“Right now, we’re focusing on how we launch your children into success and how we focus on meeting their needs so they have an idea of who they are and where they’re going when they leave us,” Brent said.
The State of the District was held in conjunction with the ribbon cutting of the new Hammerlun Center for Leadership and Learning on Feb. 5. The building, located at 507 E. University Ave., Georgetown, holds district offices; a boardroom where board of trustees meetings are held; and a training center for teachers, personnel and students. The center opened to the public Dec. 17.
Brent said the new building will be used to help the district shift its teaching priorities. As public school systems were built on a factory model of getting students through the door with a certain standard of education, Brent said GISD, with support from the seven-member board of trustees, has moved toward helping students develop skills necessary to be successful in a modern workforce.
“Education is changing,” Brent said. “Times are changing and changing fast, so our challenges as a public school system is how fast are things changing, and how do we prepare kids for a very uncertain future?”
Brent also highlighted the district’s growth.
GISD saw a 10 percent increase in student enrollment from 2014-18, Brent said. He added that in working with the city of Georgetown, GISD has been strategic in land acquisitions and is building two new elementary schools—Wolf Ranch Elementary and Everett L. Williams Elementary—where the population is expected to increase. The schools are slated to open fall 2020.
The district will also address growth in designing a new Benold Middle School. Funding for the designing and planning of the school will come from the $150.5 million bond package voters approved in November.
“Great communities build great schools, and great schools build great communities,” Brent said. “We look at the future with great hope ... because we have a great foundation.”
Members of the Georgetown ISD board of trustees, district Superintendent Fred Brent and members of the Hammerlun family stand in front of the Hammerlun Center for Leadership and Learning. The building celebrated its ribbon cutting Feb. 5.[/caption]
