18th Annual Bragging Rights Issue of Texas School Business Magazine

Eighteenth Annual

BRAGGING RIGHTS 2024-2025

12 SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH OUTSTANDING PROGRAMS CONROE ISD

KATY ISD

Texas School Business

Waxahachie ISD

Gregory-Portland ISD P Gregory-Portland ISD P

Veribest ISD

Schertz-CiboloUniversal City ISD

Pasadena ISD

* El Paso ISD *

LITTLE ELM ISD

ECTOR COUNTY ISD

H

UNITED ISD

Corpus Christi ISD

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From the editor

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t’s the moment we’ve looked forward to all year — the release of our 18th annual Bragging Rights edition of Texas School Business, where we highlight 12 innovative programs going on in Texas’ public schools.

Narrowing the field down to 12 outstanding programs is always a challenge.

Each year we receive amazing stories from schools across the state and work hard to select the programs we feel are the most innovative, the most beneficial and the most inspiring.

It is our hope that the stories in this special issue do inspire you and motivate you.

I hope that you share this magazine far and wide to anyone who might need a reminder that amazing things are happening inside our Texas public schools.

And if you read about something in these pages and want to know more, do not hesitate to reach out to any district listed here. We are all in this together, and when it comes to Texas public schools, there is no competition (well, outside of the football field, band halls, etc.)

I hope you enjoy reading these stories. Thank you for all you do for Texas schoolchildren.

Texas School Business BRAGGING RIGHTS 2024-2025

Volume LXXI, Issue 7 406 East 11th Street Austin, Texas 78701 Phone: 512-477-6361 www.texasschoolbusiness.com

DACIA RIVERS Editorial Director

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Dacia Rivers DESIGN Phaedra Strecher ADVERTISING SALES Jennifer Garrido TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Kevin Brown DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING Amy Francisco

BRAGGING RIGHTS 2024-2025 Texas School Business

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Eighteenth Seventeenth Annual Annual

BRAGGING RIGHTS 2023-2024 2024-2025

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Visit texasschoolbusiness.com to download this issue to share and view the entire archive of Bragging Rights issues.

BRAGGING RIGHTS 2024-2025 Texas School Business

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Conroe ISD County: Montgomery Region: 6 Superintendent: Curtis Null 2023 enrollment: 70,264 Number of schools: 63

CONROE ISD

Fail-proof student businesses provide real-world learning in Conroe ISD

by Leila Kalmbach

I

Students in Conroe ISD explore potential future careers and create their own businesses through the annual Winter Catalog.

t’s the day of a big outdoor family photo shoot, and the photographers are nervous but ready. They’ve scouted out the location and practiced on the backdrop ahead of time, testing out all the angles and the lighting. Some family members have flown in for a religious ceremony, so this is the one opportunity to get all 15 people together to commemorate the day.

The last-minute change would be a challenge for any photographer, no matter how experienced. But these were high school students shooting their very first session for paying clients.

The students got a learning experience well beyond anything that could happen in the classroom when they had to pivot quickly to find another location in the same neighborhood.

But when the photographers arrive the morning of the shoot, they discover something they had not anticipated.

The photo sessions were one of several offerings in the school’s Winter Catalog, an opportunity for Career and Technical Education (CTE) students to deliver products and services to district teachers and community members. Four CTE teachers and their students participated, offering services such as floral design, cosmetology and bulletin board creation in addition to the photography services. The catalog took the form of an informational flier with a link to a purchase page on the school’s

“All the trees at the location where the family wanted to take the photos got cut down the day before because a house was being built, and we had to find an alternate location,” says Leigh Anne Treistman, who teaches digital media and commercial photography at Caney Creek High School in Conroe ISD.

BRAGGING RIGHTS 2024-2025 Texas School Business

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The Winter Catalog includes offerings and services from several student businesses, from floral design and photography to teacher assistance, including doggie daycare.

website, and all profits were reinvested in the school’s CTE programs.

“We wanted our kids to have this experience and this opportunity to put what they’d been learning into practice,” says Kathy Franklin, associate principal and chair of the CTE Department at Caney Creek High School. “So we started small, not knowing what to expect.”

Students designed the offerings, and the school posted the products and services on social media and sent them out to their feeder schools. Then it was up to the students to see the project through to the end. Future teachers, for instance, who offered bulletin board planning services for feeder zone teachers, scheduled time with the teacher, came up with design ideas, and had to get to the teacher’s campus to deliver the service.

Floral design students searched magazines for product ideas, then broke the proposed product down into what would be required.

They priced out materials at wholesale cost and set a price for the product. Then each student presented their proposal to the class, who voted for their favorite product. Additionally, they decided to offer a subscription of arrangements for the spring. Once the sales numbers were in, students created a spreadsheet to determine purchase amounts and costs, then produced and delivered the product.

“It really is even more than an internship,” Franklin says. “It is: You’re running a small business, but you have a complete safety net.

You can’t fail; we’re a school.” ▲ The CTE program at Caney Creek High School includes beauty and spa services.

Jessica Smith, the school’s floral design teacher whose students participated in the Winter Catalog, also served as a client for one of Treistman’s photography students. Smith was thrilled to be BRAGGING RIGHTS 2024-2025 Texas School Business

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▲ Digital media students in CISD offer art photography and portrait photo services in the Winter Catalog.

In the 2023-24 school year, about 80 students were involved in the production of products and services for the catalog, but this year the offerings will double.

able to merge two things she cares deeply about, her family and opportunities for students. Among her motivations, however, was not an expectation of high-quality photos.

“My heart is in a place where they could’ve done just about anything and I would’ve been so proud,” Smith says. “But I was very impressed with their professionalism and I was able to be privy to all of the effort and work it took, ahead and after. As a client, I think that they were on par with industry.”

Celeste Welch, a senior photography student at Caney Creek, did three separate family shoots. The first, for a teacher of hers and his wife, was a maternity shoot of the couple and their two dogs.

“So, [it was a] new experience trying to get the dogs to cooperate while taking pictures,” Welch says.

That session took place on a busy waterway, and Welch also had to learn to deal with people walking by during the shoot, some of whom stopped to chat. She also had to learn how to stage big versus small families, fidgety kids and other variables. As an aspiring career photographer, Welch knows these are challenges she’ll face in the future.

“It was a lot to work through, but it was a really good experience to learn how to handle all that when it comes to when I get to the real world,” she says.

In the 2023-24 school year, about 80 students were involved in the production of products and services for the catalog, but this year the offerings will double. This year’s Winter Catalog will include three pages: one for the Caney Creek campus only, such as doggy daycare for teachers, one for their campus and feeder school employees, such as bulletin board design, and one for community members, such as photography, culinary and floral services.

It’s clear that the students’ learning extends beyond the end of the project. Some of Treistman’s photography students who provided portrait sessions were later hired to shoot a wedding. One recently landed a job taking school portraits.

“The field experience and being able to run all the way through the entire workflow from start to finish with a client was a really big confidence booster for all of our students,” Treistman says.

Smith, who also purchased cosmetology services through the Winter Catalog, agrees.

“As a client, I’m walking up to a situation, the student is a little on edge, maybe excited but still a little nervous,” she says of her experience. “But by the end they’re like, ‘Uh-huh, I can do this.’”

Leila Kalmbach is a freelance writer and self-employment coach for freelancers.

BRAGGING RIGHTS 2024-2025 Texas School Business

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Congratulations The Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) congratulates the 12 Texas school districts selected for the 18th Annual “Bragging Rights” issue of Texas School Business.

Conroe ISD Corpus Christi ISD Ector County ISD El Paso ISD Gregory-Portland ISD Katy ISD

Little Elm ISD Pasadena ISD Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD United ISD Veribest ISD Waxahachie ISD

www.tasanet.org

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BRAGGING RIGHTS 2024-2025 Texas School Business

Corpus Christi ISD County: Nueces Region: 2 Superintendent: Roland Hernandez 2023 enrollment: 33,319 Number of schools: 57

CORPUS CHRISTI ISD

Corpus Christi ISD incorporates bike riding into kindergarten curriculum

by Merri Rosenberg

L

earning to ride a bike is one of those childhood rites of passage that is the stuff of memories — a cheerleading parent running alongside as training wheels are traded for a two-wheeler, the inevitable spills, falls and skinned knees — yet for many families, it’s a hard skill to teach. Perhaps the family lives in a neighborhood where there are no safe, quiet streets on which to practice, or parents hold multiple jobs that prevent them from having the time to teach their children.

For kindergarteners at Moses M. Menger Elementary School in Corpus Christi ISD, acquiring that skill is part of their regular physical education curriculum.

