Judson Journal Spring/Summer by judsonisd

Spring/ Summer 2018

JUDS ON Journal FINDING HER VOICE, SHARING HER JOURNEY

SA'S YOUTH OF THE YEAR SAVANNAH MAYHOOD

New Video

LITTLE FEET MEET BIG HEARTS Modern Good Samarit ans Visit Candlewood

CREATI NG WORL DS Kit t y Hawk St udent Takes The Publishing Leap 1 1

This photo: Samaritan's Feet and volunteers from Walmart partnered to bring the message of giving to others in the act of washing the feet of students at Candlewood Elementary School and the gift of new socks and shoes.

This ISSUE: 3 4 6 8

Superintendent Message SA's Youth of the Year Metzger 's Music World Honored A Samaritan's Gift At Candlewood

JISD Awards and Honors

Creating Worlds...A Student, Author

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JLA, One Student at a Time Community Education Classes

On The Cover: Judson Early College

Managing Editor: Steve Linscomb

Academy student Savannah Mayhood is San Antonio's Youth of the Year and has a story to tell. Photo by White Cloud Media Group

Contributing Photographers: Steve Linscomb, David Rhoads and White Cloud Media Group

2 Communications Department The Judson Journal is a publication of the Judson ISD Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

A NEW CHAPTER FOR JISD Superintendent Message Dr. Carl A. Montoya

keeping a good pace all year is important so we give our best all the way to the end.

school was chosen to host this big event in connection with the NCAA National College Basketball Tournament Final Four games here in San Antonio. It was a tremendous way of showcasing Wagner who has produced two high impact NBA stars in Jordan Clarkson (Cavaliers) and Andre Roberson (Thunder).

I t?s an exciting time at Judson

As you have likely seen, school

ISD with bond projects going on. Contractors are building two new elementary schools and now they have names. The campus on the south end will be named Escondido Elementary School and is currently about 70% complete, while the north end campus will be named Wortham Oaks Elementary School and is around 25% complete. Both projects are on schedule and under budget.

safety has been a hot topic in the news in light of recent tragedies. Safety on our campuses is not optional, it is a must-have. That?s why training like the recent two-day safety event that Wagner High School hosted is important. The instruction focused on what is called the ALICE approach. That's Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. It?s a different, more proactive, way of dealing with acts of violence on campuses. Administrators and officers nationwide attended and learned more effective ways of 3 handling active shooters, acts of

I t's tr uly amazing how quickly this school year has gone. That's why

Hey, did you see the NCAA High School Slam Dunk/3 point Shooting Contest on CBS? It was at Wagner High School! Our

terrorism and workplace violence situations. Just know that JISD is consistently learning, practicing, and drilling everyone on our campuses to know what to do and when to do it during emergencies.

Lastly, I wanted to let you know that I will soon be retiring as Superintendent of Judson ISD. We have realized so many achievements during my three years here. The latest is the District?s recognition as a 2018 Magna Award winner from the National School Boards Association. JISD was selected as one of 15 first place winners

nationally for its work with underserved students. It has been an honor to serve as your superintendent and I want to thank our students, parents, and staff for allowing me to lead the best school district in the Bexar county area.

Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

Steve L inscomb San AnByton io's Youth of th e Year

Judson Early College Academ y Sen ior Savan n ah Mayh ood By Steve Linscomb

W h en Savan n ah Mayh ood decided sh e w an ted to participate

in the San Antonio Youth of the Year competition, it was for a lot of reasons. She?d heard from other students that had given it a go that the people you meet, the speeches you prepare and just the experience in leadership you get is incredible. But it was more than that. The reason that burned down deep inside that compelled her to ?put herself out there?? was to help other students. For them to see someone with real challenges in life that was able to not only move past them, but to flourish.

When she first began to think seriously about giving the Boys and Girls Club?s Youth of the Year contest a try, she began watching some of the speeches given by national contestants. To Savannah, they were so inspiring that it changed how she was looking at the whole event. The purpose became deeper. ?It was a way to share my story and to lead my peers and people younger than me, to say you can come up from this, from any adversity,?

That adversity for her, as she has publicly talked about, was the abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather. It had a devastating impact. She did what she could to escape the pain. ?It pushed me to borderline alcoholism at 16? I had self harmed and hated for years.? But Savannah said by her junior year she looked at herself and saw someone else. ?What am I doing? This isn?t me,? she says, ?the Boys and Girls Club helped me 4 through all of that, they were my emotional support.? Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

" I t was a way to share my stor y and to lead my peer s..." Savannah Mayood San Antonio Youth of the Year

That organization got her involved in a number of different programs inside and outside the club that showed her who she really could be and how it could happen. It was the tool that helped her out of a very dark place and she wants others to know that there is a way out for them too. For her, it was the Boys and Girls Club. That?s what spoke to her. She says that help called her to see her worth and the worth of her voice.

