Dr. Bartlett & the 5th grade Ambassadors prepped for a Leader in Me Lighthouse tour. This group of students will share a few things that reinforce the 7 Habits such as leadership notebooks, art spotlights, grade level WIGs, (Wildly Important Goals) student job fair & so much more!
Mrs. Breckenridge and Ms. Ellis taught kindergartners that W is for wiggly worms when they discovered them in the learning garden!
Montgomery ISD Trustees Adopt Board Resolution on COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation
Trustees urge state to prioritize school district employees in next round of vaccine distribution
Montgomery ISD Trustees adopted a Board Resolution during their regular February meeting urging Texas Governor Greg Abbott to prioritize employees of school districts as COVID-19 vaccinations become more widely available statewide.
The Resolution requests that the Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel (EVAP), which is a state-appointed panel of subject matter experts charged with developing vaccine allocation strategies, include school district employees in the definition of “Frontline Workers” for purposes of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility. It also acknowledges the critical role school district personnel across Texas have played to ensure in-person instruction, which has been a state requirement during the 2020-21 school year, could occur during the pandemic. Currently, nearly 95% of Montgomery ISD students have selected in-person instruction as their preferred learning method.
“Since day one of this challenging school year, our teachers and school district staff have been heroes for our students,” Board President Matt Fuller said. “Safely opening schools for traditional in-person learning was a priority for many Montgomery ISD families, and our entire district staff has answered the call-to-action to make this possible. We are asking our state leaders to acknowledge the efforts of school district personnel by providing them the option to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”
The Resolution states that the district would respect the personal rights of its employees to make their own decision to take the vaccine should it become available to them. Montgomery ISD joins school districts across Texas that have made similar requests to the Governor, either through a letter or official Board action. The full Board Resolution can be read here.
February 1-5, 2021 was School Counseling Week, which is recognized across the nation as a week to celebrate and appreciate the contributions of school counselors. Montgomery ISD’s school counselors were recognized by trustees for their hard work and dedication to students during this year. Trustees were also shown a video highlighting the work of the district’s school counselors. The video can be viewed here.
“The vital role our counselors play on campuses has been magnified during this unprecedented school year, which has presented many new challenges for students,” Board Trustee Shawn Denison said. “The duties of our school counselors have expanded well beyond the traditional academic guidance role. School counselors also support the social and emotional well-being and development of students. We were excited to recognize them for their dedication to our students.”
During the meeting, trustees also approved a Resolution approving employee compensation during the district’s inclement weather closure from Feb. 16 through Feb. 19.
“Last week was extraordinarily challenging for our families and district staff,” Superintendent Dr. Heath Morrison said. “Many of our staff members are still dealing with the aftermath of the inclement weather we experienced in our region. Ensuring they are properly compensated while the district was closed provides at least some peace of mind during this difficult time.”
Morrison applauded district and City of Montgomery personnel who made it possible for Madeley Ranch Elementary School to serve as a warming shelter for local families. He also expressed appreciation for district maintenance staff who worked through the weekend to ensure schools would be ready to open for in-person instruction on Monday, Feb 22.
“Our MISD Police Department staff, Maintenance team and City of Montgomery rose to the occasion last week for our families,” Morrison said. “We were thankful that we could offer the community a warm and safe place to stay at Madeley Ranch Elementary School during the severe weather, and, we were grateful we could safely re-open all schools on Monday. This was a team effort.”
Mrs. Pace’s 6th Grade Advanced Science Classes successfully created and diagrammed the “flow of energy through various systems” using the Energy Conversion Kits that were purchased with a grant awarded to the OHJH Sixth Grade Science Department from the MISD Education Foundation. Thank you MISD Education Foundation for providing our students with the opportunity to apply their scientific knowledge with this awesome hands-on experience!
All Montgomery ISD schools and district offices will resume normal operations on Monday, Feb. 22.
District maintenance staff has been working diligently through the weekend to ensure schools and buildings are prepared to safely welcome students and staff back for in-person instruction tomorrow morning.
Please be advised that bus transportation may experience delays on Monday. Should your child’s bus route experience a delay, please continue to exercise patience as we ensure students are safely transported.
School meals will not be impacted as no schools are under a boil water notice at this time.
Thank you for your continued understanding and flexibility throughout this challenging week. We are excited to welcome students and staff back to school on Monday, Feb. 22.
If your family is experiencing challenges that will impact your child being able to return to school this week, please contact your campus directly.
Prioritizing the Safety and Well-being of Students and Staff
Needless to say, this was a difficult, crazy week. I want to express my sincere appreciation for your patience, flexibility and understanding as we wrestled with making decisions around closing schools.
The decision to close schools, delay the start of schools or shift to an all-remote format is never easy. There are many factors we examine and discuss in detail, not only as a leadership team but also in conjunction with local officials and neighboring superintendents. But, the driving factor in these decisions is always the safety and well-being of students and staff.
