The program, Peace Through Business, was conceived following a conference call Dr. Terry Neese received from the State Department of Education and the White House. Dr. Neese, who grew up in an entrepreneurial family, developed Terry Neese Personnel Services 35 years ago, which her daughter now runs. Owning her business led her to become active in NAWBO (National Alliance of Women Business Owners). “I became a member in 1986. Up until this point in my life, I had done very little travel outside of Oklahoma,” Dr. Neese recalled with a small grin. “By 1988, I was on the national board of the organization with 35 chapters nationwide. In 1989, as president elect, I understood the need to be an advocate for women business owners. Soon, I had traveled to almost all 50 states.” As president, Dr. Neese’s goal was for members to travel to Washington, D.C. to inform Congress on the unique issues businesswomen face.

Her experiences led to the formation of IEEW, a nonprofit institute which teaches women how to get involved in public policy, network and advocate for small businesses. “I wrote a training manual on the importance of getting to know your congressman and political leaders (federal, state and county). Following a 14-state tour with the manual, I received the conference call, which thrust me into global businesswomen’s issues,” Dr. Neese summarized.

Invited to Washington to brainstorm ways to help Afghan women become self- employed and self-reliant, Dr. Neese was appointed to the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, originally formed in 2002, with a mixture of women from the United States and Afghanistan. “When I went to Afghanistan and saw firsthand the challenges they face, I couldn’t even really comprehend it. There is no infrastructure. Women aren’t allowed to drive. Bomb threats are daily realities. Each day, these women leave their homes never knowing whether that day will be safe or not,” Dr. Neese recalled. “That trip changed my life and made me more aware of the blessings of freedom. I wanted to help. I felt I had been working my whole life to come to ace. My destiny is in helping these women.” In both Afghanistan and Rwanda, so many men have been killed, that it is up to these women to resetablish economic stability in their countries. Yet this is especially difficult in societies where women have been seen and treated as property.

As a plan began to unfold, Dr. Neese knew she would have to find a university partner to complete the plan. Dr. Fry, then president of Northwood, offered her use of their facilities, curriculum, housing and food — initially on the Michigan campus. In 2009, the program moved to the Texas campus. Dr. Fegan indicated the first year’s involvement in Peace Through Business emphasized awareness. “Last year, we shifted toward acceptance through getting the community involved. This year, we are moving toward greater accountability and considering potential opportunities for progress. We are asking, where will we take it from here?” Dr. Fegan explained.

Local involvement included several Cedar Hill businesswomen paring up as mentors. Luanne Alcaraz, owner of Chick-fil-A, and D’Lana Motta, owner of Virginia’s Boutique, participated as mentors. Luanne felt she learned as much from Joanne, her mentee from Rwanda, as she was able to give. “These women are so eager to learn, so inquisitive and ready to share their culture with you. It was an eye-opener,” Luanne remarked. D’Lana echoed Luanne adding she still e-mails Farqhana in Afghanistan, who is also in retail work. Farqhana also teaches business and English classes to other women and is working with the Afghan women who will be here this summer. This year, the Cedar Hill Chamber is focusing the July 14 Chamber Night Out on giving people of the community an opportunity to meet the Rwandan and Afghan women. “I am hoping this will build a deeper relationship of awareness and partnership between the people of the community, the women, mentors and potential mentors,” Dr. Neese remarked. The program provides business training for 30 women from Rwanda and Afghanistan. Each of the women must have been in business for themselves in their country for at least one year. They receive about eight weeks of training in their country and then come to the States, where they receive one week of intensive courses in business and marketing skills and entrepreneurial training at Northwood. Each woman is then paired with a local, mentor businesswoman who works in the same industry as theirs, working together for one week, side-by-side.

Such issues as access to capital and presenting a unified voice are addressed, along with business strategies. Rwandan participant, Natacha Kabandana listed ideas and methods she would be applying immediately: contracting, budgeting, evaluating her suppliers, marketing, communication and human resource management skills. Natacha’s mentor remarked she was like a sponge, soaking in all the knowledge, experience and suggestions that she, as a mentor, could provide. Their time in the States concludes with
a wrap-up summit and graduation. Randall Stephenson, CEO and president of AT&T, who has sponsored the program since its beginning in 2007, met with all of the women in 2010. They discussed business plans, financing, marketing and leadership. At last year’s graduation, he said he would happily hire any one of them to his management team, but he knew their goals were to return to their countries to work at solidifying and improving their nation’s economy through work, education and training others.
As part of the program, each woman mentors at least 10 other women in the year following participation in Peace Through Business. These women return to their countries as leaders, who have met their ambassadors at the summit and are ready to “pay it forward” by effecting an economic change in their country.

Written by Beverly Shay.

Mechelle, a vocalist since about second grade, sang in church at first and then became very involved in choir programs in junior high and high school. She aspired to a professional singing career and entered college as a vocal performance major but, after starting her family while still an undergraduate, Mechelle changed her focus to music education. She began her career a few years later teaching elementary and junior high, and now has found her niche in high school.

