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Bonuses given to 157 district teachers

By Jesus Martinez CBS19

Teachers at Longview ISD were rewarded at today’s convocation. Not only for their growth, but for the growth of their students as well.

The sounds of drums welcomed staff and teachers from across Longview ISD including a special group of teachers who were awarded a total of 1.8 million dollars from the Teacher Incentive Allotment.

“Our students showed that they made more than a years growth and that was done through a lot of hard work and hands on with the students,” said Yolanda Juarez, second grade bilingual teacher. 157 teachers were awarded with this bonus. To qualify teachers had to reach a certain threshold between teacher evaluations and student growth. Throughout the convocation names were read and names kept being read!

“We appreciate our teachers, we want to keep our teachers, we want to reward good teaching and the winners are our students. They are the winners,” said John York, Human Resources Officer for Longview ISD.

This is Longview ISD’s third year giving out these bonuses, which come from state funding. It was one of the first school districts in the state to receive this incentive funding. The awarded teachers will continue to receive the money for the next five years.

“The goal is to provide a realistic pathway for teachers to earn $100,000 plus on a 10 month contract,” York said. “We want to keep our best teachers in the classroom at our most challenging campuses.”

And this small recognition is part of a larger effort Longview ISD has been working towards. Just before convocation, superintendent

Bonus|Continued to page 5

Two SpEd buses replaced with new 2023 models

Two of the six Special Education buses have been taken off the road and have been replaced with two new models.

The older ones, 2011 and 2012, each had over 200,000 miles on them. Due to the wear and tear, the buses have seen a lot of time off the road and in the garage. This year alone, they had spent weeks in the garage.

“We were spending too much money on repairs for these two Special Ed buses,” said Dr. Wayne Guidry, assistant superintendent of business, transportation and technology. “One of the most dangerous places you can be on the road is sitting on the road with cars going past you at 60 milesper-hour. When a bus breaks down, kids have to get off the bus and be transferred to another bus.”

Thanks to the new buses being 2023 models, they will be spending more time on the road and less in the garage which will help the district to spend less money and keep the students safe.

Another advantage of the new buses is replacing parts will not be much of an issue. With the older ones, getting parts could often be a hassle now days.

“What’s even more pressing is that you can’t even get parts this year. They’re old, we couldn’t get parts (due to global shortages), and they’ve just been spending too much time in the shop,” Dr. Guidry said.

Partnership helping district save thousands on energy

Thanks to a partnership with Ideal Impact, the district has implemented a variety of steps to help improve energy costs throughout Longview ISD campuses and facilities.

From June 2021 to February 2022, the district has saved $158,470.24 in electricity costs and $16,938.27 in gas from the high school and ESC. These two campuses alone have saved the district a total of $175,408.51 in under 12 months. For the entire district, $208,667 has been saved in the 10-month period.

“The district is saving money through proper HVAC scheduling. The steps that led to the savings was the installation of new thermostats and other controls (for exhaust fans, lighting, etc.) and then the ability to schedule them through our scheduling software based on calendaring,” said Mr. Michael Johnson, project manager at Ideal Impact.

By scheduling, Mr. Johnson means that when a location is not in use, the software will turn things off to cut back on electricity use. By doing this, an average of $20,886 a month has been saved per campus.

Dr. Wayne Guidry, Assistant Superintendent of Finance, said Ideal Impact has guaranteed a savings goal of $1,990,450 for the district and “shall remain partners until the goal is met.”

“Our goal is to save $500,000 annually on our utility bill. Ultimately, these are funds we are able to keep within the district and utilize for the needs of our students and staff members,” he said. “Reducing kilowatt-hours will also increase the lifespan of our HVAC units.”

GUIDRY

TSA teams earn success at Nationals

A huge congratulations to the LHS and Foster TSA teams! Both teams attended and earned huge success at Nationals!

“Nationals this year was a tremendous success! I am so incredibly proud of my students, both our finalists and non-placing students as well,” said Foster TSA advisor Melissa Swallow. “My students worked diligently through the year as well as through our summer break, which shows an extremely impressive amount of dedication.”

LHS

While there, high school student Shreemayi Undavali was elected as the 2022-23 National TSA Treasurer.

In competitions, the LHS won 2nd place in Chapter Team, with Shreemayi Undavalli, Hibah Khan, Evelyn Campos, Rachna Edalur, Gizela Terrones, Nadia Akila, and Omika Patel competing. In 1st place, for Prepared Presentation, Rachna Edalur beat everyone else in the nation. Well done to all of our high school TSA students!

FOSTER

Foster TSA students placed in numerous competitions, performing better than most students in the nation!

First place in Chapter Team: Jordan Nash, Evie Land, Ellie Oglesbee, Aidan Rahim, Ezequiel Pascual, and Cohen Hardison

Second place in Leadership Strategies: Jordan Nash, Jersson Trujillo, and Kiley

Strong

Second place in Prepared Speech: Kiley Strong

Seventh place in System Control: Jamarion Hunter and Ishan Patel

Ninth place in Challenging Tech Issues: Frances Wilson and Cohen Hardison

Sixth place in Biotechnology: Jaslene Solis, Jordan Nash, and Jersson Trujillo “I always tell my students that if they put in the hard work and never give up, it will eventually bring them success, which in this year, is evident by our not only top 10 finalists, Jordan Nash inducted as our elected Texas TSA State Reporter, Cohen Hardison elected as a Texas TSA State Leadership Member, but also top 3 placers as well,” Ms. Swallow said. “Congratulations to FMS TSA for the record-breaking awards this year! I can’t wait to see what this group accomplishes.”

Melissa Swallow moves to LHS, taking over Lobo TSA

Melissa

Swallow, who has served as a TSA Advisor for 5 years and been with Longview ISD for 9 years, has moved from Foster to Longview High School.

Entering her sixth year as a TSA Advisor, she will be replacing her father, Charles Mosley, who was the previous sponsor for TSA at the campus. Her position is Project Lead the Way Teacher and TSA Coordinator.

“Honestly, it is an absolute honor to take over the LHS TSA program and I cannot wait to get started,” Mrs. Swallow said. “My hope and plan for the high school team is to continue the same rate of success as well as grow our chapter to more members so even more can experience the amazing skills TSA has to offer.

“I am very excited to be back at my alma mater and to be a Lobo. I cannot wait to see what my students accomplish this year!”

SWALLOW

Replacing Mrs. Swallow at the Foster campus is Jacob Jones.

MEET |Continued from page 3

“We actually meet the parents. And I think as a parent is great because you get a chance to see who you are trusting to get your kids to and from school safely and as well as a bus driver I know who little Johnny is supposed to go to,” said Harris-Kenney

Bus drivers from Longview ISD woke up early to visit their kids’ houses. and got to rekindle the relationship with their kids after a long summer break — one of those being Luiz Alves

Alves, a third-grader, says he’s most excited for science and spending time with his friends.

“Doing my science,” he said. “(My favorite part about riding the bus is) that you can talk to your friends.”

And for all the kids who ride Harris-Kenney’s bus…

“The first day of school is going to be great! Mrs. Kenny can’t wait to pick you up and get you home safely,” said Harris-Kenney.

BONUS |Continued from page 4

James Wilcox surprised everyone in attendance that they were finally an “A” rated district.

“We had no campus with less than a ‘B.’ Out of our 15 campuses every campus was a ‘B’ or an ‘A,’ The overall score for the district is an ‘A’ and I say go Lobos,” said James Wilcox, Superintendent for Longview ISD

Teachers here are having a little fun before the year starts and are excited to meet their new kids.

“It makes the year go by fast and having fun with them and learning a lot,” Juarez said.