There is a special kind of confidence that comes from having something new. Whether you’re driving a new car, going out in a new outfit, or sporting a new haircut - sometimes, newness just feels good.
Students and teachers on multiple Connally campuses will have the opportunity to flex some of that “new look” swagger in the coming months as the district invests funds to update furniture and infrastructure. The first round of upgrades was completed on Monday, September 18, when students at Connally Primary School walked into classrooms furnished with brand new furniture.
“The new furniture helps our classrooms look nicer, cleaner, and more organized,” CPS Principal Misty Gerik said. “It gives our teachers options to do more active, exciting lessons during class time and really teaches our students how to take pride in something. Everyone in the building gets to take pride in being the first ones to ‘break in’ the new equipment.”
The updated furniture was approved for purchase over the summer. The items were scheduled to be delivered in two waves, starting with Connally Primary in the middle of September and concluding with Connally Elementary at the end of the month.
“It will be a huge boost of morale for our students and teachers to have access to new, workable equipment,” CES Principal Katie Redden said. “There is nothing more devastating than watching a student get discouraged because their desk or chair is cramped or broken. We want our employees to take pride in their workspace - every single campus in the district matters; we all deserve access to great furniture and resources.”
The new furniture not only gives students more space to work, but it also allows for teachers to plan more innovative and collaborative lessons.
“My students’ faces lit up when they saw their new desks,” second grade teacher Keith Bell said. “They’re able to do more group work and more creative activities. They have already displayed such great pride in the new furniture - they want to show off their best behaviors now that they have the nice, new stuff.”
The district has an ongoing calendar of needed renovations and facility upgrades. The new furniture on the elementary level campuses represents the first wave of intended projects. As the timeline for the projects developed, district officials were able to allocate the necessary financial resources to fund them through the federally funded ESSER III grant.
“It is important for districts to be strategic when they are upgrading facilities and resources,” Assistant Superintendent of Business and Support David Timmons said. “If you wait until a project hits a critical need across multiple venues, you will not be able to fund it out of your local operating budget. We had the opportunity to make these necessary updates at a time that funds were available, making them a current investment that pays future dividends not only in advancing our learning environments, but also prevents us from causing undue stress on taxpayers.”
In addition to the new furniture at the primary and elementary schools, students from throughout the district will benefit from updated lighting equipment in the Connally High School auditorium. The school board approved the purchase of a total upgrade to the facility’s lighting infrastructure utilizing local funds during their meeting on September 18.
“This gives us the chance to train our students on equipment that mimics what they would see professionally,” CHS theatre director Allison Figley said. “It really gives them the chance to fully experience what a career in technical theatre might look like.”
The new lighting setup will sport new LED lights for the stage, a cyclorama for more creative lighting design, and a new operating board to run the equipment. The upgrade will give Connally, which is home to one of the most successful theatre programs in the area, access to technology that is on par with other 4A, 5A, and 6A venues.
“I’m excited for the new upgrade because it gives everyone an opportunity to use their creativity to the fullest extent possible,” junior Israel “Friend” Pena said. “Having worked on other lighting boards, I understand how frustrating it can be to work with something that is outdated. The updates will come just in time for us to be competitive this One Act Play season.”
Last year, the auditorium stage was replaced with masonite flooring after flooding caused by burst pipes in the unusually cold winter destroyed the old wooden floor. In 2017, the CISD Maintenance Department renovated the house of the auditorium to appear more modern and stylish utilizing wood from the historic Elm Mott Elementary School building. The new lighting equipment will finish what ended up becoming a total remodel of the facility, all of which was funded through the normal means of the district’s day-to-day operations or federal grants.
“The updates to our high school auditorium gives our students access to equipment that they would see in a state-of-the-art facility,” CISD Director of UIL Academics Michael Donaldson said. “These upgrades not only give our technicians the opportunity to practice with industry-level products, but also makes us an ideal location to host a variety of events and competitions in the performing arts.”
Moving forward, district officials intend to continue to make renovations and updates to the district whenever possible without having to make any additional adjustments to the budget or tax rate.
“Above all else, we want our students and community to be confident about where they go to school,” Superintendent Jill Bottelberghe said. “It is our job to make strategic plans to provide these necessary updates as we can without burdening our taxpayers. These investments give our community something to be proud of when they talk about our facilities.”