“What better place to learn than kids learning together?” says Menger principal Christina Barrera, who is responsible for about 236 students in pre-K through fifth grade.

Thanks to the All Kids Bike initiative, a national movement

The All Kids Bike initiative in Corpus Christi ISD teaches kindergarten students how to safely ride bicycles.

spearheaded by the Strider Foundation to place learn-to-ride programs in targeted public schools, kindergarteners have benefited from in-school instruction.

Menger didn’t even have to apply.

“I reached out to Ms. Barrera to offer this grant,” says Alexa Fulbright, administrative office manager for the HDR Foundation in Corpus Christi. HDR is an Omaha-based employee-owned firm specializing in architecture, engineering, environmental and construction services.

The foundation awarded $324,000 to fund All Kids Bike at three dozen schools around the country.

As part of the grant, HDR provides 24 balance bikes, kits for the wheels and pedals, an instructor’s bicycle, a curriculum guide and a five-year-support plan.

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Through a partnership with HDR, CCISD has bicycles on hand for students to use in learning.

“We want to develop healthy skills and get them outside.”

— ALEXA FULBRIGHT

The foundation focuses on education, healthy communities and environmental stewardship.

who mentioned that two students from her school had been hit by vehicles.

As Fulbright explains, “We want to develop healthy skills and get them outside. [Riding a bike] is aligned with two of the foundation’s pillars. We’re setting them up to be outdoors and in the community.”

“All of our students learned about bike safety, not through the formal program, but as public information for everybody from the coaches.”

Employees assembled the bikes from kits, which they delivered to Menger Elementary School to “surprise the kids,” says Fulbright.

The bikes were hidden behind a curtain, so when the children saw them and screamed with delight, “it was a beautiful and rewarding moment.”

The program is much appreciated, says CCISD Superintendent Roland Hernandez, who oversees a district of more than 33,000 students. In an email he shared, “We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to be the recipients of this grant. Special thanks to our partnership with HDR Engineering for ensuring our kindergartners learn lifelong skills such as bike riding and other outdoor learning opportunities. Our partnership allows for us all to continue addressing the whole child in our schools.”

There is an especially compelling need for this skill, says Barrera,

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The eight-week curriculum focuses on balance, hand braking and safety, says Menger physical education teacher and coach Jose Medina. Each child was properly fitted with a bike helmet (with shower caps under the helmets for hygiene). He and his colleague, Gail Alaniz, a PE coach, have recently written a grant to create a designated bike track with a stop and yield signs to reinforce these lessons.

“I’ve never seen so many kids learning without training wheels,” says Medina, who has been an expert cyclist for more than 40 years. “The parents were so amazed, happy and elated.”

Of course there were some falls, and some children took longer to progress from the balance bikes to pedals. Still, Medina says, as kindergarteners they achieved the skill, and much more.

“This has helped in so many ways,” says Barrera. “[Students] have taken the skills back to the classroom, with fine and gross

▲ Students at Menger Elementary School learn many important physical and mental skills through the All Kids Bike initiative.

“This has helped in so many ways, [students] have taken the skills back to the classroom, with fine and gross motor skills, and balance. They’re seen as more confident.” ‑CHRISTINA BARRERA

motor skills, and balance. They’re seen as more confident.”

The benefits transcend the actual skill of learning to ride a bicycle and transfer to the classroom. As Menger instructional coach Allison Leichty says, “Riding a bike sets them up for success long-term.”

It’s not only about acquiring motor skills, she says.

“Trying things at school is an incredible environment. There’s a safe level of failure. Students can do trial and error. Students who may struggle academically but excel physically get to be leaders.”

Particularly powerful, says Leichty, is the idea that through the process of learning to ride a bike, students are “overcoming fear.

They gain confidence that they can do something even if it’s hard.

In life, it’s not just one skill to learn.”

For parent Brianna Pena, whose son Damian is now in first grade, the bike riding program last year was helpful. “After they showed him how to learn pedaling, he picked it up really quickly,” says Pena. “It was a big accomplishment. By learning at school and having more practice at home, he’s more confident in his skills. It got him into basketball and now he wants to do more sports.”

Meagan Fore, whose daughter was also in the program last year, adds, “We love the program.” By starting the children with balance bikes that have no pedals so students acquire solid balancing skills, “it gave her confidence to try,” says Fore. There is no need for training wheels, so when children acquire balance, they are ready for the two-wheeler. Her daughter, who has special needs, was so excited and talked about the bicycle so much that her Christmas present this year will be a bike of her own.

Seeing their children’s accomplishments was a highlight for their parents, Barrera says.

“When we invited parents to come out for the kindergarten bike rodeo it was particularly powerful,” she says. “Some of our parents don’t go outside as a family. They’re getting homework done, doing dinner — they have good intentions but don’t have the time.

They are so thankful [this] was taught in school.”

HDR’s Fulbright adds, “it’s been a real blessing, seeing it all play out.”

Merri Rosenberg is a freelance writer specializing in educational issues, based in Westchester County, New York. merri.rosenberg@gmail.com

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Ector County ISD County: Ector Region: 18 Superintendent: Keeley Boyer 2023 enrollment: 33,268 Number of schools: 45

ECTOR COUNTY ISD

Mentorship molds new principals in Ector County ISD

by Dacia Rivers

T

he step from assistant principal to principal is bigger than it might seem from the outside looking in. And in Ector County ISD, a new principal interns program is helping to make that step easier.

With financial support from the Permian Basin Strategic Partnership, the program is a structured, yearlong internship offered in the district. Internships are open to anyone who has assistant principal experience and is ready to take the next step toward campus leadership. Both internal and external candidates are welcome and can earn up to $80,000 during the yearlong program, thanks to the partnership.

This school year kicked off the first year of the program. The district can support three interns per year, though this year that number has gone from three to two after one filled a principalship

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BRAGGING RIGHTS 2024-2025 Texas School Business

Amanda Sierra is a principal intern in Ector County ISD. Through the program, she shadows a current school principal in preparation for leading a school of her own next year.

vacancy. Interns are placed with existing campus leaders and spend the year shadowing and learning from them in a mentor/ mentee role.

“The plan is that all of the interns who spend a year with a highly effective principal are then prepared to lead their own campus the following year,” says ECISD superintendent Keeley Boyer.

Principal interns participate in a variety of activities alongside their mentors, including administrative responsibilities such as scheduling and budgeting. They also observe and participate in instructional planning and evaluation, working with teachers to understand curriculum and assessment processes. Community engagement is a huge piece of campus leadership, and the interns also build relationships with parents, students and other community members during the program.

▲ Through the principal internship program, intern Denise De Loera gets hands-on experience leading an ECISD school.

The internship program also includes professional development sessions, and in collaboration with The Holdsworth Center, ECISD is able to take interns through the center’s leadership development training, a boon for any future campus leader.

In fact, the seven principals who ECISD pegged as potential mentor principals are those who are enrolled in the campus leadership program with The Holdsworth Center. These seven are strong and prepared campus leaders, chosen for their leadership skills and the additional training they have received.

In the day to day, interns shadow their principal interns for the entire school year.

“They get the daily on-the-job experiences, plus they get additional leadership development through our partnership with The Holdsworth Center,” Boyer says. “Through that partnership, they will go on site visits during the spring and spend a day or two with other highly effective leaders throughout the state.”

ECISD began the principal internship program in an effort to develop much-needed campus leaders who are not only capable of doing the job but who share a passion for building student success. Through the program, administrators in the district hope to build a leadership pipeline while promoting career growth among staff members and developing a plan for staff retention and succession.

While the program is still in its infancy, the results so far have been promising. The district hopes that the internships will impact not only the administrators involved, but overall campus culture in Ector County. All principal candidates perform their internships at new-to-them campuses, allowing them to learn a new campus culture and witness unique leadership methods. The goal is to create a stable and effective leadership environment in the district and expand opportunities for the interns involved.

Boyer says the internship process also offers a great opportunity for the mentor principals. They each get an additional administrator on their campus for a year, and they get to guide and mold the districts’ up-and-coming leaders.

“The mentor principal gets the opportunity to give the principal intern experiences they may or may not be ready to give their AP, because this person is just a year or six months away from stepping into a principalship, so they can delegate some things to them,” she says. “It gives them an opportunity to grow and develop someone in a very intentional way.”

The Permian Basin Strategic Partnership has signed on to support the principal intern program for five years, ideally with three interns each year, and Boyer says she would love to see the program continue to grow in the district.

