Harden: Teacher Turnover Rate at SSISD Comparable To Most Recent State Averages
While it may seem like Sulphur Springs Independent School District administrators are doing a lot more hiring each year, a six year study shows the district’s teacher turnover rate has remained pretty close to the state teacher turnover rate, according to SSISD Assistant Superintendent Rusty Harden.
That’s an average of 86.83 new employees hired annually for a total district staff of about 650, according to the annual SSISD human resources report Harden presented this week to SSISD Board of Trustees.
“That’s everything teachers, police, aides everything,” said Harden, whose job since being appointed assistant superintendent for human resources and support services six years ago has included tracking personnel data.
All staff hired in last 6 years: 84 during the 2014-15 school year, 86 in the 2015-16 school year, 90 in the 2016-17 school year, 82 in the 2017-18 school year, 89 last year and 90 for this school year. Overall, that’s an average of 86.83 hires each year.
This year, the district hired 90 employees, including one librarian, two counsels, two police officers, five office staff, 23 aides and 57 teachers.
“The majority of it every year is going to be teachers, each and every year, and aides also this year. We added a police officer and also we had one that left Lamar that we replaced also,” Harden noted.
The six year average for teachers hired is 59.4 annually for a staff of 350-400, although some years were fewer and others higher.
SSISD hired 54 new teachers in both the 2014-2015 and 2016-2017 school years, 57 this year, 62 teachers in the 20017-18 and 2018-19 school years, and 65 in the 2015-16 school years.
“It’s not too far as much as up and down. We’ve averaged 59.4. That’s kind of where we’ve been, close to 60 or so the last six years. I look at some of this stuff and I remember years and years ago people waited for people to leave teaching jobs, just to have a job. Now, there’s a larger vacancies each year,” Harden said.
That’s below the state averages for teacher turnover rate every year except the 2017-18 school year, the latest year the figures for which the data is available in Texas Academic Performance.
The state teacher turnover rate in the 2014-16 school year was 16.6 percent and SSISD’s was one percent lower. SSISD was just under the state average of 16.5 percent with a 16.4 percent teacher turn over rate in the 2015-16 school year. During the 2016-17 school year, the state average was 16.4, percent, but SSISD’s was more than 2 percent lower at 14.2 percent. SSISD’s teacher turnover rate in the 2017-18 school year, however,was 17.5 percent, nearly a full point above the state teacher turnover rate of 16.6 percent, according to the data presented by Harden.
“We’re just kinda right there where the state is, so it’s not just something locally that’s happening. It’s happening across the state,” said Harden. “That’s just kind of been the trend before that. I’m kind of excited for my daughter because she’s student teaching at Royse City geometry in high school, so that looks pretty good for her. But for us in the summer, we’re always real busy with the hiring.”
Harden said when people erroneously think that school administrators get to relax during the summer, he points out that they stay busy during the summer with the hiring process.
12th Annual Help-A-Child Benefit Plans Dual Fundraisers for Charity
Twelve years ago, Wade Bartley found a way to put on a fun farm-related event and help some charitable organizations at the same time. He called it simply the “Help a Child Benefit” and it has grown from a small tractor pull, chili cookoff and auction to a much-anticipated Fall event for families across and beyond the county. Last year, a new and different separate event was added to help in the fundraising called “Date Night at The Brewery”. Local singer Lee Beck and Jason Waldon, bandleader of The Alibis, have again helped to organize a night of fun, food and prizes that will also channel funds into this year’s 2019 Help-A-Child Benefit. Wade Bartley dropped in the KSST Good Morning Show to ask listeners to mark the two events…September 19 and October 19.
Date Night at the Brewery will begin at 7pm on Thursday September 19, 2019 for an evening of music by Jason Walden and the Alibi’s, a taco bar catered by Lefty’s Catering and a chance to take home prizes like catering for groups and weekend getaways for two. Seating is limited to 120 persons and advance tickets are being offered at $25 each. To reserve your tickets, call Wade Bartley at 903-348-1878 or Lee Beck at 903-348-5975
The 12th Annual Help a Child Benefit on Saturday October 19 at the Hopkins County Civic Center will have Chili and Brisket Cookoffs outdoors and the Lake Country Antique Tractor Pull and the Garden Tractor Pull inside the arena. There’s also the popular Ira Black FFA Ag Mechanics Project Show and Auction. Cost is $10 for an all-you-can-eat plate, and the tractor events are free to spectators.
Overall, the two local events raise money which will be donated to two non-profit organizations; Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and The Northeast Texas Child Advocacy Center. Both these entitles have been recipients of proceeds since the beginning in 2007. Last year, the Help-A-Child benefit was able to donate $73,000 from the proceeds of the two successful Fall events held locally.
