Reflect on success and finish strong!

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The finish line to the 2020-2021 school year is within reach! We can all agree that the path here has been filled with many obstacles, but I am so proud of our staff, students and parents for staying on track to finish the year strong.

We celebrated many successes this year, and chief among them in a year marked by COVID-19 safety protocols was keeping our schools open throughout. After three months of solely virtual learning in the spring of 2020, we knew how critical it would be to find a way to provide a consistent education for our face-to-face and virtual learners alike this school year.

Next week, on April 27, we will celebrate the completion of an ambitious Learning Together Everywhere (LTE) 1-to-1 districtwide rollout. Our technology department worked relentlessly to deliver more than 115,000 devices into the hands of students following Board of Trustees approval last summer. I am so thankful for Board members who put our students’ needs first and a group of dedicated employees who brought their vision to life.

On April 14, a little more than a year after launching our curbside meals program on March 16, 2020, the nutrition services team celebrated serving 3 million meals to community members! What an incredible milestone and representation of our district’s theme of Opportunity for All. 

Our agriculture science students had a successful Livestock Show and Sale in February. The freezer sale, silent auction, gifts to students and live auction combined to reach approximately $570,000.

In a year when many athletics and fine arts programs around the country were not able to compete, our performers thrived. The Cypress Woods and Bridgeland high school marching bands placed among the top 15 in Texas. The Cypress Creek High School girls’ basketball team was state runner-up, the Cypress Woods boys’ swim team placed third in state, and the Jersey Village High School boys’ soccer team made the state semifinals—the best finish of any soccer program in CFISD history. This weekend, we will host the state wrestling tournament at the Berry Center and hope to have more CFISD students claiming top honors. 

CFISD Class of 2021 graduation ceremonies are just around the corner, and we are looking forward to celebrating 12 high school graduating classes May 27-June 4 at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium. We are increasing the number of tickets per graduate for the outdoor event this year and are looking forward to celebrating our students. 

We extended the pre-registration period for our pre-K and kindergarten programs through May 26. A student is more likely to thrive if they start with us in early childhood, so we are eager to increase our enrollment in these excellent programs. Registration is also open for CFISD summer school programs, which are available for all students at no cost. We are hopeful that more summer offerings will allow students impacted by learning challenges during the pandemic a better chance to get ahead.

It has been extremely encouraging to see the rapid rollout of coronavirus vaccinations throughout the nation. I have seen so many teachers and staff posting their immunizations on social media, and I am grateful that the majority of our workforce will have vaccines as we head into the summer.

With the 2021-2022 school year approaching, we have not yet decided if there will be a virtual learning option. Based on current law, CFISD would not receive state funding for a virtual education option unless the commissioner of education extends the current waiver or legislation passes this session to provide state funding to school districts to offer a virtual education option. I will update our school community if and when there are any changes. However, since vaccines are becoming more readily available and the spread of COVID-19 is diminishing, the districtwide mask mandate will be lifted starting June 7. Although they will be optional, we will continue to encourage staff, students and visitors to wear masks while indoors. We will also continue to follow many of the safety protocols currently in place, including enhanced cleaning procedures and increased air filtration and ventilation.

It is easy to see why I am so proud to be a part of this incredible school district. We have indeed come a long way in 2020-2021, and we are not done yet. As we reflect on the achievements behind us, let’s zero in on the goal ahead of us and finish strong.

~ Mark Henry, Ed.D.

Gifts

I am always so proud to be a part of this community, and never more so than when we rise up together in the face of adversity. I will never forget the immense support you gave to so many who lost their homes and possessions following Hurricane Harvey flooding in 2017. When we had to unexpectedly close schools last spring due to COVID-19, you all stepped up in one way or another to meet the needs of CFISD students.

And here again, as 2020 draws to a close, I stand amazed at the incredible undertaking that our first semester of hybrid instruction has been. Students, staff and parents have been asked to stretch the limits of their flexibility, and they have done so admirably. This has been a learning process for everyone, we’ve all made adjustments along the way, but we have reached the halfway point of this uncharted journey of 2020-2021.

