Celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week

May has arrived, end of the year banquets and celebrations are taking place and graduation planning is in full swing. The end of the 2020-21 school year is right around the corner.

It is Teacher Appreciation Week! And I would never allow this week to end without a special message to the amazing professionals educating our students in the classroom. In a year like no other, teachers have stepped up for our students and families like never before. They have approached the historic challenges thrown our way this year with patience, perseverance, dedication and even a bit of creativity. When our students needed compassion – that’s what they gave them. When our students needed additional help – they were there to lend a hand. And, when students needed some inspiration to reach the finish line, teachers were there to provide them with that final boost. Teachers, you are the heart and soul of our school district. You are the incredible heroes who inspire me each and every day.

Teachers, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for your kindness, generosity and love for our students. While teachers are worthy of year-round celebration, please join me in showing your appreciation to them this week.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Dr. Heath Morrison

Update on 2021-22 secondary campus schedules

For the 2021-22 school year, all secondary campuses will shift back to a straight 8-period schedule. Additionally, no secondary teacher will be required to instruct in a “hybrid” model with both in-person and remote learners.

I want to acknowledge the excellent collaboration between our secondary administrators and counselors on the decision to move back to the 8-period schedule next year. When I first arrived as superintendent, I heard a number of concerns from teachers regarding the process and lack of input prior to shifting to a block schedule this school year. Our team committed to a collaborative process in the development of next year’s secondary campus schedules. Earlier this spring, we convened administrators and counselors from all secondary schools to explore options. Campus leadership teams went back to their schools, and the consensus was for the district to return to the 8-period day (the schedule prior to the pandemic). I appreciate all of the work that went into this decision.

We will always examine the best instructional options for our students and schools and involve staff in those decisions. I hope this decision, along with knowing that teachers will not be required to implement a hybrid model next year comes as welcome news to our secondary teachers.

2020-21 District Award Winners Celebrated

• 

• 

This week we celebrated our district teachers of the year, counselors of the year, District MVPs and Spirit of Montgomery Award winners during a reception at Lake Creek High School. It was only fitting that this celebration take place during Teacher Appreciation Week. So, it was a special honor to recognize our district winners during this reception. Again, thank you to all of our district winners. Your contributions to our district were magnified during this unprecedented school year.

You can view more photos from the district awards reception here.

Montgomery ES Principal Search Underway

This week the district held meetings at Montgomery ES with campus staff and parents regarding the search for their new principal. Before starting the process of screening and interviewing candidates, it was important to us that we receive input from MES staff and parents regarding their next campus leader. We asked staff and parents for qualities, skills and characteristics they believe are important for the next principal to possess and to share what procedures, programs or other school areas they want the new principal to maintain or continue to grow. It was made very clear to us that the existing work and academic expectations that have been put in place at Montgomery ES under Carrie Fitzpatrick’s leadership is viewed as strong by the staff and parents. We look forward to identifying candidates who can build upon the solid foundation at Montgomery ES.

Next week, we will continue our process to identify the new principal of Montgomery ES. Our goal is to recommend a candidate for approval to the Board of Trustees during a special board meeting in May.

Process for Identifying New District Leaders

I wanted to shine some light on the extensive process that we have been utilizing to identify district leadership. The district hiring process includes the following:

• Every job opening in Montgomery ISD is posted on our district website for at least 10 days. We also place the openings on industry-specific job boards like the Texas Association of School Administrators and the Texas Association of School Business Officials.
• Applicants are pre-screened by a group of two to three staff members and select up to eight internal and external candidates for a first round of interviews.
• A panel of staff members (senior leadership, principals, other district and campus employees) conduct a first round of interviews.
• After the first round of interviews has been completed, the panel will select candidates to advance to a second round of interviews. My charge to every first round interview panel is to identify at least one person they believe could successfully take on the role for which they are interviewing. If this is not accomplished, then the process stops and we will continue to search for candidates.
• Next, a second round of interviews occurs. The second round interview panel will include me, members of the senior leadership team, and at least one individual who served on the panel for the first round of interviews to ensure consistency.
• After conducting a second round of interviews, the senior leadership team deliberates and selects a candidate to recommend to the board of trustees for final approval during a regular or special board meeting. If necessary, we will hold a third round of interviews.

