Westwood Way
Happenings In Panther Nation - February 2019
Panther Pride
In the January newsletter, I mentioned that I had started working out at 5:30 in the morning. I made this decision since it was the only time I had almost complete control of my schedule. As I mentioned in January, the downside is that it is cold and dark and if I wanted to continue riding my bike then I had to get a light. I made the trip to WalMart, purchased a light, and was back on track with the cardio segment of my workout.
As I was riding one morning, I realized that the bike light revealed several work environment takeaways that we could reflect on.
The bike light had a limited area that it revealed. My light has a limited area that it will light up in front of me and to the side. This is in direct contrast to riding in daylight where I can see everything. When we go through our day at school and only allow one or two people to work alongside us, it is just like riding my bike in the early morning, our view and perspective is limited, and we may not be able to see the big picture. We will make progress but it will be limited and we may never experience our full potential. We are powerful and will experience things we can only dream of when we have authentic collaboration!
The things just outside the light become distorted. The tree branches and rocks take on weird shapes when they are positioned right outside the light. The strange shapes cause me to be distracted and take my attention away from my goal. Ultimately this causes my ride to be more difficult than it needs to be. We can face a similar situation when we collaborate with a limited group of co-workers. Emails, conversations, and interactions can become distorted; we can become distracted and become focused on things that we have fabricated in our mind. In the end, our day, weeks, and months become more difficult than they should be and we begin to suck the energy out of the organization.
The limited amount of light doesn’t allow me to see how far I have left on my ride. Even though I know the road that I’m riding on, the limited amount of light doesn’t allow me to see far out in front of me. This begins to play tricks with my mind, and I start thinking I have further to go than I do. I battle this until I see the garage light and then relief sweeps through me since I know I am close to finishing. We can experience the same battle at work if we resist authentically collaborating with others. If we don’t allow others to be in our lives and encourage us, we will only see what is directly in front of us, and we will begin to get frustrated and tired because we believe we will never see success. We ALL need people that are positive, encouraging, and help us see the finish line!
The quality of light makes a huge difference. The first light that I purchased seemed like a good deal, but it didn’t light up a very large area. I tried to convince myself that it would work, but it became harder and harder to get on the bike each morning. Finally, I broke down and purchased a light that cost a little over twice as much as the first light, but did it make a difference! I could see so much more, and I could ride without as much hesitation. The same thing happens to us if we don’t branch out and surround ourselves with people that have different qualities and gifts than we have. Our journey becomes enjoyable and rewarding when we are accompanied by those that stretch us and help to light the path!
I would encourage you to reflect on who is helping you along the journey and to analyze how effective they are in their assistance. Also, reflect on how many people you are collaborating with and if that number is limited then ask yourself some hard questions as to why it is this way. And lastly, reflect on how many people are asking YOU to help them. If this reflection reveals that there are not many people asking for your help, then it is critical that you spend time working through this.
Be the LIGHT for somebody!!
Wade
School Board Update
During the February Board Meeting, the following items came before the School Board:
Michael Page and Robert Brown, members of the Facility Advisory Committee, addressed the board and made a recommendation for the Westwood ISD School Board to call a $39 million bond.
The School Board unanimously voted to call a $39 million bond for the May 4, 2019 election.
Sonya Brown presented a Junior High update. She discussed current enrollment and attendance data as well as outlining current initiatives on the campus.
Scott Nettles presented a High School update. He provided student and staff activities and events that aligned to the Westwood ISD Belief Statements.
Wade Stanford presented an overview of TASB Board Policy update 112. This policy update focuses on updating policies affected by changes in administrative rule and commissioner of education rulings.
Kyle Penn presented a finance update in which he discussed the projected calendar for the development of the 2019-2020 budget.
Kyle Penn and Josh Schultz presented an update on the Ag Science barn facility and also presented bids to build out the barn facility. The proposed plans and bids were presented as a 1st Read and will be presented as an action item in the March Board Meeting.
Christine Bedre presented the proposed 2019-2020 Instructional Calendar as a 1st Read. This item will be presented as an action item in the March Board Meeting.
Christine Bedre presented an overview of Learning Walks. She discussed the purpose, procedure, and desired outcome of this collaborative process.
The School Board and administrative staff continued discussing the book Instructional Rounds in Education. Chapter 2 was discussed this month, and the board and administrative staff will continue this discussion over the next several months.
The School Board discussed the proposed Proud Panther Guidelines and then approved the guidelines as presented. The board voted to suspend the selection of a Proud Panther until the 2019-2020 school year.
The consideration of the 2017-2018 Audit Report was tabled due to Smith, Lambright, and Associates not having the report completed.
