Ott's Outlook
May 2021
As we move into the last grading period, I am reminded of how vastly different this year is wrapping up compared to last year. Over ninety percent of our students and all of our staff are in buildings and interacting face-to-face on a daily basis. We are planning for in-person graduation at the Expo center, hosting outdoor student celebrations and competing in UIL events. Returning to anything that resembles “normal” is only possible because of the way that our staff, students and families have embraced the challenges of this school year. Because of this collective effort, we have not had to close a single campus this year due to COVID concerns and we are able to take the necessary steps towards returning to in-person activities and celebrations that we all cherish.
Winding down this school year means that we are shifting some of our focus to preparing for next year. The district will work with the Bell County Health Department to revise and create protocols for the 2021-2022 school year and these plans will be communicated in June.
Additionally, we will continue planning for the potential bond in November 2021. A bond will be needed to increase capacity as forecasted in the demographic study and to address current facility needs as outlined in the recently updated facilities master plan. In our bond planning process there will be multiple opportunities for staff, students, families and community members to provide input on potential bond projects.
The district will continue to keep you informed about the process and opportunities for input.
Thank you for your continued support!
Bobby Ott
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We are Innovative...Implementing the Principal Residency Program!
Temple ISD has been awarded the Principal Residency Grant Cycle 4 from the Texas Education Agency. This program seeks to provide districts with an opportunity to build strong campus leaders and help support internal leadership pipelines through full-time, year-long principal residencies.
Districts that are awarded this grant will identify strong principal residents from among their current staff through a targeted recruitment and selection process, partner with an effective principal educator preparation program (EPP) that provides residents with course content focused on best practices in campus leadership, including a concentrated focus on instructional leadership, and design and implement a year-long, full-time residency with a focus on authentic campus-based leadership experiences in partnership with the EPP.
We are Competitive...Across All Programs!
- Advanced Academics - Regional UIL Academic Meet in 11 categories
- Athletics - Regionals: Tennis and Wrestling; State: Golf and Track - 4x100
- Career & Technical Education - Education & Training students advanced to the National TAFE Competition
- Fine Arts - Choir & Band UIL Solo and Ensemble, Theatre One-Act Play qualified for STATE!, Theatrical Design students Qualified for STATE!
...Now that you know, please share our story with others!
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PK & K Registration opens May 3!
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Jennifer “Nifty” Gosney, MBA, CPA, FACMPE, FACHE, CHFP is a Director of Finance for the Baylor Scott & White Health Temple Region who graduated from Temple HS in 1990 after attending Thornton Elementary and Bonham Middle School.
Nifty has spent the last 16 years at Baylor Scott & White Health with responsibilities for financial leadership, operational improvement, and strategic planning. Before joining Baylor Scott & White Health, she worked for 8 years as a public accountant. She currently provides financial leadership for the Baylor Scott & White Health Temple region clinical operations. She is a current member of the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Board of Directors and the MGMA Finance and Audit Committee. She served as Chair of both the MGMA Assembly Council Steering Committee and the MGMA Financial Management Society. She has been through Leadership Temple and is a past treasurer for the Greater Temple Area Texas A&M Club. Last year she started teaching Accounting for Managers and Healthcare Finance at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor as an adjunct professor.
Nifty graduated from Texas A&M University in College Station with a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering and then received her Master’s in Business Administration from Texas A&M University - Central Texas.
Nifty and her husband Jeff Ward are proud parents to son Riggs (5). Her family includes parents, Gary Gosney & Linda Gosney; sisters Dandy, Scooter and Thumper; and mother-in-law, Jan Ward who taught at THS for 29 years.
What is your favorite memory from when you were a TISD student?
While falling down a flight of stairs in front of my high school crush (and 100 other students) and forgetting my lines in the one role I was cast in for theatre were both very memorable, I would say my most memorable experiences occurred as a student ambassador for Temple High School to Russia.
There was an application process, and I was sure I would not be selected. Being turned down was a norm for me in school. Do you know how many times you can try out for cheerleader and get rejected? The answer is three. However, this taught me to “go for it” and my determination paid off when I was selected for the student ambassador program!
While you would think going to the Kremlin or the Saint Basil’s Cathedral would be the most memorable part of that trip, it was not. The interactions with the people that I traveled with and met along the way were the most rewarding. We traveled in a bus across the country with memories that would last a lifetime. We were welcomed into a family’s home and spent the day with them eating a traditional home-cooked meal. We also spent a day playing with children in an orphanage; that still brings a smile to my face. If I had not applied with the fear of rejection, I would have never had this experience.
This type of education is immeasurable in its importance in my life.
What does being a Wildcat mean to you?
When you leave your hometown to go to college, almost everyone thinks, “I am NEVER moving back there.” I did move back and cannot imagine being anywhere else. Going to Temple High prepared me for the real world and gave me a great perspective on life through the eyes of others. I was surrounded by an array of interesting people from different backgrounds and countries, and I believe this to be as important a part of my education in life as anything I learned in the classroom. Sports were inclusive (and man, was I bad), theater was inclusive (and man, I was not great), and the classroom was on a spectrum that worked for me. Sports gave me a pulled groin (or an affinity to ride the bench), theatre gave me a stage presence, and the classroom fostered my appreciation of numbers and data.
Providing students with the opportunity to be well-rounded in life academically, artistically, athletically, and culturally is truly what makes our education system so great. I am proud to be from Temple and to call myself a Wildcat; TISD is a part of me, and I was glad to be a part of it.
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Workforce ceremony honoring one of our own!
One-Act Play State send-off celebration
Exchange Club celebrating our Student of the Semester
TEF Academic Recognition
Commemorative gift from the City
Catching up with students at Thornton
Checking in at the track
Celebrating the MDECA staff
Presenting to UMHB student teachers
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Bobby Ott, Ed.D.
Email: bobby.ott@tisd.org
Website: https://www.tisd.org/apps/pages/Superintendent
Phone: 254-215-6760
Facebook: facebook.com/templeisd
Twitter: @OttTempleISD