Roos on the rise as new school year begins

Aug. 15—WEATHERFORD — The first day of school is just around the corner for Weatherford ISD.

At the forefront of education issues nationwide is the question of security, something district staff highlighted during a recent joint meeting with the city of Weatherford.

"We all have to grapple with the realization that it can happen anywhere," Superintendent Beau Rees said. "We're doing everything we can to be prepared for that and I know expectations are high for all of us in this room and in this community to keep our kids safe."

Some of those procedures that will continue to be in place when students return to school on Wednesday include the staffing of five School Resource Officers through Weatherford PD.

Rees applauded the working partnership between the district and the department, noting police are also highly responsive — "if you call, they haul" — to any issues, while the SROs maintain great relationships with students while providing a deterrent.

Though there are no SROs at the elementary campuses, the district has hired campus security officers — some who patrol the high school as well — who have completed the School Marshal training through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

"Not only do we have the Guardian program ... we have the School Marshal program and SROs on campus," Rees said. "I have not heard of any other district in the state that has all three. This was a lot of foresight on the part of the WISD board and Weatherford PD."

Weatherford PD conducted Guardian training this summer with teachers and staff, including firearm qualification and live scenario simulations.

In addition to armed staff, the district has a security operations center and cameras throughout the district that are monitored 24/7. Video feed can also be pulled up and viewed remotely by Weatherford PD.

Funds from the 2015 bond have contributed to secure vestibules that greet visitors entering a campus, so they must be buzzed in to enter the campus. Keyless entries using only staff badges have also been installed, enabling teachers to lock their doors from the inside. Other improvements include upgrades to lighting at parking lots.

As in years past, visitors are also screened upon entry through the Raptor system, using their driver's license to check the sex offender's database. Any campus volunteer is also subject to a criminal background check through the Texas Department of Public Safety.

"We've done a ton of training and we're redoing a lot of our training in light of Uvalde," Rees said, which includes a secure drill with students and staff designed to prepare for an intruder situation.

District staff also continue to encourage students through the Roos Eyes Open, similar to Parker County Crime Stoppers, to report something.

Rees also touched on the advancement of WISD's behavioral and emotional support team, which began about five years ago with an investment of $250,000 to fund crisis counselors who work through risk assessments and follow up all the way through.

"When you hear about a lot of school shooting incidents that have happened, people say, 'We kind of suspected that child was having problems,'" Rees said. "Here, if that's suspected, we're on it."

That includes working with police, counselors and administrators to make sure the child student gets the help that they need and that others are safe in that situation, he said.

Weatherford ISD is expecting about 8,250 students when the doors open Wednesday, a similar enrollment to the 2018-19 school year, as the district lost about 200 students during the pandemic. They're expected to grow to roughly 8,700 over the next few years.

Rees dismissed rumors of Weatherford ISD having huge class sizes, noting the ratio in kindergarten through sixth is below some smaller districts as well as the state average, with numbers climbing slightly at the secondary level.

Teachers make up about half of the 1,087 employees within the district, and Weatherford ISD has been able to weather the nationwide teacher shortage — math, science and foreign language were the biggest challenges — to retain or employ veteran educators, with 60 percent having anywhere from six to 20 years of experience.

Rees also applauded the work of school nurses and the Parker County Hospital District in the Kanga Care outreach clinics, which "saved our bacon" when COVID hit.

On the transportation side, 55 buses were driven 3,700 miles a day last year, including 38 shuttles between the high school and Ninth Grade Center.

The nutrition department served close to 1 million meals last year (breakfast and lunch) with another 13,000 meals provided to children in need over the summer.

Academically, administrators said the district continues its focus on improving reading scores, particularly for those in kindergarten through second grade, when learning to read is essential, Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services Marie Hernandez said. "After second grade, they really need that skill to be able to learn."

In reviewing STAAR assessments for 2019, 2021 and 2022 (testing requirements were waived in 2020 due to the pandemic), Hernandez said scores for grades third through fifth and grades sixth through 10th were all higher in 2022 than they were prior to COVID, with Weatherford ISD equal to, or higher, than the state in 71 percent of areas measured.

Rees also touched on current pathways high school students can take in obtaining their diplomas, including one in the works for fall of 2023.

WISD currently offers traditional high school, where students complete each grade and earn their high school diploma; the Early College Academy which partners with Weatherford College so students obtain dual credit and can graduate with their high school diploma as well as their associate's degree; and the RISE/Flyer program, which gives students the opportunity to go to school for half a day and work the other half.

"This is students who had some difficulty along the way, maybe had to drop out and work or started a family early," Rees said. "Some may have had some trauma or situations that prevented them from succeeding."

Since implementation of the Early College Academy in 2020, WISD has had 21 students graduate with their associate's. Last year, more than 1,600 national/state licenses or certifications were also earned by students.

The district hopes to roll out a Pathways in Technology Early College High School program — commonly known as P-TECH — next fall, thanks to a state grant of almost $1 million that will allow WISD to partner with Weatherford College for programs such as automotive, welding, cosmetology and cyber security.

"Our kids who choose this route will be able to go to high school, go through Pathways in Technology and earn their associate's from Weatherford College completely free," Rees said. "In addition, they will receive Level I certification in those career fields."

WISD trustees Mlast week approved competitive sealed bid proposals as their method of procurement for Phase 1 of the project, which could be completed as early as July of next year. The board also approved members of the Facility Naming Committee.