Ector County Independent School District eNewsletter
12/19/14
In This Issue


 

Quick Links

 

 
 
 
Join Our Mailing List
Stay Connected

Like us on Facebook   Follow us on Twitter  


Winter Break

 

Ector County ISD will be closed for the holiday from December 22-January 5.

 

January 5 is a staff development day for employees; students return to class on Tuesday, January 6. We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 

 

This Star is a Good Sign   

 

This fall ECISD surpassed $3.4 million in energy savings, and had 31 schools achieve the federal Energy Star designation from the EPA.

 

Energy savings does not stop when the winter break begins! READ MORE

 

The Art of the Holiday Card

 

This year Superintendent Tom Crowe asked students from across the district to create a work of art that could be used on the holiday greeting card he and the school board send out in December. He got 125 entries, and the six students shown here are the ones whose designs were chosen. The kids were given a framed and matted copy of their drawing and 25 copies of the card to share with family and friends.

 

You can see their designs up close
HERE

 

The Season of Giving

 

We are very proud of our Ector County ISD staff, students, and volunteers - all of whom found ways to give back to our community this month.

 

Our Volunteer chairpersons sponsored a Pop-Tart drive to benefit Food 2 Kids and brought in a whopping 10,000 packages of Pop Tarts!

 

The Odessa Student Crime Stoppers board collected toys that were given to our ECISD Police and to the Medical Center Hospital police department, which officers give to children in traumatic situations throughout the year. See this ToysForCops.org link for more information.

                           

World Class Leader in Education

 

The World Class Leader in Education for December 2014 is Martha Valenzuela, a Special Education Instructional Aide at Odessa High School. Ms. Valenzuela began working for ECISD in 2004 as a part-time records clerk at Goliad Elementary School. In 2009 she was hired as a full-time Special Education Instructional Aide at LBJ Elementary. She moved to Odessa High this past February.

 

Ms. Valenzuela is a dedicated and driven employee who works with a group of students who often present unique educational opportunities due to autism and other low incidence disabilities. She is self-directed and always the first one to volunteer to meet the varied needs of our students. When faced with a challenging situation or student, she rises to meet that challenge and enables our students to exceed expectations.

 

Ms. Valenzuela's dedication to students goes beyond teaching academic skills. She is committed to preparing these students for life outside of the classroom, never limiting the student's opportunity for success, especially when there is an opportunity to improve the quality of life for our young people. She creates community based learning opportunities for students to practice skills learned in the classroom. Her dedication to her students is evident when you walk into the classroom and see the rapport she has built with them. Those working with her cannot deny her devotion to the students of ECISD nor her worthiness to be called the World Class Leader in Education for December 2014.

 

Ms. Valenzuela is pictured with school board president Dr. Steve Brown (left) and Superintendent of Schools Tom Crowe.

 

 

Get the latest news

In addition to this newsletter, you can Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, and download our Mobile App available for iPhone and Android. Superintendent Crowe has also started a blog called Crowe's Chronicles that you can find at www.ectorcountyisd.org/blog.


Ector County ISD does not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, race, nationality, religion, disability, socioeconomic standing or non-proficiency in English language skills in providing educational services for students' benefit.  


Feel free to forward this newsletter.  Anyone can subscribe to our mailing list by clicking the link above, & you can also unsubscribe at any time.