As we enter this season of gift-giving, I want to give a special shout-out to all of our school personnel who have gone above and beyond to make this school year possible. From distributing curbside meals to disinfecting learning spaces to delivering remote and in-person instruction, our campus all-stars rose to the occasion to meet the needs of 115,000 students. We are forever in their debt.

To help brighten the season for these school heroes, let’s show them how School Personnel are a Gift. Download our graphic here, then post it to social media and tag the person you wish to recognize. Use the hashtag #CFISDGift to help us spread the cheer!

We have many things to cheer about as we head into winter break. Two of our marching bands, Cypress Woods and Bridgeland high schools, represented CFISD at the UIL State Marching Contest in San Antonio on Dec. 15. They both finished among the top 15 bands in the state during a very challenging and unusual year—kudos to the Wildcats and Bears!

 

By the end of this week, we will have completed distribution of Chromebooks to every student at all 12 of our high schools through the CFISD Learning Together Everywhere, or LTE 1:1, program. Our technology services team anticipates receipt of 36,000 additional devices by January, allowing us to expand distribution to middle school and elementary school students very soon!

During the December Board of Trustees meeting, our trustees unanimously voted to protect additional leave days for staff needing to isolate or quarantine due to COVID-19 that were set to expire from the federal government on Dec. 31. The Board also approved a LEAD Safely Retention Stipend for employees that will be deposited Thursday, Dec. 17.

Among the December Board meeting agenda items, we also viewed a presentation from PBK Architects on the Visual and Performing Arts Center that was part of the 2019 Bond package. This is going to be an incredible facility that will further showcase our robust fine arts in the school district when it is completed in 2022. I am grateful for a community that continually supports extracurricular enrichment and Opportunity for All!

2020 was a challenging year, but there is no community that I would have rather gone through it with than in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. Thank you.

Please enjoy a safe and restful holiday break. Continue to follow safety protocols and avoid large gatherings so we can have a healthy return to a successful second semester. Responsibility for One = Opportunity for All!

I look forward to seeing you again in January 2021.

~ Mark Henry Ed.D.

Board approves bond election for May 4

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Last night, Feb. 11, during their regularly scheduled monthly meeting, our Board of Trustees unanimously voted to call a bond election for May 4, 2019. Community members living within Cypress-Fairbanks ISD will vote on the $1,762,000,000 referendum this spring.

The election was called after a community long-range planning committee (LRPC) presented a recommendation to the Board during a Feb. 4 special-called meeting. The 50-member LRPC met regularly throughout November-January and formulated a plan that will meet the following needs for the school district through 2025:

·       instructional and support facilities;

·       safety and security;

·       transportation;

·       technology; and

·       facilities renovations and additions.

Community members collaborate during a January long-range planning committee meeting.

More information on what is included in the referendum, as well as the detailed recommendation given to the Board, can be found on the LRPC webpage. I encourage you to review the information to help prepare you for an informed vote in May.

The projected impact of the bond on our debt service tax rate (also called the Interest and Sinking tax rate), would amount to an incremental change of up to 3 cents over a seven-year period. A home valued at $200,000 would have a maximum annual I&S tax increase of $40.50 by the year 2025. Remember that this is only a projection. Prior to the 2014 bond election, we forecasted a maximum tax increase of 4.5 cents and it actually decreased by one penny.

Please note that there would be no tax increase for those 65 years of age or older or who are disabled and who qualify for an over-65 homestead exemption, according to Texas Property Tax Code Section 11.26.

We will continue to post more information on the district website (www.cfisd.net) and our social media channels (search #CFISDBond) in the coming weeks to answer potential questions and supply voting information to our community members. We will also deliver a series of presentations at upcoming events to help inform the voting public.

Thank you in advance for committing to making an informed vote in the 2019 bond election.

~ Mark Henry, Ed.D.