BOARD COMMUNICATIONS MEMORANDUM
DR. BOBBIE TREVINO, SUPERINTENDENT | April 2023
Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment & Accountability | Human Resources & Leadership Development Business & Finance | Innovation & Technology | Operations & Support Services | Compliance & School Safety
Superintendent’s Performance objectives
# 1: Enhance, communicate and implement safety protocols # 3 Align District Curriculum to State and Federal Standards
# 2 Increase student performance in Reading and Math # 4 Increase student enrollment and attendance
SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS:
April was incredibly busy on all fronts. Schools and students prepared for state assessments through focused tutorials and Saturday academies while also continuing to be very busy in the many extracurricular activities. We are so proud of our students' efforts both in the classroom and in the different extracurricular activities The Executive Leadership Team (ELT), composed of Executive Directors and Principals have established working team norms and are working collaboratively to address district challenges and initiatives This month, the ELT worked on designing and creating the district summer school plan in conjunction with attendance recovery initiatives In addition, a subset of the team worked with the high school leadership team to develop and revise a course catalog that details pathways and course selections for next year. The team will continue to identify problems of practice and strive to develop and enhance programs that target teaching and learning and maximize student opportunities.
Another initiative this month was conducting Superintendent Connections via Faculty Meetings at all campuses. These meetings provided an opportunity for teachers to dialogue with the Superintendent on key issues they are facing in the classroom and also to establish a set of pillars that identify an “ideal classroom” This work ties directly into the strategic plan that the district committee has been diligently working on with Engage2Learn
We are excited for the month to come as it will be filled with so many opportunities to celebrate what is good in our district!
STRATEGIC GOAL #1
The District will increase opportunities for all students to be college, career, and military ready by providing high quality instruction and individualized learning for all special populations.
The month of April brings about the final preparations for state assessments and allows us to begin looking ahead to Summer Learning opportunities, as well as commence the planning for the next academic year. During April, our teachers prepared 10 Day STAAR Rockin’ Reviews in Science, Social Studies and RLA with the support of our consultants from lead4ward and our Curriculum Coordinators. This specialized planning focuses on targeting high impact TEKS with engaging activities from the lead4ward Instructional Playlist to help students recap their learning and fully prepare them for the upcoming STAAR Assessments. Our students exemplified the true meaning of perseverance and determination as they initiated state assessments in the area of Reading Language Arts the last week of April. The redesign of the RLA STAAR Assessment has been a challenge for all educators, but our students took this assessment and gave their absolute best. The Problem of Practice for our Campus Principals was Summer School. By focusing on our expectations, non-negotiables and instructional framework, our Principals worked collaboratively to design the framework for these
summer learning opportunities for acceleration, intervention, and/or credit recovery. Lastly, we have also engaged stakeholders in our initial phase of planning for the next academic year by allocating time to learn, review, and discuss our course catalog, which drives our instructional master schedule. And just in case you missed it…our AMAZING educators created motivational videos for our students to kick off STAAR Spring Administration.
STRATEGIC GOAL #2
The District will promote a positive culture and climate that embraces the social and emotional needs of all students that reflect the District’s Core Values
On April 19, 2023, the counseling team attended the Children’s Advocacy Center Annual Conference. We had the opportunity to hear powerful stories of resilience and heartbreaking stories of tragedy. The relationship between the CAC of Laredo, under the direction of Dr. Serverita Sanchez, and Zapata County ISD spans nearly a decade. With her team’s support, we have provided our most needy of students with the support they need. Learn more about the CAC of Laredo here.
Even though March was a short month, the counseling team launched a Take Down Tobacco Campaign, Drugs and Your Body presentations, National Drug Facts and Awareness activities, Down Syndrome Awareness, TSI testing with pre assessments, and continued the progress on meeting scholarship application deadlines Great strides have also been made with PBIS, Positive Behavior Intervention System, a district wide initiative to support administration, counselors, teachers, and students with behavior management
In preparation of the Department of Human Resources issuing contracts and letters of assurance for the 2023-2024 school year, we have placed employees who are habitually absent on notice These employees have been conferenced with by their immediate supervisor and will be scheduled for a conference with the Executive Director of Human Resources prior to signing their contract or letter of assurance.