“I got into directing when the position at Red Oak Junior High School came open. They had not done a classic choir program, and I jumped at the chance

to start one because I wanted to grow a program that would be known in the Dallas area,” Mechelle explained. “I teach because I think everyone should have an opportunity to learn how to sing. Every year, I have a student who wants to join choir but is hesitant because they don’t think they’re good enough. My students just look at them and repeat what they’ve heard me say dozens of times before, ‘Everyone can sing. If you think you can’t, Mrs. Foster will teach you how.’”

While she was teaching junior high, Mechelle and her colleague, Katrina Keener, began producing musicals, which were condensed for younger students. Audiences enjoyed them, and their students looked forward to the annual production, even badgering the teachers about which musical they were going to do next. Once students moved up to high school, however, there was no longer an opportunity to participate. That changed quickly when Mechelle was hired. “I sat down with Richard Thomas, the high school band director, and Angee Hallmark, the assistant theater teacher, and we started talking about what we might want to do. We decided that Grease would be a good option for the first year and sat down with the script to figure out what we needed to do to ensure it was family friendly,” Mechelle explained. Once the play was chosen, the three teachers worked through the planning process to figure out how to make the production work, from instrumentation and set design to staying within their budget. They also asked Laura Kelly, who works with the ROHS drill team, to help with choreography.

Armed with a plan, Mechelle and her team held auditions and had 67 students try out. Of those, 29 were awarded parts in the musical. “The cast and chorus were kids from freshmen to seniors. I don’t agree that lead roles should be limited to upperclassmen, so the best person for each role got it,” Mechelle said. “About 90 percent of the kids were also choir students, so it was nice to see them in a different environment.”

Rehearsals began about 13 weeks prior to the performance and were broken down into three phases, the first being music. “You can’t have a musical if the kids can’t sing,” Mechelle laughed. Choreography and blocking (assigning characters’ placement on the stage during each scene) followed, and the final phase incorporated all the parts together on stage. As with everything in the production, rehearsals were a team effort. Mechelle taught the music and did the blocking, while Angee, who specializes in technical theater, worked on set design, costumes, lighting and sound. The students rehearsed about seven hours each week and learned valuable lessons about time management and organization along the way.

While the students were learning lines and notes, many other people joined in preparing for the show. Burl Sloan and some of his art students helped with sets. Some band students got to use their instruments in a setting other than the usual marching band and orchestra. Mechelle’s husband, Brian, and District Superintendent Scott Niven, designed the set and built it with the assistance of ROHS Principal Kevin Freels and Red Oak Independent School District (ROISD) School Board President John Hawkins. Stacy Stockdale and her graphic design classes created T-shirts, and Angee’s husband, Adam, who is a graphic designer, created posters and programs. Richard recruited a former Red Oak student and that student’s friend, along with an elementary school principal and two current students, to provide the music for the show.

Another benefit of the show was that Grease was the first major production in the school’s performing arts center, so school staff learned a lot about lighting and sound. Because of the high-tech nature of the audio/visual controls, students gained valuable experience in technical theater as they learned how to use them. Mechelle and her team hope to include even more students in the future, including using home economics students for costume design and graphic design students for publicity.

Mechelle believes it was everyone’s combined efforts that paid off in a great show. In fact, many are already asking what show they will do next year. No decisions have been made, but since students are aware of current musicals like Rent, Hairspray and others, Mechelle would like to introduce them to the classics. “A lot of recent musicals focus on a certain voice type and range, especially the alto and tenor lines, and I want to give other voice types a chance to show what they can do. Also, I want the students to understand how the older musicals built the foundation for today’s musical theater,” Mechelle explained.

The show’s success was rewarding, but Mechelle pointed to other important benefits of students’ participation, too. “The experience the students gained extends far beyond fine arts. These kids can grow beyond sitting in classes and actually see what it’s all about,” she said. “My biggest goal is to put tools out there for my students, teach them how to use them, give them the opportunity to use them, and then let them decide what they want to do.” It is always exciting for Mechelle when students want to major in music. If she can give them a love of music, confidence and stage presence, “it will carry over and be a positive influence on other parts of their lives.” And that, she believes, is truly hitting her mark.

Written by Jeremy Agor

Simple, positive reinforcement includes saying key things like, “How smart you are!” versus, “Good job.” It also involves teaching study habits that will back up what kids are learning at school.

Wes learned the value of encouragement from the man who inspired him to follow his dream. “When you’re married with bills and kids, life can get overwhelming, and support is extremely important,” said Wes, who told his friend, Dr. Al Hulse, about his desire to hang out his shingle. “Dr. Hulse, the best primary care physician I know, told me, ‘You’ll be able to help people!’ He called recently to check up on me and continues to give encouragement.”

Giving more of the same when he counsels individuals and couples, Wes also teaches the skill of encouragement to his students in the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Marriage and Family Counseling Program. As a clinical professor, Wes prepares lectures and case examples, and sometimes videos, to talk about counseling from theoretical or intervention perspectives. He then spends five hours one evening per week with his students in a clinical setting. First-semester students observe through glass while fellow students counsel real subjects, then talk with their professor about what they should or should not have done. Second-semester students are a junior part of a co-therapy team. Third-semester students are a senior part of a co-therapy team, helping guide their teammates in how to conduct a counseling session. All the while, Wes provides feedback on how to be more effective counselors.