She turned that into a voice that was heard loud and clear in her speech at the San Antonio Youth of the Year event. Speaking from her experience and from her heart, she ignored the bright lights, the eyes watching her, and the nerves that can come from public speaking and told her story with conviction. She advanced to the state level, but the reason she did it was not for the recognition. It was to tell her story to encourage other students that may be going through the same thing.

While Savannah didn?t win the state competition, she walked away with priceless momentum in her life that is a complete turnaround from where she was just a couple of years ago. She hopes to parlay the experience into pursuing a mass communications degree at Mary Hardin Baylor University followed by an internship at CBS in New York in sports 5 journalism. 5

Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

Feeding The Academic Fir

By Steve L inscomb

St u den t s lear n or ch est r a basics f r om Dir ect or Br ian Cok er

M et zger M S: A Best Communi ty For M usi c Educati on

Getting students interested in music and playing an instrument is many times not the biggest challenge as a music educator, but it?s keeping them engaged. Engaged in the development of their talent and committing to their instrument and playing together as part of a group. That?s what is happening at Metzger Middle School. While band, orchestra and choir aren?t considered to be core subjects, there?s no denying the impact that music education makes. Using that part of the brain has a huge effect on a child?s ability to perform in the core academic areas. The Performing Fine Arts program at Metzger recently received national recognition for the quality of its music instruction from the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation. NAMM awarded the school the Support Music Merit Award. That recognition is bestowed to schools that demonstrate significant efforts in providing quality access to music education to all students. It puts them on the list of Best Communities for M usic Education.

Band Director John Robertson, now in his 11th year, says the recognition means a lot to him and the 6

community that has seen and will continue to see a lot of change. ?At Metzger here we have an almost 25 Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

percent mobility rate? it?s good to have something like this.? A good deal of that mobility element to the Metzger enrollment is the number of students that are military connected. The other part, the campus is right in the middle of a very active cluster of housing developments along Binz-Engleman Road.

F or many students, extracurricular

activities, like music programs, are why they come to school. It adds a whole new dimension to their day and how they feel about themselves. Each music department knows this honor is definitely a "I take pride in starting team effort. In kids from scratch..." fact, the Metzger Band Director NAMM John Robertson Foundation recognition is for the music program as a whole. It?s not just one department that has induced the school to be named a Best Community for Music Education? it?s band, orchestra and choir. They are all opportunities for students to express themselves in a healthy, artistic, and rewarding way that has a long lasting impact that can change the trajectory of their life. Music education makes a difference any path they choose.

Ban d Dir ect or Joh n Rober t son sh ow s h ow it 's don e on t h e f r en ch h or n

Ch oir Dir ect or An dr ew San ch ez t r ain in g you n g voices

One of the reasons the music programs at this campus have done so well is the commitment of the instructors. Conventional wisdom may push some directors to look for chances to get to the high school level, but Robertson feels he has a home at Metzger. ? I take pride in starting kids from scratch. On the flip side of that, there is no high school band without what we do down here.?

A TRIFECTA OF MUSIC INFUSION

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Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

W ashing F eet ... Touching Lives " I get more out of it than I think they do." Su san Coleban k Volu n t eer

By Steve Linscomb

In a child's mind,

Samaritan?s Feet is a nonprofit

the thought of having someone you don?t know sitting you down and washing your feet is, at the least, a little weird and, at the most, an invasion of space. But with people wearing warm smiles and kind voices, along with a heads up and assurance from their teachers and principal, most of the apprehension melted away. For students at Candlewood Elementary School, it was an experience that was truly unique? someone washing their feet for no apparent reason. As volunteers sat down with each child, and with kind hands, began to wash their feet with refreshing water, you could see smiles emerging. For one of the students named Elijah the experience was transporting. ?It feels weird? it just tickles? I feel like I?m out of school.?

organization based out of North Carolina that approached Judson ISD earlier this year to visit one of its schools to bring their unique brand of servant leadership. Its stated mission is to ?serve and inspire hope in children by providing shoes as the foundation to a spiritual and healthy life resulting in the advancement of education and economic opportunities.?An idea that for 15 years has changed the lives of millions of children.

