Coppell Chronicle Vol. 3, No. 32

Springer Speaks Up in Defense of Teachers • Fieldhouse Would Be Key to Crisis Recovery • Rehearsal Facility Proposed for Arts Groups • Coppell Cops Need More Elbow Room

Happy fiscal new year to all who celebrate!

---

Springer Speaks Up in Defense of Teachers

Laura Springer was honored by the Department of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve office last February.

Although she’s known for her hugs, Laura Springer also doesn’t pull her punches — especially if you’re talking smack about her profession.

A Coppell ISD educator since 1985, Springer is the principal of Coppell High School, which means she’s responsible for its Campus Improvement Plan. That’s a document that each public school in Texas is required by law to maintain. Before the Board of Trustees approved the revised plans for the district’s 18 campuses on Monday, Springer was asked to read a portion of hers.

“You made a unique comment,” Trustee Anthony Hill told Springer, “and I think it was important for people to hear that.”

This statement appears in the “Demographics” section of Coppell High School’s Campus Improvement Plan: “There is a need to strengthen our recruiting, hiring, mentoring, and retention systems to keep individuals wanting to work and stay in public education. Retention rates have lowered in public education and in Coppell in the past few years due to the lack of respect for public educators and quality pay for educators.”

Springer read that statement as requested. Because she was in front of a microphone, she then said a bit more:

“We are under fire as public educators, and people have somewhere along the road decided that our teachers are not worthy to be in the classroom and teach their kids. They don’t really understand what we do and the amount of time and dedication our teachers have to the craft. So when you’re consistently battered, and parents consistently question you, and make you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, we’re losing a lot of young educators out of the field. And we need to keep them in our business.”

(See “Springer Gets Big Hug from Chamber” in Vol. 1, No. 49.)

Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered legislators back to Austin next week for a third special session. The governor is widely expected to push for vouchers that would allow people who send their kids to private school to get a discount on tuition. He’s been touting the initiative, which he calls “school choice,” during a statewide tour of Christian schools. I couldn’t help but think of that issue as Springer wrapped up her commentary.

“It’s very important that we recruit, retain, and protect our young educators as we’re growing them, but also to make sure that we are setting a standard ourselves — as leaders and everybody — for how important public education is,” she said. “We take care of every single kid that walks in our door. We do the job that should be done across this land, and that is making sure that a kid has an opportunity, whatever that future might be; whether it be college, career, whether it be military — whatever it needs to be. But unless we keep our teachers in the business, and unless we keep supporting public education with good educators, then we’re going to lose that battle.”

More than a dozen other principals were in the board room on Monday, and they punctuated Springer’s speech with a round of applause.

If you want to read the latest Campus Improvement Plan for your Coppell ISD student’s school, you can find it attached to the agenda for Monday’s board meeting. The trustees approved the 18 plans unanimously.

---

Fieldhouse Would Be Key to Crisis Recovery

Attention, Coppell ISD parents: If, God forbid, there was a shooting at any school in the district, the indoor practice facility behind Coppell High is where you would go to pick up your child.

Chief Operations Officer Chris Trotter said 12 to 15 district staffers are being trained on the Standard Reunification Method developed by the “I Love U Guys” Foundation. This is a protocol for ensuring that students and their parents can be safely reunited after a crisis event.

“If you have not been to that website, I would highly encourage you to,” Trotter told the Board of Trustees on Monday. “Very good information that’s come out of that program.”

Trotter shared the following information about the local version of the program: The fieldhouse behind Coppell High is the district’s designated spot for reunification, no matter where an incident might happen; the high school’s arena is the backup location in case the circumstances prevented use of the fieldhouse. The gate leading to the neighborhood south of the high school would be opened to accommodate outbound traffic, and a child would be released only to a parent or an individual listed as an emergency contact.

“No neighbors, no cousins, no aunts [or] uncles,” he said. “It’s got to be somebody on the emergency contact plan.”

Trustee Nichole Bentley wanted to know whether the community is aware of these reunification protocols: “If I polled 100 parents tomorrow at Tom Thumb, how many of them would be able to tell me what the plan is?” Trotter estimated only about 10 or so, but he said Coppell ISD has plans to send an instructional video via Parent Square to affected families in the wake of an incident. Bentley wondered whether the reunification protocols should be shared more broadly, perhaps at the beginning of each school year.

“I just would be worried if the only time we were pushing that out would be once a situation happened, because people are not clear-headed in those situations,” she said.

Other tidbits from Trotter’s presentation on safety and security:

• Trotter said D&L Entertainment Services employs security officers with varying levels of skills and training, and the ones assigned to Lee Elementary and Valley Ranch Elementary are Level 3 officers. That means they carry guns and are “one shy of a peace officer,” he said. (See “One-Cop-Per-Campus Plan Gets Adjusted” in Vol. 3, No. 28.)

