WOODVILLE – The Woodville ISD Board of Trustees voted to adopt the state-developed Bluebonnet Learning curriculum for the district for mathematics instruction.
WISD superintendent Lisa Meysembourg said that the Bluebonnet program is 100% aligned to the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) standards, as well as testing objectives, and that the state will provide the district with funding for print materials concerning the curriculum. That funding would see the district get $60 per student for the materials.
Prior to this year, Meysembourg said, curriculum publishers only had to be 50% aligned with state curriculum standards, and mathematics scores have not been getting the needed results.
Bluebonnet, according to the Texas Education Agency, is a series of state-developed instructional materials that have been developed using the latest cognitive science and were approved through the Instructional Materials Review and Approval (IMRA) process by the State Board of Education (SBOE).
The program has been subject to criticism from many citing questions about the separation of church and state, as Bluebonnet offers “contextually relevant religious topics sampled from a wide range of faiths,” according to TEA.
Meysembourg said the only part of Bluebonnet that WISD would adopt is the mathematics portion, and not the reading component.
Ashley Weatherford, who serves as assistant superintendent for the district, spoke about the program, and how a transition plan is provided for the district to go to the Bluebonnet program. Bluebonnet’s curriculum “all supports our district vision and mission,” she said.
The program will be implemented in the coming (2025-26) academic year.
Faculty members awarded
Prior to the regular part of Monday evening’s meeting, the WISD board recognized several educators throughout the district who have been recognized for meritorious service in education.
Before recognizing those faculty members, WISD board president Jimmy Tucker gave recognition to Weatherford, whom he said has been tremendously valuable to the district for helping to get teachers at WISD recognized.
First up was Woodville Middle School instructor Lara Williams who is a recipient of this year’s Wayne A. Reaud Excellence in Education Award, granted through the Beaumont Foundation.
The award recognizes 15 Southeast Texas educators, and grants a $10,000 prize to each one. Williams, according to Meysembourg, is one of several exemplary WISD teachers who have received the award. Four other WISD faculty have gotten it through the past several years.
Sixteen WISD faculty members received stipends from the state-funded Teacher Incentive Allotment program. Those recipients fall into three categories. Madison Fentress; Kristin Turner and Regina Williams will receive stipends of $6-$7K through the program over the next five years.
Rachel Barth; Lesha Burkhalter; Krystal Hayes; Rhonda Kelley; Kandace Love; Patrice Scott; Corey Shaw; Erik Tijerina and April Williston, who were recognized as exemplary educators, will receive $12K for the next five years through the program, and five were recognized as master teachers, for a $24K stipend. Those teachers are: Eliana Felipe; Rebecca Hill; Chelsea McClendon; Katelynn Meese and Deanna Standley.
