Superintendent's Monday Message
May 20, 2024
Dear SWISD,
I hope that each of you had a great weekend. It was a busy one for SWISD. I had the privilege of attending our job fair. Our staff who were present and working to fill the vacancies are greatly appreciated. We also had our P.R.O.M.I.S.E. ceremony, where the SWISD police department is changing lives by giving students a second chance. Additionally, all our elementary schools participated in iPlay! Our schools did fantastic. WOW! I am so proud of our students, but none of this would be possible without our iPlay coaches. I am truly inspired by them.
Throughout my conversations with individuals in the District, I am constantly sharing the importance of being willing to look at things differently, not being afraid of change, and not being scared to do things differently. If we are not constantly growing and evolving, we will remain stagnant. I do not want people to be afraid to do things differently because they fear making a mistake.
"If milk goes bad, it becomes yogurt. Yogurt is more valuable than milk. If it gets even worse, it turns to cheese. Cheese is more valuable than both yogurt and milk. And if grape juice turns sour, it transforms into wine, which is even more expensive than grape juice. You are not bad because you made mistakes. Mistakes are the experiences that make you more valuable as a person. Christopher Columbus made a navigational error that led him to discover America. Alexander Fleming's mistake led him to invent Penicillin. Don't let your mistakes get you down. It is not practice that makes perfect; it is mistakes we learn from that make perfect!" — Author Unknown
I share this with you to challenge each of you to step out of your comfort zone. I know it is difficult to think that we can do things differently and that it can be better, but life is constantly evolving, so we must do the same.
This past Saturday morning, I attended the SWISD Job Fair at McAuliffe Middle School. It was exciting to see all the campuses and departments that were in attendance. The most exciting part was welcoming our newest employees, who got to ring the employment bell and get cheered on by everyone. If you know anyone who might be interested in joining the SWISD family, please have them apply at www.swisd.net/jobs.
I am very proud of all our schools that gave it their all this Saturday in the iPlay! Afterschool Flag Football tournament. The teams have been working on their skills and character development after school for about six weeks and it was amazing to see it all come together. We had two teams finish in the top three: Medio Creek, led by Coach Jarred Gonzales, finished 2nd, and Sun Valley, led by Coach Tena Engelhardt, finished 3rd. This concludes our iPlay! Afterschool program for this school year, but I am looking forward to next year! Thank you to all the coaches below who helped make this possible:
Big Country: Katelyn Knight
Bob Hope: Destiny Guerra
Elm Creek: Sean Lockridge
Hidden Cove: Joshua Martinez
Indian Creek: Michael Bendele
Kriewald Road: Vivian Tijerina
Medio Creek: Jarred Gonzales
Sky Harbor: Consuelo Rodriguez
Southwest: Amaya Cosper
Spicewood Park: Teresa Torres
Sun Valley: Tena Engelhardt
Today, we held a luncheon for our Southwest ISD police officers in honor of National Police Week. I am so thankful to have all these individuals helping to keep our staff and students safe day in and day out. Our officers are there when we need help and during challenges. They are also there during good times, building positive relationships with our students. Just this weekend, I attended the P.R.O.M.I.S.E. program completion ceremony at Medio Creek Elementary. This unique program offers students who previously made a poor decision the chance to wipe the slate clean and remove their offense from the criminal justice system. At the event, the families in attendance listened to testimonies from past P.R.O.M.I.S.E. program participants and heard from Judge Melanie Lira from Bexar County Court #7 about how this program changes lives. Thank you to all of our wonderful police officers. You are appreciated.
We continue to say a fond farewell to people who spent a large part of their career dedicated to Southwest ISD. Last week, C&I held a special reception for several of our wonderful employees who are retiring after many years of service to our families. These individuals will be missed but not forgotten. Their contributions to the success of our students will be felt for years to come as we learn of the great things our former students are accomplishing in life.
This is my favorite time of year when the fruits of our labor blossom. Over the last few weeks, it has been a joy to see our students prepare to move on to their next journey in education. Our high schools have made Decision and Signing Days extra special for our students and their families. This is why we do what we do—to see our students succeed and move up in their paths to do great things. Congratulations to all and to all who helped them along the way.
As we reach the end of the 2023-24 school year, we continue to celebrate the Class of 2024 with our annual Senior Walks. This week, Southwest Legacy will have their festival on campus starting at 5 p.m. with the Senior Walk parade starting at 7 p.m. The parade includes Southwest Legacy feeder schools and will culminate with the SWISD/North Park Toyota Car Giveaway. We hope to see you out there to cheer on all our students. Southwest High School and CAST STEM will have their Senior Walk next week on Wednesday, May 29.
Let’s keep up the great work. Wishing each of you a great week!
Sincerely,