The Duncanville ISD Board of Trustees hosted a regular board meeting on February 22, 2021. A video recording of the meeting will be available on the district website under Board of Trustees. Information shared and decisions made during that meeting include the following:
“Made With Pride in Duncanville” Honorees Recognized
The February “Made with Pride in Duncanville” honorees include student Sierra King, teacher Khammay Escoto and staff member Elizabeth Venegas.
Sierra King is a senior at Duncanville High School. Sierra is in the top 3 percent of her class. Sierra is part of the engineering career pathway and plans to study biomedical engineering next year at the University of Texas at Dallas. She also loves basketball and has become a youth mentor to future generations of girl basketball players.
Khammay Escoto is a sixth grade math teacher at Daniel Intermediate School. Mrs. Escoto is a true leader at Daniel. If someone has a question about something, it has become common knowledge at the school that "Mrs. Escoto will know." She goes above and beyond to build relationships with her students and get them excited to learn. DonorsChoose is a nonprofit organization that allows people to donate to classroom projects, and Mrs. Escoto has been able to utilize the funding site to the school's benefit and helps other teachers set up their own projects.
Elizabeth Venegas is the secretary for the Duncanville ISD Police Department. Ms. Venegas is the shining example of reliability and perseverance. Ms. Venegas was nominated by Sgt. Mitchell Lambert and he says Ms. Venegas goes beyond the call of duty to keep a positive work atmosphere and holds the team together.
Learn more about the honorees here.
Board Approves Hiring of New Chief Technology Officer
The Duncanville ISD Board of Trustees approved the hiring of new Chief Technology Officer Dr. Brian Brown. Dr. Brown has more than 20 years of experience in technology services. He most recently served as the executive director of data management and educational information officer at the University of Texas at Arlington and was previously the executive director of community relations, technology and grants at Melissa ISD. Dr. Brown began his career in education as a secondary science teacher and website manager in Oklahoma.
Dr. Brown has a bachelor’s degree in conservation from Southeastern Oklahoma State University; a master’s degree in educational administration, curriculum and supervision from the University of Oklahoma; and a doctorate degree in educational administration with an emphasis on educational technology from the University of Oklahoma.
Superintendent’s Report
Duncanville ISD Superintendent Dr. Marc Smith began his report with an update on the effects from the winter storm last week. Although many students may have enjoyed the snow day, there are families who suffered damage to their homes, dealt with power and water outages and are still recovering from the impacts of the extreme winter weather. Dr. Smith also noted that three of our campuses had water damage and commended our maintenance and custodial crew for working so diligently to make repairs.
Dr. Smith provided a recap of “Operation Connection,” which took place on Jan. 23. District volunteers knocked on the doors of approximately 100 homes with virtual students who had not been engaged in learning. The event was a success, as 26 students returned to in-person learning and 31 students re-engaged in learning.
Other Items
The board agenda items can be found here.
Approved minutes from the January 11 board meeting
Approved financial report for December 2020
Approved budget amendments
Discussion of the 2020 District Texas Academic Performance Report
Approved authorization of certain investment training
Approved shared services arrangement agreement with Irving Regional Day School Program for the Deaf for the 2020-2021 school year
Approved RFP 470 #210003598 and RFP 470 #210004018 for Category 2 services
Approved interlocal agreement with the Dallas Independent School District for police services
Approved 2020-2021 Region 10 and Duncanville ISD grant memorandum of understanding
Approved Innovative Course 2020-2021
Approved annual review of investment policy and strategies
Approved consider approval of requested to the Texas Education Agency for a missed school day waiver
Approved resolution regarding delegation of authority during the winter storm
Discussion of the budget review
Discussion of the COVID-19 pandemic plan and efforts update
Discussion of strategic planning process
Discussion of elementary leadership academy and school choice initiative
Discussion of instructional materials report and overview