As Odessa is coming back to life after the pandemic, I think we should applaud the excellence that we are seeing daily. Our school system is showing remarkable improvements in scores. Every student has equal opportunity for free meals EVERY DAY.
EVERY student now has been provided a tablet or computer to take home to increase virtual learning. Our Pre-K program for ages 3 and 4-year-old children will insure school readiness for all students. Teachers have been presented with an opportunity to be rewarded for their excellence and earn up to $100,000 per year.
Teacher vacancies have been reduced significantly. Our sports teams and extracurricular activities are filled with young people striving for excellence in many fields. Opportunities for vocational training exist within ECISD and through collaborations with Odessa College and UTPB. Programs have been created that allow us to educate welders for oilfield service companies as well as certify teachers and nurses within 3 years. The technical vocational programs at ECISD have a waiting list in most fields.
The “grow our own” philosophy has been adopted and the results are already being seen. Students are graduating with a degree and many college credit hours through the dual credit programs. This renewed thirst for learning and understanding of how important education is to the futures of our students and the success of Ector County has made the demand greater than ever before. We have the jobs. We have the students.
We just need to provide them with every opportunity to succeed by using multiple methods. Our weakest link today is our physical facilities. We have students sitting on floors in classrooms with their work on their lap. We have students that are attending the same class in different rooms on a consistent basis. We have teachers that are working with a rolling cart that have no permanent classrooms.
We have classes that are too large for the teacher to provide as much individual attention as some students require. The chaos of simply travelling from one class to another in our high schools creates stress and anxiety for our students.
You have seen the backup facts numerous times. I believe that much effort is being expended in all the areas that can physically be done by ECISD superintendents, teachers, volunteers and concerned citizens. NONE of these people can build new buildings or repair the ones that we have.
It takes each of us, with a YES vote on Saturday, to expect our progress to continue. Proposition A is critical! I am 72, a little older than most of our buildings, but not by much. Through the years, I have needed many tune-ups, have dealt with physical illnesses, and the realization that I am not as good as I once was.
I am not ready to be torn down and thrown away, but I could sure use some updating……So could our schools! Odessa is projected to need 30,000 to 50,000 additional workers over the next couple of decades. These people will have children and we need to educate them.
Even if you don’t recognize how difficult the crowding is in the high schools now, you must realize that there is no room for any additional growth! The positive economic impact of this growth will benefit each citizen of Odessa, through lower prices, better amenities, higher standards of living, and a more beautiful community.
Proposition B will build another high school. That will help ease the overpopulation of the existing schools and provide for additional students in a rapidly growing area of Ector County and the City of Odessa.
There will be a need for another high school on the West side in the future, and that need has already been acknowledged. We can’t do it all at one time, but we must step up and PASS BOTH ECISD bond proposal A &B so that we can begin the critical work that will allow our students the facilities that they deserve.
Peggy Dean
Odessa
