The first order of business at the most recent Sundown ISD school board meeting was to approve an overnight trip.
Sundown ISD’s Apollo gifted and talented program will be going on a trip to Austin Mar. 3-6.
Sundown ISD superintendent, Brent Evans, explained that the students will be participating in volunteer work, a team building exercise and other activities.
The group will also be attending the Renaissance Fair, a musical; a hospital tour and a music studio.
“It’s really a neat opportunity,” Evans said. “They’ve gone to Lockheed Martin - as team building; they’ve done several escape rooms in different cities.”
Apollo students will volunteer at Noble Loaves and Fishes, a nonprofit food truck, that delivers food, clothing and other life-sustaining items to the unhoused in Austin.
“The volunteer work is what the Noble Loaves and Fishes was about, which I love too,” explained Evans.
In an attempt to build school leaders, Sundown ISD created an in-house development program that allows current teachers to present things they have learned and strategies that work for Sundown students.
“We feel like a lot of times we go other places, they’ll teach us stuff, but they don’t have our kids,” Evans said. “Why not learn from those that know how to be successful with our kids?”
Evans says that novice teachers are looking for schools that are different and special. He hopes that teachers will come to Sundown ISD and see that the culture is something they would love to be a part of.
According to a data report by the Texas Education Agency, teacher retention for first year teachers fell from 89.5% in the 2015-2016 school year to 59.9% by their fifth-year teaching.
“There’s nothing in place that says this is our plan, to be fair,” Evans said. “We do offer affordable teacher housing. We still do a partial matching annuity beyond the regular teaching retirement, so it’s a supplemental retirement.”
According to Evans, the state says they are going to help pay the salaries and benefits for teachers.
Sundown ISD participates in the Grow-Your-Own program through a TCLAS grant from the state.
“We have two teacher’s aides right now that we’re able to help supplement and help pay for their school, their degree and their certification,” Evans said.
The district is also taking steps to increase school security. Sundown ISD recently installed card readers that only allow staff and students access to the building.
While it is not currently set up, Evans says it will be up and running in the next few weeks.
The district also invested in ballistic film which creates bulletresistant windows.
A sign at the administration entrance warns visitors that staff members of the school district may be armed. This comes in the wake of school related mass shootings.
The state of Texas requires school-based threat assessment teams. According to the Texas Education Agency’s Safe and Supportive School Program Guidance, the team is tasked with directing behavioral threat assessments determining the best course of action to support the individual who made the threat and those the threat is aimed at.
“We evaluate various situations,” Evans said. “Could any kid get hurt? Could anyone be hurt?”
Sundown ISD invested in students’ mental health with counseling through federal money the district received.
Sundown ISD also invested in the Raptor program that allows the schools to run background checks on visitors.
The Raptor program allows the administration to track tardies and lock all doors from an electronic device.
A grant will allow Sundown ISD to upgrade the silent panic alert system that is already in place. This system will become accessible to all teachers through their cellphones which relays to 911 and local police officers.
“Our board has not batted an eye about protecting our kids and our staff,” Evans said. “Budgetwise we have some challenges with the ways the state has done some things here recently, but to our board, this is first priority.”