Westwood Way
Happenings In Panther Nation - November 2019
In October, I was able to travel to New York City with twenty-five other superintendents to tour public schools in the New York City Public School system. Over five days, we were able to visit an elementary, middle school, and a high school campus and also participate in activities at Columbia University.
Our charge was to observe the practices, systems, and structures of the campuses in the context of which they were operating. We were constantly reminded not to view their operations as we would our schools but to try to understand the school operations from their viewpoint.
Needless to say, we experienced things that we have never seen in Texas! We visited with a third-grade student that traveled to school alone on the subway in the morning and afternoon. We listened to a high school student tell how they traveled 1 ½ hour by subway and bus to get to school each morning and afternoon. We toured a building that had five high schools located in it and had only one cafeteria and one gym. We heard a high school principal tell his story of raising over $1,000,000 through community partnerships so he could sustain necessary student programs.
While it is hard to grasp that a third-grade student can ride the subway all alone, we began to understand that this must happen in this context if the parents want their child to attend school. Even though we discussed that there is no way two high schools much less five high schools can operate in the same building, five campus principals discovered a way for them to coexist. Time after time, innovative educators, parents, and students found a way to meet their needs and overcome the obstacles they faced!
As visitors to these campuses, we had the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. This caused us to dig deep and ask clarifying questions in an attempt to understand how and why the people involved made the decisions they made. Through this process, we walked away with a different perspective than we came with.
Ever since the trip, I have been reflecting on how often do we succumb to the challenges or barriers and decide that we can’t accomplish something. How often do we see the problem and adopt a limited view of the possible solutions because of past experiences?
I wonder how many times we work with a third-grade student and decide they can't accomplish a task while so many third-grade students in New York are riding the subway. How many times are we faced with a scheduling issue, and we only see the options we have always defaulted to while five campus principals found a creative way to operate their campuses in one building?
My challenge to ALL of us is to begin looking at our problems and obstacles as a visitor would look at them, dig deep, ask clarifying questions of each other, and possibly start to see solutions we have never envisioned. Through this process, I believe we will uncover and remove limitations we have placed on ourselves and others and begin to truly live-out The Energy Bus Principle #2 Create A Positive Vision!!
Wade
School Board Update
During the November Board Meeting, the following items came before the School Board:
Dr. Kyle Penn presented an overview of Tier I funding in which he discussed state and local funding.
Shinnitta Foremen presented an overview of the Elementary Targeted Improvement Plan.
The School Board unanimously voted to approve the Elementary Targeted Improvement Plan as presented.
The School Board unanimously voted for Mike Kelly to serve as Board of Director representative for the Anderson County Central Appraisal District.
The School Board unanimously voted to take nominations for Proud Panther until December 4.
The School Board and administration discussed Chapters 11-17 of The Energy Bus.
Curriculum
Reflection:
Jim Knight quoted Richard Stiggins in his recent book, High Impact Instruction. He states, “You can’t tell me that kids don’t want to learn. Sometimes they don’t want to learn the things that adults say they should... but once they begin to experience success, that target becomes a whole lot more attractive … We’ve got to find a way to turn them on to the possibilities” (Knight, 2013, p.53).
Reading this, again and again, linked me to a fresh concept I learned in October. Instead of planning lessons, why don’t we become designers of experiences? Honestly, isn’t that what educators already do unconsciously. A reflection point I hit was, “Do we have engaging experiences EVERY day for our students to WANT to return to the classroom?” If the answer is yes, then the lessons in your classroom are not lessons, they are daily experiences. If the answer is no, my question to you is, why not, and how can you become a lesson designer versus a lesson planner? Paul Dix, author of When Adults Change Everything Changes, states, “Nothing says ‘I don’t care’ louder to your students than a worksheet. There is a close relationship between the quality of the lesson and the behavior of the students, but it is by no means absolute.”
A Few Monthly Happenings:
Currently, district benchmarking has begun at the Junior High and High School campuses. The Elementary has embarked on the Data-Driven Instruction (DDI) model during PLCs each week. Teachers are taking data from progress monitoring data in Eduphoria, examining the gap in student work, creating an exemplar, and designing a re-teach model with a student exit ticket to monitor understanding. The DDI process links back to the success students are experiencing in the classroom and refinements that must occur.
Sixth through eighth grade participated in a refresher training, planning, and observation with feedback for our new English Langauge Arts and Reading curriculum.
Texas Lesson Study is in full swing across the district. Westwood ISD is the only district in Region 7 that has all campuses participating as well as trained facilitators (instructional coaches). Mrs. Kinsman from ESC 7 will continue to assist with the process on each campus.
Mentors continue to coach new teachers to the profession as well as guide instruction with goal-based feedback. WISD’s New to Profession teachers continue to meet monthly strategies easy to implement in the classroom.
The Assistant Principal Interns were visited this week by Mrs. Salaz to learn about WISD’s program and give feedback. Interns across the district are engaged in authentic, active work that is enhancing their skill set as well as impacting teaching and learning across the district.
