July 16, 2018
Trustees Put Student Safety First Ahead of New School Year

At their monthly meeting, trustees welcomed three new Belton ISD staff members to the District as a part of a continued focus on addressing comprehensive safety and security. In a presentation to the Board, Kincannon reviewed the Administration's efforts to support safe and secure educational environments under goal four of the District Improvement Plan.
 
The District Improvement Plan, adopted by the Board each August, serves as a blueprint for how the District will continue to address priority areas, including important safety and security elements, in the new school year. The elements outlined in the plan will include: Facilities and Devices; Human Resources and Partnerships; Communication; Training; and Students.

The Board will adopt the complete District Improvement Plan, along with individual campus improvement plans, at their next meeting scheduled for the first day of classes, August 20.
SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference Gold Medal Winners

For the 2nd year in a row, Belton High School (BHS) students are the SkillsUSA TeamWorks National Champions. The team of construction trades students Bailey Eickenloff, William Glaser, Antonio Hernandez and Lyhue Penny took 1st place in the TeamWorks event at the 2018 SkillsUSA National Student Leadership Conference held last month in Louisville, Kentucky.  This year's build was an 8x8 structure with vinyl siding, detailed decorative brick work, full kitchen with stove, dishwasher, sink with disposal, microwave ventahood, and a hip roof. The only schools that completely finished the project were Belton (representing Texas), Georgia and South Carolina.
 
The SkillsUSA TeamWorks sponsor is Craig Sullivan. This title represents Sullivan's second national championship. His teams placed first at nationals in 2017, sixth in 2016, fourth in 2015 and seventh in 2014.
FCCLA National Leadership Conference Gold Medal Winner

BHS student Ashley Ficker won a gold medal from the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Ashley took first place in the Interior Design category and was awarded a $3,000 scholarship to The Art Institute, along with a full scholarship to the summer seminar at the prestigious Savannah College of Art and Design.
 
In the Interior Design competition, students are required to create a floor plan and an elevation addressing the specifics of a design scenario given by FCCLA. Those materials are then showcased on visuals, prepared in advance, during an oral presentation before a group of judges at the conference.  Milissa Beechem is the Interior Design FCCLA sponsor.
Three New Staff Members Introduced 

As a part of the presentation, Kincannon introduced Doug Taylor as Belton ISD's new Coordinator of Safety, Pete Ramirez as the new Coordinator of Emergency Preparedness, and Dr. Rachelle Warren as the new Director of Social Emotional Learning and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. 

Taylor, who has more than twenty years of law enforcement experience, previously served as a Belton Police Department School Resource Officer (SRO) working in Belton ISD schools, and was the Sergeant supervising the SROs. In his new position as Coordinator of Safety, Taylor will work closely with all SROs, campus security guards and local law enforcement partners. 

Ramirez comes to Belton ISD from the Temple Police Department where he served for 33 years. His roles within the Department included SRO, juvenile investigations, training, supervision and the development and coordination of public safety plans. As the Coordinator of Emergency Preparedness, Ramirez will build upon the District's capacity for emergency planning and preparation as well as training for students, staff and the community.
 
Warren, who was approved by the Board for her position as the new Director of Social Emotional Learning and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, has worked closely with Belton ISD over the last three years on issues of diversity and anti-bias as the Director of Education with the Anti-Defamation League. A former teacher, principal and public school district Director of HR, Warren has a Bachelor's and Master's degree from the University of Texas, and a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Texas A&M.

In her new role, Warren will be tasked with implementing a social emotional learning program and will assist in the review and design of systems to support students' overall well-being. In addition, Warren will provide leadership for elementary counselors.
US News & World Report Best High Schools Silver Medal - Belton New Tech High School @ Waskow

Each year US News & World Report recognizes top public high schools with gold, silver and bronze medals. This year Belton New Tech High School @ Waskow received a silver medal for being a high-performing school based on college readiness as measured by performance on state exams. This is a selective group. Less than one-third of schools nationwide are recognized, and less than 11% are awarded silver medals.
Big Red Community Partner -  University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

Belton ISD and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) have built a close working relationship that has produced a strong history of providing significant educational opportunities for students to excel.
 
From the unique on-campus dual credit opportunities for Belton ISD students to the UMHB student teaching or student intern positions at our campuses, it is easy to see the partnership in action on an almost daily basis. Additionally, the use of facilities, instructional collaboration and shared commitment to service on various community organizations aligns Belton ISD and UMHB administrators in many ways that directly benefit our students, the City of Belton, and Bell County.
 
For their continued partnership and support of Belton ISD, UMHB is the July Big Red Community Partner. Dr. Randy O'Rear, President of UMHB, accepted the award.
Superintendent's Report

Back-to-School Activities
 
The first day of school is August 20, just five weeks from today. The activity level on campuses and in extracurricular activities will begin to pick up from here moving forward. For example, cross country teams have started practicing and full band practices will begin next week. Volleyball and football practices will follow at the beginning of August.

This year Belton ISD is projected to grow by 433 students, which would put the District enrollment at 11,963. It is possible that total enrollment could surpass 12,000 by the end of October.

Student registration dates and times, by campus, are on the District's website HERE along with Open House/Meet the Teacher information. Freshman Focus for both high schools will be held on August 7.
 
New Teachers Orientation also begins August 7 and will feature a special welcome lunch hosted at South Belton Middle School. All teachers will be back the next day, on August 8. Convocation will be held at 8:30 a.m. at the Bell County Expo.
 
Pre-K Registration

Students are more successful in school when they have Pre-Kindergarten as a foundation for learning. With that in mind, some additional steps have been taken this year to ensure that qualifying students are registered for Pre-K.
 
Beginning next week, Pizza & Pre-K Informational events will be held at Leon Heights, Miller Heights, and Southwest Elementary. Then on July 30 & 31 the Belton Early Childhood School will be hosting on-site registration.


Administrative Retreat
 
The Belton ISD Administrative Retreat will be held August 1-3.
 
Over the course of the three day retreat, administrators are going to take a unique approach to safety and security using an innovation and design thinking process.
 
Google is sponsoring the first two days of training. They will be providing facilitators from the O'Briant Group, an Atlanta based firm, to guide discussion on this important topic and teach a process to come up with ideas for school improvement with a focus on District culture and users - parents, students, and community members.
 
On Day 2,  Maureen Molak is a featured guest speaker. Maureen is the mother of David, a young man who committed suicide due to cyberbullying, and whose story resulted in legislation about cyberbullying known as "David's Law."
 
On Day 3,  Alissa Parker will speak during breakfast. Alissa is the mother of Emilie Parker, one of the 20 children who died tragically in the Sandy Hook school shootings in 2012. This presentation is being sponsored by the Central Texas Council of Government's Emergency Services Program, and local peace officers will be joining Belton ISD for the event.
 
Following Alissa's session, Belton Police Chief Gene Ellis and his staff will provide training to school leaders on the CRASE program - Citizens Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE).
 
All of the information and activities of the retreat will be connected to the book, "The Power of Moments" and the District's theme for the year, "Creating Moments that Matter."
 
In addition, the team will be focused on building leadership competencies for design thinking using the ideas from a book called, "Design Thinking for School Leaders: Five Roles and Mindsets that Ignite Positive Change."

This will be a meaningful event for the administrative team and will launch into a great school year focused on meeting the needs of Belton ISD students.

More photos of students and staff members recognized at this month's board meeting can be found on Belton ISD's Google+ page.