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“The more principal interns we have in the position, the more candidates we have ready to lead a school the following year.”

For other districts looking to create a similar program, Boyer recommends looking at your district’s specific needs before seeking funding. While three interns a year was a good place to start for ECISD, other districts might need to start with more, or even as few as one, depending on size.

“Start where it fits and then design it based on what your needs are,” she says. “Seek external partnerships and look at outside leadership development opportunities as well so that your candidates get access to quality professional development and on-the-job learning experiences. Design it to fit your needs, but be very intentional about the design of the program and the experiences that the interns receive.”

Dacia Rivers is editorial director of Texas School Business.

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Through a partnership with The Holdsworth Center, principal interns in ECISD receive important leadership training.

El Paso ISD County: El Paso Region: 19 Superintendent: Diana Sayavedra 2023 enrollment: 49,949 Number of schools: 75

EL PASO ISD

Trend walks support campuses in El Paso ISD

by Dacia Rivers

A

fter El Paso ISD implemented a new math, reading, science and social studies curriculum in the 2023-24 school year, district administrators started brainstorming a way to support and assist campus leaders as they adopted the change. The idea they settled on is what they call trend walks: weekly visits to various classrooms in the district to check in, see how it’s going, and determine where extra help is needed.

Adalberto Garcia, chief academic officer in the district, is part of a large implementation team that includes Lisa Lyons, director of curriculum and instruction, and Guy Rosales, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning. Together, the group kicked off the trend walks in the spring of 2024, performing about 1,400 classroom visits during that semester. So far in the 2024-25 school year, they’ve carried out about 2,480.

The multidisciplinary team performs these classroom visits on

Administrators in El Paso ISD regularly visit classrooms as part of the district’s trend walks program.

Wednesdays. To prepare, they go through a calibration process, where they get on the same page before they visit classrooms, allowing them to collaborate on what exactly they are looking for during their visits. Administrators with expertise in technology will prepare others on the ideal use of classroom tech, while one specializing in high-quality instruction materials will describe what their use might look like in a classroom. The purpose is to share knowledge to make sure all trend walkers are looking at and assessing each classroom on the same scale.

“The very first part of the process is to have all of the academic leads train on the given area,” Rosales says. “The most meaningful part of that is to allow the team to talk to one another and really weigh in with their expertise.”

During the trend walks, the team uses an app called KickUp to take notes on what they see during their 45-minute classroom visits.

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EPISD administrators observe classrooms and then debrief to determine what campuses might need to help support district initiatives.

“How can we support the initiatives, the pedagogy and the instruction that is happening in the four corners of the classroom to ensure that we’re moving the needle and student outcomes are being impacted positively?”

—ADALBERTO GARCIA

Afterwards, they get together to debrief and discuss what best practices they saw, and determine in what areas that campus or classroom might need additional assistance.

When the trend walks were new, the team asked principals to select which classrooms they should visit. This year, they have asked for access to classrooms aligned with the specific initiatives the district is working on, such as algebra and intervention classes.

The trend walks are designed to identify deficiencies and needs, Garcia says, adding that they are not intended to be evaluative.

“We make it very clear from the beginning that this is not an evaluative exercise,” he says. “The whole idea is behind support.

How can we support the initiatives, the pedagogy and the instruction that is happening in the four corners of the classroom to ensure that we’re moving the needle and student outcomes are being impacted positively?”

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The trend walks have led to the addition of a new tool in EPISD: the Acadesk. This is a ticket system where schools can submit a request for support in a particular area. Within 24 hours of submitting an Acadesk ticket, the campus will receive a response from the district, with a plan to provide immediate support in the needed area.

After just a year of trend walks, Garcia says they have become ingrained into the district fabric, where administrators keep their Wednesdays open, knowing these important walks will be taking place.

Initially, there were a few bumps in the road. Some principals and teachers felt uncomfortable with district-level admins walking through their classrooms. But now, Garcia says, the trend walks are recognized as the supportive, collaborative tool they are.

“Now we have some principals saying, ‘When can you come again?

Because I want you to see how we’ve improved over time.’ So it’s shifted a bit, and we’re very excited about that as well.”

The trend walks program has helped administrators pinpoint areas where certain classrooms and campuses need additional assistance.

“We’ve all been able to learn more about each other’s departments and what we do. It helps. If I didn’t know anything about dual language before, I’ve learned a lot more because of my colleague who’s in that department.

I think even for those of us facilitating the support, this was a surprise outcome.” — LISA LYONS The district’s goal is not to indict or punish campuses, but to serve as an accountability partner, to support and elevate schools with the shared goal of improving student outcomes.

“Their success is our success,” Garcia says.

Another creation stemming from the trend walks is called the week at a glance, a handy guide that anyone in the district can consult to see what each class should be addressing that week, based on the new curriculum. The goal is to keep everyone on the same page, from district leaders to classroom teachers.

As one of the trend walks team, Lyons says she herself has learned much about the work of her fellow team members, an unexpected benefit of the program.

“We’ve all been able to learn more about each other’s departments and what we do,” she says. “It helps. If I didn’t know anything about dual language before, I’ve learned a lot more because of my

colleague who’s in that department. I think even for those of us facilitating the support, this was a surprise outcome.”

Garcia believes that what has made the trend walks initiative successful in EPISD is the follow through. The initial goal was to visit 15 specific campuses, but that quickly grew to a plan to visit all of the district’s 75 schools. It’s a huge undertaking, and his advice to any district looking to implement a similar program is to make sure you select a team that is truly dedicated to the task.

“Be bold and be courageous and know that it’s not easy,” he says. “It creates a culture shift in the receptiveness to feedback. So you’ve got to keep going and show the campuses the added benefit that you bring to the table with your expertise and how you can support what they’re doing.”

Dacia Rivers is editorial director of Texas School Business.

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Gregory-Portland ISD County: San Patricio Region: 2 Superintendent: Michelle Cavazos 2023 enrollment: 4,916 Number of schools: 6

GREGORY-PORTLAND ISD

Boost employee morale with programs based on appreciation and recognition

by Autumn Rhea Carpenter

A

dministrators in Gregory-Portland ISD wanted to launch a collaborative leadership program designed to support, encourage, praise and push their staff, teachers and district to the next level. In addition, employees requested more opportunities for recognition according to their district employee survey. The district introduced two initiatives to meet these goals, and the programs have benefitted both G-PISD employees and students.

Wildcat Walks The first program, Wildcat Walks, launched in May 2024.

Principals and district leaders (including superintendent Michelle Cavazos and her cabinet) visit classrooms at least 10 times per week and provide instant, specific, non-evaluative feedback and encouragement with the district’s Eduphoria platform. The

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School employees in Gregory-Portland ISD receive PAWSitive praise from anyone in the district as a recognition of excellence and appreciation.

team has conducted more than 2,000 Wildcat Walks across six campuses for about 350 teachers districtwide.

When Executive Director of School Leadership Mike Norris was the principal at Gregory-Portland High School, the first version of this system was initiated. When he was promoted, Norris and the superintendent expanded its reach to all campuses.

Wildcat Walks provide a snapshot of what is happening in the classroom. The observations are typically focused on instructional practices, classroom environment, and student engagement. After each walkthrough, teachers receive immediate feedback. This provides educators the opportunity to adjust, align and refine their instructional approach as desired before formal evaluations.

The data has helped refine and improve curriculum workshops for teachers, encourage and share inventive ideas for high-level

Both PAWSitive Praise and Wildcat Walks foster a sense of community culture in G-PISD.

Employees at every level of the district have been recognized, including maintenance and grounds team members, food service employees, bus drivers and monitors, secretaries and office clerks, instructional and support team positions, and administrators, teachers, and in-class support personnel. learning, and improved culture and the knowledge that teachers are supported and highly valued.

“The walks allow us to acknowledge the teachers who are implementing the lessons, working in the power zone, providing the small group purposeful talk and writing critically in their lessons,” says Gregory-Portland Middle School Principal John Trevino. “The purpose is to encourage professional growth, reflection and the sharing of best practices. The walkthroughs are designed to be supportive, offering insight and suggestions to help teachers improve without the pressure of formal performance reviews.”

PAWSitive Praise The second program the district implemented is PAWSitive Praise, offering anyone in the community, including students, families, staff and residents, the opportunity to submit an encouraging note of gratitude and recognition to any school district employee. A recipient receives a printed and branded PAWSitive Praise set of Post-it notes along with a branded item as a token of gratitude and opportunity to pay it forward. When the program started in the 2023-24 school year, administrators received more than 600 submissions.