On the heels of such interactive teaching, Wes supervises students in their fourth semester of clinical training. Some of those are at state agencies like The Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation or church-based counseling centers. Some are at Wes’ Burleson clinic, walking side by side with him and learning by doing. “That is called micro skills development. See one, do one, teach one,” Wes said. “Kristin Elliot is here assisting me in brain mapping and neurofeedback, and doing counseling and women’s issues, plus conducting counseling at Southwestern.”

After 2011, Southwestern will revamp their curriculum and their Marriage and Family Counseling Program — which once served 280 students in the Ph.D. and master’s programs — will be phased out. Wes will press on to consult and counsel where he is needed. “What we counselors do is essentially missionary in nature,” Wes said, remembering that even in high school in Houston, he thought he would go into ministry. “My parents, who had been in ministry, got divorced when I was 14. The reaction of the church to my parents’ marital problems was troubling. There was no one there to give them help; the only advice given to them was to pray harder and read their Bible more.” At the same time, his older sister was struggling with her relationship. Wes left for college hoping to get away from all the misery at home. Most of his buddies went into ministry after graduation from Howard Payne University, going on to attend seminary in Fort Worth.

Knowing he was immature and suffered from wanderlust, Wes and his best friend went into the military. “When I chose the Marine Corps, I never intended to stay in, but every time there was an opportunity to do something different, I signed up for it,” he said. Wes was stationed in Okinawa for one year, but stayed three. “It was great! I learned how to scuba dive, and that became one of my passions. By the end of my time there, I was a master scuba diver and became a scuba instructor. I picked up golf in Okinawa, too, but that’s one of the very few things I’ve never taught anybody — because I never became good enough.”

Before retiring in 2002 from an assignment in defense acquisition, Wes served in four command positions. During his career, Major Wes Center commanded 370 marines at Cherry Point in North Carolina. After deploying to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, he returned to Cherry Point and served as an executive officer of two squadrons and one battalion. As he was coming up for promotion to Lt. Colonel, the Marine Corps decided to cease using Hawk missiles. “That affected my ability to be promotable, since I was essentially a Marine without a weapon system,” Wes said. “We were strongly involved in church, and in talking to my pastor and close friends, it seemed God was calling me to do family ministry. I felt like, based on my parents’ experience and others in my family, there needed to be people who could do that kind of counseling work.”

One thing led to another, and with the counsel and prayers of his wife, Lydia, and others — including Dr. Hulse — Wes decided to make use of his Veterans Administration benefits. He retired, settled to Fort Worth to attend seminary and seven years later he had a Ph.D.

and is now a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He has a formal consulting arrangement with East Fort Worth Montessori. But since he lives in Burleson, Wes chooses to give his time to Burleson ISD. Most recently he has been active on the Student Health Advisory Committee. “I feel it is part of my responsibility as a parent to give something back to the community,” Wes said, “because they’ve done such a good job of educating my children.”

The “brain doctor” is especially passionate about helping returning veterans. “Having been a combat vet myself, I know what it’s like to have bombs dropped on me. I am really excited about the possibility of getting the Veterans Administration to approve us to give neurofeedback therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to these veterans,” Wes said. “Our real goal is for people to thrive. Survive is OK, but thrive is what we’re after.

“Truthfully, the problem with PTSD, and even with some marriages, is that people look to survive just one more day. As long as you’re in survival mode, you’ll never get into ‘thrival’ mode. Our goal in treatment is to de-link the power of the emotions that are recalled by the historical event. We encourage people not just to survive trauma, but to erase the lines they’ve drawn between the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional, and to leverage all your parts to help you heal. The scars are there as reminders, not that you were a victim, but that you are a victor!”

Written by Melissa Rawlins.

Mrs. Lewis’ PE classes start in the fall with a quick lesson on the heart. She uses different visual aides to depict simple diagrams of the heart and blood flow, which are appropriate for her young, first- through third- graders. Plaque “gunks up the system,” she teaches. “I tell the kids that we want to keep our plumbing clean,” she laughed. “Most kids at this age understand how the plumbing system works in their houses. So, if we talk about how eating right and exercising can help keep our body’s plumbing system clean, they seem to get it!”

She teaches the students how to “listen” to their hearts, by placing a finger on the carotid artery in their necks. One child at least, inevitably says, “My heart is beepin’, Miss Lewis!” The students are taught that their hearts should beat really hard and fast when exercising so that it can beat really slow and healthy when resting.

Mrs. Lewis calls her students “the cool kids,” and one way they are rewarded is with special beads for bracelets and necklaces. Beads are given out for simply having a birthday, or students may get a pumpkin bead at Halloween or a tree bead at Christmas, but most beads are earned by hard work. A bead depicting a brain may be given for literary events accomplished by participating in spelling or writing contests. Students may get a bead shaped as a foot for participating in a race or walking or running a mile. After collecting 10 of these foot beads, students can trade them in for a wristband. These “cool kids” are now a part of the prestigious “mileage club.” Wristbands come in lots of different cool colors, so of course the students want to collect at least one of each.

