The Brownwood ISD (BISD) Board of Trustees met for a regular session meeting on Monday, December 13, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. The session was called to order by Board President, Michael Cloy. Pastor Ernest Kirk from Mt. Zion Baptist Church gave the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by East Elementary students Sawyer Fields, Emery Anderson, Grace Diaz, and Haven Carrasco.

STUDENT PERFORMANCE

East Elementary Music Teacher Jennifer Gwathmey led her second and third-grade students in performing Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child and Mary, Did You Know?

INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS BISD

Deputy Superintendent, Liesa Land, provided an update regarding Texas Reading Academy requirements which began in 2019 with the 86th Legislature and House Bill 3. After being delayed a year by COVID, the updated requirement states all kindergarten through third-grade teachers and principals must attend a “teacher literacy achievement academy” by the end of the 2022 – 2023 school year. Land noted that BISD has an in-house trainer, which has helped the process by eliminating the need to send staff elsewhere for training. BISD Director of Elementary Curriculum, Jenny Swanzy, leads the district’s Reading Academy training. Land added that the program is very time consuming and Swanzy has done a fantastic job. In January 2021, the first group of 19 BISD staff completed the academy. The state-required 11-month course includes the following 12 modules: Introduction/Overview, Science of Teaching Reading, Establishing a Literacy Community, Using Data to Inform Instruction, Tiered Levels of Support, Oral Language and Vocabulary, Pre-Reading Skills, Decoding/Encoding & Word Study, Reading Fluency, Reading Comprehension, Written Composition, and Putting It All Together. Locally, the Reading Academy has been expanded through fifth grade and the second group is set to begin January 10, 2022, with 80 BISD staff members.

RECOGNITIONS

The following groups and individuals were recognized by BISD and were presented with certificates highlighting their achievements.

BISD Holiday Card Design Winners

Brownwood High School (BHS) Erika Martinez, and East Elementary third-grade student Aliviah Lavon Rice were recognized for their holiday card contest designs. Their artwork was selected as the winning entries (one elementary and one secondary) to be featured on 2021 Brownwood ISD Holiday Greeting Cards. Pictured below are the contest winners along with BISD Trustee Tim Jacobs, BHS Principal Lindsay Smith, BHS Art Teacher Kimberly Van Huss, East Administrative Intern Christi Burks, and East Principal Dee Dee Wright.

BHS Lady Lions Volleyball Team

The BHS Volleyball team was recognized for their season accomplishments as Bi-District Winners and Area Qualifiers as well as many individual honors. Pictured below are Head Coach Allison Smith, Kassidy Wooten, Kylie Wooten, Olivia Fowler, and BISD Trustee Eric Evans.

BMS Teachers – Strengthening Academic Achievement

Four Brownwood Middle School (BMS) teachers were recognized for exemplary service in strengthening student academic achievement in their areas of instruction. Pictured below are BMS Principal Sandra Richardson, BISD Trustee Diane Thompson, Amber Villalpando, Teresa Brandstetter, Glenda Uecker, and Ashley Gomez.

BISD Staff – Completion of Texas Reading Academy

The following 19 BISD Staff have completed the 11-month Texas Reading Academy training: Bucky Bates, Jeanette Lancaster, Allison Northcutt, Kristi Owen, Dee Dee Wright, Christi Burks, Kelsie Eldred, Mary Murray, Kali McLaughlin, Sara Bernal, Rebecka Mouser, Erin Pennington, Regan Williams, Staci Cadena, Stephanie Morton, Brec Espinoza, Kisha Hope, Jennifer Mares, and Lauren Mays. Honorees in attendance are pictured below with 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. December 20201 honorees were Coggin Intermediate School ELAR teacher Melissa Martin, and Woodland Heights Elementary Life Academics aide Kacy Cotton. Spotlight honoree Kacy Cotton is pictured with Woodland Heights Principal Jeanette Lancaster and BISD Trustee Codie Smith.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

were provided on the following topics:

• Project Neighborhood task force meetings are continuing along with community engagement to identify logistical issues and work through specific areas of concern as the plan that aligns early education through fifth grade into neighborhood schools takes shape. Mapping software has recently been completed that will allow analysis of attendance boundary changes with projections of how any changes would affect BISD schools moving forward.

• BHS Theatre’s production of Mary Poppins completed its run, and with several Christmas programs also slated for the week, Dr. Young touted the excellence of Fine Arts programs throughout the district.