A nother way of saying it, is showing how serving others by supplying a basic need, can transform lives. It started some 30 years ago when a 9-year-old Nigerian boy named Emmanuel Ohonme was given a pair of shoes by a missionary from Wisconsin. Samaritan?s Feet Executive Director Graham Gibbs says 8

Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

Manny (founder) was forever changed from that simple act. ?That missionary really spoke life into him, and just inspired him and told him he was special.? He took that

Since 2003, Samaritan?s Feet has visited thousands of schools working with volunteers to show the power of someone stooping to wash another?s feet and providing a new pair of socks and shoes. Here it was a group of about 70 volunteers from Walmart that gave their time to sit down and focus a few minutes on each child. ?I?m giving to someone that needs me,? Volunteer Susan Colebank says, ?I get more out of it than I think they do.? The video you can watch below is just a slice of the warmth and happy smiles that bloomed with every foot that was touched. Some 480 kids watched in amazement as volunteers from Walmart spent a few minutes talking to each one of them showing what serving others is all about. It?s a sight that seeks to replicate an act of compassion that?s more than 2,000 years old. The hope is that through these children, it will continue to be passed on to others.

"That missionary really spoke life into him." (the founder) Graham Gibbs Executive Director Samaritan's Feet on Founder Manny Ohonme

inspiration and found out he could play basketball. He was later awarded a full college basketball scholarship in the U.S. where he earned a bachelors and a masters degree. Later, working professionally in the technology world, he experienced one of those defining moments in his life on a trip back to his homeland. Seeing the children there and knowing that was him not that long ago, his compassion drove him to pay forward what had been given to him.

See what good Samaritan kindess did in this video

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Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

JISD: Dist r ict of

Excellence

It is no secret that Judson ISD is has one of the most diverse student enrollments in Bexar county and even the state. That means continually improving the ability as a district to educate and address the needs of a wide variety of students with different backgrounds and life experiences. Part of that is making sure your students have an equitable opportunity for a quality education. Recently JISD was recognized by the National School Boards Association with its Magna Award. It selected the District as a First Place Winner for school districts over 20,000 students for its Literacy Mentor program. Coming from the NSBA, that carries some credibility. ?Educational equity is a crucial issue today,? said Thomas J. Gentzel, National School Boards Association Executive Director and CEO. ?These Magna Award winning districts are examples of how public schools all over the country are making sure each of their students gets the support and services they need to succeed in school and in life.? The Magna Awards are supported by Sodexo, a facilities management and food service firm and were selected by a panel of school board members, administrators and educators from a pool of more than 100 submissions from across the country.

T h e B eat O f T h e

PRIZE PATROL

Pr ize Par ade aw ar ds t each er gr an t s at Salin as ES

Sch olar sh ip w in n er s at Ju dson HS

View Ph ot o Albu m

The Judson Education Foundation has been very busy over the last several weeks. It raises money all year long to provide funds for student scholarships and grants for innovative teachers. This year was a very good year for the foundation and that has meant a good year for awarding some nice checks to worthy students and teachers. A whole day was dedicated to visiting schools with the Veterans Memorial High School drum line for the Scholarship Squad to present checks to students who are taking the next step to college. Then another day was dedicated to surprising teachers with grants to help them to continue to be imaginative and engaging with their students? again with the Patriot drum line in tow. All told, JEF 10 awarded $36,000 in scholarships and more than $22,000 in grants. Definitely something to celebrate! Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

Our Teachers Are... Ex traordi nary Judson ISD has been hearing a lot about the music program at Coronado Village Elementary School for some time and the teacher behind that program, Bonnie Anderson, has been awarded yet another honor. The HEB Excellence in Education Awards annually spotlights those educators that are innovative and consistently engage their students in their subject matter. For Ms. Anderson, that?s been going on for a long time. The prominence of her marimba program at Coronado Village is a testament to her work. She was named as one of only two Lifetime Achievement honorees in the state. That meant she received a $25,000 check and her school also got $25,000!

Bon n ie An der son m ak in g h er accept an ce speech in Hou st on

Ms. Anderson has been recognized also by the Grammy Foundation as well as this latest HEB award and her student performers are highly sought after for high profile events and ceremonies. She and her students have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall this summer.

BonnieAnderson, MusicTeacher at CoronadoVillageES Anne-Marie Hilton has really packed a lot in to her 18 years of teaching and that experience shows! She was named the 2018 JISD ExCEL Teacher of the Year. She's taught Social Studies, AP classes and French here in the U.S., but she spent time also on the island country of Haiti. There she worked with elementary and middle school students, specifically girls, to help them get their high school diploma. She says less than 10% of girls there finish. She has also taught and written curriculum in South Korea, Quebec, Canada, and Indonesia. To her, students give her so much value to her way of living. ?Every student has an impact on me,? she says. ?They remind me every day to laugh, sing, play, learn, work hard, and sometimes cry.?