Administrative contracts for Amy Harrison, Lance Satterwhite, Kyle Johnson, Jennifer Thomason, Rosa Perez, Shinnita Foreman, Sonya Brown, Scott Nettles, Richard Bishop, Christine Bedre, Tiffany Carwell, And Kyle Penn were approved Along with contract approvals, the title for Kyle Penn was shifted from Director of Finance and Operations to Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations.
Curriculum
Completing the fourth six weeks takes us into a busy time of the year. Benchmarking, STAAR preparation, teacher learning walks, and teacher gallery walks are occurring.
Benchmarking has begun across campuses to pre-analyze student performance in multiple areas. This particular data provides pin-pointed instruction across content areas, grade levels, as well as campuses; therefore, driving a need to create differentiated remediation for students. This instruction relates to principal five of the instructional core: The real accountability system is in the task that students are asked to do. Using this benchmarking process to analyze data causes reflection of "what work were students initially asked to complete with specific TEKS?" If the student work does not reflect the expectations (TEKS) of the external accountability system, then we should not expect to see the results reflected in the external measures of performance (i.e. Benchmark/STAAR results/TSI/SAT/ACT).
Teacher learning walks are off to a great start. All four campuses have begun the process and will continue to refine their practice as the spring semester evolves. From the teacher Learning Walks, we have also embarked in the process of Gallery Walks. With the Gallery Walks, we observe the artifacts of learning produced by students (the student work) displayed in the halls. Student work is then aligned with the stated TEKS including a reflective piece over both the lesson taught and the artifacts of learning.
Finally, Eduphoria has been running well after the implementation of the first semester. Usage of the program for creation of test, data analysis, and lesson planning has assisted with driving instruction this school year. I appreciate your support, willingness to take ownership of your new learning, and work together as we have implemented this new data program.
Special Programs
We have had a heavy focus on state test preparation in the last couple of weeks. Our students served through our ESL program will participate in the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) this month and next month. Our 2nd – 12th-grade teachers are currently providing writing prompts to all of our students to collect authentic writing samples for the Writing collection section of TELPAS. Our Kindergarten and 1st-grade teachers will be holistically scoring all four domains (Writing, Reading, Listening and Speaking) of TELPAS for our students who are identified as English Learners at those grade levels. Our 2nd – 12th graders will complete the online portions of TELPAS when we return from Spring Break. We appreciate the hard work of all of our teachers as we go through this process, especially those who have completed training and calibration this week to prepare to effectively rate the writing samples mentioned above.
The federal and special programs department continues to work diligently to meet all ESSA requirements and serve our special populations. We continue to monitor grant spending and ensure that our purchases reflect the needs in our comprehensive needs assessment and the goals in our district and campus improvement plans.
Our Title IV, Part A grant concentrates on providing support for safe and healthy students. One of the allowable supports identified in the grant application specifically focuses on providing high-quality training to personnel in areas such as mental health and suicide prevention. This funding allowed campus counselors to attend the Professional School Counselor Conference where several sessions focused on these critical areas. Additionally, Sarah Fincher with ACCESS presented information to the School Health Advisory Council at the February 11th meeting. Attendees were provided with information on the services provided by ACCESS as well as data on mental health and the impact it has on our students. We will also make this information available to parents and families. Also, plans are being worked out with the curriculum to provide Mental Health First Aid training to all required staff again this year.
Business & Finance
Preparation for the 2019-2020 budget has already begun! The budget calendar has been created, and Principals and Directors have attended a “Budget Boot Camp.” This professional development session reviewed the required 20-digit account code, special funding requirements, and Skyward navigation for budget review and creation. The building of the budget will occur throughout the spring and adoption will occur in August. A big area of interest this year will be the current legislative session and if there is an increase in school funding.
We are in the works in a few areas to improve the hiring process from revamping the application process to improved management of all the digital accounts a staff member has. Through HR working with Skyward on the application process and technology on the digital account management, we anticipate significant improvements and smoother process as staff join the Westwood ISD family.
PEIMS
The 2018-2019 Submission 2 is being completed at this time. The Finance Director, Kyle Penn, stepped up to make sure all verification needs were in place. Challenges have seemed difficult when working with setbacks out of our control, but its also an opportunity! Working together as a team, being sure to stay positive and encouraging one another has proven teamwork WORKS!
We have several things we are working on this spring. One of our main focus at this time is a New Online Registration software! We are excited to be working on a project that will provide not only our guardians easy access and flow, but also our staff! We are just at the beginning stages and hope to get this rolling very soon.