• Budget reports

• Elementary and middle school recently competed in UIL Academics. Results have been released and will be published soon. Dr. Young noted that the students represented BISD very well.

• The Site-Based Decision-Making Committee will review calendar options for the next school year at a meeting on December 16. Next year the calendar will go back to a requirement of 180 school days instead of the current 75,600 minutes. This change is due to the addition of a new summer enrichment program set to begin in 2023.

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DISCUSSION & ACTION ITEMS

PUBLIC HEARING ON FIRST REPORT

The state’s school financial accountability rating system, known as the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), ensures that Texas public schools are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices. The board moved into the public hearing on the First Report at 7:07 p.m. Mitch Moore, BISD Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance, reported that BISD received a Meets Standard Achievement Rating on the 2020-2021 First Report. This rating is based on school year 2019-2020 data. The district score was 79 out of a possible 100. With no additional public comments or discussion, the meeting returned to regular session at 7:10 p.m.

DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Report: BISD’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs continue to expand in the number of programs and certifications offered and in the number of students in the classes. Currently, there are 853 students enrolled in the CTE courses at BHS. Some advanced CTE courses offered include Graphic Design 2, Audio Video Production 2, Business Information Management, and Pathophysiology. During the 2020-2021 school year, six BHS students achieved their FAA Commercial Remote Pilot’s license through a new drone certification program. This school year there are seventeen students that are eligible for examination and certification. This program is a partnership with Ranger College and the Brownwood MDD. The BHS CTE program also encourages and supports participation in Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO’s) in all program areas such as FFA, SkillsUSA, HOSA, TAFE, and FCCLA. Students in these organizations at BHS continue to win awards at competitions and show the strength of the BHS CTE program. To showcase student’s success to local industries and the community, the Brownwood Industry Trade Show (BITS) is scheduled to be held in February 2022.

Facilities Report: A report was provided listing the facility projects and upgrades initiated and completed by the BISD Maintenance Department. The list included a wide range of work, from the installation of commercial handwashing stations and new plumbing for the greenhouse at BHS to painting and gym improvement projects throughout the district. The report detailed work completed at all BISD campuses including Gordon Wood Stadium and Central Support Center. BISD has been approached by several citizens requesting improvements be made to select facilities in our district. After approval was granted at last month’s Board meeting, a local community group is working with the district and Claycomb Associates to provide professional services including master planning, site analysis, facility condition study, and cost estimates for areas and facilities that may need improvement. Claycomb Associates provides these services at no cost to the community. A presentation was made indicating areas identified at Gordon Wood Stadium, the baseball and softball fields, and other athletic facilities at BHS that are in need of improvement to meet accessibility and UIL standards.

FIRST READING: TASB-INITIATED POLICY UPDATE 118

This update included TASB localized policy manual updates and revisions. Noted changes included a requirement that school counselors work on counseling duties for 80% of their time, accelerated learning committees replacing the Student Success Initiative (SSI), additions to excused absences, and other verbiage changes. The update was presented as a first reading only, with no action on the item scheduled until January.

ACCEPT THE RESIGNATION OF BOARD MEMBER TIM JACOBS (PLACE 7)

After 12 years of service, Mr. Jacobs is stepping down from BISD’s Board of Trustees for position 7. Trustee Jacobs has served on the Board since July of 2009. Board members and BISD administrators expressed their thanks to Trustee Jacobs for his many years of service and let him know that he will be missed. Trustee Eric Evans made a motion to approve the resignation of Mr. Tim Jacobs from the BISD Board of Trustees effective December 31, 2021. Trustee Codie Smith seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

CONSENT AGENDA

The following items were listed for consideration on the Consent Agenda. 1. Minutes from the November 8, 2021 Board Meeting Trustee Thompson moved that the Consent Agenda be approved as presented, with Trustee Roderick Jones seconding the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The following announcements were made for upcoming events:

• Site-Based Decision-Making Committee Meeting – December 16, 2021

• Early Release – Friday, December 17, 2021

• Christmas Break – December 20 – 31, 2021

• Staff Development/Student Holiday – January 3, 2022

• Youth Fair – January 10-15, 2022

• Next Board Meeting – January 10, 2022

• Martin Luther King Holiday – January 17, 2022

EXECUTIVE SESSION

The board moved into executive session at 7:41 p.m. to discuss personnel matters and the Superintendent Evaluation review. They returned to open session at 9:27 p.m. No additional action was taken. The meeting adjourned at 9:32 p.m.