Another popular and coveted bead comes in the shape of a heart. Any heart-healthy, cardiovascular exercise will earn this bead. Students can jump rope, use the hula hoop or ride bicycles in the gym. Sometimes dancing is also offered as an exercise that will earn a heart-shaped bead.

Mrs. Lewis said, “I love to encourage dancing because it’s so much fun and such a great exercise. We are so lucky to have Stephanie Reese from Go-Academy come every October and teach a unit on dancing. After the break, we come back to school and review what she taught us in the fall. We love country line-dancing because it’s so easy and fun and this year we are also learning the latest craze, Zumba. Lots of red, heart beads are earned and given out in February!”

Children are also encouraged to stay active when not in school and can earn beads that way, too. Mrs. Lewis worries about the sedentary lifestyle of children today and wishes they would just go outside and play more. She has implemented a program called Fabulous Fitness Frenzy Wall, a large awards display in the gymnasium. Students can do any exercise good for the heart as an extra curricular activity. They hand in a form their parents have signed, stating the activities and time spent doing them. Riding bikes, playing tag, cheer practice, gymnastics, sports and swimming are just some of the activities done after school, earning the students points, which then add up for stickers. These stickers are part of the wall display for the whole school to see. And of course, more beads are happily snatched up.

Mrs. Lewis also started a program she calls, Tune-in Time, for students who arrive at school sometimes as early as 50 minutes before school starts. “I try to help the kids tune into the day and get started, instead of just sitting in the gym, waiting for the bell to ring. We do announcements, pledges and sometimes practice for holiday programs or show movies, but I always try to simply incorporate movement in all of these things. My goal is to teach kids to keep moving during appropriate times.”
She encourages her students to keep moving even when playing video games and watching TV at home. “Just keep moving!” she emphasized. She tells the kids to do exercises during the commercials of their favorite TV shows and loves the idea of the Nintendo Wii, a popular, interactive video game.

Teaching students to make good choices in daily activities also includes helping them make good choices in their diets. “We are always talking about food,” she added. Mrs. Lewis has divided food into three categories: Go, Slow and Whoa!
“Go” are foods that can be eaten all the time and include fruits, vegetables and whole grains. “Slow” foods are eaten once at each meal and would be things such as proteins and dairy products. “Whoa” foods are considered a once a week treat and would include candy, cake or cookies. Children are never told they cannot have certain high calorie or fatty foods, but are encouraged to think or plan when in a week’s time, they could. “Again, making good choices is the key,” Mrs. Lewis repeated.
Deliah Lewis obviously made a good choice for herself in choosing teaching as a profession. She has taught school for 30 years and has been in physical education for the last 22. She claims she has the best job in the whole world. “My students love me unconditionally. And, where could you ever find a job that if you missed a day of work, 300 kids notice and are bombarding you with questions like, ‘Where were you yesterday? We missed you, why did you miss school?’ Co-workers may or may not notice, but these kids of mine sure do!” she laughed.

“One thing I love about teaching PE is gym class may be the only place kids will share certain things. Boys, especially tend to talk more when they are physically active. I may know things sometimes even their teacher doesn’t know, like why a situation at home caused them not to get their homework done. Sometimes, I really wish I didn’t have to learn of some of these things, but I am honored when they trust me. I love my students unconditionally, too!”

Written by Aleta Penfold.

With the help of Lee and other DeSoto ISD colleagues, the Where I Now Gain Success Dropout Recovery Program (WINGS) was formed. WINGS was created to help young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who have dropped out of a Texas public school finish their coursework and earn their high school diploma. WINGS is not just a program providing education. This is a program where young people can replenish their hopes and dreams.

The goal of the program is to provide students with an opportunity to earn the credits and skills needed for a high school diploma and beyond. Students are allowed to work at their own pace and as their schedules allow. The program offers basic subject classes, as well as computer programs, dual credit, tutoring, job and career fairs, college entrance counseling and financial aid assistance. The center also provides free child care during classes,
Duncanville NOW area transportation, family and substance
abuse counseling and mentoring. Lee had no problem proposing her
grant to the superintendent, teachers and community-based organizations. All were on board. “The community has been behind us, and has been instrumental in our success,” Lee stated. She hired great retired teachers and DeSoto ISD staff
to teach and run the programs, including Jane Koch, Kathy Goad and Linda Murphree. “The staff has been fabulous — so excited about the program.
They see the kids work hard and are determined,” Lee shared smiling. “They are committed to the program.”
WINGS received the funding from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in August 2010 with a $100,000 grant. Since their start-up, the TEA made a visit to the center and nominated it as a model school for state dropout recovery programs. “I was happy to get it done “We want people who care about young people, to encourage them to stay in school, talk about life and help them through problems.”