Employees at every level of the district have been recognized, including maintenance and grounds team members, food service

employees, bus drivers and monitors, secretaries and office clerks, instructional and support team positions, and administrators, teachers, and in-class support personnel.

Colton Simmons, a student at Gregory-Portland High School, submitted PAWSitive Praise about his teacher Rick Donka.

“I wrote the note about Mr. Donka because he is simply a great teacher who is willing to adapt to the way you learn best,” Simmons says. “He uses kindness and inclusivity to make sure everyone is engaged in learning. I would recommend PAWSitive Praise to members of the community because it provides an avenue where we can compliment and praise our hardworking employees.”

This program highlights each team member for a specific value and behavior they exemplify within their “Learner-Centered Culture.” This rewards and recognizes not only team members with encouragement and praise, but also connects what they’re doing to the greater purpose of developing as professionals who are committed to a strong culture that serves as an example for students.

PAWSitive Praise recipients receive a morale boost thanks to the recognition. They feel appreciated and know what they do is valued and seen. This has a lasting impact on the adults who serve students, which is a huge factor in the district’s employee satisfaction, and even more so for student satisfaction.

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A dyslexia specialist at East Cliff Elementary and parent of three Gregory-Portland ISD students, Keri Novak submits a PAWSitive Praise every week because she understands the importance of receiving positive feedback and enjoys a sense of fulfillment when she submits one.

“As both a staff member and a parent, I am fortunate to witness the incredible efforts of our staff and faculty firsthand, and I am consistently amazed by the good things happening — both big and small,” Novak says. “Recognizing the hard work and dedication of all staff members fosters a sense of belonging and appreciation, encouraging everyone to continue contributing their best. Together, we create a vibrant and effective educational community.”

PAWSitive Praise recipients receive a morale boost thanks to the recognition.

Trevino explains that as a principal he is always concerned with giving teachers “one more thing to do.”

“However, after witnessing their success and subsequent impact I can unequivocally state that both programs have greatly exceeded my expectations. Furthermore, I would recommend all districts to adopt these programs,” he says.

For districts interested in implementing similar programs, Trevino suggests prioritizing praise and positive feedback to teachers.

“Once teachers realize that these instructional walks are a tool to share and celebrate their great work, they will soon invite you into their classrooms to see all the amazing things they are implementing. These programs will soon become part of your campus culture.”

Autumn Rhea Carpenter is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon.

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▲ Anyone in the district, from students and parents to staff can submit PAWSitive Praise to any G-PISD staff member.

Katy ISD County: Harris Region: 4 Superintendent: Kenneth Gregorski 2023 enrollment: 92,431 Number of schools: 72

KATY ISD

KISD students take to the road, earning commercial drivers licenses

by Bobby Hawthorne

T

wo years ago, Katy ISD superintendent Ken Gregorski was meandering online when he noticed an article about a school district that offered a way for high school students to earn enough credits to qualify for a license to drive 18-wheelers.

Given that Katy sits along a 3- or 4-mile stretch of IH-10 that’s literally wall-to-wall warehouses, Gregorski wondered if a similar program might be a good fit there, too. The next morning, he zipped off a batch of texts, basically saying, “Take a look at this.

Think it’ll work here? Let’s find out.”

Richard Merriman received one of those texts. He’s principal at Martha Raines Academy, a hybrid learning experience designed to help at-risk, overage and/or off-cohort students graduate and find meaningful work, and he was intrigued.

“We started looking into it and learned that Donna ISD was the only school district in Texas that did this,” Merriman says. “So, we

Students in Katy ISD can graduate with their CDL, making them eligible for a post-graduation career in trucking.

went down there and talked to their people and to the third-party contractors they used, and that’s how we started.”

Katy ISD is now in the second year of the program.

“I’m super passionate about this,” he says. “I grew up in a small town in Michigan. My dad used to drive milk trucks. Had an opportunity like this been afforded to me in high school, I very well might be on the road now. I’ve always had a passion for this industry, and so it’s neat to see it come to fruition here.”

To take the class, students have to be 18 years of age, have a valid Class C driver’s license, and pass a TxDOT physical.

“Everything is real,” Merriman says. “There are no shortcuts.

Students can’t get a learner’s permit until they’ve passed all four exams. Once they get their learner’s permit, then they have to go through a pre-trip process and pass that. Then, once they pass the BRAGGING RIGHTS 2024-2025 Texas School Business

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After earning their CDL, students are eligible for an entry-level trucking job, which starts with salaries as high as $81,000.

threw her far behind but never dampened her enthusiasm for the programs. In fact, it made her more determined than ever to push through and earn her license.

“It’s not easy, but if you’re committed, and if you truly want to do it, and if you’re willing to put in the work, then, yes, it’s doable.”

Some of the tasks occasionally sound impossible. For example, students are required to successfully parallel park an 18-wheeler.

“When we were told the students had to do that, we thought, ‘Wait a second. We’re going to train 18-year-old kids to parallel park a truck?’” Merriman says. “They’ve barely learned how to park a car.

But here’s the deal: They are able to do it.”

Of course, the motivation is apparent. Truck drivers often begin their careers making as much as $81,000 annually. pre-trip, that’s when they can actually start driving. It’s like a kid who’s getting a driver’s license. You can drive all day with Mom and Dad, but in the end, you have to take the wheel and pass the test.”

Of course, taking the wheel is what every student lives for.

“No doubt, the coolest part of the program is driving the truck,” says Melanie Martinez, class of 2024. She passed her CDL and cosmetology requirements and is now waiting to find the right job. While cutting hair can pay the bills, driving an 18-wheeler is something of a dream come true, Martinez says, and working toward her CDL has proven to her that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

“My dad drives a truck. He’s been driving one for 25 years,” she says. “I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”

She also has other extenuating circumstances. While she was enrolled in both the truck driving and the cosmetology courses, she was having her gallbladder removed. Being hospitalized

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The outfit that handles the rigs, curriculum and paperwork is based in Edinburg, so Katy ISD isn’t saddled with a great amount of capital outlay.

“All we really need to provide is a classroom space for the kids to access the curriculum,” Merriman says. “RGV controls the instruction, but we’re able to deliver it with our teacher here.”

All testing is now done on a KISD campus. Last year, they carted kids back and forth to a DPS location, which was time consuming and irksome. This year, content tests and driving exams are held locally.

“It’s an everyday program,” Merriman says. “Kids are required to be here in either the morning session or the afternoon session for two and a half hours. It gives us plenty of time to go through the content when we’re doing the driving portions, and it gives us flexibility.”

Craig Eichhorn is KISD director of communications, and he’s just as gung ho as Merriman.

“I’ve been in the school business more than 30 years.

To see a program make this kind of impact, well, suffice it to say it’s making a huge difference in these kids’ lives.”

— CRAIG EICHHORN

◄ To complete CDL requirements, students must successfully parallel park an 18-wheeler.

“I’ve been in the school business more than 30 years,” Eichhorn says. “To see a program make this kind of impact, well, suffice it to say it’s making a huge difference in these kids’ lives.”

“We set up interviews last year with some of the first kids to go through this program,” he adds. “Their stories, the passion they had for participating in this program, the desire for them to continue improving in all facets of the program immediately jumped out.”

Like Martinez, many are the sons and daughters of truck drivers, and they want to continue in their fathers’ footsteps.

“One young lady said to me, ‘I’m not going to college,’” Eichhorn says. “And I replied, ‘Well, through this program, you don’t have to. It’s set up for you to succeed without having to go to college.

You’re going to make a lot of money right away if you continue getting these certifications and licenses.’ She smiled and said, ‘Yeah, that’s what my dad was. I’d like to follow him.’”

Merriman’s experience with students in the program has been similarly inspiring.

“The kids who graduated last year were so passionate about it and so invested,” he says. “I’m just so proud of them, the work they did, the joy on their faces when they finished and completed everything.”

Katy ISD’s mission statement, he adds, mentions “unparalleled learning experiences.” This is something they can get at 18 years of age that otherwise they would have had to pay for outside of school. Now, they’re able to graduate and walk out of class and right into the workforce. These are the opportunities that can change the trajectory of their lives. They don’t have to go to college to be successful.

And if anyone is worried about 18-year-olds driving big rigs, Merriman isn’t among them.

One person he was talking to about the program commented, “I can’t believe we would want to put an 18-year-old in a truck on the road this early on in life.”

Merriman responded that the program is not for everyone but “The bottom line is that these kids are good. To reach the point where they’re licensed, they’ve done a great job, and they’re looking forward to a successful career in this industry.”

