Coppell Chronicle Vol. 2, No. 37
Will New Tech Get New Home? • CFBISD Also Planning for Bond Election • Students Dive Into Water Analysis • Officer Gladly Steps in on Senior Night
Will New Tech Get New Home?
People have strong feelings about New Tech High @ Coppell. Some feel the school should be expanded, while others are calling for it to be shuttered.
As part of its planning for a potential bond election in 2023, Coppell ISD recently asked the community to participate in a Futures Survey. The only open-ended question was “Please share any issues or ideas not addressed in this survey that you think the district and Bond Steering Committee should consider when developing facility options.”
The results of the survey are posted on the district’s website, and the answers to that particular question were sorted into categories. New Tech was one of two schools that generated enough responses to earn its own category.
11 respondents said New Tech should be discontinued or relocated to the Coppell High School campus, so students don’t need to be transported between the two schools. (New Tech students are eligible to participate in extracurricular activities at Coppell High.) But 18 others called New Tech an asset that needs a renovation or expansion. The high school occupies the original Lee Elementary, which was built in 1982.
Some proponents of New Tech said it should be maintained because it benefits students who wouldn’t function well in the sea of humanity at Coppell High School. Last school year, nearly 2,900 students were enrolled at CHS, and that number is expected to surpass 3,100 by 2026. With that crowding in mind, a few survey respondents called for a new comprehensive high school with its own sports teams, its own fine arts programs, etc.
The other school that earned its own category of answers to the open-ended question was Pinkerton Elementary. Four respondents said the school, which was built in 1940, needs to be closed or replaced. However, twice as many people took the opposite position, including one who said, “Please keep Pinkerton as is and do not repurpose the building. It is an amazing school for our children and the reason why we decided to move to Coppell.”
The survey’s first three questions asked respondents what they considered most important for high-performing elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. Participants could select up to five options from lists of more than 10 choices. Here are the five most popular answers for each level:
Most important for a high-performing elementary school
993 selections: Classroom furnishings and equipment that support multiple learning activities
992: Playgrounds with physically-accessible, age-appropriate equipment, shade structures, and fencing
812: Outdoor learning spaces (secured and used for garden, science, art, etc.)
803: Flexible spaces that allow for a variety of small group and hands-on activities
740: Library/media center with engaging design and a robust literature collection
Most important for a high-performing middle school
1,103: Science/STEM labs sized and equipped for safe, hands-on learning activities
992: Career & Technical Education programs with relevant learning spaces such as engineering and robotics
697: Student access to current technology including individual devices, classroom projection systems, and strong Wi-Fi
681: Athletics/P.E. practice and competition spaces (gym, football field, track)
675: Classroom furnishings and equipment that support multiple learning activities
Most important for a high-performing high school
1,181: Career & Technical Education programs with relevant learning spaces (engineering, health sciences, A/V technology, etc.)
899: Science/STEM labs sized and equipped for safe, hands-on learning activities
865: Special program choice (for example: Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, New Tech High School, Career & Technical, Fine Arts)
751: Athletics/P.E. practice and competition spaces (gym, football field, practice spaces, swim/dive, tennis center, track)
609: Student access to current technology including individual devices, classroom projection systems, and strong Wi-Fi
Each of those three questions had fine arts classrooms among the multiple choices, and the options for secondary schools also mentioned rehearsal spaces and performance venues. These answers were among the least popular selections to all three questions, but “teacher collaboration spaces” finished dead last each time. (Sorry, teachers.)
Given those results, it’s not surprising that the arts brought up the rear when respondents were asked to rank lists of potential new programs for high schools and middle schools. Here’s how they ended up:
Potential new programs for high schools
Advanced manufacturing and mechanical engineering, including robotics
Cybersecurity
Law and public safety
Aviation
Orchestra program for grades 6-12 (phased implementation starting with 6th grade)
Potential new programs for middle schools
STEM (science/technology/engineering/math) program
International Baccalaureate (an advanced academic program with a global perspective)
Orchestra program for grades 6-12 (phased implementation starting with 6th grade)
Fine arts dance program aligned to the high school dance program
If you have thoughts about all this, consider joining the Bond Steering Committee for a Community Dialogue session scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday at, of all places, New Tech High. Click here to RSVP.
CFBISD Also Planning for Bond Election
It’s likely that all Coppell voters will have a bond election on their ballots next May. I recently discovered that Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, which includes portions of Coppell and Irving, is also working on a bond package. Its 60-member Citizens Bond Planning Committee has already met five times, and their next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 17. If you click the link in the previous sentence, you’ll be able to peruse a plethora of information regarding the committee’s work.