this quickly,” Lee said. “We are doing so well. They wanted to make us a model school after three weeks.” This is a huge honor for Lee and her staff, as they hope this will draw support and sponsors. Next year, the school will only be funded by donations, sponsors and average daily attendance record funding from the
state government. At the heart of WINGS are its beneficiaries. The students have a variety of backgrounds and reasons for their high school departure, but all have a common goal now to receive their diploma and finish what they started. Many realized it was too difficult without a diploma or felt it was still needed. “These students come back ready to work,” Lee shared. “We have a lot of interesting students — lots of different types of stories.” Lee even shared how one of their students was an actor in Los Angeles and came back home to enroll in WINGS. He turned down a role from a major TV network in order to finish his
Duncanville NOW education.
Another star student in the program is Varri Harrison, age 19, who enrolled in WINGS in October. Originally from New Orleans, she is a Hurricane Katrina survivor who moved to DeSoto. After having issues with depression, she left high school during her senior year to take time off. She heard about the program from a friend and quickly enrolled. “I want to be successful and get my high school diploma, so I can continue on with my modeling career,” Varri said. She is not only enrolled in WINGS, but she is also enrolled in a modeling school in Dallas. Lee and the staff describe Varri as a hard worker who comes in daily at 8:00 a.m. for coursework and leaves around 3:00 p.m. They believe this will take her to a quick graduation date. Varri enjoys the staff and the program, as well. “I love it. You don’t have to rush, and you have tutorials to help you. No excuse not to pass,” Varri explained. “I’m making great progress.” Varri’s plan is to finish the program so she can fully commit to her career choice.

The center usually gets about one new student a week and currently has 50 enrolled. Lee thought the center would have a slow admission rate, but students have been streaming in since August. “We pulled records and started calling students who dropped out about the program,” Lee explained. Teenagers and those within the age limit interested in the program can continue to enroll anytime throughout the year.

Since students decide their own schedule and pace, their graduation depends on how often they attend classes, where they started in the program and how
hard they work. A classic, cap-and-gown Duncanville NOW program. Afterward, students have the
skills needed to move on to the next step in life. For example, Aaron MacKenzie, another WINGS student and Lee’s mentee, plans to join the Army after he graduates. “I also want to go to college, study business and move to Los Angles to start a business,” Aaron shared.
Lee explained most students seek to join the military and attend community colleges after graduating. “We are pushing
for beyond college,” Lee emphasized. The program also recruits mentors to
support the students in all areas, including friendship. Mentors visit students once a week and most are usually community and business leaders in the area. “We want people who care about young people,
to encourage them to stay in school, talk about life and help them through problems,” Lee said.

The center has gained great tangible support and donations, including computers. These items allow small classes, independent study and tutoring to run smoothly and efficiently. “We don’t have a lot of money for the program, so we are looking for volunteers and retired teachers,” Lee explained. WINGS also accepts individual donations of items on the center’s wish list.

WINGS is not alone. According to an ABC news report, President Barack Obama called the U.S. dropout rate a “crisis” in America and announced in March that he plans to grant $900 million to school districts and state governments. Two students graduated with their diploma from WINGS last year, and several more graduated in January. The WINGS program is not just changing the lives of young people in DeSoto, but is also part of a plan to change the future of an entire nation.

Written by Antoinette Nevils

Editor’s Note: For more information on the WINGS program, contact Lee Merryman at lmerryman@desotoisd.org.

I graduated in August of 1981, married in August of 1981 and started teaching in August of 1981! Mr. Selzer was the principal when I was in elementary school, and then he interviewed me for my first teaching job and hired me!” she laughed, “I just loved him.
“I started dating Pete in the 10th grade, where we both attended Ennis High School,” she continued. “He was my first real boyfriend, and we dated until we married.” Pete Monreal is employed at a glass company in Corsicana, and has worked there for, you guessed it, 30 years.
Donna enjoyed talking about all of the coincidences in her life, but was quick to thank God for them. “I am just so thankful to God for so many things. I knew I wanted to teach since the first grade,” she remembered. “My teacher was Miss Roderrick, and she was such a good teacher.”
As visitors enter her room, they immediately see Donna’s love of teaching, although an eager first-grader may not appreciate it. The walls have room for nothing else. “Remember, I’ve been collecting this stuff for 30 years now,” she laughed.
Bordering the room is the timeless alphabet on the walls and homemade curtains on the windows. Displayed quite prominently is a big poster of Mrs. Monreal’s Rules and Consequences. Fun clocks to help teach time are all about, as well as charts of numbers, simple math problems and calendars. Some of those items have been crafted by Donna’s friends who enjoy helping. Of course, children’s artwork and special assignments are proudly displayed everywhere.
While there are plenty of student desks, 19 in all, the teacher’s desk seems to be missing in action, but Donna spends very little time sitting behind her desk anyway. “I spend all my time with the kids,” she added. Donna explained her favorite work area is the reading station, consisting of a curved-type table with tiny little chairs around the outer side. Then, there are the books, lots of books — way-too-many-to-count books, books everywhere. “My major thing is reading. I just love to teach reading!” she explained passionately, emphasizing the word “reading” each time. “I tell my kids, if you can read, you can make it through life … period!
“It’s amazing to watch these little kids, who may start out knowing just a word or two and then by the end of the first grade they can read! I mean, they are only 6 years old! It’s just something else,” she gushed, “I never get tired of it.”
While reading is her favorite thing to teach, the students are Donna’s favorite part of being an educator. “I just love my students. I have a very close family, and my kids are like family to me,” Donna said, tearing up a bit. “Every kid is as important to me as the next. It doesn’t matter their background, they are treated equally. Kids come to school with different levels of abilities, that’s just the way it is, but they all want to know they’re special. They’re each special in my class!”
Donna shared how so many children come to school with problems from home needing to know school is a safe haven. She strives to help her students get a good, positive feeling about school and themselves. She encourages her students to try to accomplish things, and even if they do not succeed at first, to keep trying. Eventually they will get it.
She also emphasized she could not do all she does for her students if it were not for all the help she gets. “I’ve always had one or more amazing parent volunteers from each class. I could never keep up with all the extra activities if it weren’t for my parents,” she explained. “This school is so special because the staff helps each other out. We’re like a family here, too. Also, Austin Elementary tries hard to keep its technology upgraded. Of course, I’ve never taught at any other school, so I’m pretty sure it’s special, but then again, I guess I could be wrong?” she joked. Donna’s whole family has also played a huge part in her teaching success. Her parents, Helen and Bill Brasher, have been helping from the beginning. Her mom has helped in the classroom, baking cupcakes and reading to the children. Her dad has been available to fix things in the classroom and even restored three children’s rocking chairs for the room. One of the chairs is Donna’s from childhood, another belonged to Donna’s two grown sons when they were little and her dad found the other one at a neighbor’s home and repaired himself. He just thought the classroom could use another child’s rocking chair. Even Grandma Helen White, who is 92, has helped by attending on Grandparents’ Day. What about her two grown sons — Cole and Kellen? They attended Austin Elementary school too, naturally!

