Latest news with #ECISD
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
ECISD launches summer feeding program, here's what you need to know:
ECTOR COUNTY, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- Ector County ISD will, once again, offer summer meals to children in the county. 14 schools began offering meals this week, and two more locations will open on Monday, June 9. Free breakfast and lunch meals will be available to all children 18 and under and eligible people with disabilities every Monday through Thursday until July 17. However, Gonzales Elementary will provide meals on Fridays. ECISD will be closed on July 3, 4, and 7 for the Fourth of July holiday and no meals will be served on those days. Below is a list of all locations, dates, and times meals will be available as well as a menu. Feeding-Locations-SSO-25Download SSO-25-MenuDownload ECISD said all meals must be eaten on site. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
ECISD hosts teacher conference to ignite summer learning
May 27—For the third consecutive year, Ector County ISD's Curriculum & Instruction division is kindling summer learning for teachers with the Ignite Your Light Literacy Conference. This year it will be a one-day event May 29. The opening session will take place between 8:30-9:40 a.m. in the Odessa College Sports Center, there will be a book signing and lunch in the Sports Center from 11:50 a.m.-12:50 p.m., and the closing session from 3:15-4:15 p.m. will also take place in the Sport Center. Nearly 400 teachers are registered for the conference which includes breakout sessions for Languages Other than English, Early Childhood, Advanced Academics, AVID, science, social studies, and more. Those sessions take place throughout the OC campus. The two keynote speakers, Jennifer Jump and Adam Welcome, are renowned educators and presenters. This conference is for all ECISD teachers, regardless of subject area, as literacy is more than reading; it involves writing, speaking, and listening skills, all of which are critical for academic achievement in any subject and real-world applications. Read more about ECISD's Ignite Your Light Literacy Conference here.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
ECISD counselors equipping police with mental health first aid
May 22—Friday is a records and staff development day for ECISD, and the school district counselors are hosting a special, day-long session for ECISD police officers. The session is Youth Mental Health First Aid, and the purpose of the training is to ensure all District officers have the tools to recognize when a student may be in crisis, respond with care, and promote mental health support in school. The ECISD Guidance & Counseling Department is rolling out this training in phases with the goal of training all ECISD employees to be aware of signs of crisis, even things like slight changes in a student's behavior or moods. Recognizing warning signs early can give professionals the opportunity to provide intervention and support to benefit the student. The training will be held in Conference Rooms A/B and E of the ECISD Administration Building, 802 N. Sam Houston. It runs from 8 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and from 1-4 p.m.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Board names new principals, top administrators
May 21—The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees approved naming several principals and top administrators during their meeting Tuesday. Christan Pugh was named principal of Nimitz Middle School. She replaces the retiring Teresa Willison. Pugh is currently the principal at Blanton Elementary, a position she's held for the past two years. Prior to that she was an assistant principal at Nimitz for three years. She was also an instructional coach at Nimitz for three years and has teaching experience at both elementary and middle school. Jennie Chavez will move from principal at Noel Elementary School to principal of EK Downing Elementary. Chavez is finishing her sixth year as the principal at Noel Elementary School and was recently awarded ECISD's Elementary Principal of the Year award. She served three years as an assistant principal to go along with 14 years of teaching experience. Amanda Sierra was named principal of Gonzales Elementary. Sierra is a principal intern at West Elementary this year, and she attended the Holdsworth Principal Academy. She has three years of experience as an assistant principal and served on the administrative team at Ireland Elementary that led improvement from an F to an B state rating. Dowling Principal Julie Marshall was promoted to executive director of leadership. Marshall has spent the past five years as the principal at Dowling Elementary and before that was the principal at Hays STEAM Academy for two years. Her 35 years of public education experience includes work as an instructional services director at Bonham and Wilson & Young middle schools and 19 years as a teacher. Robert Trejo was named chief academic officer and