Superintendent Update - February 2014

Watch the February Superintendent Update on YouTube:

Dr. Vaszauskas shares info on the following: iStart Collegiate Program for Accelerated Dual Credit; dramatic changes to public education in Texas as a result of House Bill 5; 2nd Annual MISD iPad Summit; and a special thanks to the community for supporting the Toys For Tots event in December.


Additional updates:

An Attendance Zone Review for MISD intermediate, middle and high schools will begin in February http://t.co/DDKcSEniDS
— Mansfield ISD (@mansfieldisd) January 30, 2014

Parents: Please take the parent survey and share your valuable feedback for educational improvement http://t.co/T7ZxlWpAWu
— Mansfield ISD (@mansfieldisd) January 30, 2014

Winter Weather Transportation and School-closing Decisions

What happens in Mansfield ISD when temperatures drop and our area has inclement winter weather?

I checked with our leadership team and the Transportation department to help explain some of the procedures, considerations, and decision-making during winter weather events. Here is what I found out:

1. At or before 4:00 a.m. a decision is made to deploy the Transportation weather team staff.
2. Before 4:30 a.m.., the weather team visually inspects various areas across the district of streets for icy, wet, or dry roads along with monitoring the weather information channels.
3. The weather team contacts the Director of Transportation with their road information.
4. Road conditions are analyzed along with other related information available from other school districts.
5. If roads are questionable, the Superintendent is contacted after 4:30 a.m. (but before 5:00 a.m.) to discuss findings and recommendations.
6. The Superintendent makes a decision by 5:00 a.m. whether or not to close schools.
7. We use our standard communication channels if any changes to the district schedule require adjustment including the District homepage, weather info webpage, our phone and e-mail notification system, DFW radio and TV news outlets, and via the district's Twitter profile, @mansfieldisd.

Other considerations and notable information

• Many area school districts' transportation directors have a local phone network so they can stay in communication and provide insight to what is happening road-wise with each other.

• How does weather forecasting play a part in the decision-making process? While the weather team reports actual conditions, what is expected to happen weather-wise is just as important to the decision process.

• What about early dismissals? If winter weather conditions worsen during the school day, we determine if an early release is needed to get the students home sooner and bus drivers back to the bus barn safely prior to darkness. We try to make that decision prior to 10:00 a.m. in order to adequately coordinate the dismissal process. As soon as it is determined to dismiss early, the dismissal times for each grade level will be posted immediately on the District's website.
• How many different bus routes run every day? Each of our MISD buses run three or four schools. We run 165 buses, including Special Needs, but with three bell schedules, that is approximately 660 individual bus trips each morning and then again each afternoon.

We hope this helps provide a little insight into this process.

Superintendent Update - November 2013

Watch Dr. V's November Superintendent Update on YouTube:

Dr. V shares the latest on the MISD Staff Clinic, DSO On The Go concert, the upcoming College and Career Night event and the District's involvement with Restore West ISD efforts.

A Message from Dr. Vaszauskas

The following was shared with MISD staff on Friday, August 30, 2013.

Dear Colleagues,

On August 12, I had a surgical procedure to remove a mass located under my ribs. We were fortunate to have caught this growth in its early stages, and my wonderful surgeon was able to remove everything but microscopic traces of the growth.

The mass, called a thymoma, is very rare. Thymomas are very slow growing, tend not to spread and respond very well to treatment, so the long-term prognosis is very good. If you are curious, you can learn more about thymomas at this link.

To give myself the best chance of never having to deal with this again, I am choosing to undergo a six-week course of radiation treatment that should begin sometime during the week of September 10. I may need to miss some work during this time.

We have a wonderful leadership team in MISD, and they have done an exemplary job running the district while I have been out for surgery. Business will continue as usual. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with our outstanding Board of Trustees in service to this district. They have been very supportive during this time and have full confidence in our leadership team.

If you have a problem, a concern, or need assistance, follow our normal procedures. When I am out of the district, Karen Wentworth, Associate Superintendent of Human Resources, will serve as the acting superintendent.

Thank you for what you do for the students of Mansfield ISD.

Dr. Jim Vaszauskas
Superintendent, Mansfield ISD