Superintendent Dr. James Wilcox welcomes back students, staff, and families See Opinion on

OPINION

Welcome back students, staff, families

By Dr. James Wilcox, Superintendent

Hello Lobo Nation!

By the time many of you read this newspaper, the 2022-23 school year will already be well underway. I would like to take this moment to welcome you all back.

I am proud to serve Longview Independent School District as your superintendent. I am grateful to be a small part of such an amazing and dynamic collection of students, staff, parents, and community members. It is truly a blessing.

As many of you are no doubt still working to get back into the swing of things, I want to encourage you to take a moment each day to reflect on your vital role in our district. From the youngest elementary student to the longest-tenured employee, we want Longview ISD to be a place where our people know their importance and value to everything this district aspires to be.

With the start of a new school year, and everything we hope to achieve and accomplish for our students and staff, I cannot help but look back from where we’ve come. There’s just so much to think of, I could fill up this entire newspaper. But I think I’ll just hit a few of the highlights...

DISTRICT

EARNS ‘A’

The Texas Education Agency released its 2022 accountability ratings on Monday, Aug. 15, with Longview ISD receiving an “A” grade and 52 campus distinctions—the most in our area!

Student achievement evaluates performance across all subjects for all students, on both general and alternate assessments; College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) indicators; and graduation rates. School Progress measures district and campus outcomes in two areas: the number of students that grew at least one year academically (or are on track) as measured by STAAR results and the achievement of all students relative to districts or campuses with similar economically disadvantaged percentages.

Read more about this sto-

ry on Page 1

TEACHERS

EARN BONUSES

The sounds of drums welcomed staff and teachers from across Longview ISD during the Aug. 12th Staff Convoca-

tion, including a special group of teachers who were awarded a total of 1.8 million dollars from the Teacher Incentive Allotment. A total of 157 teachers were awarded this bonus. To qualify teachWILCOX ers had to reach a certain threshold between teacher evaluations and student growth. Throughout the convocation, names were read and names kept being read!

Read more about this sto-

ry on Page 4

BUS DRIVERS GO

THE EXTRA MILE

To prepare for the new school year, Longview ISD bus drivers visited the homes of Pre-k to 3rd-grade students Saturday, Aug. 13 to clarify pick-up and drop-off locations for the upcoming school year. Chairo Harris-Kenney is a bus driver for Longview ISD and she’s often the first face kids see when they head to school. She’s been driving kids and watching them grow up for 10 years! “It’s a joy for school to be returning and seeing each other again,” said Harris-Kenney.

Read more about this sto-

ry on Page 3

BOARD OKs LOWER TAX RATE

The Longview ISD Board of Trustees approved the proposed 2022-23 property tax rate during their regular meeting Monday, Aug. 8.

If approved later this month, the proposal would see the tax rate decrease considerably from $1.4394 per $100 valuation for 2021-22 to $1.3276 per $100 valuation for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Dr. Wayne Guidry, Assistant Superintendent of Finance said a meeting and public hearing will be held at 12 p.m. on Aug. 25 to discuss, consider, and possibly approve the proposed

2022-23 budget and tax rate.

Read more about this story

on Page 1

SICK LEAVE BANK

Longview ISD trustees have unanimously approved amending local board policy to create a “Sick Leave Bank” for district employees that have exhausted their regular paid days off.

Presented to the board by Dr. James Hockenberry, Assistant Superintendent of District Services, the purpose of this bank “is a benefit to assist employees in dealing with prolonged, severe,

Wilcox|Continued to page 16

Community Relations: Help us help you

By Matthew Prosser

As we all prepare for another school year with plenty of questions in mind, I wanted to present myself and my team at your disposal for any concerns you might have about the days, weeks, and months to come.

The mission of Longview ISD Community Relations is to facilitate open lines of communication for our students, staff, and entire Lobo community. Our team consists of Mrs. Elizabeth Ross, Mrs. Kacy Swaim, Mr. Dustin Taylor, Mr. Francisco Rojas, and myself: Matthew Prosser.

Elizabeth (or “Miss Liz”) is the lady you see dashing from one event to the next, camera and laptop in hand, capturing videos and photos of various events. Kacy often works behind the scenes, coordinating and planning events, but if you call our office at 903-381-2235 she’s probably the first person you speak with. Dustin is the tall red-headed fellow responsible for creating this beautiful newspaper you hold in your hands. Those of you who listen to our ¡Lobo Live! radio show, you already know Francisco, but he also serves a vital role as the official spokesman for LISD.

