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
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.