Editorial by Rickie R. Harris

West Orange – Cove teachers and staff are looking forward to a great start of school on Monday, August 22. We have spent the summer months making certain that we are ready to welcome our students on the first day of school and continue them along their individual pathway for “Achieving the Dream.”

Additionally, during staff development our team members have heard from outstanding speakers regarding the state of public education, teamwork, and teaching across cultures. In-service training has addressed campus and department specific needs. Goal oriented action plans have been presented, reviewed, and implemented; and, campuses have held back-to-school events and parent nights. We are ready for students and excited to greet them!

As a District, we are glad to share that we have earned a Texas Education Agency designation of “Met Standard.” This is the highest rating that can be awarded to a Texas school district. We want to extend our appreciation to all of our stakeholders and to our staff for the commitment and support required to accomplish this achievement. Thank you.

On this Friday, August 26, the Mustang varsity football team will begin pre-season play at home against the Nederland Bulldogs. It is the first home football game of the new school year; and, it will begin at 7:30 p.m. We invite all of our fans to support our team as we begin our quest to defend our 2015 state championship title.

In the mean-time, we continue to ask our parents to complete on-line pre-registration through our Family Access Parent Portal. We have extended the event through Labor Day. Family Access application forms are available on our campuses and are downloadable from our website: www.woccisd.net

The on-line process will eliminate a portion of registration paperwork for parents this year. It will eventually result in a completely paperless registration process. But the greatest advantage of this process is the opportunity it provides for parents to be active on a day-to-day basis in their child’s education. The Family Access parent portal allows daily access to grades recorded for assignments and tests, grade averages, attendance information, lunchroom account status, and easy e-mail access to teachers. There is no better way to begin the school year!

A computer kiosk is available for Family Access parent use at each of our main district campuses. These kiosks will remain open throughout the school year. They are located in the main foyers of the High School, Elementary School, and Middle School. The North Early Learning Center kiosk is located in the cafeteria.

With your involvement, our students will succeed.

As contemporary author John Maxwell said, “One is too small a number to achieve greatness.”

Go Mustangs!

Rickie R. Harris is the Superintendent at West Orange – Cove CISD