Doty and Bouse FFA

address? Why do you see these as needs?

CHARLES HALEY: Our school district needs to continue working through the Covid situation and how to recover to ‘normal’ operations. Although it will be an ongoing battle to guarantee the safety of the students and the faculty, this will continue to be one of the district’s main focus areas.

We also need to ensure we have the best staff available for our students. It will also be key to make sure we continue to work at retaining this talent as well. Our students will be our future leaders and deserve the best our school district can offer to set them up for success.

Our school district should be prepared for the future growth of our community and school system. This will include continually working on improving our ISD infrastructure and staying up to date with new technology.

JOSH VINCENT: I think one need for our district, and something that has been addressed, but continue to always make sure that our kids and faculty are safe. I think Howe has done a very good job at this but is something that should always be on the boards mind as far as looking for ways to ensure safety. Another priority to address would be making sure to help the students that have fallen a little more behind due to Covid and try and get them caught back up. This is important because we want all students to achieve and do well.

CRYSTAL LAWSON: Some of the needs that I believe that should be prioritize for our district are the material needs of our schools and teachers. With the move to a more virtual learning platform, I have seen request for things such as stylus for iPads so that the students can do their schoolwork easier (I have watched my daughters get frustrated because trying to do their math on the iPad with their fingers is slow and difficult at best). I have seen request for classroom materials, help with repairing equipment, and request for water bottles because not everyone has access to them. I know that these things cost money. I know that we do not have an infinite amount of it either, we are a small school district, and we have a limited amount of funds available to us annually, but I think we need to find creative solutions to make sure that our teachers have the tools that they need to teach our kids.

JANIE FINNEY: *-We must continue to encourage students at all levels. * -We must teach the WHOLE CHILD—make our teaching meaningful and useful. * -Going back to what is important for our country, we do need to make sure that we are teaching kids HOW TO THINK—not what to think.

For students to be successful in life, they need encouragement, they need to feel like they have learned at whatever level they can achieve, and they need to know how to think for themselves. If we can do this for every child, we will see a happy and successful life for every student.

BRAD MURPHY: I feel communication, accountability and transparency are top priorities for any district to improve upon. How information is shared, timing of information and responses to parents' concerns are also issues.

What are your best hopes for the future of this school district? How would your aspirations help our students?

CHARLES HALEY: My hope is our ISD continues to strive to develop highly educated, strong leaders of our community. Our current students are the future leaders of our nation and we must ensure they are prepared to step into the next chapter of their lives after graduation.

I would like Howe ISD to be known as one of the best school districts in North Texas by always challenging our students and faculty to be the best they can be on a daily basis. Focus on teaching our students to respect their peers and anyone they encounter throughout the day. Learning to respect others at an early age can have many benefits as the students graduate and enter the world.

JOSH VINCENT: It is my hope that HISD will continue to educate and prepare students for their future lives and hope that they will be great contributors to society. Not all kids are going to make straight A’s or be star athletes, just look at all the grammar mistakes I have probably made throughout this deal. I think the future of our district lies in our students knowing how to work, be respectful to others, solve problems and stay true to their self and their values. I would hope my aspirations of keeping the traditions and values that HISD was for me growing up would help see this through in an ever-changing world.

CRYSTAL LAWSON: My best hopes for the future of this school district is that we retain our talented teachers and pull in talented teachers so that our children leave HOWE ISD to become successful, productive adults, regardless of the path that they choose (military, trade school, 4 – year school, 2- year school, straight to work force, etc.). That our ad(Continued on page 13)

Howe student named District III, Area V, FFA president

Howe sophomore Jentrie Doty was named president of the Texas FFA District III, Area V for the 2021-22 school year. Fellow sophomore Korie Bouse of Howe was named treasurer.

The remaining officers in the district are Ansley Campbell of Bells—vice president, Jay Bradley of Pottsboro—secretary, Creighton Gattis of Pottsboro— reporter, Nick Bullard of Gunter—sentinel, and Ashtyn Wade of Gunter—advisor.

The elected officers of the District II FFA Association shall be selected and nominated by each local association. Each of these officers has an opportunity to demonstrate FFA, agricultural education, parliamentary procedure and agricultural industry knowledge via a written exam, present their qualifications to an evaluation committee and appear before the convention body delegates and deliver a campaign speech. A president shall be elected by a combination of exam score and writing prompt 25 percent, interview scores 35 percent, and a score derived from the vote of the delegates present 40 percent.

The winner of the final elections shall be declared president of the district, and the candidate receiving the second highest score total in the final runoff election shall be declared the first vicepresident with other offices, secretary, treasurer, reporter, sentinel and student advisor, following in that order.