New Member Spotlight

JOY WIGGINS ABILENE ISD

I started my teaching career in 2006 in Abilene ISD and am currently in my 17th year with the district. I taught 7th, 9th, and 12th grade RLA throughout my first five years in the district. After receiving my Master’s in Leadership of Learning from Abilene Christian University, I began my career as an administrator in 2011 by becoming an Assistant Principal over seniors, special education, and the AVID program at Cooper High School for four years. Wanting to learn more of the curriculum aspect of administration and broaden my horizons, I became the Instructional Coordinator for Reagan Elementary in 2015, where I enjoyed learning all about the elementary world. Although I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the elementary realm, I was still interested in getting back to the secondary level. In 2018 the opportunity came along for me to head into middle school by becoming the Instructional Specialist for Madison Middle School. My four years at Madison were some of the most memorable and challenging times I have experienced. I am grateful that I was able to grow as an educator during my time at all three levels of education throughout my first 16 years in AISD. Near the end of the 2022 school year, I was presented with the opportunity to transition from the campus level to the district level by becoming the Benefits Coordinator for our district and have been enjoying my new role.

I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Charles, for almost 19 years, and we have two sweet, smart, active, and caring children: Jaidon (9 years old) and Hannah (7 years old). We love spending time together as a family, reading, traveling, and being actively involved in our church where we, along with our small group, help oversee a supply room for foster families throughout our community called Foster Love Connection. Fostering and adopting is special to my family as we fostered and adopted our son Jaidon.

WHAT SIZE IS YOUR DISTRICT?

Abilene ISD serves approximately 15,420 students and employs nearly 2,500 public servants dedicated to the district’s educational mission. AISD offers two traditional high schools, a STEM academy high school, a medical magnet program and an alternative high school for at-risk students. AISD is also home to four middle schools, 13 elementary schools, one alternative placement campus, one adult education center, and two early childhood programs.

WHAT CHALLENGES ARE YOU CURRENTLY FACING IN YOUR DISTRICT?

One of the challenges our district is facing, I am sure like many other districts, concerns finding enough teachers who are certified in Special Education to meet our district’s need. Likewise, we need to have more teachers who are certified outside of solely PE or PE/History since we are needing coaches to be in the classroom. Another challenge is finding affordable healthcare that our employees can utilize to the full extent without having to pay a large amount out of pocket for their medical premiums.

WHAT ARE YOU HOPING THAT TASPA WILL PROVIDE/BENEFIT OR HOW YOU FELT THE CONFERENCE BENEFITED YOU?

The TASPA conference was very enlightening concerning the aspects of HR and Benefits. Through the conference, I was able to network with others in same or similar roles and learn from their experience and expertise. I appreciated the general sessions and the breakout sessions for their variety of topics presented. The breakout session concerning FMLA was extremely helpful to me in my current role as it provided me more insight concerning the FMLA process, the guidelines and regulations concerning FMLA, and a point of contact if seeking answers for FMLA questions.