• Trotter personally audits two campuses’ security each week, but he said Greg Alexander, the district’s Coordinator of Safety and Security, performs such an audit every school day. (See “CISD Passes First Intruder Audit” in Vol. 2, No. 32.)

• The final video cameras on the district’s fleet of buses were scheduled to be installed on Tuesday. (See “Coppell ISD Installing Cameras on Each Bus” in Vol. 3, No. 23.) Footage will be archived for at least 30 days. “We want parents to know that if they have a situation, please let us know, and we can go back and review that for them,” Trotter said.

---

Rehearsal Facility Proposed for Arts Groups

It appears that the Coppell Arts Center’s resident companies are going to get some new rehearsal space from the city without incurring any new expenses.

On Tuesday, the Coppell City Council was briefed on plans to renovate a building at Southwestern Boulevard and South Coppell Road so it could be used by groups such as the Coppell Community Chorale, the Coppell Community Orchestra, and Theatre Coppell. Capital Programs Administrator Jamie Brierton said this floor plan was the result of discussions that Arts Center Managing Director Ginene Delcioppo had with those groups.

The building at Southwestern Boulevard and South Coppell Road is primarily used for staff training these days.

In response to a question from Mayor Wes Mays, Delcioppo said the blue rehearsal space on the right side of that schematic is the same size as the stage in the Arts Center’s Wheelice Wilson Jr. Theatre, but it’s a bit smaller than the stage in the Main Hall. That size disparity shouldn’t be an issue, she said, because the chorale and the orchestra don’t need as much wiggle room during rehearsals as Theatre Coppell does.

Brierton estimated the renovation costs at $1 million. The next step would be to issue a request for bids from construction companies.

Moving the resident companies’ rehearsals out of the Arts Center is part of a multipronged strategy to make that facility more financially sustainable. (See “Arts Center Operates at $2 Million Deficit” in Vol. 3, No. 30.) If the rehearsals happen elsewhere, Delcioppo’s staff would have expanded opportunities to host more-profitable touring shows and private rentals.

For example, Delcioppo said the Wilson Theatre does not host any such events at the moment. But if Theatre Coppell’s rehearsals were moved elsewhere, she said that space could be a revenue generator on 50 percent of the dates on the calendar.

“It really seems like the important piece is increasing inventory to sell the Arts Center,” Council Member Don Carroll said. “We have this huge, beautiful asset that we can sell, and increasing the availability of that … is the crucial thing.”

Another part of the aforementioned deficit-reduction strategy prepared by the DeVos Institute of Arts Management was raising an additional $30,000 from the resident companies. Council Member Kevin Nevels said he had “zero interest” in that, and Jim Walker pointed out that the resident companies are largely comprised of Coppell residents who already pay taxes to the city. Walker also theorized that increasing the fees charged to these groups would just lead to corresponding increases in their annual requests for grants from the council.

“I don’t really care to go through that kind of kabuki theater,” Walker said.

Despite the council’s generosity, City Manager Mike Land had a clear message for the resident companies: “We’re not writing a blank check.” In other words, requests for extra equipment and extra labor will come with extra fees. And Council Member Mark Hill proposed charging a fee to any resident company that cancels a show, to help ensure that prime dates at the Arts Center don’t go to waste.

“Typically, there is some kind of nominal charge,” Delcioppo said. “Not a charge that would ever endanger the organization to go bankrupt, but something that just helps hold them accountable more than their word.”

---

Coppell Cops Need More Elbow Room

Tuesday’s City Council meeting also included a briefing on a potential expansion of the Coppell Justice Center. Capital Programs Administrator Jamie Brierton said the Police Department’s headquarters has three main issues:

• Fitness room: The facility has enough space for only two people to work out a time. Given that officers are incentivized to be in good shape, and are allowed to exercise while on duty, they need more space to do so.

• Locker rooms: They’re small enough to not be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which covers cops recovering from injuries. Meanwhile, due to steam from the nearby showers, officers’ uniforms and equipment are not drying as quickly as they would like.

• Break room: It has enough seats for six people, but the demand is typically double that, which leads to officers eating in other areas such as conference rooms.

In response to a question from Council Member Kevin Nevels, Police Chief Danny Barton said he has 10 vacancies to fill, including the eight newly authorized positions at Coppell ISD’s elementary schools in the city. Brierton said Barton and his command staff have toured larger police headquarters in neighboring cities such as Grapevine, because facilities can be a factor for recruitment and retention.

Council Member Don Carroll asked for a ballpark estimate of the expansion’s cost. City Manager Mike Land said it’s too early to tell, but he said the Crime Control and Prevention District — which is primarily funded by a quarter-cent sales tax — has a strong enough fund balance to cover the project.

The council gave Brierton the go-ahead to engage an architect for schematic designs and preliminary cost estimates.