When I joined as your superintendent in June 2020, concerns, with how we were sourcing and hiring employees were shared with me by many in our community. An external review of our Human Resources Department by the Texas Association of School Boards confirmed that this is an area where improvement is needed. This new process of sourcing, interviewing and selecting leaders in our district is intended to provide an unbiased and fair opportunity to all who desire to either join or advance their career in Montgomery ISD.

Masks and facial coverings to become optional beginning May 31

As we prepare for a more normal school year in 2021-22, and consistent with the MISD Board of Trustees’ action during the March Regular Board Meeting, the use of masks or facial coverings will become optional in all district schools and facilities beginning Monday, May 31.

We will continue to closely monitor COVID-19 conditions in Montgomery County and seek advice from public health officials. And, as I have stated many times this year, all decisions are “subject to change”. However, we are very encouraged by the improving positivity rates, increased number of fully vaccinated individuals and predicted continued progress across Texas and the nation in the fight against the virus.

I want to thank you all for your patience, understanding and flexibility as it relates to the district’s COVID-19 protocols this year. Due in large part to health protocols in place, and your adherence to them, we were able to minimize the spread of COVID-19, safely open and operate schools beginning in August and provide traditional in-person instruction to over 94% of our more than 9,000 students this school year. I could not be more proud of the resilience and determination of our students and staff this year. We will continue to provide updates on district health protocols as we prepare for the 2021-22 school year.

Superintendent Shout-Out: District Teachers of the Year, MVP and Spirit of Montgomery Winners

We were excited to announce our Elementary Teacher of the Year, Secondary Teacher of the Year, District MVP Winner and Spirit of Montgomery Winner during the district 2020-21 awards reception this week.

The 2020-21 winners are:

• Elementary Teacher of the Year: Lauren Coughlin, Keenan ES
• Secondary Teacher of the Year: Wendy Jebousek, Oak Hills JH
• District MVP: Shara Phillips, Special Education Department
• Spirit of Montgomery: Nikki Taylor, Keenan ES

The district winners were selected based on their responses to questions provided to all district finalists by the human resources department. Each finalist’s name, department and campus were redacted, and responses were scored by members of the senior leadership team based on a rubric, also developed by the human resources department.

Congratulations to our 2020-21 district winners, and thank you for your dedication to Montgomery ISD students and families!

Staff Announcements

Earlier this week, we announced the appointment of Carrie Fitzpatrick as our new Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education. I am excited about the leadership Carrie will bring to this role and confident that she will build upon the outstanding work in our district.

I’m also excited to welcome four additional talented leaders to Team MISD! We have identified four outstanding candidates to lead technology and digital learning, human capital, 504 and Dyslexia services and career and technical education.

A little bit about each of them is below.

Amanda Davis-Summerville – Director of Technology and Digital Learning

Amanda Davis-Summerville is joining us as Director of Technology and Digital Learning to provide strategic oversight of districtwide IT activities, continued development of instructional technology programs, and further enhance customer service to campuses.

Amanda brings 12 years of combined experience in the field of information and educational technology and teaching. She has a diverse background in both classroom and district level systems administration and service delivery, with extensive experience in systems analysis, instructional, and enterprise computing, as well as copyright compliance, curriculum evaluation and instructional design. Amanda will be responsible for the Information Technology department as well as setting guidelines and coordination of services for infrastructure and instructional technology service delivery across all the campuses within the district.

Previously, Amanda served as an Educational Technologist and Systems Administrator for Houston Independent School District, where she had a direct role in systems and service delivery as well as responsibility for identifying and developing educational tools, curriculum and classroom technologies.

Amanda has Masters of Education in Educational Technology from Texas A&M University and a bachelors degree in business administration from Tarleton State University and is a certified educator in the State of Texas.  

Amanda will begin the role on May 3.

Alayna Siemonsma – Coordinator, 504 and Dyslexia Services

Alayna Siemonsma is joining us as Coordinator of 504 and Dyslexia Services. She is a native South Dakotan who began her 24-year teaching career as an elementary educator serving students in Wyoming, Arizona, and South Dakota. In 2015, her family relocated to Conroe where she continued teaching in an intermediate school setting as a 5th grade ELA/SS teacher and most recently as a teacher of students with Dyslexia and/or Dysgraphia. She is an active and founding member of the Texas National Board Coalition for Teaching and is a member of Texas Association for Literacy Education.