Instuctional Coaching Links:
HS - https://www.smore.com/pfh5t
Elementary - https://www.smore.com/czf5k
Primary - https://www.smore.com/21q6g
Special Programs
Parent and family engagement is a very important part of Westwood ISD. Our Title program allows us to incorporate programs that we may not have otherwise been able to fund. We are pleased that our primary and elementary principals were eager to team back up with the Strong Fathers: Strong Families organization. So far this year, we have held a Bring Your Dad to School event on each campus and a combined math night for grades PK-6. We had a great turn-out at each of the events with over 200 fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, grandparents, etc. arriving at school early in the morning with our students. We even had several fathers come in from West Texas just to be at school with their children! We appreciate the continued support of our families. Thank you also to all the staff who helped out in making this a memorable time for our families. We are looking forward to our Science Night coming up on February 18th.
We had the opportunity to attend the annual assessment conference in Austin again this year. There continues to be a strong push toward online assessment coming from the state. As a matter of fact, the Texas Legislature has tasked the TEA to develop a transition plan to administer all STAAR Assessments electronically by 2022-2023. While we do not know exactly what that is going to look like over the next few years, we know our mission is to prepare future-ready students in a positive and engaging educational environment. As you design lessons for students, keep in mind the mode in which they will be assessed, and continually incorporate activities that will prepare them for their future. Take some time to explore the STAAR online testing platform if you haven’t already. This should be installed on all Chromebooks and desktops. You can also go through the practice test on TestNav (also installed on all computers) to get a glimpse of the online portion of the TELPAS taken by our English Learners in grades 2-12.
We are so thankful for our staff, students, and families that work hard each day to make sure all of our students excel. On page 52 of the Energy Bus, George took some time to walk around and think of the many things he was grateful for. As it states in the book, “...being grateful floods the body and brain with positive endorphins and emotions…” Hopefully, we can all take some time each day to focus on gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving!
Business & Finance
Our finance department has been working to prepare for our annual audit. Districts are audited annually to ensure they are being responsible and utilizing the funds they are entrusted with in the best manners possible and are meeting compliance guidelines. The audit results are a large portion of our financial accountability scores. We are currently tying a bow on the 2018-2019 year and looking forward to the auditors visit in early December.
Speaking of financial accountability, if you haven’t heard, Westwood ISD received a perfect score of 100, and a rating of Financially Superior in the most recently received FIRST score from TEA! We are excited, but honestly, anything less would be disappointing as we pride ourselves on excelling in every category in a program that is constantly raising the expectations for districts.
I hope you had an opportunity to “fill your cup” with the most recent Energy Bus session. I was reminded that we do not fail until we give up. So keep plugging, keep showing up, keep doing the work, and have a restful Thanksgiving. I am thankful for each of you that I get to work alongside.
-Kyle
PEIMS
Happy November, Westwood ISD! Typically, this time of year, you hear and read about the things for which people are thankful… well, ‘tis the season! Professionally, I am so thankful that I work in a district where employees are valued and supported. The fact that I am supported allows me to be supportive of others. We can all lean on each other when we hit speed bumps and overcome the obstacles that get in our way.
In the PEIMS universe, the staff is in a period of working, furiously, to resolve hiccups in our district data. These hiccups are called “fatals” (pretty dramatic, I know). Fatals result when one code does not agree with another code. It seems, at times, that when one fatal is resolved, two more pop up in its place. Regardless, we persevere and lean on each other as a team. Submission 1 will be fatal-free and is due to the Region Center before we leave for Thanksgiving break. If your campus PEIMS clerk seems to be a little stressed these days, show her some love!
Jon Gordon, the author of The Energy Bus, tells us that there are five ways to love your passengers:
Make Time for Them
Listen to Them
Recognize Them
Serve Them
Bring out the Best in Them
Let’s love one another, Westwood ISD!
Food Service
Hello, Panther Family! I hope everyone is doing well. We are almost to my favorite part of the year, which is Thanksgiving. At Westwood, I hope every one of y’all will join us for the Thanksgiving Feast this year. We will be having Thanksgiving lunch at the Primary November 20-21, followed up by the Elementary, Junior High, and High School on the 22nd. The price for a Thanksgiving plate is $3.50 for all campuses. I’m going to set up a system for any staff members that would like to purchase a meal. They can beforehand to ensure our lines won’t be held up at the register. We will serve turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, and lastly, pumpkin bars. I do hope everyone will join us for Thanksgiving so we can all eat as a family.
This month I would like to recognize Michelle Douglas, the kitchen manager at the Elementary. If you ever go to the cafeteria and hear someone’s voice over the noise 10/10 times, it’s Michelle trying to get all of the students to go through the line. What I like about Michelle is that she cares about the students, she knows everyone by name, and she knows their parents and siblings. I have worked with Michelle’s staff quite a bit whenever they’re short, and I’m amazed by the high morale that is in that kitchen. Michelle does a great job of motivating her staff, making sure everyone is doing well not only in their work-life but also in their personal life.
