Southwest ISD Board Update
OCTOBER
OCTOBER 18 MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
Students of the Month
The Student of the Month for Elm Creek Elementary School is 4th-grade student Esmeralda Medina. According to her peers, Esmeralda is always helping others catch up on their interactive journals. In addition, she helps her classmates solve math problems. Esmeralda is described as patient and kind. She has a smile that seems to never to leave her face. Esmeralda works very hard each day and has the most positive attitude that will surely help her reach her goals. Elm Creek Elementary School is so proud of their Explorer and star student, Esmeralda Medina.
The Student of the Month for McNair Middle School is Camila Carrasco. She is enthusiastic about everything she learns in class and has a positive attitude. She is a true joy and a ray of sunshine. She is very kind to others, always smiles, and passes her happiness on to all her classmates and teachers. In class, she is bubbly and excited to learn. Her determination has landed her in honors classes and she has received masters level on the math and RLA STAAR tests. All her current and past teachers believe every class needs a student just like her. Camila is a student-athlete and is currently part of the Challenger Volleyball team and a member of the McNair Band-Wind Ensemble.
Tayelor Casey is the Student of the Month for Southwest High School. Tayelor is a senior and currently ranked in the Top 10 of her class. She serves as the section leader for flutes in the Dragon Marching Band and is the Vice President of the Student Council. Tayelor also carries a full course load of dual credit courses this school year, and earned recognition from the College Board with the National African American Recognition Award for her performance on her PSAT assessment. When asked about Tayelor, student council sponsor Mr. Sandoval says, “Tayelor brings enthusiasm and a knowledgeable skill set that has increased our student leaders who serve our school and community. She is a leader in problem-solving and finding solutions to school projects that serve our high school and is always willing to do tasks and projects that others are not.” Tayelor plans to attend the University of Denver and study psychology after graduation.
Southwest ISD Receives Outstanding Cultural Initiative Award
Southwest ISD has made equity a priority in words and in actions. In 2020, we began a partnership with The Leadership Academy with a clear mission: build the capacity of educational leaders at every level of the system, to confront inequities and create the conditions necessary for all students to thrive. This month, the Mexican American School Boards Association recognized Southwest ISD and this work with the Outstanding Cultural Initiative Award.
Governor Greg Abbott has proclaimed October 12, 2022 as Texas Education Human Resources Day—a day set aside to recognize and honor the significant contributions made by school staff in human resources. Human resources staff work hard each day to make sure our schools are staffed with high-quality employees and that those employees have a positive work environment. Thank you to our Human Resources staff for all they do.
Presentations
Chief Communications Officer Jenny Collier and Director of Communications Roger Campos gave a presentation on the new Southwest ISD mobile app. In continuing to diversify the District's communication channels with the SWISD community, a SWISD mobile application was developed. Recent studies have shown that users check their phones on average 58 times a day. Eighty eight percent of that time is spent on apps. Mobile apps have a quicker response time and allow instant push notifications directly to the user’s phone. Additionally, with the new app, the Communications Department, administrators, and campus influencers can send a message to social media, text, and voice calls from one location.
BESL Program Evaluation 2021-2022
Trustees were given an update on the Bilingual/ESL programs. Under Chapter 89 of the Texas Education Code all school districts that provide bilingual education programs are required to to conduct an annual evaluation and it must be presented to the Board of Trustees before Nov. 1. The evaluation conducts a full range of data to determine program effectiveness to ensure student academic success.
Discussion of Intruder Detection Audit Report Findings
Executive Director of Safety & Transportation Mark Figueroa provided a presentation on a recent Intruder Detection Audit. The Texas School Safety Center recently conducted an Intruder Detection Audit at one of the District's campuses. The audit tests whether a campus is accessible to an unauthorized individual. This audit, conducted as part of Governor Abbott’s school safety directives for all school systems following the tragedy in Uvalde, seeks to help districts identify how campuses can improve safety for students, such as ensuring exterior doors are locked. The audit provides district leadership with an opportunity to create a safer learning environment for students and staff. For safety reasons, the specific details of the Intruder Detection Audit were discussed in the executive session and with the Safety and Security Committee.
Items Approved
Mental Health Services Contract
The Board approved the multiple vendor contract award to qualified mental health
services, resources and training vendors for RFP 2122-125 Mental Health Services,
Resources, and Training.
The potential demand for mental health services, resources and training warranted a multiple vendor award to provide the District a resource of qualified high-impact Board Certified, Licensed Clinical Social Workers and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors. The vendors approved are Family Services Association of San Antonio and Rise and Recovery.
District staff will review and award future qualified proposals monthly through
October 31, 2026. Awarded vendors will be added to the list monthly and the list will be
shared with the Administration and Human Resources Department.
2022-2023 Compensation Plan Amendment
Trustees approved an amendment to the 2022-2023 compensation plan. The amendment
elevates all pay grades to minimum starting pay of $15.00 an hour. This will impact the clerical and instructional support pay grades 1 and 2. The amendment will also impact the auxiliary pay grades 1 and 2. This change will only impact those employees on these pay grades who fall below the $15.00 minimum. All other employees on these pay grades will remain the same if above $15.00 an hour. Market trends were used to determine changes in the District's compensation. Compensation will be effective on the October 24, 2022 pay period. The compensation plan increase will cost the district approximately $670,000 from the 2022-2023 budget.
McAuliffe Middle School Targeted Improvement Plan (TIP) 2022-2023
The Board approved the 2022-2023 Targeted Improvement Plan for McAuliffe Middle School which was identified as Comprehensive Support. Texas Education code (TEC) Chapter 39 requires schools who have been labeled Comprehensive Support to engage in the continuous improvement process to address indicators that led to the identification, develop a Targeted Improvement Plan (TIP) for the school year, and have it approved by the school board. Lisa Bolte, the District Coordinator of School Improvement (DCSI) and the Principal Supervisor received the mandated training on the Effective Schools Framework for School Improvement. Training was also established to allow the Campus Leadership Team (CLT) to work with administrators and the DCSI and Principal Supervisor to collect and analyze data, conduct a self-assessment to determine the campus implementation of the state identified essential actions contributing to low performance and/or low effectiveness of programs, develop an improvement plan that addresses all areas not meeting the accountability targets, and establish goals to be monitored for effectiveness. The DCSI and Principal Supervisor will monitor this plan for effectiveness and implementation.
Southwest Independent School District
Website: www.swisd.net
Location: Southwest Independent School District, TX, USA
Phone: 210-622-4300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SWISDsatx
Twitter: @swisd