February 2020

New Superintendent's Contract Approved During their regular February Board Meeting, trustees unanimously approved a three-year contract to hire Dr. Matt Smith as the next Belton ISD Superintendent. Smith, who was announced as the lone finalist for superintendent in January after a community-driven search process, will begin his new role on Monday, February 24.

Board Recognitions - Special Olympics Letter Jackets In the fall of 2017, dedicated staff members in Belton ISD’s Special Programs Department initiated a district team competing in Special Olympics sporting events for the first time in over 20 years. It is with the continued support of these incredible staff members, parents and many other volunteers, that the Board presented the first Belton High School (BHS) Special Olympics Letter Jackets to 10 high school student athletes who represented Belton ISD in at least one competition for two years. Congratulations to the following Special Olympic student athletes: Inez Aguilar, Josh Barney, Kandis Brashear, Hunter Busby, Hunter Goonan, Markeith Hawkins, Michael Lunceford, Zoe Moore, Mario Ortega and Matthew Ortega

Board Recognitions - KET Showcase Ensemble Choir The Leon Heights Elementary Honor Choir, under the direction of Debra Johnson, performed at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention in San Antonio in early February. An auditioned ensemble, the choir, composed of fourth and fifth grade students, rehearses weekly after school. One of only eight elementary performing groups at the 2020 convention, the Leon Heights Honor Choir was selected to perform for the Kodaly Educators of Texas after submitting an audition for the event last May.

Trustees Receive Safety Update February's meeting included an update on continued efforts to maintain the highest levels of emergency preparedness and address safety and security across the district in a comprehensive way. School safety and emergency preparedness is a large, complex undertaking that is at the forefront of all district planning and decision making. Everyone has a role in keeping our schools safe, including students and parents, and district efforts are enhanced significantly through extensive collaboration with local, regional, state and national resources. In recognition of the important role that area partners in law enforcement have in addressing campus and district safety, Belton ISD has initiated the "Meals for Shields" program. Open to all law enforcement and first responders, the program offers complimentary meals at all campuses and special event concessions to encourage interaction with students, and staff, and increase law enforcement presence on our campuses.

Board Recognitions - TMEA All-State Choir BHS student vocalists Kara Fish, Gracie Krieg, Ethan Matous, Jackson Reasoner and Rachel Schiller have been selected as members of the Texas All-State Choirs. Kara, a senior, was a part of the All-State Mixed Choir for the third year in a row. Gracie, a senior, and Rachel, a junior, both performed with the All-State Treble Choir. Ethan, a junior, and Jackson, a sophomore, were both a part of the Tenor/Bass Choir. All five performed with the best singers in the state and worked with world renowned clinicians throughout the Texas Music Educators Association Convention in San Antonio.  All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. To make the All-State Choir, students have to compete through three levels of competition, performing around 10 pieces of music and sight reading for judges. The students selected are in the top 2.6% of the state. The BHS choir is directed by Tonya Lovorn and Travis Campbell.

Board Recognitions - TDEA All-State Dancer BHS senior and Belton Magic Belles Captain Grace Fothergill was selected as an All-State Dancer performing with 250 dancers from across the state at the Texas Dance Educators Association Conference in January. To be selected as an All-State Dancer, the student must be recognized by their team’s Director as being a top leader, an amazing student, and also submit a resume of extra-curricular and dance abilities.  The Magic Belles are directed by Rachel Hill.

Board Recognitions - Academic UIL State Congress BHS senior Tyler Garrett and Belton New Tech High School @ Waskow senior Alexis Kaer represented Belton Academic UIL at the State Congress Debate Competition last month. This was the first year that Belton claimed two of the three slots for students advancing from regionals. During the two-day competition in Austin, Tyler and Alexis each had an opportunity to serve as presiding officer. The Academic UIL Debate Coach is Wayne Delso.

Plan to Review Standards-Based Grading for Early Learners Discussed In response to teacher feedback and requests, Belton ISD will review and consider moving to a standards-based grading system for early learners - Pre K, Kindergarten and First Grade. A standards-based grading system measures a student’s mastery of grade level standards using a progress scale. The tool is designed to communicate to parents both growth, and areas of need. This approach provides better communication to parents, allowing them to more easily understand how their child is doing. A timeline for a review of a standards-based grading system was discussed for March through May of this year, with implementation being considered for next school year.