Facilities Services
Our Facility Services Departments have been very productive over the past month, completing a number of projects and work requests. Though this is a very busy time of the year for our staff, they have done a good job of cleaning up after events and completing work orders while keeping our facilities looking sharp. They are off to a good start with winter projects such as cleaning fences, seeding cool-season grass on ballfields, and winterizing our facilities.
As usual, our custodians have changed their routines and tactics to combat the cold and flu season. We have disinfection machines to target the outbreaks and keep them at bay. Our custodial team will be utilizing these tools at the request of our school nurses and principals. As always, we hope to stay on top of issues as they arise.
Kudos to our Facility Services Departments for all of their hard work and swift response to incoming work requests. They all seem to have an unbelievable desire to be excellent and improve their craft daily.
Thank you for taking the time to keep up with the happenings here at Westwood ISD. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to call or email me at (903) 373-5108 jkshultz@westwoodisd.net
Transportation
Great news for our department. Two new buses have arrived. This will be beneficial for route drivers. Now that we have the new buses we can upgrade some bus routes with newer buses. I appreciate the school board for seeing the need and approving the purchase.
Friday night football travel has ended as we now move on to basketball. The transportation staff continues to do what is best for students and move forward. One item of importance is to be thankful for a great school year and not be complacent in our department. Focus on your job daily and finish out the year strong. As Thanksgiving approaches, we have a lot to be thankful for in the district and families. If you are planning to travel over the holidays, be extremely careful.
Technology
Energy Bus Rule #2: Desire, Vision, and Focus. Move your bus in the right direction. It has been the Technology Department’s desire, vision, and focus to provide our staff and students with the best and most efficient customer service possible. As a department, we have been focusing on closing the gap in response times to help-desk requests. We have set some high goals for daily ticket closures, and we are working hard to achieve those goals every day.
As we enter into the Holiday season, we are starting to see a decrease in the number of help-desk tickets entered. This gives us the opportunity to focus on other technology needs and plan for future projects. One of those technology needs we have been working on is adding more technology to each campus. We have ordered more Chromebooks, and they should be here very soon. Once we name, inventory, asset tag, color code, manage and put them in carts, we will deliver them out.
Helpdesk At A Glance: The Technology department has resolved 788 tickets since the start of school. Within the last 30 days, we have resolved 221 tickets.
While we move our bus in the right direction, we continue to maintain and support our current systems and infrastructure by monitoring, tweaking, and resolving problems as they arise.
Athletics
We are focusing on building Champions instead of Winning Championships.
We have reached a pivotal phase in our athletes’ training regiment (the mental training).The athletic department focus during this phase (BOOT CAMP) is two-fold:
1.YOU WILL SINK TO THE LEVEL OF YOUR TRAINING.
2. F.A.M.I.L.Y. - Forget About Me I Love You.
We are excited about the opportunity to watch them GROW through this phase when faced with adversity.
Philosophy
The Panther Mission Statement: (program/coach’s part)
To GROW men and women of integrity who relentlessly pursue excellence.
The Panther Vision Statement: (athlete’s part)
GROW Everyday
Execute Westwood DNA
Be the toughest program in Texas
WESTWOOD DNA (core values):
Energy/Tempo Monday - relentless effort. We will attack with tenacity and make them quit.
Competition Tuesday - 1-0 Mentality. We are one play warriors who always compete.
Toughness Wednesday - comfortable being uncomfortable. We will impose our will and dominate with toughness.
Family Appreciation Thursday - value others above ourselves. We are a team of ‘foxhole’ brothers.
Discipline/Finish Friday - Discipline - always doing what needs to be done. We will continue to row the boat every day.
Finish - do more than is expected. We are a freight train that terrorizes with our finish.
Updated results from Volleyball, Cross Country, Basketball:
Volleyball:
The Lady Panther Volleyball team qualified for the playoffs and fell in Bi-District to a state-ranked Lexington team in a tough three-set match. These outstanding young women had a tremendous season and set the standard for the future of Westwood Volleyball
Cross Country:
Cross Country varsity boys team qualified for regionals as the 3rd place team in the district. Along with the boy’s team, we had two individual varsity girls place in the top 10 at district and qualified to run at the regional cross country. At Regionals, the Varsity Boys finished 17th as a team, and our two individual girls posted PRs in Huntsville. The Junior Varsity Boys team and the Junior High Boys team both won district championships.
Basketball:
The basketball season has officially started at Westwood. The Lady Panther basketball team travels to Kerens to start their non-district schedule while the boys host Cross Roads at home on Friday to open their season. The Junior High Lady Panthers opened their season at Elkhart last night; the 8th-grade girl’s team won their opener while the 7th-grade girls dropped a close game 24-22. The Junior High Boys will open their season Monday when they host Frankston.