Alayna is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in the area of Early and Middle Childhood/Literacy: Reading-Language Arts who holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wyoming, a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction and Reading Specialist from Northern Arizona University, and a Principal Certification from Lamar University. Alayna was honored with the Milken Educator Award and has had the opportunity to connect and collaborate with educators from all over the country through the exceptional work of the Milken Foundation and National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.

Amy Vance – Director of Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Amy Vance has been named as our new Director of CTE. Amy is joining us from Waxahachie ISD, where she has spent the previous four years as District CTE Program Access Coordinator. In this role she was responsible for growing student, parent and community stakeholder involvement in the district’s CTE programs. Amy previously served as a teacher in Chapel Hill ISD, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD and Mount Vernon ISD.

Throughout her work in CTE, she served as a department head and in many campus and district leadership roles. Amy has a passion for and success in growing the number of student obtaining industry certifications. She will be an asset in our efforts to build meaningful business partnerships throughout our community that will grow and enhance our CTE programs and provide practicum and internship opportunities for our students.

There has been significant interest and desire across the district expand and enhance CTE programs and we are excited for the vision and leadership Amy will bring to this new position. Amy is highly trained and experienced in CTE and I am thrilled to be adding her knowledge and expertise to our team.

Amy is a currently a candidate for a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Stephen F. Austin University, holds a Master of Educational Leadership from Stephen F. Austin University, a Master of Agricultural Education from Texas A&M University-Commerce, and a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Development.

Denise Miner – Executive Director of Human Capital

Denise Miner has been named Executive Director of Human Capital. In this role, Denise will oversee all aspects of the Human Resources Department, including recruiting, hiring, evaluating retaining staff and enhancing professional development opportunities across the district.

Denise has over two decades of experience in education, including several years of experience in school district human resources. She joins us from Cypress Fairbanks ISD, where she has served the previous three years as Assistant Director of Human Resources. Prior to this, Denise was the Director of Personnel and Technology in the :Lake Havasu Unified School District in Arizona. Denise has also served as a high school principal, assistant principal and teacher. She holds a bachelors degree in Arts from Prescott College and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from Grand Canyon University.

Denise will begin the role on May 10.

I am excited about the skills and expertise each of these talented individuals will bring to Montgomery ISD as we continue our work to become the Premier School District in Texas!

Sincerely,

Dr. Heath Morrison

MISD Counselors of the Year Announced

For the first time, MISD staff has voted on district counselors of the year! The votes have been counted, and you selected the following amazing individuals as our District Counselors of the Year!

• Deanna Peterson – Elementary Counselor of the Year
• Barbara Gagliano – Junior High School Counselor of the Year
• Laureen Thompson – High School Counselor of the Year
• Kerri Gilchriest – All-Level School Counselor of the Year

Our winners will be submitted to Region 6 where they will be considered for regional recognition against their regional peers. At Region 6, our nominees will be judged on school counseling innovations and further development of programs to support the career, social/emotional and academic development of all students. Other criteria include leadership, advocacy and collaboration in their work in addition to promoting equity and access to opportunities and rigorous educational experiences for all students to maximize student achievement.

I am thankful for the incredible counselors we have in Montgomery ISD!

Montgomery Junior High Takes First in District UIL

Montgomery Junior High School has won first place in District Academic UIL!

The Bears took the top spot among seven other schools in the region! The District Academic UIL competition requires a significant amount of time and effort, both from students and coaches. I am incredibly proud of the MJH UIL students and coaches for being the District Champions this year! Go Bears!

Montgomery ES Destination Imagination invited to Globals!

Montgomery Elementary School’s Destination Imagination Team has received an invitation participate in the global DI tournament! This is the first time Montgomery Elementary School has had a team advance to this level! Way to go, Bearcats!

Superintendent Shout-Out – Child Nutrition Department

This week’s Supetintendent Shout-Out goes to our dedicated, hard working Child Nutrition team! The Child Nutrition Department recently received their second inspection from the Montgomery County Health Department (MCDH), with all 10 campuses receiving a 100 score!

MCHD inspects a minimum of 47 different items in each kitchen.  Receiving a 100 for all campuses shows the dedication for food safety and sanitation our Child Nutrition have for students and staff of Montgomery ISD.

Thank you for your service and dedication to Montgomery ISD!