Pete has also been a familiar face in the classroom. Pete, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall, once entered the room, and a child said, “Miss Monreal, he sho’ is long!” Pete helps pick out Christmas gifts for the kids and helps get the classroom ready for a new school year. However, Pete has mostly been there for Donna over the years by just listening to her talk about “her kids.”
“In the evening, Pete is such a help to me because I can relax and share my day with him. We may just talk about the kids and laugh about the funny things they do and say, or maybe I need to discuss a particular problem I’m having with a child. The hard part of this job is leaving the problems at school,” she confessed. “I value Pete’s input, and he has given me great advice over the years. I simply could not have done it without him,” she admitted, “He loves my kids, too!”
Another thing Donna admits she could not do without is prayer. “God has blessed me with a job that I just love, and I pray for my kids every night. It’s the last thing I do before I go to sleep.” Prayer prepares her for the next school day.

Written by Aleta Penfold

Cherie prepared for this field while in college. At The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), she had a double major in elementary education and in Spanish. She earned her master’s degree in counseling at University of North Texas. While getting her degree, she also became bilingually certified. Returning to UTA, Cherie earned her administrative certification and superintendent certification. She also has 18 hours toward her doctorate degree.

Cherie remembers when she first came to Midlothian 25 years ago and started doing her student teaching here. She said, “I got hired on as a fifth-grade teacher at J.R. Irvin. I went away for a short period to be a bilingual teacher in Ft. Worth and decided I wanted to come back to Midlothian.” Laughing she added, “I’d had enough of the big city!” When Cherie returned to Midlothian and implemented the bilingual program, her goals were “for the students to be bilingual and biliterate in both languages. We don’t want them to lose their

Spanish as they are learning their English.” Students in the program at Vitovsky are growing and flourishing in their studies. Cherie stated, “Our children have gone all the way through since prekindergarten, and they are heads and shoulders above our ESL (English as a Second Language) only students. The research showed they are scoring out much better.”

Bilingual education is part of the Texas education system. Cherie described the school’s responsibility: “By state law, if you have 22 or more in one grade level in a school district and their first language is all the same language and they qualify as limited English-proficient students, then you have to start a bilingual program. Some districts will file a waiver, but we decided that because the population demographics were changing that we would go ahead and investigate programs. We visited lots of bilingual programs in the area and went to workshops to determine what the best program model would be. We started at prekindergarten and kindergarten, and last school year we added fifth grade. So, we have now completed the program and have it all the way through fifth grade.”

For a child who has been in the program from the beginning, the instruction is primarily all in English by the fourth or fifth grade. The school does continue with Spanish maintenance so the students do not lose that language. Cherie attributes much of the success of the program to the program model they use. “I think the program model we have is a very developmentally based program. The children only do Spanish, writing, reading, listening and speaking in the lower grades, and we slowly transition over time. A lot of programs immediately immerse them in English, and that defeats the purpose.

“Another reason for the success is we have a very strong teaching staff. They are highly qualified and just outstanding. They are certified bilingually and are fluent in both languages. Once they come here, they stay because they have been in other bilingual programs in the area and they feel like this program is head and shoulders above wherever else they have been in terms of support.

We have had strong support from the administration in anything we needed in training and materials.”

Cherie is very proud of what Vitovsky has accomplished. The school has been at exemplary level for the last two years without needing exceptions or TPMs (Texas Projection Measure). Community volunteers in the school’s mentoring program have helped with the success of the students. “We have a huge mentoring program on campus,” she said. “Last year there were about 48 community members who came in and mentored students. We’ve seen kids really turn around [because they know] there is another adult in their life who cares about them.