Our decision to close schools entirely this week – with no remote instruction – was due to dangerous road conditions and also the fact that many families and staff members struggled with weather-related issues like power and water outages, pipe bursts, leaks and heating issues. Unfortunately, many are still trying to get their personal lives in order and dealing with the mess this severe weather is leaving behind. At the end of the day, we’re all in this together, and I’m proud of how our community has supported one another throughout this challenging week.
During this terrible weather event it was a source of pride to make Madeley Ranch ES available for sheltering impacted community members. In fact, Madeley Ranch ES served as the community’s primary warming center providing a number of families with a warm and safe place to stay as they faced power and water outages. It was a great example of the City of Montgomery and MISD working together to assist our community. A special thank you goes out to the Madeley Ranch ES staff, MISD PD and our maintenance team for making this possible.
Our district maintenance team has been working hard to ensure all schools are ready to safely accommodate in-person instruction on Monday. Please exercise caution when entering buildings on Monday, as there may still be some ice near doors and in the parking lots. Also, please join me in thanking our maintenance team for their hard work this week to ensure our campuses are prepared for students and staff next week.
Again, I want to thank you all for your patience and flexibility this week. As I have mentioned before, we will always work diligently to provide weather-related school closure information as quickly as possible. The safety and well-being of our students and staff is always my top priority.
Enjoy a safe and restful weekend.
With Gratitude,
Dr. Heath Morrison
Montgomery ISD Superintendent
February Board Meeting Now Tues., Feb. 23
Due to inclement weather this week, the February Board of Trustees regular meeting has been rescheduled to 6 p.m. in the Board Room of the MISD Education Support Center.
As a recap of what I shared last week, during this meeting, trustees will give a special recognition to our school counselors in honor of National School Counseling Week, which was Feb 1-5. Thanks to all who joined us in celebrating our amazing school counselors last week.
During the board meeting, Trustees will also consider the adoption of a Board Resolution urging Governor Greg Abbott to prioritize school district employees in the next round of COVID-19 vaccinations. While we respect every individual’s right to make their own healthcare-related decisions, we believe that public school employees should be eligible recipients of the vaccines, given the magnitude and importance of their roles.
Strategic Plan Town Hall Meeting at Lake Creek Rescheduled to March 4
Due to several district events needing to be postponed or rescheduled, the next Strategic Plan Town Hall meeting scheduled at Lake Creek High School will be held Thursday, March 4 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
We look forward to continued collaboration with stakeholders through the district strategic planning process.
Superintendent Shout-out: Joe Kinard and the MISD Maintenance Team
I want to give a special shout-out to Director of Maintenance Joe Kinard and his entire team for their tireless work over the past few days. They have been incredible, working around-the-clock to ensure our campuses are ready for in-person instruction on Monday. They have also stepped up for families by helping with staffing our warming shelter at Madeley Ranch ES. Please join me in showing your appreciation for our awesome maintenance team!
Montgomery ISD schools and district offices will remain closed through Friday, Feb. 19. No remote or in-person learning will occur on Friday, Feb. 19. In-person instruction is scheduled to resume on Monday, Feb. 22.
The decision to close on Friday was reached after consulting with local officials as well as neighboring superintendents and determining that roads and highways will be unsafe for travel due to freezing weather through the remainder of the week. Additionally, many of our families and staff members are still dealing with power outages and other weather-related issues in their homes, eliminating a remote-learning day as a viable option. And, like many homes in our district, some of our facilities and campuses are also experiencing weather-related issues, which we are in the process of addressing.
Thank you all for your patience and flexibility this week. We will always work diligently to provide weather-related information as quickly as possible.
UPDATED TUESDAY, FEB. 16 AT 3:30 P.M.
Due to continued power outages in the area, forecasted inclement weather on Wednesday and icy and hazardous road conditions predicted through Thursday, Montgomery ISD schools and district offices will now remain closed through Thursday, Feb. 18. No remote or in-person learning will occur on Wednesday, Feb. 17 or Thursday, Feb. 18.
We will continue to monitor the weather and will provide an update for Friday, Feb. 19 on Thursday.
Please continue to watch for updates via recorded phone call, email, text message and on the district’s website and social media accounts.
The MISD Board of Trustees regular monthly board meeting originally scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 16 has also been postponed to Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. in the Board Room of the District Education Support Center.
Due to widespread power outages in the area, Montgomery ISD’s all-remote learning day originally scheduled to occur on Tuesday, Feb. 16 has been cancelled. No in-person or remote learning will occur on Tuesday, Feb. 16. All schools and district offices will be closed. The district intends to apply for a missed school day waiver from the Texas Education Agency due to the power outages, which would allow for the ability to not need to use an inclement weather day to make up the instructional minutes.
We are continuing to monitor the weather and will provide additional updates. Our next update will be Tuesday, Feb. 16, or as soon as possible.
Please continue to watch for updates via recorded phone call, email, text message and on the district’s website and social media accounts.
The MISD Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, 2/16 is still scheduled to be held, although it may be postponed to Thursday, 2/18.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility.
The MISD Premier Blog 