---

Chronicle Crumbs

• Shortly before 11 p.m. on Monday, the City of Coppell and Coppell ISD both issued alerts about a Coppell High School junior whose parents reported her as missing. Thankfully, she was located safe and sound by Tuesday afternoon.

• Some of my subscribers occasionally see their bold-faced names in this newsletter due to their public service. I’m talking about folks like Maureen Corcoran of the Parks and Recreation Board, Anne Diamond of the Library Advisory Board, and Ramesh Premkumar of the Smart City Board. If you’d like to join the ranks of these hyperlocal celebrities, today is the deadline to apply for a position on one of the City of Coppell’s boards and commissions.

• During Monday’s Coppell ISD board meeting, Trustee Nichole Bentley provided an update on the lawsuit that dozens of school districts have filed against the Texas Education Agency over its accountability ratings. (See “Coppell ISD Joins Accountability Lawsuit” in Vol. 3, No. 30.) The initial estimate of the suit’s cost to Coppell ISD was $10,000, but Bentley said it could end up as low as $1,000, depending on how many districts sign on as plaintiffs.

• A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new boardwalk at Moore Road Park has been scheduled for 10 a.m. on Oct. 19. (See “Boardwalk Gets Funding Nod” in Vol. 2, No. 36.) In a memo attached to the agenda for tomorrow's meeting of the Coppell Parks and Recreation Board, Director of Community Experiences Jessica Carpenter said the boardwalk is already open to the public: “The contractor only has landscaping and a few punch list items to address, none of which would pose any safety concerns to park users.”

• The developer who wants to build homes on a vacant lot next to (and owned by) MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church is having another go at it. The revised case is on the agenda for tomorrow’s Irving Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. The original plan was to construct 77 townhomes. That was followed by a proposal to build 40 or so zero-lot-line homes, or about twice as many as the zoning allows. The latest plan calls for 37 houses.

• A few things I learned from perusing forms filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation: At Home, the retail chain formerly known as Garden Ridge, is headquartered in Cypress Waters. … Hall’s Honey Fried Chicken is expanding to Carrollton, specifically to the northbound service road of Interstate 35, between Belt Line and Sandy Lake roads ... A Grapevine building near the 114-121 split that was formerly known as D’Ambrosio’s #1 Pizza Pub will soon be rebranded as the Rowdy Cowboy. Interestingly, the gentlemen listed as the owner (Curtis Wise) and tenant (Kevin Richardson) have a history of operating strip clubs in Dallas and Fort Worth.

• Speaking of interesting things to our west, did you hear that the NBC News journalists who produced an award-winning podcast called “Southlake” are about to drop a new one called “Grapevine”? Let’s just keep living our lives in such a way that they would never consider creating a podcast about Coppell.

---

Community Calendar

National Night Out: No matter where you live in Coppell, your neighborhood is likely having a block party on Tuesday evening.

Harvey: The Coppell High School Cowboy Theatre Company will stage three performances of Mary Chase’s play about a man whose best friend is an invisible 6-foot rabbit. Shows are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 in the high school’s Black Box venue.

The Mousetrap: Theatre Coppell will stage six more performances of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery. The next one is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday in the Wheelice Wilson Jr. Theatre at the Coppell Arts Center.

Caregiving Heroes: Medicare expert Sherie Killgo will be the featured speaker at the monthly meeting of the Coppell support group for people assisting loved ones with aging or other concerns. The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday in the library at First United Methodist Church.

Kaleidoscope: Coppell’s festival of color, culture, and music will happen from 3 to 7 p.m. on Saturday in Old Town.

Moms Hitting Bombs: Are you the kind of mother who speaks softly but carries a big stick? At 5 p.m. on Saturday, you could try to hit a home run during a fundraiser for the Coppell Baseball Association’s 12U teams.

What You Need to Know About Narcissism: Laura Charanza, a survivor of 40 years of narcissistic abuse, will speak at the Cozby Library and Community Commons at 7 p.m. on Oct. 12. She recently published a book called The New Truth About Dating. This program is intended for adults only.

Hit Like a Girl: The Coppell Police Department will offer a free self-defense class for women from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 14 and 21 at Life Safety Park. The class size is limited, so registration is required.

Savor: The Coppell Farmers Market’s farm-to-table fundraising dinner is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Oct. 14 at the Coppell Senior and Community Center. Tickets are $150 per person.

Coppell Alumnae Panhellenic Association: Alumnae of National Panhellenic Conference sororities are invited to a dinner meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 17 at Copper & Vine in Valley Ranch. For any questions or to RSVP, email info@coppellsororities.com.

Pioneer Day: The Coppell Historical Society will offer free crafts, games, snow cones, and a petting farm between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Oct. 21 at Heritage Park.

New Tech Haunted House: New Tech High at Coppell will be scarier than normal between 7 and 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 28.