An n e-M ar ie Hilt on con sist en t ly en gages h er st u den t s

As a French teacher at Wagner, she doesn?t just teach, she has become part of what engages students. She?s active each year with Prom and Graduation and she coordinates the exchange program for French students to come and stay here with our families. She?s a big believer in creating global citizens, but she has come to love this country so much that in May of 2017 she became a naturalized citizen of the United States. We congratulate her on her great contributions. 11 11

Anne-MarieHilton FrenchTeacher,Wagner HS Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

If you had t he inclinat ion t o w r it e a st or y, what would it be? Would it be funny? Serious? Fiction? Nonfiction? Would it be a romance?

r maybe a work of literature, or a mystery? For Kitty Hawk Middle School 8th grader 12

Sawyer Goolsby he knew what he loved to read? he just wanted to create more of it for himself and Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

Creatin g

W O RLD S... At 14, this published author takes readers on a trip that transcends time and civilizations. others. Fantasy Fiction is what drives his writing passion. ?I like to create worlds,? admits Sawyer, ?I like worlds where anything is possible.? The ?anything possible?world would be one with dragons, wizards, and magic. The world he?s created includes all of that and has been published in the form of his first novel called Eternal. It involves the main character, 14-year-old Colin Terrowin, who suffers a devastating tragedy leaving him with almost nothing and forcing him to make some profound choices that take him on an incredible journey.

o Sawyer the whole concept of wizards is fascinating and a lot of the premise of Eternal is

built on medieval mythology and tales. His main character is thrown into a completely different world 13 apart from the one we know and the adventure is experiencing ?the good stuff and the bad stuff? as 13

Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

Sawyer puts it, which creates this awesome string of scenarios.

setting and meaningful characters, and giving them some back story so the reader can understand their personality and what?s happening to them. It was a lot of work, but something he enjoys tremendously? so much in fact that he is working on a sequel and hopes to turn it in to a trilogy.

hile

the story he was woven is unique and hopefully exciting to readers, he has enjoyed his own story of writing that Sawyer's tale includes a map of he says his his created world to bring family encouraged. readers deeper into the story Sawyer says he remembers writing stories as

awyer says he has a premise for

book two, and book three is still pretty foggy, but he knows generally where he?d like to see his main character Colin go, but that?s it. ?I?ve just started novel two, but I?m also creating a series outline because I want to be prepared? I want my next books to be good and follow a story that links everything together.?

he writing process for Sawyer has

been a lot of work with drafting, revising and shaping the story the way he wanted it. The part that is intimidating for many people... getting published, was actually easier than

"I want my next books to be good and follow a story that links everything together.? -Sawyer Goolsby far back as 6 years old. ?Back then I would just write with a marker on printer paper? one sentence stories and sell them to my family for a dollar.? That simplicity grew into longer efforts later on. While in 5th grade he says he wrote a 100-page tale that, according to him, was the last thing he wrote until he started on what ended up being Eternal. A book he says took about two years and three drafts to write from start to finish. From working out a story line, to creating a 14 Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

For Sawyer, publishing was the easy part.

what he?d heard. But he admits it depends on what kind of publishing you pursue. ?Traditional publishing? you basically send your manuscript in and it either gets accepted or rejected and the publisher is everything

from there. Independent publishing you?re pretty much responsible for everything except the actual creation? like the binding and putting it together.? He says there are so many self-publishing programs and tutorials online with templates, images and helpful resources that make it doable. He sites the cover image of his book as well as the map of his created world where Eternal takes place as easy to obtain. Many are copyright free, but others, like he used, just required a licensing fee. He says in the end for him the publishing part was the easiest step and because of the route he took, it allowed him to continue to have control over his story and how it was packaged.

read, write and imagine. ?The more you read, the more your writing style will develop. The more you write, the more developed your style is going get and the better at writing you?re going to get, and the more you imagine, the more stories you?re going to be able to tell.? For Sawyer, if he can imagine it, he can tell the story and we?ll eventually be able to read it in the years to come.

eing a full-time author would be his

dream job, but Sawyer knows things don?t always work out how we plan. Still, he thinks he?ll always write to some degree and feels like it can happen. His advice to someone wanting to get that first book published is to

JISD Schools Make Honor Roll Each year a special list of top schools is generated called the Texas Honor Roll. It's the result of analysis of student data across the state in reference to getting students to grade level proficiency. Two Judson ISD schools made that elite list., Cr est view Elem en t ar y Sch ool an d Ju dson Ear ly College Academ y. The campuses were identified based on a list of performance factors that included clear and specific learning objectives, evidence-based instructional practices, closing achievement gaps, and college and career readiness. Contratulations! The Texas Honor Roll list is presented by Educational Results Partnership and the Institute For Productivity In Education. 15 15

Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

Ju d so n L ear n i n g A cad em y One Student At A Time By Steve Linscomb

I t ?s a campus t hat most of t he t im e st ays under t he r adar. help students whose best option to graduation is working on their own or at least small groups. That, of course, is with the help and school that focuses its resources and energy supervision of teachers and counselors that on students independently working toward understand the unique needs of these students. their high school diploma. Students here have While there are those who have a goal of their own path that brought them here. Some accelerating their high school education to get come here to get ahead at a more accelerated out early, it?s the students that have a lot of rate, but many others come here to piece blanks in their education to fill in, that the together an academic path that?s seen some faculty has an extra big heart for. Those potholes and some challenges. That seems to educational gaps could be because of a lot of be the understated beauty of what goes on family moves, an extended sickness, or here. simply not going to class like they should. But JLA Teacher Gabriele Simpson says one of the first things they do when a new student LA has built a reputation with the comes to them is to observe their demeanor partnership of the Simon Youth Foundation to 16and attitude coming in. ?Some of them come

Judson Learning Academy or JLA as many call it, is a nontraditional high

Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

with a little better focus already from the get-go, whereas others, well they were not so successful at the regular high school and we?re offering them a different way.?

hat different way comes in

different speeds and approaches that speak to the student. Once the teacher gets a gauge on where a student?s focus is and sees where they need academic help, many times it?s helping the student break out of the typical classroom box. ?It takes a little while of what we used to call de-schooling,? says Simpson, ?because we don?t do courses like they do at the high school. We don?t go at the same pace? each student is their own classroom.? Simpson, who was recently recognized as a top teacher by the Alamo Alliance of Black School Educators, also emphasizes that when a student hits a snag they are not alone. She and other teachers sit down and help them through it. In the end, this kind of model actually helps them? especially those who will see a similar setting if they decide to go to college.

plan of practical marketplace coaching and counseling completes the approach. JLA Counselor Jade Hodges says that involves preparing students for some of the practical parts of being successful in a school setting and beyond. For some students that includes simple things like getting up in time for school or work, eating well and getting the rest they need. But Hodges says because many of them are coming from an unsuccessful try in a conventional school setting, they are hurting. ?Being in a large school setting is too overwhelming and so coming to a smaller setting is important.? So some of the instruction students get may deal with the management of stress or anxiety. It may also be something as practical as making and living on a budget or finding an apartment.

"We don?t go at the same pace? each student is their own classroom.? Gabriela Simpson JLA Teacher

called Friday Forums where community leaders from the military, the business world and higher education come in and visit with

ut a student?s experience at Judson

Learning Academy is not just successfully checking off courses to graduation. A holistic

hat?s also supported by what is

Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

JLA t each er s h elp st u den t s w it h a var iet y of cou r ses an d advise

the students as a group to discuss how to be successful after high school. On the flip side, staff here also address with students how to initiate change and lock it in. ?We talk about that? patterns and cycles and how we have the ability to break (those) that keep us from being successful ,? Hodges says, ?I?m a believer that all kids can be successful, they just have to have the tools.?

udson Learning Academy, by its

own description bucks the traditional model of high school. The school is a partnership between Judson ISD and the Simon Youth Foundation that responds to a need for students who learn differently or have personal challenges. JLA was one of the first academies that came from this partnership model and now there are 30 SYF academies in 12 states. Judson?s campus celebrated with the foundation in 2013 the 10,000th graduate from the nationwide group of schools.

...coming to a smaller setting is important." Jade Hodges JLA Counselor Judson Journal Spring/ Summer 2018

his year when close to 100

graduates walk across the stage, scholarships will be awarded, personal stories will be recounted. For those who teach at JLA, it?s 18particularly sweet to see students come from 18

such a hole of discouragement to a stage of triumphant possessing the tools of success. ?When I get to have those conversations with kids,? Hodges explains, ?and we talk about how they?re about to graduate? and how excited they get. I?ve been told so many times ?I didn?t think I?d ever be able to do this?? that?s what I enjoy probably more than anything in the world.? In dividu al at t en t ion an d pace is w h at m ak es JLA u n iqu e

Montoya Moment Judson ISD Superintendent Dr. Carl Montoya is retiring and this is his last Montoya Moment. He touches on a unique event that touched kids right down to their toes? and he has some parting thoughts about his time here at Judson ISD as he heads to the TRS corral.

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