The District’s partnership with PILLAR, a fully staffed mental health and support agency, has reached capacity and is currently servicing 49 students from all grade levels.
The District participated in an event to honor Zapata High School graduates who have earned their doctorate degrees Mr Oswaldo and Mrs Juanita Ramirez had an idea and a vision to honor this elite group of 90 individuals for their academic successes. Their vision became a reality on Saturday, April 29, 2023. The District has captured their vision and has created the ZCISD Hall of Academic Excellence. The ZCISD Hall of Academic Excellence will honor all graduates of Zapata High School who earn a doctoral degree and will continue to be a tradition for generations to come. This elite group will establish a scholarship fund for Zapata High School graduates starting in the 2023-2024 school year.
TeachUS, an agency who has partnered with Zapata County ISD to support teachers in obtaining their appropriate certifications, is in its second month of implementation and is already showing results. Currently, the District is providing this support to 26 teachers and instructional assistants - 5 of which have just passed their certification requirements!
At this month’s regular school board meeting Board of Trustees proclaimed April as Aut Awareness Month presented by ZCISD parent, M Nelly Trevino. Dr. Trevino and the Board of Trus recognized the following groups of students for t outstanding accomplishments in their spring events ZMS Band, ZHS Band Solo and Ensemble, Z Concert Band, ZHS Mariachi Halcon, ZMS Maria ZHS One Act Play, ZHS Theatrical Design, Z Tennis, ZHS Girls Soccer, and ZMS Track and F District Champions
The number one priority of our district is to prov Campus administrators and police officers cont mandated by the state and reporting issues, if any, to the appropriate department to resolve the problem with the doors. Zapata Middle School has opened their new expansion hall area where the district technology department and Janga are working on the installation of vape detectors in the restrooms and cameras in the hallway to help with the monitoring of students. Our district will continue working hard in ensuring that all our campuses are complying with all state mandated requirements and keeping our students and staff safe at all times.
STRATEGIC GOAL #3
The District will manage a prudent budget that reflects sound business and fiscal practices that support District goals and educational services.
Services & Operations: The construction projects are moving along smoothly. Below you find the completion status of the projects:
● ZMS Classroom Addition Substantially Complete
● ZHS Agriculture Canopy Substantially Complete
● ZHS J.R.O.T.C. Renovation (Alt. No.3) Substantially Complete
● ZMS Special Ed Classroom (Alt. No.6) Substantially Complete
● ZHS Fieldhouse Addition End of July 2023
● 18+ Center Renovation End of June 2023 ZHS J R O T C
● Dance Studio (Alt. No.2) End of July 2023
● Hawk Pride Demolition Completed
● Cafeteria Canopies (ZMS & ZHS) End of June 2023
● ESSER DAEP Center (Phase 1 & 2) August 1, 2023
● ESSER HVAC Replacements August 2024
We continue with disinfecting our schools 3 times a week and dressing rooms being done daily. The services and Operations department continues to complete daily work orders in the areas of Maintenance, Transportation and HVAC district wide.
The District celebrated Bus Driver Appreciatio with a delicious breakfast on Friday, April 23 a the Dora O. Martinez Boardroom. Bus drivers ar the first to greet our students in the morning an the last to wish them well at the end of the day Thank you bus drivers for keeping our student safe everyday!
