Board Recap January 23, 2025

Our team has been working hard these past few weeks to continue our efforts from last semester. We know bullying and mental health are key priorities in our community, and we are committed to them as well. I want to make everyone aware of the steps that are taking place:

• Our school counselors met recently to discuss opportunities for social-emotional learning on their campuses to address bullying specifically.

• We are in the process of hiring two mental health counselors to give us five total on staff. Interviews will take place this week.

• Several schools are also participating in the Great Kindness Challenge next week to encourage kindness and compassion.

• The high school will offer the first of four Leadership Academy sessions tomorrow morning, all open to students and staff before school.

• SHS is now offering monthly mindfulness events, which started last week with “Take a Brain Break!” in which students and staff created origami fidget toys. The school is also adding Anchor Boxes, a suicide prevention toolkit, which will be available to students in the coming weeks.

• Some of our student leaders also worked with our mental health counselor and Communities in Schools team to help organize and share mental health resources with their classmates.

• Student Services, ACE, and Whole Child Initiatives are working on a new family event for this semester. More to come on that.

• We also have the students leading the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Team here tonight to present their plans to get involved and lead the way for their younger counterparts. I am excited for you to hear from them.

Even with just a few weeks back in school, our students and teachers have juggled quite a bit with academics and extracurricular activities. The work continues to prepare our students for upcoming assessments and STAAR testing, which will be here before we know it.

As of today, we have 36 students at Mercer-Blumberg Learning Center who have completed all graduation requirements this school year. What a huge achievement for these students, Dr. Hastings, and the MBLC staff. Congratulations to all of you!

Thank you to all involved in Friday’s musical celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What a wonderful opportunity for our elementary and high school choir students and a special occasion for our community.

Friday, we also welcomed the family of Oralia R. Rodriguez to her namesake school, Rodriguez Elementary. I joined her daughter, granddaughter, grandson-in-law, and great-granddaughters for a campus tour by principal Ofelia Santiago. I enjoyed the stories they shared about Mrs. Rodriguez with the school’s fifth grade students.

I also attended our district Spanish Spelling Bee last week. Our students did a great job, and I am excited for those moving to the next level. Congratulations to our students who recently participated in the TMEA All-Region Band concert, the UIL State of Texas cheerleading competition, UIL Theater, and the Guadalupe County Youth Show. We are Matador Proud of you for representing Seguin ISD.

Basketball, powerlifting, and soccer are already underway, but several sports are about to start, including baseball, softball, and track and field. We hope everyone will join us for Meet the Mats early next month as we cheer on our Matadors in the Spring 2025 season.

There is much to be excited about and look forward to in Seguin ISD. I am very proud of our students and staff for continuing to work hard toward their goals and showing everyone what it means to be a Matador. We are one team, learning together, elevating excellence.

A vital part of that team is our board of trustees, who we honor tonight during School Board Recognition Month. We are grateful for their dedication, leadership, support, and time. Our trustees represent Seguin ISD, some as graduates, some as parents, and some as community members who truly have a heart for our district, students, and teachers.

Your work does not go unnoticed, and our campuses want to show their gratitude for everything that you do. Thank you for being here to represent our families and our community."

"Being a good teacher requires having a servant’s heart, and I know this month’s Superintendent Apple Award winner is a shining example.

This month, I’m proud to honor and recognize a longtime Matador who grew up here, raised their family here, and continues to help educate future generations.

This Seguin High School graduate served in the U.S. Air Force for over 30 years and has spent the last 17 years working in Seguin ISD. I want to take a moment to recognize this person’s military service, which included a deployment while working in Seguin. Thank you for your service.

Over nearly two decades, this month’s recipient has worked with students from kindergarten to 12th grade. Their teaching career started with substitute teaching at AJB, where they moved into teaching science full-time, then technology at Weinert, followed by Seguin High School, before moving to Barnes just a few years ago.

It is at Barnes where he has helped students truly soar to new heights. Earlier this school year, he helped 60 eighth-grade students become fully licensed recreational drone pilots. They even had a 100-percent passing rate! These students passed the same F-A-A exam required for all recreational drone pilots in the U-S. What a wonderful accomplishment!

As a robotics and technology teacher, he is helping open new doors for our students. These opportunities set our students up for success far beyond middle school, and we are grateful to this teacher for sharing their knowledge and talents with all of them.

It is my honor to introduce our January Superintendent Apple Award recipient, Troy DePalermo."