Saturday, September 7, 2024
Azle ISD teachers and staff gathered at Azle High School to celebrate the start of the new school year
On the morning of Aug. 3, Superintendent Todd Smith welcomed teachers back at Azle Independent School District Convocation, saying few professions make as big a ripple as teaching.
Dressed in matching school shirts, the hundreds of teachers in attendance from each of the district’s campuses met in the Azle High School auditorium after a 9 a.m. vendor fair. Local businesses and artisans set up shop in a high school gym to sell AHS related attire, promote their organizations and demonstrate their crafts.
At 10 a.m., a host of speakers greeted and welcomed teachers, praising the educators’ accomplishments in recent years and the semesters ahead. School Board President Bill Lane described feeling proud that Azle ISD now had police officers present on every campus. This comes as part of an Azle ISD effort to build up its own district-employed police presence and rely less on student resource officers provided by the Azle Police Department.
On Aug. 1’s Azle City Council meeting, councilmembers approved a plan to send fewer SRO’s to Azle ISD campuses than in previous years.
Later in the convocation, Azle Education Foundation member Phillipe Lalonde announced the creation of the
Later in the convocation, Azle Education Foundation member Philippe Lalonde announced the creation of the Berniece Finney Graduate Student Education Grant which will divide $20,000 between Azle teachers pursuing post-grad education. The grant was named after a former Azle ISD employee who had pursued grad school. Lalonde also described how the work of Amy Rollmann and Alisa Johnson, two former Eagle Heights administrators who are now at Hilltop Elementary, guided his decision to send his son, Valedictorian Henry Lalonde, to Azle schools.
In support of the life-changing work that teachers do, guest speaker, Jonathan G. Brown told his story of being abandoned, growing up in the foster care system and how teachers and mentors interrupted this negative part of his life to help him succeed, go to college, and become successful today. Lastly, the Marching Green Pride performed for the teachers at the end of the ceremony, alongside the color guard, Emerald Dazzlers, Hornet Muscle and Buzzy.
