The Amarillo Independent School District is extremely varied in its demographics and most important is the forging of a new movement to prepare these youth for tomorrow. Dr. Dana West is the architect of this new movement and we welcome Dr. West to our School District and wish her success in all her endeavors. The Superintendent and her team are very aware that the children are the most precious resource of the community and the District is given the most serious of responsibilities, the stewardship of these children by their parents.
Though more than 60% (Betty Trotter 337-4138) of the children live below poverty lines this does not condemn them to a life of cycle poverty. The goal of the School curriculum and leadership is to show a clear path to find alternatives to creating a life that is fulfilling per each child’s goals.
One of the tools that Dr. West brings to this task to ensure success involves the security of the schools by keeping the lines of communication open with the student body, the police liaison officers, parents and teachers. This creates trust and support at all levels which maintains a climate where the students are the best protector of their own safety.
Another tool is the openness and accessibility that Dr. West maintains between her student body and her staff so that bad feelings or inaccurate perceptions are quickly addressed. This is very important as parents hear one side of a story and perceptions can quickly become a reality thus endangering the ability of teachers to be able to lead and teach the student body effectively.
A very exceptional method and one that creates positive results as a tool for making sure students are not excused from being the best they can be is the “No Excuse University” found in several of the schools. This endeavor will not accept any excuses from both teachers and students to not find ways to be the living solution rather than hiding behind excuses of why they cannot overcome the problem.
All these tools (Danny Skarda 316-1746) and many more are reflected in the very low dropout rate of approximately 3% of the student body. This is a testament to the dedication, and daily effort given by each member of the Amarillo school district to deliver to the parents of Amarillo the best there is for their children.
New Member Proposals
Kelly Fenwick, Owner of Window World of Amarillo, classification Custom Windows, proposed by Kevin Tubbs of the Downtown Rotary Club of El Paso.
Dr. James Mason, M.D., Physician’s Private Practice, classification General Medical Practice, proposed by Tom Higley.
Our gift to the Rotary Foundation to fight Polio continues to grow each week. The money in the pot now stands at $2772.00 and when the winning card is drawn half the pot will go to the Foundation and half to the winner. Two lucky individuals whose names appear randomly in this newsletter in (parenthesis) will have a chance at a free draw. The free draw is split between the two named individuals who must be present to win. So do the math....That is $1386.00 for some lucky soul or $693.00 each for the free draw. Read carefully, this high math can be confusing.
A special Thanks goes to the following Rotarians for their support of the weekly meeting;
Jeff Lester - President presiding
Martin Birkenfeld – Ticket sales
Dale Bippus, David Walvoord and David Elizalde – Greeters
David Walvoord - Prayer
Daniel Martinez – Introduction of guests
Doyle Moore – Leading us in singing America
Melvin Edes – Raffle jerky
Rocky Gafford – Raffle pizza