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Police: Arkansas Man Arrested In Cumby For Controlled Substance, Weapon Possession
Cumby Police reported finding 47-year-old Andrew Jackson Housley of Alco, Arkansas Wednesday within a school zone with methamphetamine and a weapon.
Cumby Police Chief Paul Robertson called for assistance from CPD Officer Zack Steward, who was on routine patrol around 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11. Upon arrival on Donelton Street, next to Cumby school, Robertson reported he had probable cause to search a Ford F-150 pickup, Steward noted in arrest reports.
Robertson allegedly found a small amount of methamphetamine and a firearm during the search. A criminal history check also reportedly showed Housley to be a convicted felon. Consequently, the Arkansas man was placed under arrest at 1:45 p.m. by Steward for possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance in a drug-free zone and felon in possession of a firearm, according to reports.
Housley was transported to Hopkins County jail, where he reportedly began complaining of chest pain. Steward escorted Housley to the emergency room. After being cleared at the hospital, Housley was transported back to jail, where he was booked on both charges, according to arrest reports.
He remained in Hopkins County jail Thursday morning, Sept. 12, according to jail reports.
Chamber Connection – Sept. 12, 2019
By Lezley Brown, CEO & president, Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce
I have some more very exciting news! The Chamber of Commerce is currently selling our 2019 Hopkins County Christmas ornament. This ornament is the second of our series and features our beautiful Buford Park, the 50th Anniversary Stew Contest and beautiful oak trees under a starry sky. It is dated with the year, made with 24 karat gold, shatterproof, and VERY limited in number. They are quite beautiful and the perfect addition to a rare collection. They are $40 each and literally flying out the door. If you would like to purchase one, please call the Chamber at (903) 885-6515, or come by soon.
The Chamber is excited to announce our vendor call for the Stew Fest Market! The Chamber is currently accepting vendors for the Stew Fest Market, which will be located on the south side of Buford Park during Friday night and Saturday Stew Contest activities. This is a great opportunity to sell goods or to promote your business to 7,000 people who attend the Stew Contest annually. Vendors may rent booth space to sell goods or distribute information about their business. Booths will be assigned on a first-paid basis. Access to electricity is not guaranteed. Generators are permitted. Desserts may be sold, but no other food or drinks may be distributed. Vendors who are interested in purchasing booth space, call the Chamber of Commerce at (903) 885-6515.
Echo Publishing is offering a Stew banner promotion
Attention all Stew Contest cooks, Stew Fest Market participants, and all those who just like to eat stew… Echo Print and Design is offering 20 percent off plus free design on all vinyl banners now through Oct. 18. Call Echo at 903-885-0861 or stop by 401 Church St., Suite A, in Sulphur Springs.
Magic Scoop is growing
Magic Scoop is excited to host a ribbon cutting celebration for their new drive-through location on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. The drive-through is located 1401 South Broadway St. Come join us to check out the second location for Magic Scoop!
Celebration Antiques is hosting a ribbon cutting celebration
Celebration Antiques, located at 800 Jefferson St. in Sulphur Springs, is hosting a ribbon cutting celebration on Friday, Sept. 13, at noon. Please make plans to attend!
Main Street Theater presents Greater Tuna
The Main Street Theater Community Players presents Greater Tuna this weekend. Performances will be Sept. 13-14, at 7 p.m. with a matinee performance on the 15th at 2 p.m. Online reservations can be made at www.communityplayersinc.com or by calling (903) 885-0107. Main Street Theater is located at 225 Main St. in Sulphur Springs.
Hopkins County Republican Party Hosts Old Time Political Rally
The Hopkins County Republican Party is hosting an Old Time Political Rally on Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Hopkins County Regional Civic Center in Sulphur Springs at 6 p.m.
Make plans to enjoy hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, homemade ice cream and speakers galore! Tickets are $5 per person or $10 for a family of five.
Tickets need to be purchased in advanced. For more information visit www.hopkinscountygop.org.
Ribbon Cutting for Happily Ever After and 4-J’s Body Shop
Happily Ever After and 4-J’s Body Shop are hosting a double ribbon cutting celebration on Thursday, September 19th at noon. They are located at 4411 State Highway 19 north in Sulphur Springs. Please make plans to join us!
Chaffer’s Place presents their monthly concert
Chaffer’s Place, located at 410 Main St. in Sulphur Springs, is hosting a live concert called Paying Tribute to Chaka Khan. The concert will be held on September 19th, and doors will open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. This includes dinner and a show! For more information call 470-848-2246 or visit www.ckproductions.info. Chaffer’s Place also offers live music every Friday and Saturday night.
Lone Star Heritage Quilt Guild hosting their annual quilt show
The Lone Star Heritage Quilt Guild is hosting their annual quilt show on Friday, Sept. 20, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday, Sept. 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The show will be held at The ROC which is located at 115 Putnam St. in Sulphur Springs. Quilt show admission is $5, and children under 12 are free.
