Westwood Way
Happenings In Panther Nation - September 2019
This last week I had the privilege to join twenty-five other superintendents from across six states in Austin for a year-long cohort program. We spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday being exposed to ideas and thoughts that were new to us and stretched the thought process of the majority of the cohort.
On Saturday morning, we spent most of our time discussing things that have disrupted education. Our table discussion was centered around areas that have negatively impacted education. As Dr. Thompson led us through a whole group discussion, the entire conversation was around the negative impact that our examples of disruption have had on education. Dr. Thompson challenged us to step back and reevaluate our thought process and truly search for the positive aspect of each disruption.
As I was driving back from Austin, I began processing how our view of disruptions impacts us daily. I’m sure that your day is very similar to mine in the fact that things come up nearly every day that I hadn’t planned on!! When this happens, we have a choice to view the disruption as negative or seek to find the positive in it and embrace the interference.
We must view disruptions as neither good nor bad, but just something that causes change. Our perspective and approach to the disruption will normally help us define whether it is good or bad. When we adopt a positive attitude and embrace The Energy Bus Rule #4, Fuel Your Ride With Positive Energy and Rule #9, Drive With Purpose, we will find ourselves viewing disruptions as an opportunity to take charge of change and use the disruptions in our life for refinement and growth.
I encourage you to join me on this transformational thought process journey and would love to continue the conversation.
Wade
School Board Update
During the September Board Meeting, the following items came before the School Board:
Christine Bedre discussed the role of Instructional Coaches and introduced the three coaches.
Christine Bedre presented an overview of the 2019 accountability ratings in which she highlighted several areas of growth and discussed areas of emphasis for the 2019-2020 school year.
Dr. Kyle Penn presented the monthly finance update in which he discussed new programs created within the funding structure during the last legislative session.
Manuel Loera presented a food service update that reviewed the beginning of the school year.
Wade Stanford presented a proposal for the YMCA to use Westwood Elementary for an after-school program. The plan proposes beginning this program in January 2020. This proposal was heard as a first-read, and the YMCA staff will present to the School Board during the October meeting.
Dr. Kyle Penn discussed the possibility of purchasing two buses during the 2019-2020 school year. Dr. Penn discussed that the purchase is included in the 2019-2020 school year. This was presented as a first-read and will be presented as an action item in the October meeting.
The School Board unanimously voted to approve the staff development minutes waiver as presented.
Teacher contracts were acknowledged as presented.
Curriculum
Energy Bus rule number two, “desire, vision and focus move your bus in the right direction.” As we begin a new school year, it is imperative to keep the strong desire for academic excellence for all students, vision of high-quality instruction in the classroom, as well as a focus on data-driven instruction in our student activities every day. Our instructional coaches have become a tremendous value add to our teaching and learning team at Westwood ISD. Every day they are assisting teachers and teams across the district with data, instruction, and activities asking questions and pushing personal growth.
The first-grade team received a large portion of their new classroom furniture before school began. The kindergarten team’s Texas Lesson Study from the 2018-2019 school year has been submitted to TEA by Region 7 Service Center for review and possible publication this fall on Texas Gateway. They were also mentioned by TEA in the recent Fall 2019 ATPE Magazine highlighting the Texas Lesson Study model (click here to read the article). High-level instruction is occurring across the high school. Teachers are focusing on the verbs in the TEKS and using those verbs to plan instruction, resulting in lots of hands-on learning deliberately. The Junior High teachers are displaying leadership by embracing and utilizing content new programs and curriculums. Nine grade levels began the process of rolling out the new ELAR curriculums across the district. Observing the persistence of teams hard work to learn the new components, it brings me to this quote, “whatever makes you uncomfortable is your biggest opportunity for growth.” (Quote by Bryant McGill) Keeping an open mindset, learning new skills, and trying new techniques push us to grow our craft as educators; therefore, noting the growth in our students.
Special Programs
In case you are wondering how the federal and special programs department is feeling... We feel great! Yes!
We truly see the beginnings of great improvements in our department. With the start of the school year, we have had some changes in staff who are responsible for the implementation and coordination of some of our programs on the campus level. In addition to this, we have also implemented a web-based platform for Section 504 and LPAC documentation. These changes have brought about opportunities for growth for all parties. Through this process, we have witnessed staff who are passionate about not only doing their job but doing it well! This highlights our belief statement that our staff has an unbelievable desire to be excellent and improve their craft on a daily basis. The changes in the process will help us track student data much better and manage documentation without having to dig through a folder every time we need to locate information. We are excited about the future of this system.