Board Recognitions - HOSA State Qualifiers Future Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) students competed in area competition last month and four qualified to advance to state at the Spring Leadership Conference to be held in Galveston in April. Junior Ekan Malick advances to state after receiving first for his poster “HOSA: Today’s Practice - Tomorrow’s Victory” and Freshman Maya Miller advances after taking first place with her Healthy Lifestyle portfolio. Advancing for online testing in Health Care Issues is junior Elizabeth Bastow and senior Frida Cabrera. HOSA is sponsored by Mary Keeton & Stephanie Yaryan.

Board Recognitions - BPA State Qualifiers Business Professionals of America (BPA) students competed at the regional competition last month and seven qualified to advance to the state competition in Dallas in March. The team of seniors Tyler Garrett, Kabyl Utley, and Kage Dunn will compete in Economic Research. Kabyl Utley and Kage Dunn also qualified in the individual events for Payroll Accounting and Business Law & Ethics. Junior Karianne Hosch will compete in Advanced Spreadsheet Applications and senior Jackie Stokes in Presentation Management. Senior Alvin Packard will compete in Advanced Accounting and senior Chloe Aparicio in Fundamental Accounting. BPA is sponsored by Amanda Simpson.

Big Red Community Partner - ESC Region 12 Counseling Services Addressing and providing necessary support for students as they experience tragedy and loss is something the dedicated school counselors in Belton ISD do with great skill and compassion. When an entire campus is impacted directly by a loss, as several of our campuses have been this school year, our counselors and district administrators are able to respond on a larger scale with informed, professional support from the ESC Region 12 Counseling Services team.     Beyond their crisis response support, Counseling Services offers professional development and informational legislative updates for school counselors and other district employees. Last month, Belton ISD partnered with ESC Region 12 Counseling Services to deliver three full days of invaluable Senate Bill 11, threat assessment and mass reunification training to over 100 district and campus staff members, including SROs. In recognition of their invaluable support of Belton ISD staff and students, ESC Region 12 Counseling Services is this month’s Big Red Community Partner. Jenipher Janek accepted the award.

Board Committee Reports Policy: The policy committee met on February 3 and reviewed changes to the District's Emergency Operations Plan in accordance with newly adopted Senate Bill 11, and continued review of Board Policy. Facilities: The facilities committee met on February 19. Agenda items included discussion regarding elementary attendance boundaries, playground improvements and additions, long term needs for athletic facilities and ag barn facilities.

Interim Superintendent's Report General Board Information: Dr. Rosie Montgomery will be honored at the Central Texas Baylor Club 26th Annual Scholarship Brunch on February 22, 9-11:30 AM at the Wildflower Country Club. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Montgomery on her many accomplishments and her ongoing commitment to make things better! Jill Ross will present information on the LBHS fight song at the March Board Meeting and will begin hosting monthly "Bronco Round-up" events for students and parents. Finance & Operations: This Fall both high schools will receive Acer Chromebooks for all students, offering new Chromebooks to incoming 9th grade students in subsequent years. One middle school campus at a time will receive Chromebooks beginning Fall of 2021. Elementary Schools will continue to receive technology passed down from the sigh schools. Over the next 4-5 years the goal is for everyone to have access to Acer Chromebooks. Human Resources: UMHB and BISD co-hosted a paraprofessional training on February 17 at the Lord Conference Center at UMHB. The training focused on teacher certification options and resources.  It is great to be able to grow our paraprofessionals into future teachers. Thank you HR Department and UMHB. Facilities & Finance: Middle School Swim: Due to space constraints at our pool, we will be forced to do tryouts next year to participate in the middle school program. We will order two double portables for Chisholm Trail for next year. This will be a lease agreement, and will help alleviate over-crowding at this campus for the short-term without Chisholm students being transferred outside of their attendance zone. Student Services: We discussed busing options for subsequent years with two high schools. For next year, high school students from both LBHS and BHS will share buses. We just do not have adequate bus drivers to expand routes at this time. New Tech students will ride these buses as well. Renewal transfer letters were sent out this past week.

Consent Agenda Approvals: Previous Minutes January 31, 2020 Financial Report Budget Amendment #4 for 2019-2020 Gifts & Grants Expenditures over $50,000 including: High School and Middle School Technology Devices, Robotics for Middle School Robotics Course Supply, Equipment and Service Bids including: CTE Education Equipment, Campus Network Equipment Assistant Superintendent Contracts Election Judges for May 2, 2020 General Election To review Belton ISD Board Meeting agendas and full packet materials, click here.

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