Impact on students and relentless pursuit of excellence were the main highlights of Ector County ISD’s convocation Wednesday.
The event, which is like a giant pep rally, was held at the Ector County Coliseum with people from across the district attending.
One of the featured speakers, Ross Elementary School student Kevin Garcia, was woven into stories throughout the event to make the point of the impact teachers, principals and staff can have on children.
Lisa Wyman, president of the Education Foundation of Odessa, reviewed the work of the foundation, which awards grants to classroom teachers and puts books in the hands of students year-round, among other things.
ECISD Board of Trustees Vice President Delma Abalos pointed out all the things ECISD has to offer for teachers and thanked them for all they do.
Superintendent Scott Muri also pointed out some of the exceptional people that are part of ECISD — Angela Braziel-Smith, who played for the Charlotte Sting in the WNBA and is an assistant principal at Permian High School, and Rebecca Rhodes, director of Nursing and Health Services, a decorated Air Force veteran, and Ron Promesse, the new Odessa High School Track and Cross Country Coach who ran in the summer Olympics.
All the educators talked about their path to excellence and thanked the people who helped them along the way.
ECISD graduate Raeslyn Miller sang “525,600 Minutes” from the play and movie “Rent” with some alternate lyrics for the convocation and a video about a mom whose three daughters joined the Navy was presented.
Along with the positive, though, Muri said he is in his 36th year in education and he has never felt more under attack than he does today.
“We in public education are under attack, so we have to be fearless in our pursuit of excellence,” Muri said.
Abalos mentioned the proposed bond issue in her remarks. Muri said the bond issue hasn’t even been called and people are already “attacking what is good for our children.”
“This superintendent isn’t going to stand for that. We’re going to be fearless because our children need us to be fearless on their behalf. Our state legislature did not do the work that needed to be done for public education in Texas. And I can tell you as an organization, we will be fearless as we deal with our state legislature to ensure that they appropriately fund public education,” Muri said.
Muri said Kevin Garcia and his 33,500 peers need the organization to be fearless for them.
“We have 33,500 Kevins. They need and deserve that investment. We have to be fearless in the face of that. There’s a political climate in our country that says that we are brainwashing children, that we’re putting inappropriate books and materials in their way and that we are messing with their minds. Ladies and gentlemen, we are under attack. And this superintendent will not stand for that because that doesn’t happen in this organization,” he added.
“We will not just sit back and let things be done to us any longer. We must be fearless in our impact upon the kids that we serve. So that is our challenge as an organization is to think about Kevin every single day and ensure that we are fearless in the impact that we have upon him, his family and our community,” Muri said.
Adriana Franco, a first-year, first-grade teacher at Gonzales Elementary School, said it was amazing to hear about how a “whole bunch” of ECISD teachers have done such great things and made an impact.
“I’m personally a first-year teacher, so … hearing my peers making the impact is motivating me for this new year and what my new adventure is going to be,” Franco said.
Hays STEAM Academy teachers Conrado Ramirez and Vanessa Rivas felt inspired by the convocation. Ramirez will be teaching second grade and Rivas fourth grade.
Rivas said the presenters showed the students can see the impact they can make as adults.