In May, the TEA announced the adoption of a single statewide language proficiency test for English Learner identification. DRC’s LAS Battery of Assessments was selected to be implemented beginning this school year. While LEAs were given the opportunity to continue using the previous assessments until November 1, we decided to go through training this summer and prepare to use the new assessment as soon as possible. Because of this, we (thanks, Mindy!) were able to test all students who were newly enrolled in the state of Texas, and a language other than English was indicated on their Home Language Survey. Early identification and placement in the ESL program help us to start assisting the students with English proficiency early on in their education.
Business & Finance
The Finance team had a strong start to the new year, even with the historic changes to school finance through House Bill 3. We were able to develop a robust compensation plan which was approved by the school board and develop a budget that was active at the start of September, our new fiscal year. The legislation pushed back some of our standard timelines while we waited for information but ultimately did not hinder our ability to make purchases when the year opened.
The HR/Payroll department is placing final touches on setting up new employees for the first payroll of 2019-2020. This is a time-consuming process with people on different calendar schedules and having just wrapped up the 2018-2019 payroll. Accounts Payable is balancing all of the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 invoices between the two fiscal years. There is a lot to watch, and everyone is maintaining detail-focus on their work. Beyond that, we are sorting through all the purchase requests for the start of the year and look forward to serving the campuses this year!
PEIMS
Westwood ISD, thank you for the warm welcome to the PEIMS Director position! I am extremely excited and grateful to be a part of your PEIMS staff! My goal is for data submissions from Westwood ISD to be as accurate and efficient as possible. I will diligently strive to support our campus PEIMS personnel while learning new ways to improve the efficiency and accuracy of our data validation systems.
Did you know that PEIMS data drives the school district’s accountability ratings and funding? Having accurate data makes a huge difference in how many teacher/support positions we may fund, as well as campus and district ratings. Our data is a reflection of us as a school district.
Campus PEIMS staff had a successful start of the year while utilizing the Skyward online registration and enrollment system. This system is still new to us and is incredibly beneficial in quickly gathering and storing mass amounts of student information and parent/guardian contact information.
In the coming months, district PEIMS personnel will attend multiple training opportunities. These trainings will allow us to stay updated on PEIMS data requirements from the state, as well as improve efficiency in our Skyward usage. It is our intention to constantly learn, so we may best serve the students and community of Westwood ISD!
It is a great day to be in PEIMS in Westwood ISD! “You’re AWESOME; you’re THE BEST, you ROCK!”
Food Service
Hello Westwood family! For those of you that I haven’t met yet, my name is Manuel Loera, the Director of Child Nutrition. Southwest Food Excellence (SFE) has partnered this year with Westwood ISD to ensure we are putting the children first.
A little bit about myself, I come from Houston, I graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelors in Hotel and Restaurant Management - Go Coogs! I’m excited to start this new chapter in my life. To begin with, early in August we had training for our current staff. During our training, we introduced food service staff to the SFE culture. We went over new recipes, new cooking procedures, line decoration, and ended things with sampling some of our new menu items to staff.
Opening day went great! We heard a lot of great feedback from staff, students, and people from the Westwood community. I couldn’t be any more blessed with the team that I have. They have worked hard every day, cooking new recipes, and learning new systems. I can’t even begin to tell you all how grateful I am to have them!
SFE plans on participating and lending a hand with school and community events. In August, we helped out with Meet the Panther Night. We had a great turn out for Grandparents Day at the Primary, and can’t wait to help out with future events. I can’t wait to meet you all.
Facilities Services
Wow! What an amazing summer and start to our 2019-2020 school year! Back in May, we were setting goals for our Facility Services team that were ambitious, but what we could not foresee was the total amount of time a few of the larger projects would consume. It quickly began to feel like we were not going to complete nearly as many of our work requests as we had originally planned.
We began the summer, completing all of the outdoor work requests and afterward moved into the fieldhouse. This project took more time than I anticipated but turned out wonderfully. After completing work requested in the fieldhouse, we moved into the High School and completed requests. We moved to the Primary School in mid-July. With the number of requests, I thought there is no way we can get to all of them. We were all beginning to feel the heat. As I visited other schools, I could see that a couple of our campus teams were substantially further ahead than they usually are this time of the year. Luckily some of these team members were happy to move into the Primary to assist, and we were soon back on schedule. There truly is power in numbers. Time flew by while we were having fun, and it was quickly time for school to start. It seems like just a few days had passed, and summer was over.
