ESC Region 12
News & Announcements
Copperas Cove ISD Board of Trustees Named 2019 Regional School Board of the Year
07/08/2019

WACO, Texas -  The Copperas Cove Independent School District Board of Trustees has been chosen by a Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) committee as the 2019 Region 12 School Board of the Year. As the Region 12 School Board of the Year, the board will be in the running to be named a 2019 Texas Honor Board, one of which will become Texas’ Outstanding School Board. 

“We commend the CCISD school board for its outstanding leadership and dedication to providing a quality education for every student in its district,” said Jerry Maze, Ed.D., executive director of Education Service Center (ESC) Region 12. “We are proud to recognize these public servants for their commitment to their students, staff and community.”

“During my 26 years in public education, I’ve never worked for a finer group of individuals whose genuine love and concern for students is continuously at the forefront of all decisions,” said Joe Burns, Ed.D, superintendent of Copperas Cove ISD. “Their dedication and support for each other, for me and the students, staff and community of Copperas Cove are unwavering.”

The Copperas Cove ISD Board is a group of seven talented and dedicated civic- and service-minded leaders. Copperas Cove ISD serves more than 8,200 students in grades Pre-K-12 with a staff of more than 1,300 teachers, administrators, and support personnel. There is one Pre-K center, six elementary schools, two junior high schools and two high schools, one being an alternative school of choice.

While the board reviews and updates policies to keep operations running smoothly and safely, the board worked cohesively with the superintendent to prepare and adopt a Vision 2021 Strategic Plan. In the area of Teaching & Learning, the plan includes a redesign of the secondary campuses to improve instruction through teacher collaboration, purposeful planning and analysis of student work. The plan also outlines strategies for expanding professional learning opportunities and implementing a social and emotional learning program that promotes the development of the whole child. This type of program raises awareness of the connection between emotional wellness and academic achievement.

Under human resources and facilities, the plan aims to explore additional avenues to attract high quality, diverse staff, develop and to develop or strengthen mentor and support programs for all departments to meet the needs of all employees. Leadership also plans to develop a master building plan that addresses innovation, safety, capacity and efficiency.

While district writing and reading scores have traditionally exceeded the state average, the board fully embraced the administration’s recommendation to adopt Balanced Literacy as the district’s framework to teach literacy. The initiative is proving to be successful as reading and writing scores have increased. The board has always provided strong support for college and career readiness programs, with the district offering an Early College Program and dual credit classes. These offerings helped students to earn a combined total of 688 college hours and 1,281 dual credits.

Additional recent district and campus recognitions include the passage of a Tax Ratification Election by nearly a 3:1 margin and completing more than $6 million of construction and renovations to district facilities.

It’s not the first time the CCISD Board of Trustees has been honored by TASA. In 2011, the board was named one of five honor boards in the state of Texas and was in the running to be named the state’s outstanding school board.

ESC Region 12 will hold a luncheon later this summer to honor the Copperas Cove ISD Board of Trustees along with the Region 12 Teachers of the Year. The state honor board will be named at the TASA/TASB Convention in September.

Copperas Cove ISD Board of Trustees Named 2019 Regional School Board of the Year

The Copperas Cove Independent School District Board of Trustees: Back Row, from left: Bob Weiss, Mike Wilburn, Jim Copeland and Superintendent Joe Burns; Front Row: Vice-President Inez Faison, President Joan Manning, S. Ann Davis and Secretary Karen Harrison.