Bobby Hawthorne is the author of “Longhorn Football” and “Home Field,” published by UT Press. In 2005, he retired as director of academics for the University Interscholastic League.

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Little Elm ISD County: Denton Region: 11 Superintendent: Michael Lamb 2023 enrollment: 8,298 Number of schools: 10

LITTLE ELM ISD

Reframing behavior: students in Little Elm benefit from research, practice in social-emotional learning

by Stacy Alexander Evans

A

lthough the little towns in Denton County have long enjoyed ready access to the experts employed by universities in their county seat, explosive growth in the region over the last 20 years has truly been a game-changer for places like Little Elm. Today, parents who send their kids to school in this small but mighty district can rest easy, knowing their local ISD is capable of recruiting top talent from around the country.

Two fine examples of this recent geographic diversity are Colorado’s Annamaria Archuleta, and Illinois native Ahissa Lopez.

Lopez, a board certified behavior analyst who is in her third year of doctoral studies in school psychology at Texas Woman’s University, says the idea for the behavioral program they’ve been implementing at Little Elm High School first found its footing in the halls of academia.

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Ahissa Lopez leads students in the Little Elm ISD Reframe program through a series of kinesthetic exercises as they practice mindfulness.

“What started as a dissertation idea,” explains Lopez, “has grown into partnering with professors at TWU to present REFRAME at conferences, with an ultimate goal of future publications in psychological literature.”

Last September, she and Archuleta, Little Elm ISD’s coordinator for secondary special populations, joined TWU associate professor of psychology Dr. Ronald Palomares-Fernandez at the UNT-Dallas School of Behavioral Health & Human Services Symposium.

Her academic ambitions aside, Lopez is adamant that her enthusiasm about REFRAME, the social-emotional learning curriculum she developed in concert last year with Archuleta, is just as much about the program’s practical application as it is about

When a child breaks one of the “big” rules at school, they typically get suspended, which is often a lose-lose proposition. School administrators know suspension is an imperfect solution, since it hurts the school financially.

▲ Annamaria Archuleta and Ahissa Lopez joined Dr. Ronald Palomares-Fernandez at the UNT-Dallas School of Behavioral Health & Human Services Symposium on September 22, 2023.

any esoteric theory. After all, without putting their theories into practice, there’s no data to show they’ve been successful.

“Does REFRAME work?” Lopez muses, “Our preliminary data says that it does. We are able to actually increase self efficacy within students.”

Meditating on the specific conditions that inspired them to try something new, Archuleta says that as they studied student behavior issues on campus, they noticed that a pattern had begun to emerge.

“We kept seeing the same students getting written up, and they were getting into trouble for the same things, over and over again,” she laments. Their conclusion? Students didn’t want to misbehave, they were simply ill-equipped to learn from their mistakes in the social realm.

When a child breaks one of the “big” rules at school, they typically get suspended, which is often a lose-lose proposition. School administrators know suspension is an imperfect solution, since it hurts the school financially. There’s also an academic cost, as

suspended students miss multiple days of instruction. Yet many schools simply don’t have the staffing available to focus on creative alternatives.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Archuleta and Lopez share a knowing chuckle as they recall their humble beginnings in 2022, officing together in a single 4x4 room they called the clown car.

“Let’s just say we were very close,” remembers Archuletta, “but we were also taking in everything that was going on around us, hearing the kids talking to teachers, and seeing a real need there.”

Part of that need was met by serving as mediators, and making sure both students and teachers felt seen and heard. Over the course of nearly three decades in education, Archuleta also spent time working with at-risk youth in treatment facilities. No doubt, the patience and tenacity she built up there informs the work she does in Little Elm today as a communication facilitator.

The REFRAME process begins with a series of meetings between the student and the teacher who issued the referral.

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▲ Annamaria Archuleta listens thoughtfully as a student in the REFRAME program reflects on his emotional decision-making process.

“Kids respond when their bodies are calm. Kids respond when they’re centered, and grounded. We find that through mindfulness practices, that’s how you get them there.”

— AHISSA LOPEZ

“I’d ask both of them separately if they would be willing to meet in order to work out whatever was going on,” Archuleta explains, “to repair and rebuild that relationship. They always wanted to do that, and in the end, the teacher would become more regulated themselves.”

In that sense, it’s like a gift that keeps on giving. Although this dynamic duo takes deep pride in their holistic approach to student discipline, they are careful to note that it is not a quick fix. In addition to the mediation, they’ve been co-teaching a workshop to small cohorts of students on an as-needed basis.

“It’s pretty intense what we’re asking of the students to participate in,” says Lopez, “there are deep, inner thoughts that come out.”

Thus, Lopez says she appreciates that they can provide an emotional space for students that is not only safe, but intimate.

“We can really give that one-on-one attention to each student when the groups are kept small.” The multimodal sessions make use of both visual aids and physical exercises, helping students to manage anxiety and become more spatially aware, as well as teaching them to recognize unhelpful patterns of behavior that leave them stuck.

REFRAME is an acronym that stands for Reevaluate, Emotional experience, Focus on self, Replace, Acceptance, Management, and Empowerment. Lopez cites evidence-based interventions as the bread and butter of their programming, and says it’s no accident

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that they begin every workshop with some kind of physical movement.

“Kids respond when their bodies are calm,” posits Lopez. “Kids respond when they’re centered, and grounded. We find that through mindfulness practices, that’s how you get them there.”

Through written work and talk-based exercises, instructors seek to instill in students a sense of “psychological flexibility,” with the ultimate outcome being an ability to recognize flaws in their own reasoning, and adapt behaviors to better align with their goals.

Lopez is an academic, and she becomes very animated when she talks about “the data.” Yet in her heart of hearts, she understands that the true mark of their success can be seen in the bright eyes of students at Little Elm High School. When she sees former workshop participants in the hallways, they sometimes run up and shout excitedly, “I’m still doing the thing!”

Archuleta nods enthusiastically, saying she’s had the same experience. In fact, she says, sometimes students will boast that they’ve shared the techniques they learned in their REFRAME workshop with their family members. The administrator beams as she mimics a student giving the equivalent of a 5-star review: “I taught my Mom!” Stacy Alexander Evans is a freelance writer based in Austin. She is a statecertified secondary teacher who spent four years working with students throughout the state of Texas.

Pasadena ISD County: Harris ESC region: 4 Superintendent: DeeAnn Powell 2023 enrollment: 48,650 Number of schools: 67

PASADENA ISD

The Stream Team teaches broadcasting and builds community

by Bobby Hawthorne

W

hen Art Del Barrio took the reins as Pasadena ISD’s director of communications, he understood that one of his main projects each year would be orchestrating a massive invitational basketball tournament, held the week before Thanksgiving.

Today, the McDonald’s Invitational Basketball Tournament is the largest and most prestigious prep event of its kind in the state.

Sixty-four boys teams competed in the boys division this year, and 36 competed in the girls division. All in all, 160 games were played over the course of three days in high school and middle school gyms strewn across the district.

Fittingly enough, the tournament’s slogan is, “The road to state starts here.”

Students in Pasadena ISD work to produce livestreams of the Texas Invitational Basketball Tournament.

Del Barrio said he understood all of this going in and accepted it, even though, when asked if he really knew what he was getting himself into, he replied, “Not a clue.”

Del Barrio came to Pasadena — a town better known for urban cowboys than suburban point guards — from Ennis ISD. He was prowling the sidelines when the Lions won the 2014 5A-Division II state football championship.

He came into school communications after a stint as a Harlingen TV reporter, editor and producer and later as a newspaper reporter, photographer and graphic designer. He was no stranger to big events, but this tournament dwarfs them all.

“There are so many moving parts,” Del Barrio says. “Everyone in charge of their role does so with such commitment and intensity

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▲ PISD students enrolled in the district’s television production and broadcast classes work to broadcast more than 160 games over the course of three days.

that we are able to produce an incredible weekend of games.”

When Del Barrio arrived, the championship games were streamed to classrooms district-wide, but it was costly and generally inadequate.

“I suggested we take the money we would have spent on streaming the two championship games and purchase our own service,” he says. “That way, instead of streaming to only our schools, we could stream to the world.”

And so, they did. Since then, production has improved each year, with Pasadena ISD students handling much of the production chores. One of those students is Javier Vera, a senior at South Houston High School. He’s participated for three years as a reporter and videographer.

“I used to be really shy, and this has helped my confidence,” Vera says. “After my first year, I realized I was dry in my interviews, so I went online and studied interviews on WWE (wrestling) and professional sports. I learned how to ask follow-up questions and how to keep the conversation going during an interview.”