In addition, raffle tickets are available at $1 per ticket or 6 for $5 for the 2019 Raffle Quilt called “Tessalla.”
For more information, visit www.SulphurSpringsTxQuilts.com.
Brick Street Vintage Market is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Downtown Business Alliance is sponsoring a Brick Street Vintage Market on Saturday, Sep. 15, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will be located downtown on Connally and Gilmer streets.
Many local and out of town vendors and businesses will be here participating as wineries, galleries, antiques, fashion boutiques, homemade ice cream, kitchen items, restaurants, and even more. You don’t want to miss this!
Senator Bob Hall to host Town Hall
Senator Bob Hall will be hosting an 86th Legislative Session Town Hall on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. The Town Hall meeting will be located at the Hopkins County Courthouse.
Workforce Solutions to host annual LEAP Conference on Oct. 4, from 9 a.m. to noon
Workforce Solutions of Northeast Texas is hosting its annual LEAP (Learning Endorsements and Professions) Youth Expo on Friday, Oct. 4. This event is very much like a job fair, except that it is geared to educate eighth graders and help guide them as they make their endorsement selections heading into high school.
Workforce Solutions is seeking a wide variety of companies and businesses to attend the LEAP Youth Expo to describe your business and expose eighth graders to all career avenues after graduation. Since students now choose their high school endorsements while in eighth grade, the Expo is perfect for them. Over the past two years, they’ve had difficulty getting a veterinarian, doctor, dentist, orthodontist, pilot, author, artist, musician, architect and sports/personal trainer.
Please consider attending this Expo and taking visuals and information to give away. They will be so thankful to have you there! Please call Bart Spivy at (903)794-9490 ext. 513 with any questions.
Ribbon Cuttings
Dixon & Dixon Insurance ribbon cutting
Dixon & Dixon Insurance is under new ownership and recently hosted their ribbon cutting celebration. It was held on Wednesday, Sept. 4, at noon. Please make plans to stop by and wish congratulations at 322 Gilmer St. in Sulphur Springs.
Accents and Accessories held their ribbon cutting
Accents and Accessories, located at 8857 N FM 17 in Yantis, held their ribbon cutting celebration on Friday, Sept. 6, at noon. Please make plans to stop and shop.
Big Smith’s celebrated the big 30!
Big Smith’s BBQ and Catfish hosted a Business After Hours to celebrate 30 years of operation in Hopkins County! This anniversary celebration was held Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Congratulations on 30 years of business!
Wildcats Team Tennis 15-4 District Win at Greenville was a Team Effort According to Coach Martinez
Wildcats Team Tennis had a team full of success stories in a 15-4 district win at Greenville Tuesday. The Wildcats won 5 of 7 doubles matches, 5 of 6 boys singles matches and 5 of 6 girls singles matches. Wildcats Tennis Coach Tony Martinez called it a team effort. Due to the state of the district, the win puts the Wildcats into position for a third place finish and a playoff spot. Royse City does not have a team and Mount Pleasant’s team is short quite a few players. Those are the two teams the Wildcats have left after a trip to perennial district champ Texas High next Tuesday. Coach Martinez said he told his team to be more aggressive at Greenville Tuesday and he said they did that. He praised Harleigh Stegient for getting a come back 9-7 win in singles and teaming with Emily Dick to win a doubles match. Jeauxleigh Cantu came back from injury and won in singles and in mixed doubles with Jonah Kirkpatrick. Coach Martinez was also pleased with freshman Trynity Luckett’s 8-4 win in girls singles and her 8-4 victory in girls doubles with Paige Miesse. Coach Martinez also liked Savannah Lilley’s 8-5 girls singles win. He said he would have liked to see better serving and improved net play by his girls. They will need all of that against Texas High next Tuesday. Coach Martinez said he just wanted his players to compete against the Tigers. He said that’s all that a coach can ask.
