Conroe ISD is gearing up for the 2023-24 school year with plenty of new staff, technology and programs.
Established in 1892, CISD is a 348-square-mile school district that is geographically diverse and includes The Woodlands, Shenandoah, Oak Ridge North, Conroe and Grangerland, as well as several other smaller towns, communities, and unincorporated areas. CISD will serve more than 73,000 students for the upcoming year across its more than 67 campuses.
Students go back to school Aug. 9.
Here’s a look at what’s new for the upcoming year:
School calendar
The CISD board adopted its 2023-24 calendar that will have staff development days on key election dates.
Hadith Sauceda-Upshaw, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, presented the calendar to the board in January and said the committee that developed the calendar was focused on safety.
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“There was a lot of discussion about elections in our schools among the committee and safety for students,” she said.
The committee agreed election day on Nov. 7 and the primary on March 5, 2024 should be staff development days keeping students at home since several campuses serve as polling locations.
“I asked around and I heard really good things about this,” Trustee Stacey Chase said during the January workshop. “We have a lot of people that come to our campuses to vote so these are good safety precautions.”
Additionally, the calendar features Aug. 9 start date and May 23 as the last day of the year.
Sauceda-Upshaw said about 9,200 people were surveyed for the calendar. Of those surveyed, 5,948 were parents and 866 were parents who were also CISD employees. The remaining people were employees without children in the district and community members.
“They prefer to start early and end before Memorial Day,” Sauceda-Upshaw said.
Winter break, Sauceda-Upshaw said, will be Dec. 18-29 with students returning to school Jan. 3.
Superintendent Curtis Null said the calendar, which includes 174 days of instruction, does allow for inclement weather days.
“The state requires you to make up at least two days or have minutes built into your calendar to make up two days,” Null said. “Everybody likes to get the phone call school is closed but nobody wants to get the phone call about making the day up so we built it in.”
New staff
New principals include Jamie Almond, Suchma Elementary; Stacey Mosley, Knox Junior High; Nina Norman, Washington High School; Melissa Sciba, Gordon Reed Elementary; Kenneth Shields, Clark Intermediate School; LaTory Jacobs, San Jacinto Elementary; Kris Smith, Glen Loch Elementary; and Debra Creel, as headmaster of The Academy of Science and Technology at College Park High School.
New administrative leaders include Tara Vandermark, director of elementary education; Jeff Fuller, executive director of school improvement, assessment and accountability; and Rachel Jimenez, payroll director.
Panic button
Conroe ISD will launch panic alert technology at all campuses that will allow users to summon police, medical or fire personnel with the touch of a button on their cell phone for the 2023-24 school year.
Chris McCord, assistant superintendent of operations, said during a June board meeting the district has piloted the Rave Panic Button system at Grand Oaks High School and York Junior High and it was successful at both campuses.
A grant and funding from the Montgomery County Emergency Communications District will cover the program for three years, which will cost $88,147. The communications district will cover part of the cost and funds from a more than $116,000 Silent Panic Alert Technology grant will cover the rest, McCord said.
“That brings our total cost to zero dollars,” McCord said.
The board’s approval allows the district to implement the technology two years before required by state law.
McCord said the app can be used by school staff to report different emergencies. The app will not be available for students to use.
“It notifies 911 immediately and campus-based staff,” McCord said “It gives first responders access to campus maps and allows first responders to receive real-time ongoing information about what is going on inside the campus.”
New badges
While student identification badges have been in use by Conroe ISD, the district has made the badges mandatory for junior high and high school students on campuses as a safety measure.
McCord, a member of the district’s safety and security committee, said the committee is supported of the mandatory badges.
In the past students at Conroe High School and Caney Creek High School have been required to wear them but stopped since other schools in the district did not enforce the badge requirement.
In February, the district began using the SMART Tag system which requires bus riders boarding and exiting to scan a card, giving parents the ability to sign up for notifications and know when their child’s bus will arrive for pick up in the morning and drop off in the afternoon. The system also records when and where a student gets on and off a bus.
McCord said the benefits of the badges is to quickly identify a student, including substitute teachers, and point of sale purchases could be accelerated and reduce time in lunch lines.
“The safety of our school has a lot to do with the kids,” McCord said.
Elementary children would have badges for their backpacks and a second basic badge to take to the cafeteria to purchase food. McCord that that would avoid that badge being taken on and off their backpacks.
Board President Skeeter Hubert, who sits on the safety committee, said the program is a good move for the district for the safety of students and staff.
“This is something I would certainly support,” Hubert said.
Focus of discipline
With its rapidly growing student population, Conroe ISD has expanded its discipline response, adding more staff, programs and training.
According to information presented by CISD Deputy Superintendent Bethany Medford earlier this month, the district’s additional staff includes 33 assistant principals and 21 counselors.
The district also added four campus coaches, one student support services specialist and a district hearing officer.
The district is also expanding its Disciplinary Alternative Education Program.
Medford said the district has about 130 seats for junior high and high school students and 40 for elementary and intermediate students for short-term DAEP.
For the upcoming year, the district has added an additional teacher to increase those numbers due to growth.
The district will also add long-term DAEP placement and Early Childhood Response teams.
The long-term DAEP includes 40 seats and is operated out of a dedicated wing at Washington High School. Students can be placed in that program for 30, 45 and 60 days. The new program includes four additional staff members, Medford said.
The district’s Early Childhood Response teams include four additional paraprofessionals, Medford said. For special education, the district has added more than 30 staff members.