Altogether, we are committed to doing everything we can to help inform, promote, and celebrate the amazing things about Longview ISD. But communication is a two-way street. We cannot answer questions that are never asked. We cannot address concerns that are not shared with us directly.

Recently a parent shared a screenshot of a social media post. The post made many rather scandalous claims about the district, the administration, the board, as well as a rather vitriolic personal attack on me. The parent asked me what I intended to do about this person’s claims and accusations. My response: nothing. There’s nothing I can say to or do for someone who has already made up their mind, or who chooses not to discuss such matters with our department. We’re always eager to hear from folks. Our department’s role is to provide information and maintain open lines of communication. If someone chooses to air their grievances in secret or private gatherings, that’s certainly their right, but it seems pointless to ignore the very department whose entire existence is predicated on serving the public’s questions and concerns.

You can send us an email at ask@LISD.org and let us know what we can do for you. If there’s a particular social media post or photo you want shared,

PROSSER

tag us @LongviewISD and we’ll be glad to pass it along. If you have a question or concern just go to our website LISD. org/contact and send your message, or just come on by our office and talk to us! We’re located in the LISD administration building at 1301 E. Young Street, and we’d love to talk with you about anything!

Community Relations exists to be a means of clear and straightforward communication for the people of our district, but every conversation requires both sides to participate. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of noise.

We ask for your help in telling our community’s story. Help us, help you!

Have a great school year, Lobo Nation!

Dorcas Dunlap carries on family tradition

As Dorcas Dunlap takes over the Ned E. Williams campus as the new principal, it is apparent that the world of education was always her future.

“I knew I wanted to be a principal, but had no idea I would be so blessed to lead the school of my family’s namesake. It is a dream come true to be able to mimic the one that shaped this educational path for me,” Ms. Dunlap said. “He is the pioneer himself, my great-great grandfather, Professor Ned E. Williams. It was inevitable for me and gives me such pride to follow in my great-great grandfather’s footsteps and be an intricate part of continuing his amazing legacy.”

Mr. Williams had ten children, five of whom would also go on to be teachers, one of whom would also become the superintendent of Elderville School District. One of his son’s, Elzie Williams, even went on to become principal of the Ned E. Williams campus after his father’s passing. Clearly, education as well as being a leader in education runs in the family for Ms. Dunlap.

A Longview High School graduate, Ms. Dunlap went on to earn a Bachelor of Applied Arts & Science degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, then her Masters of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies degree from The University of Texas at Arlington.

After earning her degrees, she would go on to teach in Longview ISD for 20 years. Over the course of her career, she recalls many important moments for her.

“Over the years, there have been so many rewarding and impactful moments that scamper through my mind. Yet, there is one that stands out the most; receiving the Lamplighter Recipient Award in April from a senior student at Longview High

DUNLAP

School (whom I taught in fourth grade at WILLIAMS Hudson PEP Elementary School) filled my heart with pride,” Ms. Dunlap stated. “I was even more proud and ecstatic to learn that he was this year’s Salutatorian for Longview High School! My ‘why’ has always been, ‘Be the positive spark that ignites a change in someone’s life.’ To make such an influential, memorable impact on students is an invaluable reward. “During these twenty years, I have worn many hats and proudly continue to wear them. I began my educational

Dunlap|Continued to page 15

Students join Texas Shakespeare Festival

An annual tradition in Kilgore, the Texas Shakespeare Festival this past summer featured two Longview ISD students taking to the stage.

Joseph Kaan from Hudson PEP and Nathan Bachtell from LHS appeared in the musical “The Music Man”.

Joseph played the role of Winthrop, the same part he played several years back when LHS also performed “The Music Man.”

“I really enjoyed it and had a great time getting to work with professional actors. They were really nice and fun to work with. This is the first time I acted in something professional, so I was super excited. It’s really interesting to see what’s behind the scenes in a play too, and to actually be a part of it all,” Joseph said. “So many people are busy watching the play and they don’t get to see how much is going on behind the play at the same time. The actors were all amazing, but I liked getting to see

Stage|Continued to page 16

Bus drivers meet students ahead of first day

By Jesus Martinez CBS19

Longview ISD bus drivers went the extra mile Saturday morning, August 13.

Chairo Harris-Kenney is a bus driver for Longview ISD and she’s often the first face kids see when they head to school. She’s been driving kids and watching them grow up for 10 years! “I have a lot of memories of course you know the kids enjoying Christmas usually in the holidays we decorate our buses and I do give gifts to the smaller kids and they just remember me and it’s a joy. For school to be returning and seeing each other again,” said Harris-Kenney. This year Longview ISD started something new to build the relationship between the district and parents.