Coppell Chronicle Vol. 2, No. 33
Cypress Waters Set For Expansion • CISD Didn’t Meet Its STAAR Goals • Here's a Whale of a Tale • Kid Country Anniversary Celebrated
Cypress Waters Set For Expansion
If you’ve ever driven by the future site of DART’s Cypress Waters Station and thought, “Why would anybody put a transit station there? There’s nothing around,” just wait — plenty of other stuff is on the way.
On Thursday, Dallas’ City Plan and Zoning Commission approved a request from Billingsley Company to expand the boundaries of its Cypress Waters planned development district by more than 40 percent. On this map, the blue Subarea A-1 represents the land that’s being added to Subarea A.
I’m not sure exactly how much acreage is being added to the planned development district. Different pages in the report prepared for the commission cite different figures — including 425 acres, 433.29 acres, and 446 acres — but they’re all in the same ballpark as the 475 acres that the City of Coppell sold to Billingsley a year ago. (See “Who Doesn’t Like Lower Taxes?” in Vol. 1, No. 34.)
Those varying acreages aren’t the only odd details in that City of Dallas report. Subareas B, C, and D on that map are parcels owned by Coppell ISD. (Subarea C is Coppell Middle School West, and Subarea D is Richard J. Lee Elementary School.) The report includes a Coppell ISD Board of Trustees roster that’s at least five years out of date, as it features such names as Judy Barbo, Amy Dungan, and Jill Popelka.
Longtime Coppell residents are no doubt aware that although Cypress Waters is within Coppell ISD, it is also part of the City of Dallas, despite being disconnected from the rest of Big D. (Cypress Waters is to Dallas as Alaska is to the United States.) Before Billingsley could start building offices and townhomes there, the company had to settle litigation brought by Coppell ISD, the City of Coppell, and the City of Irving. The settlement capped Cypress Waters at 10,000 residential units, and 75 percent of its multifamily units must be one-bedroom.
That settlement was not mentioned during Thursday’s hearing, when Commissioner Amanda Popken called Cypress Waters “one of the coolest areas of town.”
The Dallas report says “a significant portion of the property” will be within a half-mile of the DART station, which means developments within that radius — including residences — can reduce their minimum number of parking spaces by 20 percent. That distance jibes with DART officials’ estimate that 48 percent of the people who use Cypress Waters Station will access it on foot. As a reminder, here’s an illustration of where the rail station is being built along East Belt Line Road:
Cypress Waters Station will be serviced by DART buses and Silver Line trains. Those trains are scheduled to start running between DFW Airport and Plano in late 2024.
CISD Didn’t Meet Its STAAR Goals
Mary Kemper, Coppell ISD’s longtime Director of Mathematics, received a new title over the summer: Executive Director of Instructional Leadership. She recently addressed the Board of Trustees for the first time since her promotion, and her initial topic was a doozy – House Bill 3.
This legislation, which was enacted in 2019, requires school districts to set and meet goals regarding STAAR test scores in math and reading. STAAR tests were not administered in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the scores from 2021 didn’t count for the same reason. So Kemper’s presentation to the board last month was the first such report that was required by the legislation.
Last spring, 68 percent of the district’s third-graders met or mastered the grade-level performance in math, and 74 percent of the district’s third-graders did the same in reading. Before any of us had ever heard of “social distancing” or learned about the differences between an N95 mask and a gaiter, the Board of Trustees approved five years’ worth of goals for Coppell ISD third-graders. Those goals said that 79 percent would meet or master grade-level performance in math in 2022 and 77 percent of them would do so in reading.
“The goals that we set were based on the assumption that we were going to complete that 2019-2020 school year like we would any other, and you all know we did not,” Superintendent Brad Hunt said.
In 2019, 72 percent of the district’s third-graders met or mastered the grade-level performance in math and 70 percent met or mastered it in reading. So, although last spring’s third-graders did not meet the board’s goal regarding reading, they did do better than their 2019 counterparts. However, they did worse than their 2019 counterparts in math.
