KISD making more changes
By LESTER MURRAY news2@kilgorenewsherald.com

Kilgore Independent School District has undergone some major changes in the last few months, beginning with the naming of a new superintendent after 14 year.

Jody Clements, the new KISD superintendent, sent out a survey for the school district. He sought a district evaluation from parents, students and faculty. As a result of that survey, more changes are starting to take place.

Clements said he was grateful for the response from the community and now will begin implementing those changes.

Concerns were addressed by campus with possible resolutions to those concerns.

Kilgore Heights Elementary

School

The facility will receive a new drive-through drop-off area this summer, increasing safety for students and eliminate the parking and drop-off problem in front of the school.

Restroom floors and stalls are being redone and custodians will be doing extra cleaning to deal with odor problems in the restrooms.

As far as accountability standards the district will implement benchmark tests that will identify student needs .

As for safety, besides the new drop-off area, new fencing will restrict campus entry, a front door buzzer will be installed to allow staff to know when someone is entering the building, ID check machines are being researched for background checks when people visit the campus, the school has performed a safety audit for the district and the school is looking for a crossing guard.

The cafeteria was also a concern and KISD is now looking into other food options and strategies that other local school districts use.

To improve communication, weekly e-mail of events will be sent out to teachers and regular faculty meetings will be held to provide more communication on campus.

Also for Heights, a new elementary counselor will be hired during the summer.

Chandler Elementary School

The office will work to provide a more positive environment. Training for all district office personnel will be required.

The maintenance department has reworked schedules to provide for a cleaner environment. Bathrooms will be checked more often and will be cleaned with stronger cleaning solutions as allowed.

The district is looking for a new elementary counselor.

Stipends for UIL events are being implemented and the district curriculum director has been assigned to direct these activities for the district.

Parental requests for teachers have been eliminated to assure that all students have an equal opportunity to the highest level of education without any bias or favoritism.

Placement of gifted students is being re-evaluated to make sure that all students have an equal opportunity to be in the gifted and talented program. Also UIL activities are being implemented.

For behavior management, character education modules are being taught in each grade.

Kilgore Intermediate School

The district hopes to hire an elementary counselor for KIS.

Discipline plans have been aligned with the middle school and high school.

The administration is implementing communication strategies that address parental, community and internal communication.

Stipends for UIL events are being implemented and the district curriculum director has been assigned to direct these activities for the district.

Staff morale has been addressed by implementing staff incentive and award programs along with using a more participative management style.

The campus will be cleaner, maintenance has addressed reworking of schedules to provide for a cleaner environment. Bathrooms are checked more often and will be cleaned with stronger cleaning solutions when allowed.

Maude Laird Middle School

Fair and consistent discipline is on the top of the list for MLMS, a discipline continuum will be developed by the Site Based Decision Making Committee. All teachers will follow the plan. Assistant principals will collaborate and align discipline vertically in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Administrators and teachers will effectively communicate with parents at the sixth grade orientation and open house. If decided by the committee, letters to parents explaining our discipline police will be mailed this summer with report cards.

The district will work on a more supportive and courteous office staff. Clements said he will continue to meet with the office staff and convey his expectations. Policy will be followed and unacceptable behavior will be documented. All office personnel will attend Region VII training.

The budget will be examined to ensure that each department has sufficient funding. Elmo's (a computer-screen projector system) will continue to be purchased, with the goal of one per classroom by 2010.

Students will have an opportunity to show their academic talents by participating and being coached by MLMS teachers in UIL academic events.

A safety barrier will be installed around the park area. The district has partnered with Region VII to help make all campuses safer through training and annual audits.

The district will look for more teacher involvement outside the classroom and ask teachers to share ways they can be more involved outside the classroom, which may in turn inspire others to be more involved. Personnel will also brainstorm quick and easy involvement such as in athletic and music events.

Kilgore High School

Fair and consistent discipline is also being addressed at KHS, a discipline continuum will be developed by administration. All teachers will follow the plan. Assistant principals will collaborate and align discipline vertically in the ninth through the twelfth grades. Administrators and teachers will effectively communicate with parent at all levels to communicate the discipline policy.

Teachers' and administrators' expectation of the students will be raised. The teachers will work as a collaborative team to raise the academic as well as behavior standards of all students.

Visibility of administrators will increase. The principal will require that all assistant principals and teachers will be in the hallways between classes. In addition, assistant principals will walk the halls between each passing period to make sure they are visible and students are aware of their presence. Security officers will be handling outside duties sand other required duties as directed by the principal.

Staff will be accountable to teach the TAKS and student expectations as stated in the district scope and sequence and will follow the district curriculum design plan. Teachers will be evaluated and monitored and held accountable for TAKS scores an state curriculum.

Students will be held accountable for their academics as well as behavior. Students that do not perform academically will be required to attend additional tutorials and will not be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities. Academics will be first priority. Students with behavior issues will be dealt with appropriately and consistently. Continued issues will result in alternative placement considerations.

UIL, dual credit, advanced placement, college preparation classes, commended performance on TAKS, merit scholars and Texas Scholars will be stressed as high priority issues to advance the academic achievement of all students.

Maintenance department has addressed reworking of schedules to provide for a cleaner environment. Bathrooms are checked more often and will be cleaned with stronger cleaning solutions as allowed.

The cafeteria is being addressed as the district food service is looking into other food options and strategies that local school districts use.

Clements said KISD is also looking at some district-wide changes, such as the implementation of a minority parental involvement program, minority leadership programs, minority teacher recruitment, increase in dual credit classes, design of a district-wide curriculum alignment program, development of a new teacher academy, development of community partnerships, create an educational foundation, increase technology usage and to develop a district long range plan.