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SCHOOL TO WATCH

Judson receives state, national recognition

Published Feb. 14, 2021

Congratulations to Judson STEAM Academy! They have been selected as a Texas School to Watch. Principal Melanie Pondant announced the designation in the Judson staff meeting Tuesday morning, Feb. 2.

“We received this honor because of the hard work you are doing every day,” Principal Pondant said. “You are making a difference in your students’ lives and this school is better because you are here.”

The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform and the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP) as part of a national recognition program have designated Judson STEAM Academy, and Longview ISD as a Texas School to Watch! Judson Steam Academy joins approximately 50 other campuses across Texas with this distinction and honor.

During the regular board meeting on Monday, Feb. 8, Superintendent Dr. James Wilcox praised Judson STEAM Academy for earning recognition as a “Texas School to Watch” by TASSP.

“Judson STEAM Academy has made great strides in the last several years, and we’re excited about what the future holds,” he said. “This honor is a testament to the high-quality staff at Judson, as well as our hard-working teachers, students, and incredibly supportive LISD families.”

Principal Pondant said her campus will be honored in March at the Making Middle School Matter Symposium in Austin and will receive national recognition during the June 26-29 National Forum Schools to Watch Conference in Washington, D.C.

Judson teacher Ms. Amy Bruyere, who is new to Longview ISD, said the commitment to reach all students sets it apart.

“I think they do a really good job here of targeting our students who are learning at all different levels — our students who come from different cultures, our students who come from different socioeconomic backgrounds,” she said. “I think here, there’s a lot of attention placed on what can we do to reach each one of those groups at whatever level that needs to be, and I see that in academic and social and all kinds of different ways that we try to reach out to students.”

The Schools to Watch program was developed in 1999, aiming to identify the middle schools across the country that were displaying academic excellence and a commitment to helping all students achieve.

The Schools to Watch selection process is based on a written application that requires schools to show how they met criteria developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. Schools that appeared to meet the criteria were then visited by state teams, which observed classrooms, interviewed administrators, teachers, students, and parents, and looked at achievement data, suspension rates, quality of lessons, and student work. Schools are recognized for three years, and at the end of three years, they must demonstrate progress on specific goals to be re-designated. Unlike the Blue-Ribbon recognition program, “Schools to Watch” requires schools to not just identify strengths, but to also focus on areas of continuous improvement; thus, the three-year re-designation.

PONDANT

FILM |Continued from page 4

View Film club wasn’t going to allow the adversity of virtual learning and a global pandemic to stop them from their goals,” Graves stated. “And the community can see the award-winning results on screen and know we are doing great and special things at LHS.”

The film tells a story of a mother and daughter, isolated in the woods; they attempt to survive while a dangerous presence lurks near and threatens to tear them apart.

The film was influenced by both fairy tales and thrillers, with Mr. Graves stating that the students wanted to tell a story that felt familiar but had a twist.

To watch the award-winning video, go to https://bit.ly/38aGWcc.

Maggie B. Hudson served 30 years at LISD

Hudson PEP has been a place of education for over half a century

MAGGIE B. HUDSON

Maggie B. Hudson Junior High School opened its doors for the first time at the onset of the 1959 -1960 school year after being constructed in the summer of HUDSON 1959. Set on spacious grounds, the facilities were comparable to the best in the State of Texas.

Because of the great inspiration to scores of students who had come under her guidance, the school was named in honor of Mrs. Maggie B. Johnson Hudson. As a young woman, Mrs. Hudson began her career in a one-teacher rural school in Panola County. She served 30 of her 52 years in the profession educating the children of Longview Independent School District. Feeling compelled to serve the needs of her people, she held high moral standards while equipping students with the knowledge that they would need to be successful and productive citizens.

The original structure consisted of 10 classrooms and housed 6 departments: homemaking, science, art, industrial art, music and physical education. The structure was built to provide services for 400 students. When initially opened, the enrollment reached an unexpected 567 students. Due to the overcrowded conditions, the board, with Superintendent R,E. Slayton, passed a bond and received 60,000 dollars to erect a new wing which included 6 new classrooms.

