The Brownwood ISD (BISD) Board of Trustees met for a regular session meeting on Monday, October 4, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. The session was called to order by Board President Michael Cloy. Austin Avenue Church of Christ Minister Tom Washburn gave the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Head Start students Mayah Sanchez, Ava DeLaPaz, Farrah Elder, and Edison King. A group of Head Start students performed the song Five Little Pumpkins, led by teacher Jessica Benson.
INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS
Brownwood ISD Deputy Superintendent Liesa Land presented the Instructional Focus update. Land provided a review of the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessments for K-6th grade, along with a brief analysis of the most recent data. Land pointed out areas where data was missing due to the COVID-19 pandemic though overall results indicated continued improvement. Intervention specialists, tutors, instructional coaches, and teacher-leaders are continuing to work on each campus to help students where results showed additional instruction might be needed. Land was encouraged to see the next round of results which would likely be presented before the holidays in December.
RECOGNITIONS
The following groups and individuals were recognized by BISD and were presented with certificates highlighting their achievements.
Emergency Response to Northwest Elementary:
On September 30, Northwest Elementary custodian Cecilia Torres called police to report hearing suspicious noises during her late-night shift at around 11:30 p.m. Police and fire crews responded and subsequently noticed sparks coming from under a door inside the school. Upon further inspection, it was determined a roof leak had developed during the rain, and water had begun dripping into an electrical power box. Principal Allison Northcutt was alerted to the problem, and BISD Maintenance crew members Jerry O’Neal, Jimmy Pepper, and Kevin Kirby were called in to address the issues. Because BISD has a certified electrician (Kirby) on staff who had the proper equipment to handle the problem, power was restored that night. BISD Maintenance was also able to patch the leak on the roof and get the building ready for school the next day. Due to the quick response of BISD staff and the Brownwood Police & Fire Departments, what could have easily become a major emergency was taken care of quickly and without any injury or closure of the building.
The recognitions pictured above included (left to right) The Brownwood Fire Department (held by BISD Trustee Diane Thompson), Cecilia Torres, Jerry O’Neal, Jimmy Pepper, Kevin Kirby, Allison Northcutt, and the Brownwood Police Department (held by BISD Trustee Amary Doremus).
BISD Spotlight Teachers and Staff:
The Brownwood ISD Spotlight recognizes members of the BISD faculty and staff who go the extra mile to ensure excellence in education for all our students. Spotlight recipients are chosen from peer nominations. October 2021 honorees were Brownwood High School (BHS) Biology teacher and coach Chesney Neely and BISD Maintenance Locksmith John Smiley. Pictured below top are BISD Trustee Diane Thompson, Spotlight honoree Chesney Neely and BHS Principal Lindsay Smith. Pictured below bottom are BISD Trustee Diane Thompson, Spotlight honoree John Smiley, and BISD Maintenance Supervisor Jerry O’Neal.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
• BISD has held two of the three scheduled Project Neighborhood community meetings. BISD Superintendent Dr. Joe Young led meetings at Woodland Heights Elementary and Central Support Center regarding the concept that would realign BISD primary campuses to provide continuity of services from Head Start through fifth grade within our neighborhood elementary schools. Attendance has been good, with around 40-50 parents and community members at each meeting bringing up good questions and ideas. The next meeting is at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 6, at Northwest Elementary.
• The Teacher Incentive Allotment committee continues to meet regarding the House Bill 3 (HB 3) measures on teacher pay, and BISD Director of Human Resources Doug Bonsal is expected to have an update for the Board at the November meeting.
• The BHS Class of 1960 has a reunion planned for Saturday, October 9. Dr. Young plans to attend and congratulate them on behalf of Brownwood ISD.
DISCUSSION & ACTION ITEMS
DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS
Nursing Report: The report provided by BISD Director of Nurses Helen Lacy contained current nursing assignments, indicating a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) serves on each BISD campus except Woodland Heights Elementary, where Nurse Lacy, who is a registered nurse (RN), is located. The report also noted that flu vaccines will be offered on campus for employees on October 13 and summarized the current nursing response procedures to positive COVID-19 cases.
Student Health Advisory Council (SHAC): Future meeting dates for SHAC were provided along with updated areas of discussion, including the mental health initiative, abstinence curriculum for grades 6-12, anger management classes in the DAEP program, school safety, and COVID measures. As required, a yearly review of the wellness policy was completed and passed through the committee without any suggested changes.
English as a Second Language (ESL) Program: The program provides appropriate planned instruction to identified students that are linguistically and culturally diverse. BISD currently has EL students that speak Spanish, Cantonese, Nepali, Vietnamese, Chinese, Albanian, and English. BISD employs a total of 45 ESL certified teachers. Director of Special Programs, Heidi Gardner, provided a report with a breakdown of the ESL students and teachers per campus.
Mental Health Initiative Update: BISD Mental Health Coordinator Danielle Howard provided a Comprehensive Counseling, Mental and Behavioral Health report outlining three phases and the progress identified from last year’s goals which were successfully completed on every campus. Data and assessments were collected district-wide to drive ongoing development of the program. District-level services were outlined in the report, along with specific counseling information collected from each campus and program. Encouraging data was highlighted throughout the report, including a 44% drop in discipline district-wide and DAEP referrals down by 64%. Howard noted that the BISD Mental Health and Counseling programs are leading the way for other districts with speaking engagement requests and ongoing conversations with Region 15.
Quarterly Investment Report: A Quarterly Investment Summary and Tax Assessor-Collector’s Report for August 2021 were provided to the Board for review.
ANNOUNCE BOARD MEMBER CONTINUING EDUCATION HOURS
Board President Michael Cloy reported that six BISD Board of Trustees members met or exceeded the yearly required continuing education hours for 2021, with new Trustee Amary Doremus on track to meet requirements by February 2022, her one-year anniversary as a board member. New board members are allowed one full year to complete the necessary training.
Trustee Diane Thompson moved that the Consent Agenda be approved as presented, with Trustee Amary Doremus seconding the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
No executive session was held during the meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The following announcements were made for upcoming events:
• Project Neighborhood Meeting – Northwest Elementary – October 6, 2021 – 5:30 p.m.
• Student Holiday/Staff Development Day – October 8, 2021
• School Holiday – October 11, 2021
• Site-Based Decision-Making Committee Meeting – October 14, 2021 – 4:00 p.m.
• Pink-Out Spirit Day & Game vs. Waco LaVega – October 15, 2021
• Region 15 Superintendent Conference – October 25-27, 2021
• Next Board Meeting – November 8, 2021
The meeting adjourned at 7:21 p.m.