Child Nutrition: The CNP department had a C ZCISD Child Nutrition Program had No Findings department. The CNP department celebrated National Nutrition Month and School breakfast week by promoting school meals such as a breakfast buffet with a variety of meal options, and also conducted raffles where students participated, and had a chance to win nutrition promotion items
Equipment such as tilting braising pans, stoves, ice makers, and ovens have been procured to replace all worn out equipment at all six campuses Serving Lines for FARVES and Zapata South Elementary have been awarded and the project has started The design for lines are complete and equipment has been ordered The CNP department held an auction to sell used kitchen equipment, and also donated used equipment to county agencies such as daycares
All campuses including the CNP admin office tested and got Serve Safe certified during the month of April Certification serves for 5 years
Technology Services:
Library Services: Zapata County ISD celebrated National Librarians Day on April 16 and National Library Week April 23-29. With the library being the heart of the school campus, the modern librarian must be well-read and tech-savvy. Librarians carry so much responsibility, and yet they never waver under pressure They are teachers, google on the spot, are on occasion called to provide counseling, the first line of defense to help teachers and students with tech issues.
As part of the TWC grant, 24 laptops, styluses, and software were provided to Zapata High School’s CTE health science classes Utilizing zSpace - Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality software, students will be able to perform dry lab dissection in an easy, engaging, and interactive manner. zSpace tracks the user ’ s stylus in real time allowing the user to comfortably reach in, interact, move around, dissect, and change different variables within a 3D environment
The technology department assisted staff and parents at a packed Family and Community Engagement (FACE) meeting held on April 12. Parents were assisted in using chromebooks to log into their Parent Portal. The Parent Portal allows parents to keep track of their child’s grades, attendance, and registration for the following year
Technology Department staff completed Criminal Justice InformationSecurity, CJIS, Level 4 Security Awareness Training from the Department of Public Safety. The training covered the following topics:
● Area Security
● Threats, Vulnerabilities, & Risks
● IT Security
● Network Security
● Password Usage & Management
● Incident Response
Two additional VAPE detectors were installed at the Zapata Middle School new addition VAPE detectors are just one line of defense in protecting our students from the dangers of vaping These devices can discourage students from vaping by giving educators the means of tracking the activity
The technology department has finished enrolling and provisioning all Chromebooks at Zapata Middle School to ensure an accurate audit of devices Two additional chromebook carts were issued to the two new math teachers using re-purposed chromebooks Two carts of iPads were all restructured to support two 6th grade social studies classrooms
The new IP-based intercom system installed at Zapata Middle School is undergoing testing The new system is capable of separate bell schedules and allows for announcements to be made to individual classrooms. The digital signage in the hallways is also able to display date, time, and short announcements
The District has renewed partnership with Apple to purchase new iPads for pre-K, Kinder, and 1st Grade All classrooms will be equipped with carts containing 10.2-inch Space Gray iPads with Wi-Fi and 64GB storage. The iPads will be encased in a Logitech Rugged Combo 3 Touch Case with Integrated Smart Connector Keyboard and Trackpad Each iPad will come with a Logitech Crayon specially designed for small hands. The technology department is currently working with the Apple Deployment Team iPads are expected to arrive in the District by the beginning of July
Finance:
ZCISD began the month of April celebrating the “Week of the Young Child” by holding next school year Pre-Kindergarten registration at Zapata North Elementary. The PEIMS department, with the assistance of the Attendance Recovery/Face Liaisons, welcomed the future students of ZCISD with music, games, and door prizes Newly registered students comprised approximately 47% of the District’s current Pre-K enrollment; however, the District has already scheduled future registration dates to meet current enrollment targets
The District’s 5th six weeks (Feb 21 - April 14) average daily attendance came in just under 90% Based on the initial proposed budget approved in August, state foundation revenues are expected to be $1.8m less than projected. The District is utilizing federal funding to supplant losses from state funding in order to maintain operations
The Finance and Special Education Department received grant approval to start construction on inclusive play areas at Zapata North Elementary, Zapata South Elementary, and Fidel and Andrea R. Villarreal Elementary. The inclusive play areas will be equipped for students with disabilities and other health impairments that will allow related services staff to address specific specialized needs. The project completion date will be August 2023.