BOARD COMMUNICATIONS MEMORANDUM
DR. BOBBIE TREVINO, SUPERINTENDENT | September 2023
Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment & Accountability | Human Resources & Leadership Development
Business & Finance | Innovation & Technology | Operations & Support Services | Compliance & School Safety
ZCISD: EMPOWERING TOMORROW’S LEADERS
SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS:
As we settled into the 1st six weeks, all of our athletic events were in full swing We are so proud of the efforts from all of our students and our coaches Their dedication and commitment is unwavering The team prepared for our TASB presentation, From Compliance to Commitment The Superintendent’s cabinet and board members, L Guevara and D Sendojo presented on September 30, 2023 It was a great event and always awesome when we can shine a positive light on our district.
Attendance is a high priority area of focus this year. The attendance team, under the leadership of Irma Guerra, has implemented new strategies and initiatives to increase our attendance rates per campus and across the district We have seen an increase in attendance rates and will continue with those initiatives throughout the upcoming months
Superintendent Trevino met with the advisory group this month to discuss the district’s strategic plan and engaged in team building activities around the Hawk Pride Learning model. Our students are so excited to be a part of the process and they are making sure their voices are heard.
We are looking forward to the next several months as we continue to focus on academics, attendance and discipline!
STRATEGIC GOAL #1
We will ensure innovative, relevant, and high-quality learning opportunities are provided to all students in pursuit of college, career, and military readiness.
The month of September began with a Mini College Fair held at Zapata High School All of our campuses celebrated Grandparents’ Day on September 8th, which was followed by ½ day of PD with the focus being T-TESS Goal Setting and a Mandatory Child Abuse Online Training As always, the purpose of ZCISD is to train our teachers and staff to ensure we meet the needs of our students. Instruction was in full force this month, as many of us witnessed in many of our social media posts. It is exciting to see that instruction is being showcased at all of our campuses. An FFA Leadership Lab was held and organized by our very own FFA student leaders on September 13th. This type of event exemplifies our motto, “EMPOWERING TOMORROW’S LEADERS.” We celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month by hosting “Probaditas de Nuestra Cultura '' at all of our campuses. As our 1st Six Weeks came to an end, our students were administered Summative Assessments to measure and evaluate instruction. Our transition to DMAC was overall a smooth transition, with our Curriculum Team assisting campuses with any issues. Again, our goal is to ensure our students are getting the
best education and that they are assessed in an online format to provide them with the needed practice to be successful. Our lower elementary grades were assessed with mClass to evaluate reading skills and provide intervention and acceleration. Another Early Release was held on September 22nd in which our Campus Principals led a workshop that focused on the beliefs of our ZCISD Strategic Plan. We had a Professional Development Day on September 25th in which teachers were provided training and the opportunities to engage with their professional learning communities for planning. September was surely a busy month!
STRATEGIC GOAL #2
We will promote a safe, nurturing, and engaging learning environment to meet the needs of all students
September’s Character of the Month was Trustworthiness. Through various activities led by campus counselors, students learned that trustworthiness is essential to building positive relationships with others. During the month of September, students learned the meaning and importance of trustworthiness. Through campus PLCs, counselors led discussions with teachers and other administrators on “Together we can help "our" children to develop the tools and strategies they need to make the right choices”
September is National Suicide Prevention Month and with that, the importance of ensuring the District’s partnership with Pillar of Laredo was heightened even greater On September 4, Mr Manny Sanchez and Ms Ana Rivera from Pillar finalized new procedures for the 2023-2024 school year for the student referral process These students identified by Zapata County ISD School Counselors as "In Need of Additional Support” will be processed and able to receive professional support from Pillar before October.
Attendance Matters at ZCISD! On Friday, August 25, 2023, the community of Zapata County joined County Commissioners, County Judge Rathmell, School Board Members, Superintendent Treviño, administrators, students and teachers to proclaim September as Attendance Awareness Month. The proclamation kicked off the first ever “18 Day Attendance Challenge” for September. The District wide challenge ended on Friday, September 29th. The grade level winners were:
● 5th Grade with 96.4%
● 6th and 7th Grade tied with 95%
● 10th Grade with 94 2%
All campuses showed great growth as compared to last year ’ s 1st Six Weeks rates (91% compared to 95%) In addition to the attendance challenge, the District initiated “Attendance Awareness Wednesdays” that allowed students and staff the opportunity to dress according to the attendance theme each Wednesday. The students and staff loved it!
