The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees heard reports from Guidance and Counseling and on the strategic plan during a workshop Tuesday.
The Guidance and Counseling Department report gave an overview of the integrated, wrap-around services provided to students and families in their respective areas of social work, nursing, counseling, and social-emotional learning, the board recap detailed.
The Community Outreach Center houses the team of social workers who reduce barriers to school attendance in order to prevent truancy and dropouts.
ECISD nurses provide required childhood immunizations, and worked with the local health department to offer COVID vaccines, in addition to regular duties like managing complex, chronic conditions, addressing mental health issues, and handling emergencies, the recap stated.
Counselors support social, emotional, and mental health wellness, organize career exploration opportunities, and help guide students through college or career discussions. A key element of Guidance & Counseling’s work this year has centered on rolling out the SEL curriculum, 7 Mindsets, which teaches necessary life skills like self-management, self-awareness, and relationship-building, the recap detailed.
The board also received a quarterly update on strategic plan updates.
National Board certification is the gold standard for teaching credentials, the recap stated. Thanks to a multi-million-dollar, multi-year grant from the Permian Strategic Partnership, ECISD’s plan includes personalized support for teachers working through it (at no cost to the teacher). Currently, 46 teachers are pursuing National Board certification. Teachers that become board certified automatically receive a “Recognized” designation on their Texas certificate and are eligible for up to a $9,000 stipend per the Teacher Incentive Allotment.
Strategic Staffing and Compensation is ECISD’s approach to attracting, recruiting and retaining talented employees. Opportunity Culture, Teacher Incentive Allotment, RISE (Rapidly Improving School Effectiveness) campuses are all examples of ways effective teachers can earn additional compensation.
District Operations is routinely looking for ways to be more efficient and effective. Universal free feeding (free breakfast and free lunch for every student, every day), preventive maintenance practices, modernizing the energy management systems district-wide (which has saved $4.6 million in energy costs since 2019), and adding student tracking and live GPS tracking to school buses are priority projects in place now. ECISD Transportation will begin a pilot program with a Parent App allowing parents to receive timely information about their child’s bus route.
In his opening comments, Superintendent Scott Muri mentioned his visit to the students in the culinary arts program to tell them how outstanding he thought their presentation and service were at the State of the District event, the recap stated.
He also thanked trustees for their participation in the first session of the Raise Your Hand Texas Trustee Advocates Program earlier in the day. This is an 18-month fellowship, leading school board members to strengthen their voices in ways that can influence positive change, the recap detailed.