This is probably the most diverse campus in Midlothian, but we embrace that. We don’t hire anyone here unless they ascribe the same philosophy we have that all children matter. We want all children to be successful at the highest level, whether they have a disadvantaged background, a learning disability or even our gifted students. I could step away from this campus and the kids would still be successful, because this campus really works very closely together. It’s a unique place to work. There is something special about Midlothian Independent School District and about J.A. Vitovsky. If Midlothian wasn’t a great place to be, I don’t think I would’ve stuck around 25 years!”

Written by Betty Tryon

As library director, Chad works with area schools, teachers, parents and students. With a parent’s signature and proof of Texas residency, students can gain access to the library’s approximately 77,000 volumes, the computer lab’s 14 computers with full Internet services and other shared media resources and programs designed just for children. Movies on DVD, music CDs and recorded books can be checked out for three weeks just like printed books. “If all the kids knew about these we wouldn’t be able to keep them on the shelves,” Chad exclaimed. “It’s free, and it’s all available to everyone.”

Library staff and volunteers are ready to help children throughout the day, but after school hours are the busiest when students arrive to use the lab. “In any community, if you can’t get the Internet at home, your first thought is your public library,” Chad stated. With databases, such as the Ebsco Student Research Center, Kids Search, ERIC and Searchasaurus, students can find the information they need to complete even the most demanding assignments. Some of the databases are delineated by reading and grade levels, and several can be accessed from home computers with
a password provided by the library, upon request. “Students can also access some of the same databases that their schools have,” Chad added. Through TexShare, students can request publications to be sent from other member libraries to the Corsicana library.

Students can belong to on-line book clubs, such as Teen, AuthorBuzz and KidsBuzz, and receive five minute “reads” daily from selected books and enter reading contests. “Kids can communicate with the authors of the books they are reading,” Chad said. Books used in public school reading-incentive programs, such as Accelerated Reading (AR), are available for students to check out to help them earn coveted reading rewards. Book titles can be set aside for school projects. “We love for schools to contact us and make requests,” Chad indicated. Schools can also call and schedule tours of the library and field trips when special programs are presented. If a student needs information on the
history of Corsicana or the surrounding area, the genealogy section of the library is the place to go. Special resources such as a collection of phone books dating to the original installation of service in the area and compiled histories of homes, families, events and economic times are all available for the asking. “If you want to find out about a community go to the library,” Chad said. Staffed mostly with volunteers, some of whom have volunteered for decades, this section of the library is truly a labor of love for the Corsicana area.

Library staff members have attended back-to-school rallies, school open houses and parent/teacher nights at area schools in order to publicize available services. Hundreds of parents have signed up for library cards at these meetings or visited the library at a later date to get a card.

The Summer Reading Program is available to all students, whether they are on vacation and just reading for fun or in school. Weekly presentations, always informative and fun, are available to parents as well as summer school students and day care children. Children earn certificates and prizes for reading books. Volunteers from the Foster Grandparent Program help with the large number of children who flow into the library during the summer months. “Someone is always ready to help. We are blessed with the volunteers that we have. They are the unsung heroes, many of whom have put in over 100 hours of service. We honor them a lot,” Chad remarked. Programs and special reading times continue throughout the school year especially for preschool age children.

“Some say that libraries are dead or dying, but that’s just not true. Librarianship is a cross now between library science and computer science. Web design and Internet skills are needed now,” Chad stated. That will really be true when the library implements a Wi-Fi system to go with the table that has electrical connections for laptops. NetLibrary, a free service, already offers books to be read on-line, and eBooks are coming soon.

Chad, a Corsicana High School and Navarro College alumni, has been an enthusiastic librarian for Corsicana since 2008 when he and his wife, the former Kim Green, also a Corsicana native, moved back home. Chad was “bitten by the bug” while working in the University of Texas at Arlington library during his tenure at the University of North Texas, where he completed his master’s degree in library science. Chad quickly emphasized, “The library belongs to the people; librarians are just stewards of the library.” People of all ages are encouraged to come dig for information in the Corsicana Public Library: a true treasure.

Written by Virginia Riddle

EISD has had a reading recovery program for 17 years, and for 16 of those years, Benita has been involved, along with eight other educators who make up the EISD reading recovery team. Teaching is Benita’s second career. “I got my certification as a secondary teacher in college, but I never used it,” Benita explained. “I became a loan officer, but as banking became less customer-oriented, I decided to become an elementary teacher.” Her first year in the classroom was not a dream come true. “I was frustrated because I didn’t have the time or ability to reach struggling students,” she confessed. In conversations with fellow teachers, she started hearing about a new program addressing the problems she was seeing, and she was interested. Then she found out about a demonstration of the technique. “Any teacher who wanted to could go observe. I was so impressed.” She described her first exposure to reading recovery as “a teacher’s ideal situation, one-on-one work with students at the level where they really are.”

The next year, Benita had the opportunity to receive the training. “I thought I probably needed more experience as a teacher first,” she explained. “But when my principal called me and asked, ‘Do you want to do this?’ I was eternally grateful.”

Benita went for the training and joined the program in its second year. In the program, each teacher has five students and teaches each of those students individually for 30 minutes each day. Since there is no way of predicting how quickly each student will master the skills he or she needs and each student comes to the program with different needs and deficiencies, there are no ready-made lesson plans. Teachers like Benita must plan the next lessons only after assessing where each student stands at the end of each daily lesson.

