CCISD board discusses superintendent’s contract, receives strategic plan update

By DAVID J. HARDIN

Cove Leader-Press

The Copperas Cove Independent School Board of Trustees held a special meeting last Tuesday to review and discuss the contract of CCISD superintendent Burns, as well as his evaluation.

Burns is currently employed under a 226-day, $170,723 per year contract, approved by the board on July 18, 2016 and set to expire June 30, 2021. At this time, his contract can be amended by the board as provided by the law.

The board held an executive session to discuss his contract, but did not make a decision about an amendment, but will do so at the board’s next regular meeting on Feb. 14.

The second item of business was receiving an update on the progress of CCISD’s long-term strategic plan known as Vision 2020.

Part of that strategy concerned district facilities and their improvements.

Deputy Superintendent of Operations and Support, Rick Kirkpatrick, oversees these areas, with a facility advisory committee involved in carrying out the plan. 

“The Facility Advisory Committee is comprised of community members, CCISD staff and CCISD parents,” Kirkpatrick said. “The Facility Advisory Committee has spent well over 40 hours conducting research and developing their findings to date and will continue to meet to revise plans and provide information to the school board.

“Since the formation of the committee in September of 2015, the committee

has toured each district facility and talked with campus leadership to determine their facility needs. Since then, the committee has worked tirelessly to identify the findings deemed most pressing as well as those findings that are important for inclusion in the long-term facility plan. This information will be presented to the school board in an advisory role as any construction or renovation must be approved by them.

He said the committee has also studied enrollment patterns and campus enrollment trends to determine the long-term needs to alleviate potential overcrowding of campuses caused by new construction, with these findings also to be presented to the school board.

Another update on the strategic plan concerned human resources, overseen by Barbara Tate, the district’s Executive Director of Human Resources.

The focus of this part of the plan is to enhance the district’s recruitment to attract a high quality, diverse staff, and to also develop and implement a formal recruitment plan for CCISD to hire and retain excellent staff.  

CCISD campus administrators have worked to create a “Portrait of a Teacher”, which further clarifies the qualities CCISD looks for in teacher candidates. The district has also increased its presence at college and university job fairs and has worked to strengthen relationships with those same institutions. It has also implemented a “grow-your-own” program through establishing a Paraprofessional Education Assistance Program which provides educational tuition assistance for paraprofessionals seeking teaching degrees.

The district has also implemented a one-to-one mentoring program for new teachers, along with Dawg Treats, an after-school academy for new teachers covering a variety of topics and support; and has increased wellness opportunities for staff and has implemented Bulldawg Bravo, an employee recognition program.

A third part of the plan for which the board received an update was the implementation of teaching strategies and instruction, which is overseen by Katie Ryan, the Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction

“The strategic plan is an inter-woven component of our curriculum. We do not work in isolation, but rather in integration with the plan,” Ryan said. “The whole plan supports curriculum teaching and learning that prepare the whole child. The whole plan supports our passion to develop the Portrait of a Graduate.”

The Portrait Of A Graduate is based on the concept that all CCISD graduates deserve the opportunity to be CCISD, which stands for: C- Contributing Citizens, Responsible citizen, Community minded, Civic Leader, Patriotic; C- Committed Leaders, with eagerness for learning, lifelong learner, Multi-Literate, Future leader; I - Intrinsically Motivated, committed/Determined, Self-motivated, Honest/Integrity, resilient; S- Solidly Skilled, Effective Communications Skills, Team player, Strong work ethic, employable skills; and D - Dedicated Thinker Creative innovative problem solver, Critical reasoned, Independent thinker, Explorer.