The experience was life-changing. Now, he plans to major in broadcasting in college.

So does Nelia Bernal, a senior at Lewis Career and Technology High School. She’s participated in the program since her freshman year.

“The invitational has helped me to build confidence,” she says.

“Not only am I a reporter, I get to experience how the entire process works, especially the preparation necessary to create the best broadcast possible.”

It’s taken a while for Del Barrio to put together his dream team, but he thinks he’s got it now. He recently added a pair of young communications specialists, Kourtney Jones and Avery Davis.

Jones not only comes from a sports background, she’s also working on a master’s degree in sports journalism, so she understands the landscape from all directions. She and Davis have been working to improve interviewing — that is, how to land the powerful quotes that slingshot the story forward.

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“We want to relate a story that’s bigger than just a bunch of games,” Jones says. “We want to explain why this tournament is so important to coaches, players and fans.”

As for Davis, it’s her second year as a member of the team. Her job last year was to feed the social media beast. A graduate of Pasadena ISD schools, she spent her first year sitting in the stands, shooting and editing photos, uploading files, switching out SD cards, and trying to keep the beast occupied and happy.

Members of the “Stream Team,” as Del Barrio calls them, tend to be introduced as something along the lines of “Ms. Can-Do,” “Mr. All-Purpose” and “Miss Utility.”

One of those all-purpose, can-do assistants is Gustavo Trevino.

His job is mostly to hype the tournament, so he ranks teams, writes stories about key players, and hawks highly anticipated match-ups in addition to creating media packets for his student volunteers, some of whom are new to journalism and have yet to find their comfort zone during the typically awkward task of interviewing strangers.

To help them assuage their jitters, Trevino prepares cheat sheets and flyers and holds clinics to teach newcomers everything from F-stops to focus to angles to pixels to sideline etiquette.

“All of this is something they can really use through high school and well into college,” Trevino says. “The experience they’re getting here is invaluable. If they go to work for a professional or college team — and some already have — they’ll understand the tempo of the game, and they’ll have developed the right mindset to do the job.”

How many kids are we talking about?

“There are about 10 per school just for AV,” Trevino says.

“So, that breaks down, roughly, to 20 kids for AV, 10 for the photojournalism and reporting, and another 15 or 20 for culinary.”

Other kids help execute the social media strategy by cranking out social media posts and promotional videos and shepherding community volunteers to their respective stations.

▲ The livestream event offers students numerous opportunities for job experience, from hospitality and interviewing to technical, hands-on work.

Colton Hinson laughs when asked to describe a typical tournament work day.

“Oh, it’s a good time,” he quips.

More specifically, it’s a long time. Volunteers can expect to work as many as 16 hours per day.

“Stream team members tend to arrive around 6 a.m. and leave between 11 p.m. and midnight after they finish posting and checking back in equipment,” says Hinson, who worked the tournament as a student at Pasadena Memorial.

Last year, he was welcomed into the district’s communications department and now works with AV teachers at game sites to make sure they have everything they’ll need.

In 2021, the Stream Team received the prestigious Platinum Award from the Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) for its efforts to transform how it markets the tournament. Del Barrio also received the 2021 Professional Achievement Award.

In the end, the tournament is about more than 3-pointers and personal fouls and the road to anywhere.

“It’s about community,” Hinson says. “It’s about an entire Pasadena/ Deer Park community coming together, and it’s not just basketball.

It’s culinary. It’s the AV and journalism kids. It’s about the faculty, the staff, parents, kids, everyone. It’s about getting a lot of people together to achieve the almost impossible.”

“I’m stationed in our central tournament location, and if I get a call from someone who says, ‘Hey, the internet’s not working here,’ I’m jumping in my car to rush over and see what I can do.”

It’s also about money. Last year, the tournament raised more than $300,000 that ended up in the school district’s education foundation, where much of it is used to fund mini-grants of up to $5,000 per classroom for educational needs that a normal school budget doesn’t cover.

He doesn’t compare himself to the Wizard of Oz, but says he has a greater appreciation for the old guy lurking behind a curtain, pushing buttons and pulling levers.

Last year, the district awarded 96 mini-grants, and if there’s a bottom line to all of this, it might be this: All things are possible if the right people dedicate themselves to a worthy challenge.

Has he had any near Three Mile Islands?

“When it’s over, the kids will have produced over 160 basketball games and are able to walk away with hands-on experience you rarely can get in a classroom,” Del Barrio says. “They live what they learn.”

“Not really. We had the internet fail for like 10 minutes, and I’ve had to call for somebody to reboot a system or flip a switch. One year, a student spilled a can of Coca-Cola on a $10,000 piece of equipment.

“It couldn’t be saved,” Hinson says. “Fortunately, the school board strongly supports the program. When we told them what happened, they were like, ‘Accidents happen.’”

He said he’s most grateful for such stalwart support.

“We plan for the worst,” he says. “The only thing that could possibly catch us by surprise is if a UFO crashes through the roof of our gym.”

He pauses, gazes at a thick wad of paper, and adds, “Actually, I’m sure we have a plan for that somewhere in one of these binders, too.”

He said neither he nor any member of the committee is starstruck by their past successes. He repeated the tournament’s slogan: The road to state starts here.

“People want to come. They know that to be the best, you have to play the best,” Del Barrio says. “No challenge intimidates me. When you work with good people who share a vision of excellence with a desire to improve every year, well, you improve and you keep getting better every year.”

Bobby Hawthorne is the author of “Longhorn Football” and “Home Field,” published by UT Press. In 2005, he retired as director of academics for the University Interscholastic League.

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Schertz-CiboloUniversal City ISD County: Guadalupe Region: 20 Superintendent: Paige Meloni 2023 enrollment: 15,519 Number of schools: 16

SCHERTZ-CIBOLO-UNIVERSAL CITY ISD

A cohort for National Board Professional Teaching Certification

by Dacia Rivers

S

chool districts are always looking for ways to attract, retain and support teachers, and in Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, the district has found a new way to achieve this goal. SCUC ISD has developed a cohort model to help teachers in the district receive their National Board Professional Teaching Certification.

The program was implemented by two district curriculum coordinators, Cassandra Allen, assistant director for curriculum and professional development, and Amanda Kiehle, early literacy coordinator. The two have themselves been through the National Board Certification process and took on the challenge of developing a method to help others in the district join them.

The cohort model is a two-year commitment, and the first candidates to complete the program in SCUC ISD are currently awaiting the results, while the second cohort kicked things off

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Schertz-CiboloUniversal City ISD supports teachers through the process of earning their National Board Professional Teaching Certification.

in the fall. Each cohort so far has included 16 members, with a possible maximum of 20 candidates per group.

Preparations for the first cohort began in 2021, with Allen and Kiehle working out the details and hosting dozens of informational sessions to make sure any teachers who were interested learned about the opportunity and fully understood what a commitment would entail.

The buy-in for teachers is not insignificant. Those who sign up meet after school on Thursdays and again on one Saturday per month, taking up a lot of what was previously personal and free time. Some of the candidates from cohort one now serve as mentors to cohort two. The eventual plan is for the program to run itself, with previous candidates stepping up to mentor new enrollees. For now, Allen and Kiehle run the program and lead the meetings.

The first cohort of National Board candidates in SCUCISD pose for a group photo.

“All the teachers have said that regardless of what the outcome is for their certification, it was the journey, not the destination,” she says. “Everybody has felt like they’ve become a more reflective practitioner. We’ve all grown.”

— KATHRYN MUHA

While National Board Certification comes with perks, including a salary increase through the teacher incentive allotment, that’s not the only goal for the program. Kathryn Muha, an eighth grade social studies teacher who was in the first National Board cohort, says she has experienced many benefits from participating.

extremely gifted in their craft, have more tools in their toolbox to draw on, and be able to help their teammates,” she says.

“All the teachers have said that regardless of what the outcome is for their certification, it was the journey, not the destination,” she says. “Everybody has felt like they’ve become a more reflective practitioner. We’ve all grown.”

“Our goal was to build capacity in our staff. We don’t have a bulging central office, so we need teacher leaders on campuses to be able to help with the work around instruction, teaching and learning.”

Kelly Kovacs, assistant superintendent in the district, says investing in the program has resulted in a group of teachers who understand better how to use data to drive their work and achieve the best outcomes for their students.

One tip Kiehle offers to districts who would like to create a similar program to help teachers receive National Board Certification is to be creative when it comes to funding the initiative. In SCUC ISD, the team had to approach the district’s chief financial officer to ask for local dollars to cover some costs. They also ask individuals in the cohort to cover some of their own fees, and in addition

“At the end of the day, our goal was for these teachers to become

Allen agrees, saying that teachers who have been through the certification process increase their efficacy and learn to better use their colleagues as resources.

