GISD eNews | 8-24-23
-
GISD Receives 2023 District of Distinction Award
-
Safety & Security Committee August Update
-
Board action to develop an alternative plan until additional School Resource Officers are hired
-
Listening Tour with Dr. Padavil - Dates
-
GISD Goes Gold in September for Childhood Cancer Awareness
-
Accessing your students STAAR and TELPAS scores
-
Play it Safe K-8 Program Caregiver Education Presentations
-
Adult ESL Classes
-
From the City of Georgetown: Recreation Center Closed August 28 through September 4 for Preventative Maintenance
-
From Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: Williamson County 4-H Open House August 30
We encourage you to visit our GISD eNews website www.georgetownisdnews.org for the latest news, updates, feature stories and more. We also invite you to stay in touch with us via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
In Case You Missed It: Great News in GISD Schools!
August 21 Board Briefs
From Community to Classroom: How Teacher Externships Enrich Student Learning
Summer in GISD at a Glance
Visit our eNews hub for more stories of GISD in the news.
This week’s features:
GISD Receives 2023 District of Distinction Award
In this week’s eNews:
Safety & Security Committee August Update
The GISD Safety and Security Committee convened on Thursday, August 10. This committee, consisting of a variety of district stakeholders, is required by Texas Education Code to meet each semester and once during the summer. Agenda items throughout the year include reviewing the district’s Emergency Operating Plan, working with Georgetown Police Department to increase police presence on campus, and providing the district feedback and input on a variety of safety-related items.
The purpose of this meeting was to update the group on the district’s safety-related summer work and to share information related to HB 3, the Texas school safety bill passed this past June.
Visit our website to view the full update: https://www.georgetownisdnews.org/news/safety-amp-security-committee-august-update
Board action to develop an alternative plan until additional School Resource Officers are hired
House Bill 3, the School Safety Bill from the 88th Legislative Session was signed into law by Governor Abbott on June 14, 2023. One requirement of the legislation is that each Texas school board must ensure the presence of an armed, “qualified” security officer on each campus during regular school hours, effective September 1, 2023. The legislation also permits school districts to claim a “good cause exemption” due to lack of funding or lack of personnel. This exception allows the school district to create an alternate plan.
Dr. Padavil shared two main obstacles on meeting the September 1 deadline: lack of
funding from the state and a shortage of qualified security officers in the job market.
The impact to the district’s budget to hire an additional 12 SROs would come at a cost
approximately 10 times higher than the state’s funding contribution.
Currently, seven school resource officers (SRO) are assigned to campuses throughout
GISD, and the level of service they provide to elementary, middle and high school campuses will remain the same while the district works to increase the presence of qualified armed officers at every campus.
The district values the relationship with Georgetown Police Department and is working closely with them on solutions including the continued presence of SROs on all campuses even when additional armed guards are present.
Listening Tour with Dr. Padavil - Dates
GISD parents are invited to attend a Listening Tour this fall with Dr. Padavil, superintendent. Meeting dates are opportunities to share strengths and areas for improvement in the district. Join us for a date that best fits your schedule:
September 5 - Georgetown HS, 6 pm
September 11 - Wagner MS, 6 pm
October 3 - Wolf Ranch, 6 pm
November 2 - Village ES, 6 pm
November 6 - East View HS, 6 pm
December 5 - Benold MS, 6 pm
The greater GISD community is invited to attend a Listening Tour this fall with Dr. Padavil, superintendent. Meeting dates are opportunities to share strengths and areas for improvement in the district. Join us for a date that best fits your schedule:
Sept. 22 - Rotary Club of Georgetown, Downtown Club, Noon
Oct. 23 - Friends Room at the Georgetown Public Library, 6 pm
Information is also available on the district’s online calendar and will be shared directly with parents and the community via a number of communication channels.
GISD Goes Gold in September for Childhood Cancer Awareness
GISD will "Go Gold" this September to raise awareness about childhood cancer and support families in our community who are facing this life-changing diagnosis during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
You'll hear more about two big events during football season this fall:
EVHS will "Go Gold" on Sept 1 and GHS will "Go Gold" on Sept. 8 during home football games. In addition to supporting a good cause, it's an incredible effort to unite our community: One Town. One District, One Cause: Gold.