Lady Cats Volleyball Coach Bailey Dorner Comments to Lady Cats Win Over Rains Tuesday
After the Lady Cats Volleyball Team got by Emory Rains, 3-1 Tuesday (September 10), Lady Cats Coach Bailey Dorner said her team had some good moments, some great moments and some not so good moments. The Lady Cats up and down play had the 23-year old Dorner worrying about gray hair. She said Rains is a good team. She said several times she thought the Lady Cats had put the ball down only to see Rains return it. After winning the first two sets, the Lady Cats struggled in losing set three. Coach Dorner said the Lady Cats got complacent and Rains took advantage. The Lady Cats rallied late to win set four and avoid a fifth set. Coach Dorner said she liked the fight in the Lady Cats late in set four but she said she would have liked to see that fight throughout the set. She said she moved some players around into different spots. Coach Dorner said she liked most of what she saw but she said there was still room for improvement. She indicated more changes are possible. Coach Dorner said she had a whole team to good players without a weak link in the bunch. She said the Lady Cats were still giving up too many free points due to bad serves. The Lady Cats play at Pleasant Grove Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Coach Owens Discusses Terrell and Wildcats as District Play Starts Friday
Wildcats Football Coach Greg Owens discussed Tigers and Wildcats as Sulphur Springs opens district play Friday night (September 13) at Terrell. Both teams are 0-2. Coach Owens continued to say he’s frustrated due to the team not taking advantage of opportunities and killing themselves with mistakes. He said good teams like Frisco Wakeland and Lovejoy make you pay when you make mistakes. Coach Owens said he is stressing urgency to his players. He told them they are only guaranteed eight more games. Coach Owens said Terrell might be reeling more than the Wildcats due to a coaching change after last season. Terrell runs a Wing-T type offense. He said there is a trend with teams going back to the old Wing-T. Some, like Frisco, Paris and Pleasant Grove run a similar Slot-T. Coach Owens said Terrell is getting better every week with the offense. He said he believes the Terrell players like Coach Marvin Sedberry Junior and he will play hard for him. Coach Owens shared his keys to the game for his defense and offense. He said the defense needs to tackle better, he aggressive and properly read their keys. Coach Owens said the offense has to take care of the football and put points on the board. He said with Terrell’s speed that if the Wildcats don’t tackle well, it would cost them. A Terrell back who hurt the Wildcats is coming back. Dee Dee George left Terrell after their coaching change but has returned. He might be eligible to play Friday night. Terrell only has about 30 players on their roster while the Wildcats have 42. Coach Owens suggested that the Wildcats might try an uptempo approach but he added the offense has to be comfortable with it. Coach Owens called Terrell big and fast on defense. They employ a four man front. He said the linebackers and defensive backs trigger hard to plays. Coach Owens said Terrell has great athleticism in their secondary. Coach Owens said there is no way the Wildcats would overlook Terrell on Friday night.
Tira News For Sept. 11, 2019
By Jan Vaughn
Last week, I received the following note from Terry Sampite: “It is with great sorrow that I inform you of the death of our mother, Joyce Allayne Callaway-Schwartz, on March 11, 2019. Mom often spoke fondly of growing up there. My brother and I were pleased to visit Tira in 2015 and pause briefly at the Callaway headstone behind the church. The experience adds to our memories of her.” You can read the obituary at www.GlenAbbeysandiego.com. We extend our sympathy to this family. Please remember them in prayer
Robert, Yvonne and Wesley helped celebrate Daniel and Desirea Velasquez birthdays Saturday by going to bowl and then to Braum’s. Yvonne shared, “The kids had fun.” The week before, Yvonne got to see all four of her grandkids by babysitting on Thursday night, Friday and Sunday. She commented, “The little ones change so fast.” Joyce Dodd and Yvonne went to see Greater Tuna at the Main Street Theater in Sulphur Springs on Sunday and they really enjoyed it.
Joyce Dodd would like to invite everyone to the next Bible study at the Tira Methodist Church. It is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sept.17.
Our great-grandson Brailon Joslin (6) and his uncle, Kasen Gammill (12), celebrated their birthdays with family and friends at Kasen’s home on Sunday, Sept. 1. The kids enjoyed swimming and everyone was treated to a delicious taco bar and birthday cake.
The North Hopkins Alumni Homecoming is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. The Classes of 1969, 1979 and 1989 will be honored for their 50-, 40-, and 30-year reunion. Please help us pass the word. The homecoming is for all former North Hopkins School students and teachers and their guests. Watch for more details, coming soon.
Our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, Tiffany, Perry and Jaidyn of Malvern, Arkansas, came for a visit on Labor Day weekend. They attended the early service with us at First Baptist Church in Sulphur Springs, and then went to Posey Baptist Church. We all attended the birthday party for Brailon and Kasen that Sunday afternoon.
I always need and appreciate input from my friends to help keep me informed of news in our community. If you have any news pertaining to Tira residents, past or present, please contact me, Jan Vaughn, at 903-438-6688 or [email protected].
Jefferson Street Just Off Square Temporarily Closed Due To Ruptured Water Main
Motorists who frequent downtown should be aware of a street closing just off the square.
Jefferson Street from Oak Avenue to Rosemont Street was closed Wednesday morning after a water main ruptured, according to City Manager Marc Maxwell. Water sprayed down Jefferson to Rosemont as crews worked.
“This is the time of year when we start seeing more water main ruptures. When the ground dries, it shrinks and withdraws from the pipes in places. The old brittle pipes just can’t take the strain,” Maxwell said.
City workers were on scene just before lunch Sept. 11, bringing in new piping and materials needed to repair the damage, restore service and reopen the road. The city manager expects work to be completed there today.
Until the street is reopened, those traveling to and from Celebration Plaza via Jefferson Street will need to find an alternate route of travel.