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Going through the certification process helps teachers grow in their profession and comes with the possibility of a salary increase.

“We think it’s such a powerful peer-to-peer program. It’s a motivator to see somebody who teaches at the same school or down the road from you and they did it so you know that you can do it, too.”

— CASSANDRA ALLEN

use Title II dollars to pay the cohort leaders. It wasn’t a one-stop solution, but a flexible one.

Serena Georges-Penny, executive director for curriculum and professional development, strongly recommends putting a dedicated team in charge of this type of program. She says the commitment Allen and Kiehle put into preparing teachers for the level of involvement made sure everyone who signed up was engaged and in it for the long haul.

“These ladies did a tremendous amount of front-loading and providing information and holding information sessions to build up knowledge around National Board and what the commitment

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was going to be,” she says. “I think that has helped us to hold on to so many teachers because they understood upfront what that commitment was going to look like for the next two years.”

Above all, Allen and Kiehle hope that this program will be a selfsustaining tool to draw teachers to the district.

“We think it’s such a powerful peer-to-peer program,” Allen says.

“It’s a motivator to see somebody who teaches at the same school or down the road from you and they did it so you know that you can do it, too.”

Dacia Rivers is editorial director of Texas School Business.

United ISD County: Web Region: 1 Superintendent: Gerardo Cruz 2023 enrollment: 41,302 Number of schools: 51

UNITED ISD

United ISD stands united against vaping

by Leila Kalmbach

W vape pens.

hen one United ISD parent recently went into her son’s room while he was at school, she wasn’t sure what she would find, but it wasn’t this: Waiting for her were 20

Administrators in the Laredo-area school district, unfortunately, were less surprised. Vaping, they say, is everywhere — and it can have much more serious and far-reaching consequences than many students and parents realize.

That’s why Rebecca Coss-Morales, assistant superintendent of United ISD, decided to start the United Against Vaping Task Force to discourage the use of vapes in United ISD schools. The task force is a coordinated effort between the school district and local stakeholders, including law enforcement, the city health

The United Against Vaping Task Force aims to discourage the use of vape devices in schools in United ISD.

department, higher education community members, judges, the county attorney, and more.

Back before the COVID-19 pandemic, Coss-Morales explained, students who were caught with nicotine or THC vape pens “were your typical students who were having discipline issues, who would get in trouble.” Now, however, “we have top honors kids in our magnet program, salutatorians, valedictorians. I mean, we just have kids from all walks, everywhere, and they’re using.”

The problem isn’t just in the high schools. The district has caught students as young as second graders with vapes at school.

The task force is attacking the issue of vaping from all angles. The district holds sessions and workshops with students, parents and educators to teach about the dangers of vaping, and offers BRAGGING RIGHTS 2024-2025 Texas School Business

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Through the United Against Vaping campaign, experts teach students in the district about the dangers of vaping.

prevention strategies and other resources to help kids quit. In addition, they create public awareness campaigns, including public service announcements for local TV and radio stations.

There’s also a policy advocacy piece — the district has worked with the City of Laredo Public Health Department to ensure vape shops can’t operate near schools and increase law enforcement around selling to minors.

For Health Department Director Richard Chamberlain, the seriousness of the vaping problem came into focus when Customs and Border Patrol told the department about a particular shipment they’d intercepted.

“We see large seizures of illegal drugs here because we are on the border,” Chamberlain says, “and so we’ve seen fentanyl come in in all different colors and shapes. But then when we were told that they’d identified it in a shipment of vapes, that’s where we had to turn on the loud button and make sure that we were sharing this with the community.”

Of course, most vapes aren’t deadly, but even legal vapes can cause numerous health problems, especially for children and teens. Electronic cigarettes contain carcinogens and can cause

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irreversible lung damage in addition to nicotine addiction. And as for THC vapes?

“We don’t want children being exposed to any levels of THC,” Chamberlain says. “But these are such high levels in the vapes that that causes potential cognitive deficiencies in the future.”

The health hazards and risks of vaping aren’t the only reason UISD cares about the issue. Getting caught with a vape can have big consequences for students. An arrest can impact a student’s future job prospects, opportunities for scholarships and more. And ever since House Bill 114 took effect on Sept. 1, 2023, the district is required to send students caught with vapes to an alternative campus, whether the vapes contain THC or just nicotine.

“We want all students to be successful, and it’s disheartening when they’re not here with us,” says Jessica Salazar, principal of United High School as well as a district parent. “There’s no better education than receiving it firsthand, not anywhere else.”

One of the most effective strategies to reduce vaping in schools has been a vape detector pilot program. In four district high schools and two middle schools, vape detectors are located in every restroom and locker room on campus, and they send a signal to

The task force sets up at school events, a visible reminder to students about the consequences of vaping.

The health hazards and risks of vaping aren’t the only reason UISD cares about the issue. Getting caught with a vape can have big consequences for students. An arrest can impact a student’s future job prospects, opportunities for scholarships and more.

teachers and administrators when vaping occurs. The detectors, which are funded through the district’s Title IV funds, function as a deterrent to students.

“At the beginning, I will not lie, it was very overwhelming because we were constantly getting alerts,” Salazar says. “It was really eye-opening for us. We knew that it would happen, but we didn’t know how much it was happening.”

Soon, though, students learned that if they vaped at school, they’d get caught, and the alerts slowed down.

Another effective deterrent has been requiring the use of clear backpacks, which — in addition to improving school safety — serve more than anything as a reminder to students. Many students don’t intend to bring their vapes to school, Coss-Morales explained, but they may forget they’re there over the weekend.

“Even though it may not have anything [in it], they’re in possession,” she says. “They’re going to get a consequence.”

Another important aspect of the anti-vaping campaign is teaching parents what to look for and how to talk to their kids about vaping. Many parents have been surprised at what they’ve learned, such as the ways vapes can masquerade as candies and lipsticks or be hidden inside hoodie strings.

“We go to a [football] game on a Friday night and put out an information table and we set up what some of the vape pens look like nowadays; we’re going to reach thousands of parents,” says Coss-Morales.

The campaign is working. From the beginning of the 2023 school year to the beginning of the 2024 school year, UISD has seen a reduction of about 21% in THC vaping in their schools.

E-cigarette use has also decreased.

The district isn’t stopping there, however. The task force is expanding, and now includes entirely student-led initiatives in the campaign. Coss-Morales is working with members of Congress who represent Laredo in hopes of introducing legislation on vaping prevention. Teaching students about the consequences of vaping is great, she says, but preventing them from starting in the first place is even better.

Ultimately for Coss-Morales, the goal is to change the vaping culture in the district.

“Little by little, we’re chipping away.”

Leila Kalmbach is a freelance writer and self-employment coach for freelancers.

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Veribest ISD County: Tom Green Region: 15 Superintendent: Mandy Traylor 2023 enrollment: 257 Number of schools: 3

VERIBEST ISD

Girl power in the Concho Valley: training mind and body keeps teens safe

Veribest ISD offers hands-on self defense classes to high school girls in the district.

by Stacy Alexander Evans

H

aving won six of their eight games this year, the Veribest Falcons are having a great football year, which in Texas means they are having a good year, period. But while the Friday night lights shine on the community’s strong and accomplished young men, Texas School Business Magazine is thrilled to put a spotlight on the district’s capable young women, and the superintendent who recognized their need to feel comfortable and confident in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Mandy Traylor was deeply troubled by stories from friends whose daughters had come back from college, saying their children felt unprepared for the social challenges they’d faced during their freshman year. Indeed, even nearby San Angelo, where many Veribest High School graduates move to attend Angelo State, is

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a veritable metropolis compared to their hometown of just 40 people.

The experience for many young girls, in particular, can be overwhelming. One incident turned violent. Traylor points out that the threat of potential abductions in our state is ever-present.

“Texas has the second highest number of human trafficking cases in the country.”

Thus, when the self defense and anti-kidnapping classes offered by the Gladiator Defense Group in nearby Carlsbad came up on her radar a few years ago, the superintendent knew right away this programming was something she wanted to offer to Veribest High School’s junior and senior girls.

▲ Gladiator owner and instructor Carl McCoy helps girls in VISD learn to defend themselves from a wide range of potential attacks.

▲ VISD Superintendent Mandy Traylor developed the self defense program in the district after hearing troubling stories from friends with college-age children.