First or Second COVID-19 vaccine doses available on Monday

The Montgomery County Public Health District is offering free first or second COVID-19 vaccine doses on Monday, May 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Woodforest Stadium. You can register for an appointment at http://www.mcphd-tx.org/. Information on COVID-19 vaccines is shared as a courtesy to employees. They are not required as a condition of employment.

A Journey to Improve District Compensation

This week the MISD Board of Trustees approved a compensation plan containing raises for the 2021-22 school year for all Montgomery ISD employees. I want to thank the many employees who reached out with kind comments and to express their gratitude about the board’s actions. While we intend to do more for our employees in future years, the work behind this compensation plan has truly been a journey, beginning with the 2% raises approved by the board in October.

When looking at making additional salary increases across the district, we needed several items to make informed decisions, including data and your input. Since October, we conducted an internal study of how our salaries compare to neighboring districts, engaged a third party to review how we staff campuses and district offices and provide options to become more efficient, brought in all campus principals to assist in our decision-making, visited with staff at all 10 campuses and the district office and held two budget Town Hall meetings. Having the necessary data to make decisions and receiving feedback from employees were extremely important to us as we developed this compensation plan.

On top of the 2% raises approved in October, we’re excited to have had the opportunity to put forward a proposed compensation plan with an additional $3,300 for teachers (about a 5% raise), and an additional 3% pay raise for all other district employees. While there still work to be done to make Montgomery ISD salaries in the region, we hope this shows our commitment to prioritizing staff compensation in our budgeting.

I wanted to point out a few additional important points about the compensation plan.

First, the compensation plan adopted by the board takes effect upon the start of your 2021-22 school year contract or beginning of the next fiscal year, depending on your contract length and type of employment. What this means is that you will begin to see the raises and increased stipends reflected in your paycheck at the start of your 2021-22 duty schedule, depending on the number of work days in your contract. For at-will employees, the raises will begin at the start of your work schedule beginning in the next fiscal year, which starts July 1.

Second, we have received some questions regarding the adjusted teacher hiring schedule. The hiring schedule salaries have been increased to become more competitive in the region. The teacher hiring schedule was also extended from 22 years to 30 years. I wanted to clarify a few items on this. First, with the adopted raises, a current Montgomery ISD teacher’s salary is designed to be – at a minimum – higher than what is reflected in the new salary schedule. The hiring schedule salaries reflect what a teacher entering Montgomery ISD would be compensated. For example, a teacher with two years of experience, entering Montgomery ISD during their fifth year of teaching would now have a starting salary of $55,875. This figure was increased from the $52,242 outlined in the previous 2020-21 hiring schedule. Current fifth year Montgomery ISD teachers received the 2% raise in October and will have also received the additional $3,300, bringing their salary to start their sixth year of teaching in Montgomery ISD above the $55,875 listed in the teacher hiring schedule.

Next, I want to be clear that while the teacher hiring schedule has been extended to 30 years, employees with 30+ years of experience still receive the $3,300 raise, and any salary increases approved each year by the board. Again, the hiring schedule reflects the salary of an individual entering the district for the first time, not existing Montgomery ISD employees, whose salaries will be – at a minimum – higher than what is outlined in the updated teacher hiring schedule. It’s also important to note that, while uncommon, a 30+ year teacher entering Montgomery ISD would receive a higher salary than what is listed at the 30-year mark in the hiring schedule. A 30-year range is common across many school district teacher hiring schedules.

Finally, I want to point our that professional, administrative, and auxiliary salary scales were all increased in the newly-adopted compensation plan. Many of you have inquired about raises being based on the midpoint of your salary. With the increased midpoints, the adopted raises for employees will actually be greater than they would have otherwise been without this adjustment. An adjustment to the salary scales is not something that has occurred when raises were approved in the past. Increasing the salary scales is an important component of making all district salaries more competitive.

Again, highlights of the Montgomery ISD 2021-22 Compensation Plan include the following:   

• Current MISD teachers receive a $3,300 pay raise (about 5%), for a total increase of approximately 7% over 18 months when factoring in the 2% raise provided in October – for a total raise of $4,055.   
• All other district employees receive a 3% pay raise, for a total of 5% over 18 months when factoring in the 2% raise provided in October.   
• The teacher salary schedule has been extended from 22 to 30 years.
• Salary scales have been increased (Minimum, Midpoint, Maximum). Raises are calculated based on the increased salary midpoint.   
• Stipends reduced in summer 2020 have been restored to their previous amount.  

