonderful start of the year so far and u the uh environment at Bulldog Stadium has met expectations I think and it it has been something to to see um the buy in the community. Uh I had was really fortunate I got to uh walk a um a the class of 95 1995 uh through uh around campus this past weekend and they were just in awe. but they've been keeping track uh social media wise and uh it's just nice to hear um that people are paying attention. The message is getting out and I know we
091ruffle some feathers down the street. They we've got their undivided attention it seems which is fantastic. Um but it's appreciate your vision doc. Um obviously you've you've driven this ship and uh it has been just an amazing thing to experience. Um and uh just really appreciate your leadership. So, >> well, thank you principles. I know this is a a very difficult job. Takes up a lot of your time and so we really do appreciate everything that you're doing. I'm excited to hear about the PLC's and all of the things that we're doing to help support teachers and, you know, get them through because this job has become very, very difficult. We know that. And so, um, just FYI in case you don't know, we've got the musical auditions going on. We're going to be doing
092Fiddler on the Roof this year. And I'm proud to report that Tevia will be played by our all state nose guard. >> So I always think it's fun when you know you can talk about the big football player being the lead in the musical. Somebody was telling me the other day they said, "So what are these guys second sport musical?" No, really. No, really. It's the musical. So yeah, that's exciting. So um lots of great things happening in our district. Um, only two things. One, you're welcome for not pulling any uh consent items. That saved us all some time tonight. Uh, second, Ralph, I saw uh the nutrition department was recognized by the Department of Agriculture um for using locally sourced foods. So, we got a great shout out there um from the state of
093Texas and Commissioner Miller. So, I thought that was pretty neat. Looking forward to serving food tomorrow. I'm hoping it's a simple dish. Uh I was pretty worn out last year and it was only pizza. So uh I'm looking forward to that. Congrat Thank you to all of your um your folks for nutrition week. Looking forward to that tomorrow. All I got. I'll do um I first want to commend all the principles. We always talk about how teachers have the most difficult job and they certainly do. But the principles have to also deal with the families, the kids, and also managing the staffs of the schools. And uh I have a staff of five and I four I it's hard with four. I can imagine you know some of you guys have 50 or more. So,
094uh, thank you so much for for answering that call continually, uh, to to pour your hearts back into the school district. Um, I also had the chance to attend the LMAX vers Junior High, uh, football games. And why I bring that up, it's such a cool thing to see like they had the eighth grade games at the at the high school. And that was the biggest crowd I've ever been to for any junior high football games. And so, I commend um, Principal Rose, Principal McConnell, uh, certainly the coach and everybody that uh, that put that on cuz it was a big big task. But it was really cool to see that. Um, and hopefully that's something we can continue going forward because it was a it was really we had we had people relatives that
095I don't think ever come to games, but they wanted to see the stadium. And so it was a it was a great night. Um, I also had a chance last week we I love that we that Terry and her team honor all the the partners in education and the amazing companies and people that pour back. Um, there's one that I had a chance to go to last week that I was unaware of. Law firm called Arnold and Ipkin. And apparently for the last nine years, uh they have five different districts that they uh they work with. Uh they put out a contest this year is about what does responsibility mean? So it's the the fifth grade students in Lort and these other five districts. Uh that's 600 applicants. They selected um 15 total. And then
096they grade them like first, second, and third. And each district gets about $4,500 uh back to the to the schools. Uh they make uh donations to uh the kids get each get $250. the the the winners um they get to pick the charity of their choice. So I think it's a a thousand a$1,500 and a $2,000 donation to the school for first, second, and third, and then also to the the the local charity of their choice. They make that equivalent uh donation back to a local charity. So it was really cool to see that they they took these kids to the courthouse downtown and then had a private lunch for them. Uh and it's like they rolled that out and they weren't looking for any kind of recognition. Uh I just but I I thank
097them on behalf of our districts. I this is amazing thing you guys have been doing for a lot of years. Um, we appreciate it. So, it's really cool to be a part of that. And I say that say this, there's so many of these other stories that Terry and I talk about that like there's so many companies that have been pouring back into Port for so many years. And so, I just want to publicly say say thank you uh because the impact is is definitely uh monumental. Um, and then to that regard, as we're talking this evening, Dr. Jackson leans over said he said, "Man, these are the most sophisticated systems that we've ever had in this in this school district." And I've been on public record. So, when I first joined the board, we
098had uh Dr. Jackson told me we're not going to build anything. Then two months later, we're doing a bond and I said, "Guy, I love you, man." But man, so this whole process has been long and I love that we're kind of at the end of this bond. Bonds are necessary and it's amazing now that we're kind of coming on off, you know, the back side of it. Um, but I've said publicly, man, I'd like to get back to focusing on on academics. And I know that that's not a great statement because you guys have been focusing on so long, but for the first time, it's just again, I'm the dumb Aggie, but it's so evident to me sitting on this board for the last four or five years that it's just it seems different
099now. like that the things are are are falling into place. So that vision that that Annie mentioned that that you had Dr. Jackson and your team and putting the right people in place is it just is totally different at least from my perspective than it was when I first got on this board back in 2021. And so I commend you your team and everybody here that's making that happen. And I think that like I love that like there there's buying from the campuses and they have way they've now like gone to where uh Miss High talk about they're embracing this. And so I just encourage ones I know it's got to if you've been here 20 years or more it can change is scary. I I don't like change a lot of the times. Uh
100but I encourage the ones that uh that may be a little apprehensive just to please continue uh trust this process, embrace it. Uh and we appreciate certainly from the board level uh these positive changes that you guys are rolling out because it definitely we talked about the culture several months ago how that just totally feels different. But I mean the updates we're getting on academics that's the heart of where what we want and so thank you guys for that and I will shut up. So unless we have any other helping.