CFBISD’s most recent bond election was decided four years ago today, when 67 percent of voters approved a $351 million package. That was a much larger majority than the 50.2 percent of Coppell ISD voters who voted “for” in CISD’s most recent bond election; that one was a $249 million proposition in 2016.
By the way, the CFBISD Board of Trustees held their regular monthly meeting on Thursday. If anyone uttered a word about their next steps in finding a permanent replacement for John Chapman, who resigned in September to become the superintendent of Comal ISD, I missed it.
Students Dive Into Water Analysis
“Ideally, students would have opportunities to apply their classroom learning in the community, and there would be coherence between in-school and out-of-school science education. The ultimate vision is for students to see that they are surrounded by science.”
— Elizabeth Mulkerin, President of the National Science Teaching Association
I had the opportunity to tag along recently as a group of Coppell High School students got their hands dirty while getting educated. On Sept. 30, they stepped out of their comfort zones so they could collect water samples from the Coppell Nature Park.
Most of the students involved in this forensic foray are enrolled in a course called Aquatic Science. They split up into teams, each of which was led by a student taking International Baccalaureate Environmental Science.
The four students I followed were chaperoned by Linda Cook, who was Coppell ISD’s Director of Science for 15 years before she retired in 2019. She was there in her capacity as president of the Friends of Coppell Nature Park. Cook guided the students as they tested the water’s temperature, turbidity, and conductivity. They also got a close look at some fish and insects, but nobody bothered to perform any tests on the random toilet seat that I spotted downstream.
If you’d like to hear the students report on their analysis of the water and its surrounding environment, stop by the park’s Biodiversity Education Center at 7 p.m. on Monday. That’s when they’ll present their findings to the Friends of Coppell Nature Park, and the public is invited.
While we’re discussing the nature park, now is as good a time as any to tell you that its annual Fall Frolic is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. This event is an opportunity to celebrate nature with a series of hands-on activities. I dragged my sons out there last year and wrote about it after the fact.
Officer Gladly Steps in on Senior Night
Thursday was Senior Night at Buddy Echols Field, which meant each 12th-grader on the Coppell High School football team, cheerleading squad, and drill team had an opportunity to be accompanied by their parents during pregame and halftime ceremonies.
One of the seniors on the football team, Modjet Brown, knew his parents couldn’t be there, so he asked a Coppell police officer to step in. That goes against the stereotypes about teenagers and cops, but it speaks to what’s special about this town and this particular officer.
Tonard Warmsley, aka Officer Tee, has been with the department for 16 years. He was a school resource officer at Coppell Middle School East for six years before transferring to the high school.
“If you asked Officer Tee what his favorite part of the job was, he would tell you it’s his ‘babies,’” the Coppell Police Department said in a Facebook post on Thursday evening. “By ‘babies,’ he’s referring to those kids he mentors and protects every day.”
Modjet and his teammates followed up that Senior Night ceremony with a 34-7 victory over Plano. They finished the regular season with a 9-1 record and will open the playoffs at home on Friday night against McKinney.
In other sports news …
The Coppell Cowboys cross country team placed third at the Class 6A state meet on Friday. That was the best result in the program’s history.
The Coppell Cowgirls volleyball team lost their playoff opener to Denton Guyer on Tuesday in straight sets.
The Coppell Cowgirls basketball team’s home opener is Tuesday against Frisco Lone Star. The boys’ first home game is Nov. 15 against Prosper.
Chronicle Crumbs
• It’s been almost a year since I first reported that Ecclesia Bakery & Café would be taking over the former Boston Market space at Belt Line and MacArthur. Its soft opening is finally scheduled for tomorrow.
• If you’re the type of sadomasochist who still drives on South Belt Line Road, despite its ongoing reconstruction, you should know the accessible lanes will transition from the east side to the west side over the next two days.
• I recently spied a sign indicating that Green Acres Nursery & Supply intends to build a store across the street from Coppell Middle School West.
Community Calendar
Election Day: The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Coppell Town Center and several elementary schools. Click that link for a preview of what will be on your ballot.
Red Cross blood drive: Appointments are always available at the Irving Blood Donation Center along LBJ Freeway, but if you’d prefer to not leave Coppell, donate between noon and 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Rejoice Lutheran Church.
First Name Basis: The Coppell Community Chorale will celebrate famous names — from Jolene to Asaka — next Saturday and Sunday at the Coppell Arts Center.
Gobble Wobble: If you want to participate in the City of Coppell’s annual 5K race and fun run on Nov. 19, you need to register by Friday. Registration is $35 for adults and $20 for children, and all proceeds will benefit Coppell Animal Services.
WOW! Lots of important information! Thank you!
Love the story of “Officer T” & Modjet Brown! Awesomeness! 😃🙌🏻❤️