At the end of the summer, our team had an opportunity to do some Energy Bus training that felt more like R&R than work. Through the progression of that meeting, I could see the pride in their smiles and cheers. We all knew that our team hit a grand slam this summer. I have never seen our teamwork together so well, not just at our meeting, but for the whole summer. I cannot say enough about our Facility Services team. They are the most awesome bunch I have ever had the pleasure of working with.
The Energy Bus convocation was amazing and served to lift our spirits even higher. This energy could be felt in every building I entered the first couple of weeks of school. It has been the best start of a school year that I have ever experienced. Our superintendent even commented on how this experience has exceeded all of our expectations. Is it the book, state of minds after the book, or a combination of amazing events that happened through this summer? We don’t know, but it is turning out to be the best thing that we have ever experienced here at Westwood.
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
The Westwood ISD Transportation Department is off to a great start of school. Transportation employees attended in-service and convocation. The training and facilities for convocation were great. All transportation employees have boarded the Energy Bus and have great attitudes. We have a great group of employees that care about students and give 100% daily.
It is my pleasure to welcome new employees Mike Ellerbe, Sandy Brown, Robin Hollis, and Stephanie Johnson to our department. The Training topic for August was Student Management. Student Management is very vital in our day to day operations. School Bus drivers are the first person a student comes in contact with daily and is the start and end of each students day. This is why we are here daily.
Football, Volleyball, and Cross Country are in full swing as we have been busy during the week and on Friday night. We have had no problems in trips. In closing, if I can help a student or parent in anyway, please contact me at The Transportation Office at 903-723-0425.
Our Office hours are Monday thru Friday 5 am-5 pm. Remember as long as students get home safely, we have had a good day.
Technology
Welcome back from the Technology Department. We are excited to be on the Westwood ISD Energy Bus and look forward to a great 2019-20 school year. Over the summer, we made some changes that lay the foundation for future projects and standardizes the way we access network resources. The significant change is the implementation of Identity Automation’s product called RapidIdentity. This product manages the lifecycle of our user accounts from hire to retirement and everything in-between. As new students and staff members join our Panther family, access to campus technology resources is processed every hour from 5 am to 5 pm. Within 24 hours, students and staff will have access to other network resources that have been configured to receive our updates. Another part of the RapidIdentity implementation was establishing a unique and standard naming convention that can be used across multiple systems and external websites. With this new standard, students have to remember one username or account login to access multiple websites or applications. This also creates an opportunity for Westwood ISD to synchronize passwords and implement Single Sign-on in the future.
We also completed some basic house cleaning projects over the summer. We cleaned projectors and their air filters in each classroom. We blew out the dust in all desktop computers. We cleaned and sanitized all iPads and Chromebooks and boy did they need it! They were gross! As we inventoried the technology in the classroom and on each campus, we made it easier to check out Chromebook carts and track the individual devices by adding a Follett bar code to the carts and color-coded the carts and devices. You will notice a colored sticker on the cart and a matching color sticker on the device. Please remember not to mix devices and to put Chromebooks back into their matching color carts.
We are off to a great start this year, and I am extremely proud of my team for the hard work they have been doing to resolve technology help requests as fast and efficiently as possible. Usually, this time of year we are saturated with 100 plus requests. That is not the case this year. Finger snaps to John, Josh, and Terri for effectively supporting their campuses and for resolving as many work orders as possible each and every day.
Our department continues 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, Football:
Volleyball:
The Lady Panther Volleyball Team has started off district play with a 1-1 record and now stand at 14-12 overall on the season. The volleyball program, sub-varsity, and varsity enjoyed a clean sweep at Crockett on Tuesday. They travel to Groesbeck on Friday night.
Cross Country:
All of our cross country teams have been working extremely hard and have improved throughout the year. They have been running at meets every Saturday for the last five weeks and scored a perfect 15 at the Elkhart meet last weekend.
Football:
The Westwood Football program hosted Eustace last week for homecoming. They treated their home crowd to a 34-6 win on Friday night. The Junior High, their first game of the season, and the Junior Varsity also had a strong showing against Eustace on Thursday night. I very talented West Rusk team is next on the schedule for the Panthers.