For now, one way to get involved is to join the movement and purchase a t-shirt. Details are available here: https://georgetowngoesgold.itemorder.com/shop/sale/. More details on events and how you can support this effort will be included in next week's eNewsletter.
All proceeds from the campaign will benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand, a national movement supported by our elementary schools with the same goal: to raise awareness and beat cancer.
Accessing your student's STAAR and TELPAS scores
All scores for STAAR, STAAR Alt 2, TELPAS, and TELPAS Alt assessments are now available on the Texas Assessment website and in Skyward. Instructions for accessing your student's scores can be found at https://www.georgetownisd.org/Page/25663.
If you are unable to access your student's scores through Skyward or the Texas Assessment website, please reach out to your student's campus.
Play It Safe K-8 Program Caregiver Education Presentations
As a result Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) which was passed in 2021 during the 87th Legislature Second Session, school districts are required to provide students with the opportunity to receive instruction on the topic of Child Abuse and Family Violence. With advice from the Georgetown ISD School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), the GISD school board has approved the Play it Safe curriculum for student instruction on this topic. GISD is partnering with the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center (WCCAC) to provide this instruction in elementary and middle school classrooms, grades K- 8.
Please join us for a caregiver presentation to learn about the student safety program and preview the material that will be provided to your elementary and/or middle school student this year:
Empowering Youth: Body Safety
Elementary: Tuesday, September 19, 6:00-7:30 pm
Middle School: Tuesday, September 26, 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Hammerlun Center for Leadership and Learning
Building 1, Board Room
For more information, please see the Play It Safe Caregiver Letter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gGBDyaLPpcS-kmXaEMgKaUPha-HPKogHTZSrrlStQfg/edit?usp=sharing
Adult ESL Classes
The GISD Multilingual department will be offering beginning level adult ESL classes for the GISD community. Beginning the week of Sept. 11, there will be classes available at:
Wagner Middle School: Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30-8:00 pm
Village Elementary School: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00-7:30 pm
Hammerlun (HCLL): Wednesdays from 9:30-11 am
Please see the flyers on our website with the QR code to register for classes.
https://www.georgetownisd.org/Page/26006
From Our Partners:
From the City of Georgetown: Recreation Center closed August 28 through September 4 for Preventive Maintenance
The Georgetown Recreation Center, 1003 N. Austin Ave., will be closed Aug. 28 - Sept. 4 to complete preventive maintenance and upgrades to the facility. The Village and Williams Drive pools will be open daily Aug. 28 - Sept. 1 for Recreation Center members to swim during the following times:
5:30-9 am: Williams Drive Pool
11am.-2pm: Village Pool
Recreation Center staff will be onsite to answer phones from 8am to 5pm Monday-Friday, Aug. 28-Sept. 1.
For more information and updates, please visit parks.georgetown.org.
From Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: Williamson County 4-H Open House August 30
Come learn about 4-H, a youth development program that connects its members to community projects that fit their areas of interest, at an open house on Wednesday, August 30. This free come and go event features project booths, 4-H Club sign up help and more.
When: August 30, 6-8pm
Where: 100 Wilco Way, Georgetown, TX
Visit https://williamson.agrilife.org/4-h/ for more information about 4-H.
Important Upcoming Dates
September 4 - Labor Day/ District closed
September 5 - Board workshop
September 18 - Professional learning/Student holiday
Board Meeting
Did you know that we send eNews via email every Thursday? Sign up today and share this with a friend!
The GISD eNews is intended to inform subscribers and provide a snapshot of district events and student achievements. It is not intended to be inclusive of every campus or program in GISD. For more information on Georgetown ISD visit our website, find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
The links found in eNews will not be automatically translated. To translate the content of our website, click on "Translate Language" on the right side and select the language you prefer.
Los enlaces que se encuentran en eNews no se traducirán automáticamente. Para traducir el contenido de nuestro sitio web, haga clic en "Translate Language" en el lado derecho y seleccione el idioma que prefiera.
