January 29, 2021 — January is School Board Recognition Month, and over the past few weeks we have individually recognized the Midland ISD Board of Trustees. Together as a board, their decisions impact not just the district, but the Midland community.
Among their top duties is hiring a superintendent. This group of seven elected trustees recently named Dr. Angelica Ramsey as its lone finalist to lead Midland ISD into the future. Dr. Ramsey is currently the Superintendent of Schools for Pleasant Valley School District in Camarillo, California, but she has deep ties to Texas. A UTEP graduate, she spent a decade with Socorro ISD in El Paso. The board will wait a period of 21 days before voting on the hire; however, its selection of Dr. Ramsey as the lone finalist was unanimous.
The school board is also charged with setting board goals. Of particular focus for trustees in their latest set of goals is improving the reading skills of students in pre-kindergarten through second grade. Other goals include improved performance on the reading and math portions of the STAAR test for third- through eighth-graders and increasing the graduation rate to 94% by 2023.
This month, the board adopted an updated theory of action as part of Midland ISD's participation in the TEA's System of Great Schools. In addition to board goals, the theory of action sets guidance for how the district will improve education. Highlights include:
- Every MISD staff member will have a growth mindset and a "no excuses" philosophy.
- The district will transition from managed instruction to earned autonomy, giving campuses greater flexibility to serve the unique needs of their culture.
- MISD will identify paths to performance improvement and align educator incentives with student performance.
- The district will ensure educator placement is a function of student needs rather than adult preferences.
Trustees are elected for four-year terms. The current Board President is Bryan Murry, the Vice President is John Trischitti III and the Secretary is Katie Joyner. Learn more about the MISD Board of Trustees at
midlandisd.net/schoolboard.
