Southwest ISD Board Update
March
MARCH 22 MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
The Student of the Month for Sky Harbour Elementary School is Mia Ochoa. She is an artistic and outgoing 5th grader who exemplifies the qualities of a true leader at Sky Harbour ES. She has perfect attendance for this year and she loves the arts, especially drawing and painting on canvases. She aspires to participate in art and band in middle school, especially percussion. Mia is hardworking and strives every day to challenge herself to meet her goals and aspirations. In academics, her goal is to perfect her mathematical skills and maintain A’s in all other subjects. Mia exemplifies the characteristics of a Sky Harbour Dolphin because she is friendly, loving, caring and curious.
Brian Vera Jr. is McNair Middle School's Student of the Month. Brian is an “A Honor roll” student. The 7th grader is described as a friendly and kind person who loves to help others. He participates in numerous service projects, most recently donating items to a shelter during Christmas time and candy for Trunk or Treat. Brian loves to be the center of attention and loves to dance. He works hard every day to accomplish his goals and always does it with a smile. His teachers say he is a joy to have in class and his classmates absolutely love him. Brian is an asset to the school and McNair is proud to recognize him as Student of the Month.
The Student of the Month for Southwest Legacy High School is Diego Tovar. Diego is a hard-working student. The senior is a gifted student with an amazing self-taught artistic talent. He creates elaborate work with only pencil and paper. He sketches pictures with a vivid imagination and extensive detail. At Southwest Legacy, he has learned how to bring those pictures to life in his Graphic Design/Animation class. His CTE teacher, Mr. Ferdinand, describes Diego as a rare talent, and he states that Diego shows tenacity and a passion for his work. Diego’s art has even been displayed at the San Antonio Children’s Museum. Diego plans to attend college to study the fundamentals of art, to learn advanced art techniques, and he hopes to one day publish his work. Diego makes our Legacy community proud!
The 2021-2022 Southwest ISD Teachers of the Year were recognized at the March 22 Board Meeting. Their enthusiasm for teaching, love for children, and their expertise make them teachers that are highly respected and admired among their peers and within this great community. We thank them for all that they do, and this recognition is just a small token of that appreciation.
Campus Teachers of the Year:
Bob Hope Elementary – Portia Matthews
Hidden Cove STEAM Academy – Brenda Chapa
Indian Creek Elementary – Christina Perez
Kriewald Road Elementary – Selena Gonzalez
Medio Creek Elementary – Whitney Geyer
Southwest Elementary – Ana-Karen Parga
Spicewood Park Elementary – Valerie Trevino
Sun Valley Elementary – Jessica Gonzalez
McNair Middle School – Leslie Lafler
Resnik Middle School – Allison Haby
Southwest Legacy High School – Kyle Black
CAST STEM High School – Crystal Mares
Crossroads/DAEP –David Martinez
Elementary District Finalists:
Elm Creek Elementary – Samantha Lazcano
Sky Harbour Elementary – Lilia Carrillo
Secondary District Finalists:
McAuliffe Middle School – Belen Rodriguez
Scobee Middle School – David Ellis
Elementary District Teacher of the Year:
Big Country Elementary – Amanda Aguirre-Carreon
Secondary District Teacher of the Year:
Southwest High School – Julie Schanberger
In honor of their accomplishments, they received a gift from the District along with the traditional Teacher of the Year stipend.
Presentations
Items Approved
Southwest ISD Scholarship Committee Recommendations 2022
The Board approved the SWISD Scholarship Committee to award a total of $125,000 to 191 qualified students. The committee met in the fall and determined that one set amount would be awarded to each student. For this year that amount is $655 per student, which includes 34 students from CAST STEM, 55 from SWLHS, and 102 from SWHS.
Purchase of New Property
The Board approved the purchase of two properties totaling approximately 105 acres in the amount of $5,242,000. The cost of this purchase will be funded by fund balance. The properties are future school sites where the District is seeing residential growth.
Southwest ISD Aquatics Center
The Board approved the recommendation of Southwest ISD Aquatics Center for the
new District facility name and approved tribute plaques to recognize Mike Frazier and
Maximo (Mac) Umac. The plaques will be placed at the entrance of the Aquatics Center and will honor the vision, role, and hard work of these two individuals in bringing such a project to the Southwest Side of San Antonio. The Board also approved staffing for the Aquatics Center.
The District will prioritize positions of need for this summer’s opening and then continue
to hire to prepare for next school year's sporting and community events at the Aquatics
Center.
Data Backup and Recovery Solution
Trustees approved a contract with CDWG to provide a data backup and recovery solution program. Over the last several years, school districts have increasingly become targets for data theft and ransomware attacks. A data backup and recovery solution is an integral part of
protecting our data, and is also vital to recovering our systems in the event of an attack.
The district is looking to move to a next-generation solution that offers increased security
and storage capacity, as compared to our current backup system. The total cost of this project is $85,072.29. This is a one-time cost that covers the purchase of the hardware, along with licensing and support for five years.
Penguin Project
Trustees approved the Penguin Project, a program which features a group of
students who take the stage to perform a modified version of a well-known Broadway
musical. These productions are unique because all of the roles are filled by young artists
with disabilities. To become a Penguin Project Chapter, the District must establish an administrative organizational structure to support the project, identify production, technical and supervision staff to lead the production yearly, provide a theater space equipped with
production set up and allocate a rehearsal space that allows for rehearsals for 16 weeks. The District is planning a camp to be held in the summer to kick off the Penguin Project.
The Board approved the new learning model redesign and the school name change of Kriewald Road ES to Kriewald Road School of the Arts. The new learning model will continue to serve grades PreK-5, integrate fine arts in the overall curriculum, and create new innovative learning spaces. Since the summer of 2021, Kriewald Road Elementary has been in partnership with Trinity University and the Trinity University School Design Network. Principal Rosie Hidalgo has attended principal onboarding meetings every two weeks to begin planning a school design that integrates the arts into all facets of teaching and learning. This model was established to build and enhance teacher collaboration with a focus on hands-on learning to drive student engagement and increase student academic achievement. During a 5-day summit in June 2022, the school will solicit the expertise of school design from Oklahoma A+ Schools Institute. OKA+ will customize all professional development to meet the needs of the staff and students.
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