WISD board hires new elementary principal
By Cheril Vernon, Palestine Herald-Press, Texas | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"I'm very excited about coming to Westwood. I've been coming here to the
Evans has 26 years in education, including 13 years in administration. Working currently on her doctorate, she is principal and superintendent certified.
Before accepting Westwood's job, Evans served nine years as assistant principal at
"I'm all about professional development. I'm a curriculum person. I continue to grow leaders as I work myself toward the same goal," Evans said. "I find the strength in every teacher and appreciate their dedication to serve. I'm an advocate for building leaders within our students too."Other employees whose contracts were approved or ratified following Monday's closed session portion of Monday's meeting included: primary teacher
"We still have several positions to fill, including
As the time nears for the 2014-15 WISD budget to be completed, the WISD board of trustees on Monday approved the publication of notice for public hearing regarding budget and proposed tax-rate adoption related to the 2014-15 district operations.
The board also set the proposed tax rate at
Since the June WISD budget meeting, the
In addition, WISD Director of Finance
This budget still includes a modest adjustment to the hourly staff pay scales; and a 3 percent increase for employees not currently on set pay scales.
Total estimated revenue for the budget is
This leaves WISD with a
If there is a significant increase in enrollment during the school year, the budget will be adjusted at that time for the added costs through budget amendments, Wardell said.
In other action, the board:
--APPROVED the consent agenda which included: minutes of the
--APPROVED budget amendments for 2013-14.
--APPROVED a multi-year contract with
--HEARD STAAR testing results and other district performance data. The official school academic ratings (i.e. "Met Standard" or "Did Not Meet Standard") will be released sometime in August. However, based on an estimate of the testing results for Index I: Student Achievement, WISD Director of Curriculum/Federal Programs
--HEARD ratings for the district and each campus in accordance with House Bill 5 Community and Student Engagement. Committees analyzed programs and assigned ratings of "recognized" to every campus. WISD's Second Language Acquisition (English as a Second Language) program was the only "unacceptable" element in the rubric. Areas that were rated included: fine arts, wellness and physical education, community and parent involvement, workforce development, second language acquisition, digital language acquisition, dropout prevention, gifted and talented programs; and compliance with reporting policies and regulations.
--APPROVED building a bridge across the creek behind the new tennis courts and paving a walkway to the softball facilities. This was chosen over an option to build stand-alone facilities similar to those at the softball field. It also was noted that the tennis courts have timed lights for the public using the courts in the evening. They can push a button to have the lights on for a limited time.
--APPROVED contract for TEKS Resource System -- curriculum management system through Region 7
--HEARD board member reports from
--HEARD an update from Athletic Director
The quitting policy was amended to require all athletes to fulfill their obligation to the team when they started the season. A re-entry program was designed for the athlete that has made a mistake and is willing to pay the price to rejoin the team (workout program before school lasting three weeks).
--DISCUSSED modifications to the one-to-one technology initiative and recommendation to purchase iPads as suggested by WISD Technology Director
The board will consider the tablet purchase at the August meeting. School board members are working on compiling questions for the technology director to compare the two tablets, such as software support.
Currently, WISD has about
"We can plan to purchase replacement tablets for two grade levels each school year. This will allow us to spread the cost of replacing all of the devices over four years instead of having a single large expenditure three years down the road," Folmar wrote in a document for the board meeting. "When we purchase new devices, the new devices will always be issued starting with seniors and moving downward to ensure that those students closest to graduation are always using the newest technology. That should give them an edge in being ready for what they will use in college or in the workforce."
In addition, WISD will be changing its policy on students taking tablets home. Starting this fall, WISD will restrict students in grades 7-10 in their ability to take their tablets home. For the most part, students will use the machines at school or can check them out on a weekly basis through the library.
"The unrestricted access allowed last year did not go as well as expected. The loss and damage to the machines was significant," Folmar wrote. "We hope to instill a sense of responsibility in the students by carefully controlling access."
WHS Principal
"In the fall, their classroom will be set. They can walk in and utilize the technology in a classroom setting," Lock said during the meeting. "It's the best of both worlds."
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