Southwest ISD Board Update
September
SEPTEMBER 20 MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
Students of the Month
The Student of the Month for Big Country Elementary School is David DeLaRosa. He has attended school at that campus since kindergarten. He is now a fifth grade student who is a role model to the younger students. David has mastered his state exams since third grade. He achieved the highest reading score in fourth grade with a 94%. He also competed and won the Spelling Bee when he was a third grade student. His goals include attending college in the future and becoming a doctor or physical therapist. As a student, David is always willing to help his peers and to tutor them. Some of the qualities he has shown include leadership, responsibility, and respect towards others. David attributes all of these qualities to his upbringing and his most admired role model: his mother.
Bob Hope Elementary School is proud to recognize fifth grade student Azahara Mejia Banda. The school has been fortunate enough to call Azahara and her family part of its community since she was in first grade. When asked to describe herself, Azahara said she is “kind,” “intelligent,” “cares about other people,” and always tries her best “to do the right thing.” Her friends describe her as “nice, funny, and honest.” Azahara’s family knows her as a very loving, caring, sentimental, and natural person who always likes to help and take care of others, especially her younger siblings and grandparents. She loves drawing, painting, and listening to the musical group BTS, the color purple, and tamales. Her favorite subject is math and she hopes to one day be a police officer so she can protect other people. Azahara is a Student Ambassador at Bob Hope Elementary and most students can recognize her voice as she leads the daily bilingual morning announcements. Her teachers describe Azahara as responsible and “eager to help.” She participates in AAA, choir, and the English and Spanish Spelling Bees. She is a fantastic example of a Bob Hope All-Star!
McAuliffe Middle School is proud to recognize Luna Zamarron as Student of the Month. Luna is an 8th grade student. Luna has participated in choir and theater during her middle school years. Luna is an amazing young lady and is always eager to learn. She brings joy to anyone that crosses her path. She lights up the room and brings with her a contagious positive spirit. Campus leaders say she is one of the hardest workers they have had the pleasure of interacting with. She does not let anything get in the way of what she wants to accomplish and is extremely honest. She comes to school every day with a positive attitude that radiates to everyone. She approaches new situations with a “can-do” attitude and is willing to help newer students with complex concepts. She is kind, compassionate, and full of joy! Luna models the “Rocket Way” in everything she does.
CAST STEM High School is proud to recognize Amadeus Martinez. Amadeus is an 11th grade student who goes above and beyond for CAST STEM High School, especially for the Academic Decathlon team. Last year he was not able to compete but still came to every practice to help the students study and prepare for the competition. This year he is not only studying so he can compete, but he is also helping to ensure the other students are on track with their individual study goals. Amadeus has grown from a shy and quiet freshman to a leader on campus. CAST STEM is proud to recognize Amadeus for his efforts both in and out of the classroom!
Items Approved
Property Purchase
The SWISD Board of Trustees approved the purchase of a 30 acre tract of land situated in the Fernando Rodriguez Survey. The cost for this tract of land is $2,450,000. This project is on the District's Capital Improvement Plan. At the Board's request, District staff worked with realtors and property owners to find future school sites in areas where the District is seeing residential growth.
National Incident Management System (NIMS) for District Incident Management
Trustees approved the adoption of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS guides all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector to work together to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond, and recover from incidents. NIMS provides stakeholders across the whole community with the shared vocabulary, systems and processes to successfully deliver the capabilities described in the National Preparedness System. The Incident Command System (ICS) is a sub-component of NIMS. It is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of on-scene incident management that provides a common hierarchy within which personnel from multiple organizations can be effective. Southwest ISD has been utilizing NIMS/ICS for several years to manage incidents within the District. It is a training requirement for both District leadership and campus administration.
District-Multi-Hazard Emergency Operations Plan
The Board Approved the Multi-Hazard Emergency Operations Plan (MHEOP). Texas Education Code (TEC 37.108) and Board Policy CKC (LEGAL) states that each school district shall adopt and implement a MHEOP for use in the District’s facilities. The plan must address prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. It must also provide for employee training, mandatory safety drills, measures to ensure coordination with first responders and local agencies and the implementation of a required comprehensive safety and security audit to be conducted every three years. The District’s MHEOP must also include plans for responding to active threat events, including active shooter incidents. The SWISD Safety and Security Committee met several times in the past few months to develop, revise, review and finalize the District's MHEOP, Active Threat Annex and Active Shooter Appendix. A major goal of the committee members was to ensure that these emergency plans reflected both campus and district needs.
Presentations
Online Auction
Thomas Krueger, Director of Facilities & Maintenance, presented an overview of the District's online auction. The annual auction is scheduled to begin Tuesday, September 27 and conclude on Thursday, October 6. There will be a link to the online auction located on the District's home page. All of the pieces up for auction are items that the District deems unsuitable for use or no longer necessary. Items will include: old furniture such as student desks, office furniture, and shelving units, older technology equipment such as computer monitors, CPU's, printers, overhead projectors, older kitchen equipment, and transportation items.
Resilient Schools Support Program Update
A representative from ED Direction gave the Board of Trustees an update on the Resilient Schools Support Program. As part of the TEA COVID Learning Acceleration Supports (TCLAS) grant, the TEA selected school districts to participate in year three and four of the Resilient Schools Support Program. This grant program is designed to assist districts in addressing learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Southwest ISD, in partnership with ED Direction, uses strategies to accelerate student learning in prioritized areas via coaching, professional learning, and data progress monitoring.
Lisa Bolte, Executive Director for Assessment, Accountability, and Research gave a presentation on STAAR scores and accountability results comparisons in Bexar County. Scores presented during the board meeting focused on results in student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps. Below is chart of the overall rating for Bexar County districts.
Next Regular Meeting: 6 p.m., Thursday, October 18, SWISD Board Room
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