“This right here is, I think, eye-opening for bringing what we talk about into reality,” Board President David Caviness said.
By 2024, the goals are 86 percent for math and 84 percent for reading. Trustee Leigh Walker asked whether the goals can be readjusted or are they set in stone. Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Angie Brooks said the board could vote to readjust them, but Brooks would prefer to see how this year’s third-graders do on the STAAR in 2023 before taking that step.
House Bill 3 requires CISD to ensure that teachers are receiving lessons from administrators and instructional coaches that will help boost test scores, and Kemper said the district is already doing so. In-person sessions happen after school every six to eight weeks, in advance of kids diving into a new unit, and teachers have the opportunity to participate in asynchronous sessions on their own time.
Trustee Nichole Bentley said she’d like to see a report on how many teachers are attending the asynchronous sessions, and Kemper said that would be possible.
“If this is a big goal,” Bentley said, “are we doing the things we need to get there?”
STAAR test scores are broken down into four categories: mastered, met, approached, and did not meet. Brooks pointed out that “approached” is still considered a passing score, even though it does not figure into the percentages previously mentioned in this article. In 2022, 13 percent of Coppell ISD’s third-graders did not meet grade-level performance in math, and 9 percent failed to do so in reading.
On the whole, Brooks said, the district still received an “A” rating from the Texas Education Agency.
“We have met our standards for all the different things,” she said. “We just want even more.”
Here’s a Whale of a Tale
Moby-Dick is about Captain Ahab’s obsession with the book’s titular white whale. I wonder if any Coppell fishermen will be similarly obsessed after seeing this photo.
That 30-pound smallmouth buffalo was pulled out of the Moore Road Park pond last year. It’s unusual lack of color is due to leucism, a condition related to albinism.
Park Operations Manager David Ellison shared that photo during his presentation to the Coppell Parks and Recreation Board on Monday. He said the fish was caught by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staffers during a shock survey. Other fish they caught that day were classified as bluegill, common carp, freshwater drum, green sunfish, largemouth bass, redear sunfish, and warmouth.
I don’t fish, so I had no idea that Coppell’s ponds contained such a variety of marine life. In a follow-up email exchange, Ellison said all of the city’s ponds have fish in them, and he plans to have some of them restocked this winter.
By the way, he said that 30-pounder was thrown back in the Moore Road Park pond after the shock survey. Anybody with a rod and reel want to see if it’s still there?
Kid Country Anniversary Celebrated
Ten years ago this month, thousands of volunteers joined forces to build the second iteration of Kid Country. On Saturday morning, some of those volunteers returned to the playground to mark the project’s anniversary.
Ed Guignon and Melinda Melnick — who chaired Kid Country 2012’s fundraising and volunteers committees, respectively — showed up wearing their commemorative T-shirts from 10 years ago. Guignon recently discovered he still had a bunch of rubber bracelets touting the 2012 campaign, and he distributed them on Saturday to children who hadn’t been born when the playground was rebuilt.
Speaking of children who hadn’t been born, Melnick was pregnant during the rebuild. Back then, volunteers had the opportunity to help decorate the playground’s mosaic sculptures of a squirrel and a hippo, and Melnick put a rainbow on the squirrel’s belly as a tribute to the child growing in her belly.
“It becomes a part of my family’s heart, to look at, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s the rainbow I put on that squirrel,’ that I see every time I come here,” Melnick said.
Melnick was not the only mother-to-be involved in Kid Country 2012. A trio of pregnant women were included in this video soliciting more volunteers.
Saturday’s event also marked the 30th anniversary of the original Kid Country playground. The estimated lifespan of that wooden structure was only 15 years, but it had reached the age of 19 by the time efforts to raise more than $400,000 for the rebuild began. Due to concerns about splinters — not to mention potentially dangerous levels of arsenic in pressure-treated wood — the second iteration of Kid Country was made of composite decking, which is a blend of plastic film and wood fibers.