Moving forward equipping ourselves for success has been a personal goal. Region 7 has offered very informational training this week. Taking on a standard of gaining more information in different areas that eventually fall within PEIMS is a new focus. Moving forward we can put in place additional training for different areas within our district. The more knowledge we have the better we will become. Taking what each of us learns and sharing it with encouragement and a positive attitude creates a good team!
We are looking forward to successful days ahead!
Food Service
Welcome to the New Year 2019 and the second half of the school year! The Child Nutrition Managers all attended an 8-hour Menu Module training class at the Kilgore Region VII ESC. The managers were introduced to TDA’s new software which offers an application to produce food production records in a printable electronic format. The class was fast paced and gave the managers an opportunity to increase their knowledge of the intricate nutritional analysis process, food purchasing, and inventory usage. This created a great learning experience.
Facilities Services
freezers, which have been resolved. Athletic fields have been painted and groomed in preparation of upcoming events. Thanks to the grounds and maintenance departments, our athletic facilities look good and are ready for visiting teams. Along with the cold weather, cold and flu season has arrived. We recently acquired four Clorox Total 360 disinfection machines to target the outbreak and keep it at bay.
We will be utilizing them at the request of our school nurses and principals. Kudos to our Facility Services Departments for all of their hard work, and swift response to incoming work requests.
Transportation
The Transportation Department had a very good start in 2019. January saw tragedy within the transportation department in a neighboring school district. Prayers for everyone involved.
The new unleaded fueling station was completed by T&P services of Palestine and along with the new concrete pad, this is a great addition to our department. We now have an above ground double wall 10,000-gallon diesel tank and a double wall 5,000-gallon unleaded tank. This will help us in buying fuel when prices are lower and having the capacity to purchase fuel in larger amounts.
We have begun additional monthly safety training for Transportation employees as well as the coaching staff who drive buses. We will have a Topic and Training every month scheduled for the remainder of the school year to ensure we keep a focused mindset on student safety.
The Transportation Department for 2019 is titled “It’s All About the Kids.” Our department will continue to be the best it can be, put students first, and make good decisions in regards to our day-to-day Operations. If I can assist you in any way with a transportation problem or concern, please contact me at 903-723-0425.
Technology
We had a great turn out for our first Technology Committee meeting last month. Though the meeting was more informative, we established the foundation for future discussion topics by presenting the District’s current technology status. We have a broad and diverse group that will provide insight from the perspective of students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Our next meeting will be held on February 25th.
On the new technologies' forefront, we are testing a screen casting device called Vivi. Vivi is a screen mirroring and digital signage solution exclusively designed for education. This wireless presentation solution allows teachers to engage the screen and the students from any device (PC, Chromebook, IPad, iPhone) and any point in the room. With the software installed on classroom devices, students can request to present their ideas to the class thus transforming the classroom into an interactive learning space.
Special thanks to Mrs. Carwell for securing grant money to purchase new Chromebooks and iPads for the district. We have been busy getting the devices ready to deploy, along with assembling and wiring the carts. We are working hard to get them on campuses as soon as we can.
When we add more devices to our inventory, we must do something with the old devices. Last month we started cleaning out closets that housed old equipment, and we are starting to send that equipment to recycling. This will be an ongoing project as we develop the process for the final phase of our equipment's life cycle.
As we clean out closets, we are finding some devices still have some life in them and can be repurposed with a little memory upgrade. We plan on upgrading the memory and re-imagine them to the latest version of Windows 10. Then those devices will be re-deployed to staff who are working on or using a Dell 755 or older computer. The next phase is to upgrade all Windows 7 computers to Windows 10. The 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.
Habits reflect the mission. The habits of our athletes
On and off the field
are being held to a higher standard
And our student-athletes are meeting the challenge.
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 Basketball, Soccer, and Powerlifting:
Boys Basketball:
Boys Basketball finished their season tied for fourth with Elkhart in District 20-3A. They fell to Elkhart in a play-in game on Friday night. Congrats to Coach Krampen and the Panther Basketball team for a great season.
Girls Basketball:
Lady Panther Basketball finished their season tied with Crockett for 4th in District 20-3A. They hosted Crockett for a play-in game for a spot in the playoffs and fell 60-53 in that matchup. Great season for Coach Tran and the Lady Panther Basketball team.
Boys and Girls Soccer:
The boy's soccer team kicked off their district schedule with a trip to Mexia this week and came up short while the girls team had a bye.
Powerlifting: The boys and girls powerlifting teams head to Trinity over the next couple of weeks for their last meet of the season. We will come out of this meet with several regional qualifiers.