In the coming weeks, employees will receive a letter containing their projected salary for the 2021-22 school year. The Human Resources and Finance teams are working diligently to produce individualized letters to all employees. This is an enormous effort being put forward, and I want to express my sincere gratitude for their hard work on behalf of all district staff!

You can read the adopted 2021-22 compensation plan here.

Sincerely,

Dr. Heath Morrison

Recognizing our Assistant Principals

(Masks removed for photo)

It was truly a pleasure to recognize our outstanding assistant principals during the Board of Trustees meeting this week. Our district is blessed to have this amazing group of leaders who play a key role in providing all students with a high-quality education. They work so hard each day to keep our campuses running efficiently and effectively, attend after-school and extracurricular events and always go the “above and beyond” – especially this year – to serve the needs of students and families.

Here’s a short video featuring Oak Hills JH principal Tim Williams and Montgomery HS Principal Dr. Andria Schur expressing their gratitude for our assistant principals!

;’

The final meeting in our MISD Strategic Plan Town Hall series will take place next Tuesday, April 27 from 6-7:30 pm at Montgomery Jr. High School.

As you may know, we are developing a three-year Strategic Plan in alignment with the MISD Board of Trustees’ five adopted district goals:

• Academic Achievement
• School Safety
• Finance & Operations
• Human Capital
• Communications & Customer Service

The Strategic Plan is being developed by a district Task Force comprised of parents, MISD staff, students and other district stakeholders. The final Strategic Plan will consist of measurable key performance indicators surrounding the board’s district goals and will contain district initiatives and strategies intended to meet targets in the performance indicators. The final strategic plan will be adopted by the Board of Trustees in June and take effect at the start of the 2021-22 school year.

If you would like to provide your input regarding the areas addressed in the district’s goals, please join us for this important discussion!

Lake Creek HS VEX Robotics Team advances to global competition!

There was some great news over at Lake Creek HS this week that I want to “shout out”! This week, the Lake Creek HS VEX Robotics Team advanced to the global competition!

Lake Creek’s robotics teams began the school year with one goal in mind, return to the VEX Robotics World Championship. Throughout the year, students competed in virtual and in-person tournaments, and after each of these tournaments, teams would refine their robot and code to improve their world rankings. On Monday, team 2854Y, which is comprised of Garrett Denley, Niko Howell, Aiden Suarez, Colin Nerren, Colton Bailes, and Colton Jenkinson, accomplished their goal, and received their invitation to “Worlds”!

The VEX Robotics World Championship will take place over the course of a week starting on Sunday May 16th and running through Saturday May 22nd. Team 2854Y has been one of the top performing robotics teams across the globe throughout the whole season and has received much praise from other teams and coaches on the design of their robot. 

Final Rankings:

World – 144th

United States – 101st

Texas – 7th

Gulf Coast Region – 4th

Way to go, Team 2854Y!

Early Voting underway for MISD Board of Trustees May 1 Election

Early voting for the MISD Board of Trustees election kicked off this week! Two seats on the MISD Board are up for election on May 1.

Running for Board of Trustees Position 4:

Trey Kirby

Christina Sato

Jay Grimes

Running for Board of Trustees Position 5:

Linda Porten

Early voting dates and times are:

• Monday, April 19 – Saturday, April 24 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Monday, April 26 – Tuesday, April 27 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

For a list of early voting locations, visit the Montgomery County Elections website at www.elections.mctx.org.

MISD Education Foundation’s ‘Together we Grow’ is Saturday!

I’m looking forward to seeing you all at the Montgomery ISD Education Foundation’s inaugural Together We Grow community fundraiser tomorrow evening, April 24 at 7 p.m.!

Together We Grow promises to be a wonderful evening, all in support of the Montgomery ISD Education Foundation, which is essential to our work as a district. The Foundation provides students with college scholarships and funds innovative, forward-thinking classroom and campus projects and provides teachers with tools needed to enhance their ability to educate our students.

I want to thank all, especially MISD parents and Foundation board members Jessica Grace and Shannan Reid who worked “overtime” to make Together We Grow a reality. We’ll see you all on Saturday!