Maureen Corcoran — who, like Guignon, is a longtime member of the Coppell Parks and Recreation Board — showed up to Saturday’s celebration with the original wooden post she purchased with her son’s name engraved on it. She fondly recalled the two of them shoveling mulch together under the swing set in 1992.
Meanwhile, Morris Owens recalled taking a four-day weekend from his job in 2012 so he could volunteer for the rebuild along with his wife, Belen, and their son Joshua, who was 9 at the time.
“Everybody I knew was here,” Owens said. “I don’t even remember all we did; we were all over the place.”
Jack Henderson was another volunteer who showed up Saturday to reminisce. “As my name would imply,” he said, “I’m a jack of all trades, but a master of none.” Henderson said his wife strongly suggested that he lend his skilled hands to the 2012 effort, given that the volunteers would likely include people from white-collar fields trying to do blue-collar jobs. Because he had recently retired, he was able to spend several days at the playground, meeting a wide variety of people. He chuckled as he recalled working alongside three former mayors.
Guignon said the fundraising ranged from corporate donations to scout troops selling hot dogs, so the entire community would be “emotionally invested” in the project’s success. Melnick said the grassroots effort drew about 4,000 volunteers from all walks of life.
“It was shocking that it got from nothing to done in a week,” she said.
Chronicle Crumbs
• If your address is not especially visible to visitors or delivery drivers, Coppell High School’s Project Graduation has got a variety of deals for you to consider, including painted curbs, mounted signs, and staked signs. Orders can be placed between Oct. 17 and Nov. 18.
• Early voting for the Nov. 8 elections begins Oct. 24, and here’s a preview of everything that Coppell residents will see on their ballots. If you’re not yet registered to vote, Tuesday is your deadline to get the paperwork turned in. Your correspondent is a Dallas County Volunteer Deputy Registrar, so let me know if my services are needed.
• Speaking of the November elections, one of these signs on East Belt Line Road is doing its own thing.
Community Calendar
Brad Linder book signing: The Coppell resident and owner of Get You In Shape will sign copies of his new book, 40 Day Challenge, at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Andrew Brown Park East. The signing event will be preceded by a community workout at 8 a.m., of course.
Pioneer Day: The Coppell Historical Society’s annual event at Heritage Park will feature a petting zoo, snow cones, games and crafts that are reminiscent of early Coppell, and shopping in the vintage Minyard store. The festivities are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Art, Sip & Stroll: This Coppell Arts Council event will feature performances by the Coppell Community Chorale, the Coppell Community Orchestra, and the Ballet Ensemble of Texas at Andrew Brown Park East on Saturday. Tickets start at $15.
Candidate Forum: The candidates for State Senate District 12 and State House District 115 have been invited to participate in a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Irving at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 18 at North Lake College
Farm to Table Dinner: This Coppell Farmers Market fundraiser is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the Coppell Senior & Community Center. The to-be-announced menu will be seasonal, made with ingredients sourced from and prepared by the market’s food producers. Tickets are $108, with all proceeds benefiting the market’s operations and its SNAP program.
Arts Gala: The Coppell Arts Center Foundation’s inaugural fundraising gala promises “a night of Rat Pack-inspired glitz and glamour” at the Coppell Arts Center (of course) at 7 p.m. on Oct. 22. Tickets are $125.
A Choir for All Ages: This concert will feature singers from the Coppell Children’s Chorus, Coppell High School, Ouachita Baptist University, and the Coppell Community Chorale. The show is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Oct. 23 at the Coppell Arts Center.
If I can’t say something nice, I won’t say anything about CW.
What a catch!🐟 Glad it was released back.
Many fond memories at Kid Kountry. I hope our family name slat is still there.
"Cypress Waters is to Dallas as Alaska is to the United States."
or an even more apt comparison:
"Cypress Waters is to Coppell as Crimea is to Ukraine."