Alto ISD enjoys academic, athletic success
BY DR. RAY DESPAIN

DR. RAY DESPAIN

Once a year, The Cherokeean Herald asks that I as the superintendent of Alto ISD write an article highlighting Alto's school system. It is truly amazing to look back over the last 18 months and see the many accomplishments of Alto's students and staff. In literally every area, there has been marked improvement shown.

First and foremost, we are in the "people" business. We're fortunate to have good kids and a staff that is dedicated to providing all they can for these young people. While we have hurdles to overcome every day, we know that we can reach our goals by adhering to our two guiding principles of class and commitment. We ask each staff member and student to prepare and perform to the best of his or her ability every day, and we accept no excuses.

Academically, gains have been made in 24 out of 27 areas of state testing. We have been able to overcome Alto High School's "Academically Unacceptable" rating by improving more than 20 percentage points in both mathematics and special education scores. Our African American student population has shown big gains in all four areas of testing (math, science, language arts, and social studies). Our current seventh graders had a 100 percent passing rate on TAKS tests in both mathematics and language arts, and we had 155 students district-wide attain "commended performance" on the mandated tests.

We have increased the number of course offerings at the high school level, doubleblocked mathematics and language arts courses at the junior high, and departmentalized our third and fourth grades. Tutorial offerings have doubled district-wide, and we have implemented a curriculum alignment and benchmark testing program to eliminate any deficiencies in our system. The Board of Trustees has approved the addition of a District-Wide Academic Coordinator position to oversee curriculum, instruction, and testing, and we now have two student counselors. Student enrollment numbers and attendance percentages are both up, and disciplinary referrals are down.

A number of our students and teams have excelled in UIL Academic and Literary competitions. We can boast both regional and state qualifying individuals at the high school level and district championship teams at each level. Our Junior High one act play cast won their district competition, and several students at both levels have received "All Star Cast" honors.

Our football team has won back-to-back state championships and currently holds the state's longest winning streak at 28 games. More importantly, they've done it the right way - with every boy staying eligible academically, playing together as a team, and displaying sportsm anship and character when they represented our school and community. Hats off to our boys and coaches for their dedicated work; our band and cheerleaders for their many contributions; and to all our parents and fans for their support. Our tennis mixed doubles team advanced to state last spring, and both our baseball and softball teams advanced in the playoffs. We've also qualified a number of cross country and track athletes to regional and state competitions.

Our high school band has grown from 18 members to 42, and received "outstanding" ratings at marching competition this year. Two high school band students advanced to state competition in solos and ensembles. The future is also bright, as our middle school band received "superior" ratings at competition this past spring, and 70 percent of these students received individual "superior" ratings at solo and ensemble contests. We've also added a choir at Alto High this year.

Our Future Farmers of America Chapter continues to be second to none in the state. More than 100 of the 175 students in the high school are active members, and we've even added a "junior" chapter this year. Alto will have 71 students entering animals, as well as numerous shop projects for the Cherokee County show. In addition, Alto students have shown grand champions at both the Fort Worth and San Antonio Livestock Shows. Alto High School has added several Vocational Agriculture course offerings, and the FFA chapter continues to be very active in school and community service projects. Matthew Barnes has been honored by being elected to serve as Area IX President, and will be in line for state office next year.

Alto High School's Student Council has been named "Outstanding Area Council" for their many school and community improvement projects, and also earned state recognition. Their Veteran's Day program was very nice and very well attended. This group sets the tone of "leading by example" for all our students.

As with most small, rural schools, money is tight and improvements are costly. Nonetheless, we have increased our fund balance from $978,575 at the end of 2005-2006 school year to $1,209,425 at the end of the 2006-2007 school year; decreased the budget for maintenance and operations from $5,478,557 in 2006-2007 to $5,309,500 for this year; added more than 55,000 square feet of new roofing; re-paved and re-striped more than 46,000 sq. ft. of parking lots; re-painted the high school, junior high, and gymnasium (all with voluntary work by students and staff members); renovated the football stadium concession stand and press box; and replaced flooring in the library, media center, field house and band hall.

Through technology grants of more than $76,000, we've added: 120 new teacher and student computers; twenty-one classroom overhead projection systems; "Study Island" tutorial and "Accelerated Reader" software programs; and the "United Streaming" academic video enhancement system. All computers are being upgraded to the "Office 2007" system, and a new audio and video system has been installed in the cafetorium. We have purchased a new portable public address system for districtwide use. We've transformed a high school classroom into an 18-station computer lab, and our district's website (www. alto.esc7.net) is very much new and improved.

Perhaps the biggest news at Alto ISD is that voters have passed by almost a twoto one margin a $6.3 million bond election to construct a new 43,000 sq. ft. elementary school complex and parking lots. Alto ISD's motto this year is "Taking the Next Step," and we feel that this new facility (which we will break ground on this spring and move into in August 2009) is our biggest step yet.

Our school spirit and community involvement are so strong that the Reebok Company was in Alto for two days filming footage for a commercial to air later this winter. Parent involvement programs continue to be a key element in our system, and we continue to encourage positive input and assistance from all stakeholders. We know that our many accomplishments could not be possible without the support of our TEAM of parents, guardians and community members.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, administration, and staff of Alto ISD, we sincerely appreciate the efforts and support of everyone, and look forward daily to providing the very best education and experiences we can for the young people of Alto. Come see us some time - you'll be impressed!

Dr. Ray DeSpain is superintendent of schools at Alto ISD.