Early voting began April 24 and ends May 2, with election day on Saturday, May 6. Visit here to see the early voting locations and schedules for KISD and Katy City Council elections.
Candidates were asked to keep responses under 75 words, answer the questions provided and avoid attacking opponents. Answers may have been edited or cut to adhere to those guidelines, or for style and clarity.
Erica Brettell
Experience:
parent of four; PTA board member; bond committee; Leadership Katy; U.S. Senate legislative assistant; work on local nonprofit
Occupation:
Stay-at-home mom, volunteer
Candidate Website:
http://www.ericabrettell.com
Contact Information:
281-944-8835
In light of the national teacher shortage, what would be your strategy for recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in Katy ISD?
We have amazing teachers in KISD. They are a huge part of our district’s success. In addition to better compensation, we need to find ways to lighten and streamline their workload, including incentivizing professional development in high-demand areas and making sure other compensatory measures are both meeting their needs and reflecting their value. Every classroom has different needs, and teachers are the experts on what changes are needed to foster a better learning environment.
Cicely Taylor
Experience:
lifelong educator, 25-plus years; Teach for America Corp member; Connect Community board member; Katy Keys mentor; PTA member
Occupation:
Education administrator
Candidate Website:
http://www.cicelytaylor4katyisd.org
Contact Information:
346-306-6295
In light of the national teacher shortage, what would be your strategy for recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in Katy ISD?
A retention strategy includes listening to teachers’ needs, leveraging master teachers and supporting new teachers. Increasing teacher pay is also necessary, and we must seek innovative and fiscally responsible ways to do this. For recruitment, we must continue to develop programs to support teacher certification, engage our alums majoring in education as a pipeline, and partner with local universities and colleges’ teacher prep programs, including those at [historically Black colleges and universities], to identify potential new teacher recruits.
Morgan Calhoun
Experience:
10 years local church service; leadership for outreach ministry, including local organization partnerships; led anti-sex trafficking ministry; PTO, classroom volunteer
Occupation:
mother
Candidate Website:
http://www.calhoun4kisd.com
In light of the national teacher shortage, what would be your strategy for recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in Katy ISD?
Teachers and support staff require a healthy, safe and supported work environment. The focus should be on lessening the distractions that impact delivery of the TEKS curriculum while providing the necessary tools to do their job well. A competitive compensation and benefit package is key for retention as well.