On September 15 ZCISD went GOLD in support of Childhood Cancer. Ms. Hein and the team of school nurses led an initiative to raise awareness of Childhood Cancer by inviting Hawk Warriors onto the Hawk Field.
A School Safety and Security Audit was conducted in our district by the Region One ESC from August 16th-18th, 2023. This audit is a state mandate that has to be conducted every 3 years and reported to the Texas State School Safety Center to ensure that our facilities are in compliance with safety, fire, and ADA guidelines The findings of this audit were shared with the board of trustees in the executive session of the Special Called Board Meeting held August 30, 2023 Board
members were also informed that the findings will be looked at and prioritize items that need to be addressed immediately and create a 3 year plan to address all findings before the next required audit. The results of this audit were submitted to the Texas School Safety Center as mandated using the District Audit Report Tool(DARTool) on September 13, 2023. As we continue working in keeping our students and staff safe on September 6th National Glazing Solutions (NGS) began installing the anti-shatter film on all exterior doors that contain glass and all adjacent windows. (This project will take two to three weeks to complete) In addition, all district security cameras have been updated and our schools continue to implement their required emergency drills as scheduled prior to the beginning of the school year to ensure that all stakeholders know what to do in case an emergency situation arises
STRATEGIC GOAL #3
We will create a strong student-centered partnership between families, teachers, administrators, and community to ensure all district initiatives are met
Technology Update:
The technology department has dedicated its efforts to ensuring swift responses to technology service requests, particularly in the domains of safety and security. Any service inquiries concerning surveillance cameras, door magnets, access control door systems, vape detectors and intercom systems are classified as high-priority tasks, and our team commits to addressing them within a 24-hour timeframe.
Students at the Life Skills Center were given the opportunity to view and assist the technicians in setting up their technology
A new systems management appliance (KACE SMA) is being prepared for the department The SMA help desk/ticketing feature will be utilized for submitting technology service requests. The system allows for:
● Ticket assignment to technicians be more efficient, based on priority and workload
● Adding structure to related tasks that must be completed prior to closure of an umbrella work order
● Escalation notifications can be set to generate email alerts if tickets are not promptly addressed
Services and Operations:
The construction projects are moving along smoothly. Below you find the completion status of the projects:
● ZHS Fieldhouse Addition- pending lockers
● ZCISD life Skills Center- completed
● Dance Studio- completed
● Cafeteria Canopies- completed
● ESSER DAEP Center (Phase 1 & 2)
● ESSER HVAC Replacements Notice to proceed Issued
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.
Child Nutrition:
Campus Events Completed
● National Eat Peach Day
● August Monthly Birthday Celebrations
● Patriot Day
● 16 de Septiembre
Projects Completed
● Serving Lines at ZSE and FARVES have been installed
● All Kitchen Equipment has been installed (stoves, tilting braising pans, and ovens)
Operations
● Have been conducting daily operations of our program at all campuses. (TJ, Cindy, and myself) We are alternating campuses every morning from 7:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Professional Development for Administrative Staff
● Have attended numerous mandatory trainings from Region One regarding commodity processing, lunch, breakfast, and supper programs.
STRATEGIC GOAL #4
We will provide effective and efficient operations through a transparent, fiscally responsible budget and an equitable distribution of resources in support of organizational processes
August and September are some of the busiest months in our finance department. ThThe month of September marked the beginning of the 23-24 fiscal year for the Finance Department.
District staff collaborated to submit all required forms of the year to ensure every district employee received the Board approved salary increase. This month all district employees had the opportunity to make changes to the District’s supplemental benefits such as dental, vision, disability, life insurance, and other supplemental benefits. Representatives from First Financial Group were on campus the first two weeks of September to ensure all District employees were able to take advantage of section 125 pre-taxed opportunities