“Texas has the second highest number of human trafficking cases in the country.” — MANDY TRAYLOR

“I’d heard some of our kids might be interested, because there was a class offered at the YMCA in San Angelo. So I thought, you know, we could do this!” recalls Traylor. “If they’re doing it at school with their peers in a comfortable environment, why not?”

Much like Traylor, Gladiator owner and instructor Carl McCoy found his inspiration to help girls defend themselves when the daughter of one of his close friends just missed being abducted near Midland. Ten years on, he and his team offer a wide range of courses in everything from firearms training to bushcraft survival techniques.

The biennial program they offer to students in Veribest ISD includes a 45-minute academic portion to begin the day, followed by hands-on training in how to disarm a prospective assailant who may be armed with an edge weapon. They close their day with instruction in open-hand combat.

Although McCoy says he’s no stranger to working with school districts across Texas, he admits the work they usually do is largely focused on training school safety officers to prepare for an active shooter situation. In fact, he and his capable team of licensed DPS school safety certified instructors offer five levels of Guardian School Training.

But the programming they provide to Veribest ISD is different, and it’s clear this veteran U.S. Marine and former police officer is thrilled to be working directly with this vulnerable population of students, because he is, among other things, a Girl Dad. “My oldest daughter is a teacher in Garden City, my middle daughter is a teacher in San Angelo, and my wife is a retired business manager from Water Valley ISD,” says McCoy, who also has a son, “so I have a lot of skin in this game.”

“I hope they have some peace of mind that their kids are not just totally vulnerable walking around in this world,” he says, adding that if there was one important lesson he would put at the top of his list, it would be situational awareness.

The school district offered their first workshop— comprising one full school day of lessons and practice — to a cohort of 25 students in 2022. On October 16, 2024, the group worked with a new cohort of 18 girls, some of whom seemed skeptical at the start of the program. McCoy says he gains their trust through being genuine and giving them a set of skills that is immediately actionable.

“I said it 50 times, ‘Guys, don’t push a bad situation. If you think somebody’s following you, call security, call the police. Do not walk out to your car in the middle of the night, especially if it’s parked out in no man’s land. Is there a van sitting next to it? Don’t do it.’” Of course he’s right — an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Traylor couldn’t agree more. She says she knows the program has been a success when the day is full of “smiles and adrenaline.” She says that by offering the program to students every other year, she

McCoy says as a parent himself, the parents of his students are never far from his mind.

“At the end of the day,” enthuses McCoy, “they’re like ‘Holy crap, what did we just go through? That was the most awesome thing I’ve ever done in my life!’ so that is great to see.”

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▲ Female juniors and seniors from Veribest High School come away from the training with skills to protect themselves.

avoids donor fatigue. “I put together a flyer saying, ‘This is how much it costs to sponsor one girl, two girls, or three girls.’ I use social media, and also email.”

The superintendent says her fundraising work is pretty easy. Since 48% of students at Veribest High School transfer in from surrounding communities, it gives her a larger base to draw from.

What’s more, the cause is not exactly a hard sell.

“The outpouring of support has been amazing. It’s great to know that your donation could possibly save someone’s life.”

Traylor says it’s not unusual for the students to begin the program with a healthy bit of skepticism.

“You have girls who are shy, and they’re not sure about practicing these tasks in front of others.” Yet she maintains that the proof is in the pudding. The girls are elated by the end of their training day, when they can throw a full grown man to the ground.

“When our students leave us,” Traylor asserts, “I want them to have skills they can use in their day-to-day lives. Self defense is a skill that I feel strongly about for the girls. Not only does it give them physical strength, but it gives them confidence as well.”

Stacy Alexander Evans is a freelance writer based in Austin. She is a statecertified secondary teacher who spent four years working with students throughout the state of Texas.

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“When our students leave us, I want them to have skills they can use in their day-to-day lives. Self defense is a skill that I feel strongly about for the girls. Not only does it give them physical strength, but it gives them confidence as well.”

— MANDY TRAYLOR

Waxahachie ISD County: Ellis Region: 10 Superintendent: Jerry Hollingsworth 2023 enrollment: 10,778 Number of schools: 17

WAXAHACHIE ISD

The Innovative Teaching Coalition encourages cultivating a vibrant learning community

by Autumn Rhea Carpenter

I

ncorporating technology with dynamic teaching strategies is a daily expectation for teachers in Texas school districts.

Waxahachie ISD has addressed this demand by designing a program called the Innovative Teaching Coalition, which has entrusted teachers with the responsibility of leading professional development sessions that focus on technology integration and innovative teaching strategies in personalized settings. This approach has unlocked the potential for deeper, longer lasting learning experiences while empowering the teachers to be campus leaders.

WISD employs two innovation and digital learning coordinators who support pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teachers district-wide in implementing technology and innovative teaching

The Innovative Teaching Coalition in Waxahachie ISD allows district teachers to lead their own professional development sessions.

strategies into their classrooms. As a rapidly growing community, the coordinators, Ashley Cieri and Barb Mikulecky, needed to build a team of teachers on campuses that would be an extension of their position to their colleagues. The Innovative Teaching Coalition was born.

Teachers were invited to apply for the program in the spring of 2022 for the 2022-23 school year with the goal of full representation for each campus within the district. For the secondary campuses, two to three members are accepted each year as their populations are larger. In the third year of this program, there are members that have stayed on the team since the first year, and the program has continued to add members.

Some campuses have up to six teachers as part of the coalition.

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All professional development sessions through the coalition focus on the core principles of collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication.

The Innovative Teaching Coalition started with 24 teachers and includes 60 teachers in 2024.

The coalition members meet once a month after school for one hour. The meeting is dedicated to the members trying something new in the Innovators’ Inspiration Lab with the hope they will take it back to their classrooms and campus. Each teacher-led activity or instructional strategy is connected back to the four core principles of collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication (the four Cs). The meetings showcase a variety of tools, such as Google, Microsoft, and Canva for Education to model what teachers could be using in the classroom. But not all meetings are technology related.

“The awesome thing about including teachers from all grade levels is that they can collaborate and give each other ideas on how a certain strategy would work in their age group,” Mikulecky says. “Teachers have brought some great ideas on how to tweak a strategy specifically for their students. This year, we rolled out

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a Coalition Connection communication piece where we curate an infographic with sections including ‘What’s New,’ ‘Tech Tip’, and ‘Did You Know.’ The last section is curated by the campus representatives to include tech tidbits catered to their campus needs and sent to their campus by the group as campus leaders.”

The meetings cover a variety of topics including celebrating campus wins, talking about technology updates or new programs, giving teachers a monthly challenge to take back to their campus (usually centered around one of their core values), and sometimes providing access to new products or programs to try as a pilot group before they are rolled out district wide.

“Successes definitely include being able to have teachers test something and help us find challenges and hangups in new products before it is rolled out to the masses,” Cieri says.

“Our biggest challenge has been this current school year because our district moved to different dismissal times for elementary, junior high and secondary. We got creative with our meeting

Coalition members meet once a month after school for one hour.

The meeting is dedicated to the members trying something new in the Innovators’ Inspiration Lab with the hope they will take it back to their classrooms and campus.

format and what that would look like for teachers coming and going based on those new dismissal times.”

The coordinators believe the coalition has been more successful than other professional development programs because it is voluntary.

“We have taken our newest additions to the group to our annual state technology conference [offered by the] Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) each year, which is a big perk,” Cieri says. “We strive to give teachers multiple tools they can walk away with and use in their classroom the next day through each meeting, so the tools and resources do not involve extra time or planning.”

Each year, the program incorporates a walk-up song to introduce new teachers to the group. The song plays (past songs vary from “All I Do is Win,” by DJ Kahled to “Bejeweled” by Taylor Swift to “Hey, Look, Ma, I Made It,” by Panic! at the Disco) while the teacher introduces him/herself and explains why they chose the song. This is another teaching strategy some of the teachers have

taken back to their classrooms to build culture.

For other districts interested in launching a similar coalition, identifying initiative supporters is important.

“When the coalition started three years ago, the coordinators approached key stakeholders who would be able to help support an initiative like this, including principals and leadership across the district,” says Superintendent Jerry Hollingsworth. “We partnered with our federal funding director to seek possible funding sources to be able to support teacher training and, as a result, student growth. Through these efforts, some things we’ve been able to offer them over the last few years, in lieu of a stipend, are Google Certification and TCEA Conference attendance.

These big-win items afforded our team a large reach as coalition members shared their learning with colleagues across the district.”

Watch this video to meet WISD’s 2024-25 Innovative Teaching Coalition.

Autumn Rhea Carpenter is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon.

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