Tomball Independent School District Home

I always look forward to welcoming teachers and staff back from breaks, thanking them for all of their amazing work, celebrating our accomplishments, and encouraging them to continue the endeavor to meet their individual and campus goals.  

 

Without a doubt this is one of the more challenging “Welcome Back” letters I have ever written since we are not yet returning to see each other, hug our friends, and hear the voices to which we are so accustomed. We began the new school year with a Disney-inspired Happiest District on Earth theme; yet even Disneyland has temporarily closed its doors for the same reason we have – because we love our staff, our children, and our families. 

 

Tomball ISD is having an outstanding school year, with impressive performance across the curriculum on interim assessments, athletic competitions, academic and fine arts UIL, and CTE competitions in areas such as agriculture and robotics. I knew when the annual District Spelling Bee went over 50 rounds that this was indeed going to be a banner year for Tomball ISD.  Nothing can ever overshadow those accomplishments.  

 

During last month’s professional development day, I was so overwhelmed with pride as I watched Tomball ISD teachers leading peers through meaningful and strategic sessions on fine-tuning our craft as educators in a wide variety of topics such as academic standards, digital learning, curriculum access tools, and assessment. I was equally happy to see so many sessions devoted to the well-being of our teachers and staff in terms of health, stress-management, and collaboration.

 

We find ourselves now in immediate need to apply all of those many skills in a situation unprecedented in our lifetime. As a district, which has trained for years in collaboration, and one which has invested in a wide variety of digital tools and platforms for instruction, we have a leading edge in this now global challenge.  

 

Although we are not reporting to our normal work locations, we are still on the job in Tomball ISD. We have one last grading period to wrap up this school year with the kind of impressive high-quality program for which Tomball ISD is known. Please stay on top of district and campus communications regarding resources, support, and expectations so that together we can continue to serve our students and families during this situation.

 

This situation is of course a public health crisis, above all else please take care of yourself and your family! Our District is committed to continue targeted communications to our staff and community related to the recommendations and guidelines coming from education and public health agencies and departments. 

It is my every hope and prayer that we will soon be able to reconvene in our schools, see each other and our students, and that everyone is able to return safely and in good health from this crisis.

 

Thank you for all you do to make Tomball ISD a Destination District. I’m so proud of the work we have done and are set out to do in this final stretch of the 2019-2020 school year.

 

Dr. Martha Salazar-Zamora