January 14, 2019
Belton ISD Board Approves New District Attendance Boundaries:

After extensive input from parents and community members, the Belton ISD Board of Trustees approved new elementary, middle and high school attendance boundaries. The new boundaries were adopted Monday, January 14, 2019, in preparation for the opening of Charter Oak Elementary in August 2019, followed by Lake Belton High School and Belton Middle School in the fall of 2020.

Working closely with the district’s demographers, Templeton Demographics, the Administration convened a citizen’s committee consisting of parents, community members, teachers and administrators to study new attendance boundaries. The Attendance Boundaries Committee met five times beginning in August 2018 and concluded their work on January 7, 2019. In addition, a series of three public forums were held to solicit community feedback on attendance boundary maps.

The approved boundaries, as recommended by the Administration, keep seven of the district’s nine elementary schools together when students advance to middle school, a fact highlighted by Templeton Demographics as unusual given the size of the district.

For high school, the new boundaries follow the natural boundary lines along the Leon River, creating the Belton High School zone as south of the river with the new Lake Belton High School drawing from students residing in the north.

To view maps of the new attendance boundaries and review information about the early transfer process, visit www.bisd.net/EnrollinBISD .
Henry T. Waskow VFW Post 4880 Patriots Pen Essay Winner:

Gabriel Noguera and Anna Stum, eighth grade students from North Belton Middle School, took top honors in the annual Henry T. Waskow VFW Post 4008 Patriots Pen Essay Contest.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Patriots Pen Essay Contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme. This year’s theme was “Why I Honor the American Flag.” Both essays advanced from the Post competition, with Gabriel’s essay placing 3rd in the VFW District 14 competition. 
Belton ISD Board Approves 2019-2020 Academic Calendar:

On Monday, January 14, 2019, the board took action to approve the calendar for the 2019–2020 academic year, which sets the date that Charter Oak Elementary School will officially welcome its first students.

In keeping with Belton ISD’s District of Innovation Plan, classes will start prior to the fourth Monday of August. The first day of class will be Monday, August 19, 2019. The last day of classes will be Wednesday, May 27, 2020, with graduation held the following day. Students and staff will have the week of Thanksgiving off, two weeks off around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, and the week of March 9 off for Spring Break.
May 2019 School Board Elections:

Four seats on the Belton ISD Board of Trustees will appear on the ballot for the May 4, 2019, election. A general election has been called for Trustee Areas 1, 3 and 5, as well as a special election for Trustee Area 2. 

To date, Jeff Norwood has filed for re-election for Trustee Area 1. Sue M. Jordan filed for re-election for Area 3 and Manuel Alcozer filed for Area 5. For the special election in Area 2, Dr. Rosie Montgomery has filed for re-election.
 
The filing period for this year’s general election ends at 5 p.m. on February 15. Special election candidates for Trustee Area 2 have until 5 p.m. on March 4 to file. 

All applications must be filed with the office of the Deputy Superintendent at the Belton ISD Administration Building (400 N. Wall St., Belton) and will be accepted from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.

Application forms may be obtained from the Secretary of State’s website ( http://www.sos.state.tx.us ) or at the Belton ISD Administration Building.
Big Red Community Partner -
McCoy's Building Supply of Belton:

Producing a musical and being able to bring a story to life on stage involves much more than just the performers. While the actors are on the stage, there are dozens of students behind the scenes making sure that everything is running smoothly. The Belton High School Fine Arts spring musical production of The Addams Family has 38 students involved in roles that range from props design, construction, costume design, sound engineering and light design.
 
When we all enjoy the incredible performances of the cast of The Addams Family later this month, be sure to note the work that has taken place behind the scenes! Costumes and sets have been built by BHS students, guided by Mel Edwards. Through the efforts of supportive parents and community members, McCoy’s Building Supply of Belton provided the Belton Theatre Department with lumber and tools that students were able to use to help build an incredible, multi-faceted set.

In recognition of this donation and their invaluable support of Belton ISD students, McCoy’s Building Supply of Belton is this month’s Big Red Community Partner.
District Implements Enhanced Communication Tool for Security:

This month, Belton ISD is transitioning to the I Love You Guys Foundation Standard Response Protocol (SRP) for emergency response language. The Texas School Safety Center promotes the SRP as a communication tool that can help us ensure consistent, shared language and actions among all students, staff and first responders. The SRP is not a replacement but an enhancement of the existing safety plans.

Staff has received training on the SRP, and teachers have been encouraged to present a poster that utilizes the new language to their students as a part of their regular review of classroom and/or campus procedures.

As the district transitions to the updated system, some language used to describe and instruct behaviors during incidents both inside and outside of the schools will change. The five terms now adopted include lockout, lockdown, evacuate, shelter and hold.

The SRP is the latest measure in the district’s efforts to comprehensively address safety and security, and is one part of the District Improvement Plan adopted by the Board of Trustees last August. The DIP serves as a blueprint for how the district will continue to address priority areas, including important safety and security elements.

Some of the measures adopted this school year include: the use of magnetic locks at every campus to limit access from the office into the campus, installing over 500 locks for classroom doors to ensure that all doors can be locked quickly and easily from the inside, required training sessions in Citizens Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) and Stop The Bleed for employees, and implementing a new anti-bullying and safety reporting system called Anonymous Alerts.
Superintendent's Report

School Board Recognition Month:

January is school board appreciation month and this year’s theme is “Planting Seeds of Success.” As committed volunteers with a passion for public education, Belton ISD’s School Board Members serve the taxpayers and students through their commitment to the district’s mission.

They provide vision and leadership in their roles as advocates, ensuring students are challenged to excel and reaching the highest levels of achievement and success. Cultivating a culture of success is at the heart of how the board tackles the challenging decisions and important planning that support the district.

Together Belton ISD’s trustees provide an invaluable volunteer service to their community and its schools: 

  • President Sue M. Jordan was first elected in 2013.
  • Vice President Mr. Jeff Norwood was elected in 2016.
  • Secretary Mrs. Janet Leigh was first elected in 2017.
  • Mr. Ty Taggart was first elected in 2017.
  • Mr. Chris Flor was first elected in 2018.
  • Dr. Rosie Montgomery first served from October 2010 to April 2015 and was most recently appointed in 2018.
  • Mr. Manuel Alcozer was first appointed in 2018.
Spring Musical The Addams Family :

The Belton ISD Fine Arts and Theatre Departments, under the leadership and direction of Theatre Director Melissa Stuff and Technical Director, Mel Edwards, will be entertaining audiences later this month with their production of The Addams Family .

This year’s cast will feature the three BHS Choir students just named to the Texas All-State Choir this weekend – Kara Fish, Andrew Holcomb, and Ian Ferrell.

Show times at the BHS Performing Arts Center are scheduled for January 25 and 26, at 7pm, with a Sunday matinee on January 27, at 2:00pm.

In addition to reserving tickets now for one of the three showtimes, you may also tune in to KWTX and KCEN morning shows on Tuesday and Thursday of next week as the students perform LIVE on the early morning broadcasts.

Thank you to both stations for supporting the students and Lamar Advertising of Temple for again promoting the spring musical on their digital billboards.