The building of the new wing took place in the summer of 1960 and was ready for students during the 1960-61 school year. For eleven years the school operated as a Junior High School. As part of the integration movement, Maggie B. Hudson became an elementary school for first through fifth grades in 1970. In 1976 the campus became the first magnet school in Longview ISD and was named Hudson PEP (Planned Enrichment Programs). Magnet schools have strong emphasis in particular subject areas, for example music, science, drama, math, etc.

HUDSON PEP

Hudson Pep Elementary was established in 1987 as a planned enrichment program for accelerated learners. The original building was a Junior High built in 1959. The Junior High School was named in honor of Mrs. Maggie B. Johnson Hudson. As a young woman, Mrs. Hudson began her career in a one-teacher rural school in Panola County. She served 30 of her 52 years in the profession educating the children of Longview Independent School District.

Feeling compelled to serve the needs of her community, she held high moral standards while equipping students with the knowledge that they would need to be successful and productive citizens.

The original structure consisted of 10 classrooms and housed 6 departments. When initially opened, the enrollment reached an unexpected 567 students; therefore, a new wing with 6 additional classrooms was added for the 1960-61 school year. The school operated for eleven years as a Junior High School.

As part of the integration movement, Maggie B. Hudson became an elementary school for first through fifth grades in 1970. In 1976 the campus became the first magnet school in Longview ISD and was named Hudson PEP (Planned Enrichment Program) Elementary to serve gifted and talented students as well as average and above students motivated to learn and excel academically with an emphasis on the arts, math and science.

In 1987 brought yet another change to Hudson PEP. A 6,335 square foot library and educational addition including two classrooms was added.

Through the years Hudson PEP Elementary has been named a model school by the Texas Pathfinder Collaborative, A No child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School, Exemplary Campus by Texas Education Agency, A Distinguished Campus by Texas Education Agency with all 6 distinctions, Texas Monthly — Our Best Schools and Top Ten Schools, Just For Kids Award, UIL District Champions each year, and a School of Character Award.

In 2008 a district bond was passed and we moved into the new facility in 2010 on the original school site. To enhance the

Hudson|Continued to page 11

Longview ISD: Perception isn’t reality

By Matthew Prosser

I remember the first impression I had of Longview ISD as an adult. The impression was not a positive one. It was an unfair impression based on rumor, innuendo, and downright falsehood.

Returning to the East Texas area after leaving it to find my way in the world, I was glad to come back home and raise my own children in a place that provided me with such a blessed upbringing. As I considered where in this area my wife and I would “put down stakes,” the whispers began.

“Oh, you don’t want your family to live on ‘that’ side of town, they’ll have to go to LISD. You want to move to this other neighborhood, where they can go to [INSERT SCHOOL DISTRICT HERE].”

Working as a journalist in Longview, I also unwittingly swallowed various organizational biases and prejudices against this district. There were (and are) wholly fallacious attacks on the integrity of LISD staffers and administrators. There were (and are) vile distortions and bigotry resulting from jealousy over the fact that this school district is the elite school district in the Longview area. There was (and is) the gaslighting and redlining against our economically-disadvantaged and ethnically minority-majority district, a district which has nevertheless prevailed and become a public education powerhouse leading the way for innovation across our state. When I joined Longview ISD over six years ago, I began to finally learn more of the truth about our community, positive, negative and things in-between. In the time I’ve served the students, employees, and families of this district, I have learned what incredible people are a part of Longview ISD and what amazing things are happening here.

However, over the course of numerous conversations, questions, and controversies concerning this district, I have also seen how the bitter poison of classism

and racism remains a sickness in our community. It has become a perception of deception. A great lie that is being told in our midst. But the light of reason will prevail. Love and excellence will abide. Perception is not reality. PROSSER Reality is reality.

And the reality is that LISD is leading Longview into a better and brighter future.

And we will all carry this future forward... together. We ARE Longview.