The MISD Minute – April 16, 2021

~ Montgomery ISD

Teacher of the Year and Spirit of Montgomery Award Winners

The final campus votes are in! I am excited to announce the Teacher of the Year and Spirit of Montgomery Winners!

I could not be more thankful for the incredible leadership each of our Teacher of the Year and Spirit of Montgomery award winners has provided to their campuses during this challenging school year. I always say that true leaders rise to the top during the most difficult of times. In a year like no other, which has presented unprecedented challenges and has required innovative, bold problem solving, these leaders have stepped up to the call to serve our students and families. Each represents the values, characteristics and qualities that makes Team Montgomery ISD such an amazing and special group of public servants.

The full list of 2021 Teacher of the Year and Spirit of Montgomery winners is below:

Montgomery ISD Teachers of the Year

  • Keenan ES – Lauren Coughlin
  • Lincoln ES – Patty Barfield
  • Lone Star ES – Stacy Ritchie
  • Montgomery ES – Kelli Kojis
  • Madeley Ranch ES – Emily Larson
  • Stewart Creek ES – Marianne Elias
  • Montgomery Jr. HS – Tamara Lumpkin
  • Oak Hills Jr. HS – Wendy Jebousek
  • Lake Creek HS – Alison Rice
  • Montgomery HS – Deborah Vierkant

Spirit of Montgomery Winners

  • Keenan ES – Nikki Taylor
  • Lincoln ES – Dana Kuciemba
  • Lone Star ES – Monica Lemke
  • Montgomery ES – Niki Manceaux
  • Madeley Ranch ES – Kristi Miller
  • Stewart Creek ES – Linda Bailey
  • Montgomery Jr. HS – Courtney Buckner
  • Oak Hills Jr. HS – April James
  • Lake Creek HS – Stacy Brown
  • Montgomery HS – Sandra Farris

Please join me in congratulating and thanking our 2020-21 Teacher of the Year and Spirit of Montgomery award winners!

  • Lauren Coughlin
  • Nikki Taylor
  • Dana Kuciemba
  • Patty Barfield
  • Monica Lemke
  • Stacy Richie
  • Kelli Kojis
  • Niki Manceaux
  • Deborah Vierkant
  • Sandra Farris
  • Emily Larson
  • Kristi Miller
  • April James
  • Wendy Jebousek
  • Linda Bailey
  • Marianne Elias
  • Alison Rice
  • Stacy Brown
  • Courtney Buckner
  • Tamara Lumpkin

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Dr. Heath Morrison

Superintendent

Montgomery ISD

MISD Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting

The Montgomery ISD Board of Trustees will meet for their regular monthly board meeting next Tuesday, April 20 at 6 p.m. in the Board Room of the District ESC. I’m excited to share that on Tuesday, we will be presenting to the Board for their consideration an updated district compensation plan containing across-the-board teacher and staff raises for the 2021-22 school year.

In October 2020 after the Board adopted a 2% raise for all district employees, I committed to you that we would work diligently to seek ways to provide additional salary increases for the 2021-22 school year. Our proposed compensation plan will include additional across-the-board salary increases and other adjustments that I believe will represent a significant step in the right direction in terms of making Montgomery ISD salaries more competitive in the region. We will share additional information about the 2021-22 compensation plan at the Board meeting and communicate more details after it is considered by trustees.

Second Round of COVID-19 vaccinations at the District ESC

If you received the first round of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccination at the District ESC on Monday, March 22, you may schedule an appointment for your second round on Friday, April 30 between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the District ESC. Any individual who received the first round of the vaccine should have received an email from the Montgomery County Health District this week with instructions on how to sign up for an appointment on April 30. If you did not receive your email, please check your “spam” folder. Per the CDC, second doses can be administered 24 days and up to 42 days after the first dose. As always, this is being provided as a courtesy to employees. The COVID-19 vaccine is not required.

Superintendent Shout-Out – MHS Senior Reid Turner and Laurie Zuehkle

I want to give a special shout-out this week to MHS Senior Reid Turner and College & Career Coordinator Laurie Zuehlke.

For the past year, Reid and Ms. Zuehkle have represented MHS and MISD as the Texas Association of Student Councils (TASC) President School! This weekend, during a state and caucus convention that will include over 2,000 students from across the country, Reid will give one final speech before “passing the gavel” on to a new leader.

I am so proud of Reid for representing MHS and MISD in this capacity. Reid served on my MHS Student Advisory Council and has a bright and successful future ahead! I also want to thank Ms. Zuehlke for her leadership, guidance and dedication to cultivating the next generation of leaders. Next year, Ms. Zuehlke will be serving the TASC District 7 (Houston Area) as the District Coordinator and will be on the State Board of Directors as the Past President school.   

Strategic Plan Town Hall Meeting – April 27 at Montgomery Jr. HS

This is a reminder that the third and final Strategic Plan Town Hall meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 27 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Montgomery Jr. HS.

Over the past several months, a strategic plan for our district has been under development by five task force committees containing stakeholders from all over the district. Each task force is focused on one of the Board’s adopted goals: Academic Achievement; School Safety, Finance & Operations; Human Capital; and Communications & Customer Service. Each task force has held a number of meetings, conducted SWOT analyses and has developed proposed district initiatives and strategies intended to make marked improvements in areas addressed by the board’s goals.

The district Strategic Plan will ultimately consist of a set of key performance indicators intended to measure the district’s growth in areas addressed by the board’s five goals. District initiatives and strategies designed to meet the key performance indicators will be included as part of the Strategic Plan.

I’m proud of the public input that has gone into the development of the Strategic Plan, and I hope anyone who has an interest in one of the topics covered by the board’s adopted district goals will attend on April 27. A draft Strategic Plan will be presented to the Board in May and trustees will adopt the Strategic Plan along with the 2021-22 district budget in June.

National Administrative Professionals Day is April 21

Wednesday, April 21 is National Administrative Professionals Day! Our administrative staff across Montgomery ISD play a vital role in our work to serve and educate the over 9,000 students in our district. I am grateful for their dedication to our district and students – we could not operate successfully as a school district without their service. Please join me in recognizing and thanking our amazing administrative professionals next week!