Matt Spivy is now human capital officer. Trejo is currently serving as ECISD's executive director of accountability & school improvement where he manages and interprets accountability ratings under TEA's A-F system and collects and analyzes student performance data to support campus/district decision-making, giving him extensive knowledge of instructional frameworks and school improvement strategies. Spivy is completing his second year as ECISD's executive director of human resources. He recently completed the Holdsworth Leadership Collaborative focused on developing talent pipelines. He taught for seven years and has 13 years of administrative experience. Trustee Dawn Miller abstained from voting on Trejo and Spivy. The board also reorganized after the May 3 election. Tammy Hawkins was voted in as president; Steve Brown as vice president and Bob Thayer as secretary. Brown appeared virtually and Delma Abalos was absent. Miller was opposed to Hawkins and Miller, but voted for Thayer. She said she hoped going forward that they would go beyond recycling the same leases and allow other people to assume leadership roles. Miller said she was glad to see Thayer become an officer. Chief Financial Officer Deborah Ottmers and trustees continued their budget discussions for the 2025-26 school year. The Texas House of Representatives passed House Bill 2 for public education funding, but the Texas Senate made sweeping changes to it. Evaluating ECISD's expenditures for this 2024-25 school year it appears the district's fund balance will increase, but based on current school funding laws and the projected expenses the 2025-26 school year, ECISD would be facing a $10.5 million deficit budget. That calculation includes no raises for employees. District leaders are continuing to look for budget areas to cut. Proposed bills in the legislature, if passed, could require differing raises for teachers based on their years of experience and these required raises for teachers would use most of any proposed increase in state funding. Trustees agreed that all employees need and deserve a raise, and they discussed different percentage increases in pay and the potential impact on the budget. Several board members stated a 2% raise for all non-teachers, since they are not included in current legislative proposals, seems like the appropriate amount as it would use the remaining funds in the proposed legislation, the recap said. The school board is planning a special meeting on June 24 to finalize and adopt the budget for 2025-26. On the Bond 2023 update, the Career & Technical Education high school is on track for groundbreaking next month. The project's guaranteed maximum price (GMP) has come in at $86,591,081. The new middle school in West Odessa has seen steel work begin and blockwork around the gym started. Foundation, electrical and plumbing work are ongoing, the board recap said. The final bid date for the Transition Learning Center will be May 21 with a recommendation to be presented to the school board in June. The Permian High School auditorium project is nearing the end of the design development phase and GMP should be going to the board in June. A contract of a little more than $1.3 million is being brought to the board for the PHS JROTC facility. No on-site activity has begun. The Ag Farm design is being finalized, procurement will take place during the summer, and no on-site work has begun. In the technology update, cabling is complete at the majority of elementary campuses and is beginning at Odessa High School (it should take four to six weeks). This is for the new PA/Bells/Alarms/Clocks projects. Installation of new surveillance cameras is finished at all high schools and middle schools and is now beginning at elementary schools. The Fine Arts Department has now ordered 1,103 instruments at a cost of about $1.9 million. Of those, 359 are for elementary classrooms. As of now, 987 instruments have been delivered. Superintendent Keeley Boyer said now that the guaranteed maximum price is in place for the CTE high school, plans are to have a groundbreaking June 17. Trustees voted 6-0 to approve purchases over $50,000 related to the bond. The single item on this month's agenda was the $86,591,081 to Teinert Construction, the construction manager at-risk, for the guaranteed maximum price of the new CTE high school.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Teacher Incentive Allotments delivered
