Welcome to the new Arlington Independent School District.
Bold. Innovative. Risk taker.
It was all in motion Monday during the district's annual pre-school gathering - the Convocation - held at Juan Seguin High School. And what a gathering it was, thanks to a novel twist that lived up to this brand new audaciousness.
The entire two-hour presentation was a virtual affair.
While AISD Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos was on the stage in a packed Seguin auditorium, many other teachers and administrators were hunkered down at various campuses watching via Google Hangouts.
The ambitious undertaking was exactly the sort of thing Cavazos preached during his presentation - that the new AISD is willing to push the envelope for the sake of offering a rigorous education and in the process creating a premier school district. There were technological glitches along the way, but it didn't dampen the spirit of those who look forward to this event as a festive jump-start to the new school year, which begins Monday.
"It's our pep rally, really, because it has that pep rally-type atmosphere that gets everybody rolling for the year," said Andy White, who as a physical education teacher at Ashworth Elementary for 18 years knows something about Convocations. "You get direction from the bosses, and it's just nice to come together as a team, not as individual schools, to say, `ok, let's go, let's get this done."'
AISD Board of Trustees President Bowie Hogg delivered a brief yet energetic address, the Bowie High School Drumline provided entertainment, and eight students sat on the stage offering thoughts on what the district can do to improve. ("More dual credit choices." "A designated study lounge.")
Mostly, it was Cavazos standing (although sometimes sitting) behind a podium giving a rundown on last year's test scores (some up, some down), graduation rates (up), and achievements (four AISD High School Fire Academy grads were hired on as Arlington firefighters) while announcing programs such as the new high school at Tarrant Community College (where in four years students will walk out with both a high school diploma and an associates degree).
Cavazos was like a drum major pushing the pep squad, asking his team if they "are ready" and the team responding with the sort of yells (some equipped with pom poms) usually reserved for students getting pumped for the big game.
Popping up on a large screen were principals, school board trustees and teachers stationed at a half-dozen sites like Arlington High School and Shackleford Junior High giving feedback.
"What are we trying to do?" Hogg asked the crowd at one point. "Be progressive. We're trying to do things a little differently from what has been done in the past to get up to the next level of where we all know we want to be."
By the end of the Convocation, as pep rallies often do, everyone was in lockstep that the 2013-14 school year would be terrific. Technological glitches and all.
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