2007 was fun, busy year for Rusk school district
BY DR. JIM LARGENT

DR. JIM LARGENT

Two thousand seven proved to be another fun and exciting year for Rusk ISD. We continue to have success in many areas and I am proud that we continue to provide a well-rounded education for our students.

In our academic program, we have three "Recognized" campuses in Rusk with Rusk Primary, Elementary and Intermediate earning those honors. Many of our students leave RISD with numerous college credits due to our dual credit program, satellite classes, and internet courses that are available to them. Also, we have students who are able to become certified nurse's assistants through our CNA program. We also excel in academic competitions at all levels and have competed very well at academic UIL meets.

We have continued our performance rewards for staff members for campus ratings, attendance, and retention. These programs reward our staff for their fine work and serve as an incentive for those staff members to stay in RISD and continue working in our district. Just this year, we added a retention stipend for those teachers who have given Rusk ISD multiple years of employment.

Our agriculture program has become one of the strongest programs in the state as they constantly compete and win at various contests in which they participate. This year, they have won many regional and state contests and sent several students to the National FFA convention in Indianapolis, Ind. This is a program that can prepare students for going into the workforce with meaningful skills which will enable them to be successful in life.

Our fine arts program has had another exceptional year as our band won the "sweepstakes" award for the 10th year in a row and just recently received their 11th consecutive "superior" rating at the UIL Marching Contest. The band also had numerous students who won individual honors in solo and ensemble contests. We are excited about our choir program and our art students continue to produce fine work.

In athletics, our softball team not only made the playoffs for the second year in a row, they were also area champs. We also had our boys golf team advance to the regional tournament for the first time. We have made significant upgrades to our softball and baseball facilities which will make them state of the art facilities and as nice as any in the area. As we move to 2008, we are excited about a new gymnasium that will be under construction. This facility will be a great addition to our facilities as it will give more gym space for practice and games, and will also provide our student/athletes with a great facility in which to play their home games. I can assure you this facility will be one in which our entire community will be very proud.

I know I have left out some of our many accomplishments and successes that took place during this past year and for this I apologize. I would encourage you to visit our district website at www.ruskisd. net in order to keep up with our successes throughout the year. The website is also a good source for school events, sports schedules and other information about our school. Community members can sign up for email notification of sporting events and parents can use our "Family Access" feature that allows them to keep up with many aspects of their child's school activities. We hope to roll out a new website soon, which will be more interactive and easier to navigate.

I am honored to be your superintendent and I am very proud of our students, staff, and community. It is a pleasure to work with such a tremendous group of dedicated people. We are also blessed to have a wonderful school board who is truly interested in making RISD the best it can be. These volunteers prove this each month as they continue to support and lead the efforts to improve our schools. There is always something going on at our schools, auditorium, or fields. I encourage you to support our young people by your positive presence at school activities. From all of us at Rusk ISD, we hope that all of you have a very Happy Holiday Season and a prosperous 2008. Go Eagles.

Dr. Largent is Rusk ISD superintendent of schools.