May 9—Blackshear Elementary School fifth grade teacher Dave Machuca is going to Disney World this summer, especially after being awarded $22,415.40 through the Teacher Incentive Allotment Friday. Machuca was one of 412 teachers — including 16 at Blackshear — given a big check. Along with their checks, teachers sported black sashes with the words Inspiring Minds in white on them. Superintendent Keeley Boyer noted that Blackshear teachers earned a total of $219,000. Machuca has been teaching for 17 years, including seven at Blackshear. He said he had received smaller checks previously and this year was a tremendous jump. Being recognized in this way was nice — and appreciated — after so many years. "It's nice that they're starting to do this for our teachers" Machuca said. He said he was planning to go to Disney before he got the funds, but it will help. Fourth grade teacher Samantha Hutson also received $22,415.40 and it's life-changing for her. A single mom, she plans to use the money for a downpayment on a house. This is her 19th year with ECISD and her fifth year at Blackshear. "I think it's amazing," Hutson said of being recognized. "I think it's such a good inspiration for teachers daily just to have that drive and that persistence and that determination to come to work, to show up, to be present and to really give their best effort," Hutson said. The recognition is a daily reminder to be present even on the hard days "when I want to give up. This motivates me to be at work and give it my all," she added. Last year, 350 teachers were recognized. Boyer said this year $4.6 million was awarded and last year it was $3.1 million. Teachers at 40 schools received the Teacher Incentive Allotment this year. Boyer said there were more teachers this year because more teachers are impacting students at a higher level when it comes to academic achievement and growth. "I think it just has really a testament to the work that our teachers are doing in the classroom," Boyer said. There were campuses that had more than 20 recipients, but she said this was a campus the team had not visited before to celebrate. "We wanted to come celebrate 16 TIA checks, as well as $219,000 which is a very large amount," Boyer said. Teachers get the Teacher Incentive Allotment through student growth and student performance on STAAR and MAP tests. The evidence is showing up with the students, she added. The check amounts differ by school population and designation. There are recognized awards, exemplary awards, and master level awards, which is the highest level. "Depending on student population in terms of economically disadvantaged, as well as teacher performance, that is where the teacher lands in terms of their designation. Recognized is your lowest amount," Boyer said. At Blackshear, that was $6,184.80, followed by exemplary at $12,368.70 and master at $22,415.40. All teachers, regardless of school, use the same foundational high-quality instruction, but Boyer said they differentiate based on student need. "Every school and every kid needs something a little different so our teachers do differentiate, and that is where you see the growth because these awards are based on student learning growth. Here we have 16 teachers that are in the top 15% of the state on growing kids when it comes to academic success," Boyer said. ECISD is in its fourth year of awarding Teacher Incentive Allotments. As a district, ECISD opted into the statewide program. Over the past four years, the program has grown tremendously in terms of the number of teachers who have received the award. They started four years ago with a little more than $800,000 in payouts and now it's at $4.6 million. This was the first time she had done the honors as superintendent. "It is so fun, and it is just exciting to see how happy the kids are for their teachers. You could hear it every single time a teacher's name was called, the kids just erupted with joy. Just seeing the kids celebrate their teachers and be as excited for them as the teachers are to receive the big checks. It's a ton of fun," Boyer said. "I've gotten to be a part of it for the past several years in my role as chief of schools and going out to other schools. But today was my first time to be a part of actually handing out the checks. It was definitely a fun day and a few more stops to go," Boyer said. Zavala Elementary where six teachers were recognized was the next stop. Some 735 students in prekindergarten through fifth grade celebrated the instructors. Principal Tanya Galindo said having her teachers recognized was a blessing. "I'm elated. All of our teachers in our district work so hard making sure that we put kids first and doing what's best for our kids, and the fact that they get rewarded for it is even better," Galindo said. The presentation also capped off Teacher Appreciation Week. "What a perfect way to end Teacher Appreciation Week," Galindo said. She added that it's great that the students are able to experience it and see all the great things that are happening in the classrooms. Galindo said some of the students told her they want to become teachers so they can get the big checks, too. "But seeing their teachers get rewarded is also wonderful. We're a family here on this campus, so we celebrate everybody, all teachers, all students. We really focus on celebrating everyone and their accomplishments," Galindo said. This is Galindo's last year at Zavala. She will be principal at Burleson Early Education Center. "This was wonderful. I'm so glad I was here to experience this with with my teachers. What a great thing to experience and just to celebrate them," she added.