In reading recovery classes, students are tested for their knowledge of how books work, their
understanding of concepts like word and letter, their knowledge of letter sounds and recognition of words they should have learned in kindergarten. They write a dictated sentence during this time of testing, too. Once they are tested, only those students who need the class the most are assigned to the 20-week course.

During the classes, Benita keeps track of every error a student makes while reading, so she constantly knows exactly at which level each of her students is reading. “Every day my students read a new book at the level indicated by their running records.” The students also write sentences in their journals using the words they know to talk about their own lives, and then use these sentences for more reading practice. The students practice sounding out words, recognizing sight words and understanding punctuation marks. The goal is for the students to be able to correct their own errors and become independent at each level of the program.

“Every child is a new opportunity and a new puzzle,” Benita said. Students move through her classes at their own speed. Sometimes, students do not even stay for the entire 20 weeks. If they are reading well enough, they can test out of the program at any time and return to their regular classes.

Benita loves it when that happens, but for other children, it takes longer. Some children are still not quite caught up at the end of the first series of classes, so in the spring, those students who are still struggling go into small literacy group situations. “By third grade, our kids are just as successful as others,” Benita reported with justifiable pride. She keeps track of all the students who go through reading recovery in EISD — all the way through sixth grade if they stay in the district — and the statistics show the children who were at risk of failure learn to read as well as their classmates in most cases. “When a student realizes that they can do it — sometimes it takes a few weeks; and sometimes more than a few weeks — but when all of a sudden, it clicks, that is the most rewarding thing of all.”

Written by Adam Walker

“People bonded when they were a part of opening Summit. The teachers here have a lot of pride. This is a school rich in tradition,” said Jimmy, listing academics, athletics and student involvement as Summit High’s top three priorities.
“The teachers have worked hard to have positive relationships with the students. The kids like coming here! Anytime you can have that, the kids will be successful, as will the teachers.”

When Jimmy asks students or staff to try something new, they just step up and do it! Surely he has found his niche. “People ask, ‘Why do you want to be a principal?’ It’s just a desire of mine. I’m sure if I went to work somewhere else, I’d want to be the manager,” said Jimmy, who loves his work. “Every day I walk in this job, I’m learning. Regardless if it’s education, business or whatever, college cannot teach you what you’re about to learn when you start the job. You gotta have the drive, the want to, the passion.”

Jimmy’s original goal was to be a head football coach, after a high school career of playing baseball and football. Now, he calls himself a wannabe athlete. “Actually I love playing basketball, and never played it before. I have a little group of community members, and we get together and play basketball once a week. Most of us are over 40, and I’ve established good relationships through those games. It was a big joke with some of my people at T.A. Howard Middle School,” laughed Jimmy. “I’m not that good, but we have fun.”

Apparently, after 13 years coaching at Crowley, Mansfield and DeSoto high schools, Jimmy had become really good at managing people. In his sixth year at DeSoto High School, Principal Judy Moss saw his dedication, hard work and relationships with students and with other teachers. “She suggested I get my mid-management certification,” said Jimmy, who worked on weekends and nights to get certified. His goal was to be a principal.

After a year, he got his first assistant principal position at a middle school in Sherman, where he grew up. “I love my hometown, but had an opportunity to come back to Mansfield so my wife wouldn’t have to leave her job teaching and coaching in Maypearl. They had a great volleyball team that year; we didn’t want to leave that. My kids were in a good place, too,” said Jimmy, whose family lived in Mansfield. Lo and behold, he was offered an assistant principal job at Worley Middle School, where he served for a year with Robert White before moving to Summit High School. Sharing his vision, sharing others’ visions and working with people to ensure students were successful, Jimmy eventually achieved his goal of becoming a principal.

He uses a lot of his coaching skills to motivate kids, staff, teachers and even other coaches! “If you think of sports and a game, you know that when something breaks down you have to work together to fix it; and you understand the long hours it takes to prepare,” said Jimmy, who prepared for this school year just as he used to prepare for a football season.

“There are a lot of hours that go in before the first kickoff — or before you open the doors of the high school.”

As he worked to prepare for this school year, Jimmy focused on the positive, hiring good people to round out his team, teachers who will join him in encouraging and motivating students. “You don’t shut doors on kids, and
you don’t give up,” he said. “Kids are amazing. I have no way of knowing what they go through before they get to school, and there’s some that surprise you and show up every day. Kids want to learn! If we have those expectations, and we motivate and engage and encourage, a lot of times they’ll step up and be successful. Most kids come to school, they want to be here and they want to be successful — as do their parents.

“One way we attack school dropout rates is through involvement,” said Jimmy, whose high school offers students the chance to join clubs like Key Club, sponsored by the Kiwanis. “I would like to get kids engaged. If you’re in a club, you learn to help others and be involved, and that’s aside from the things you learn from books and reading and academics. It all fits together. We want to create a well-balanced student that can go out and be productive when they leave here, and hopefully find what they want to do when they go out into life.”

Written by Melissa Rawlins