Dr. Brent Ringo, KISD superintendent provided the program last Wednesday. Brent has been coming to the Kerrville area for many years, so moving here was coming back to familiar territory. His career included starting as a teacher, and eventually moved into a principal position, and finally into administration, working in both large and small districts in Texas.
 
 
Kerrville ISD educates about 4,900 students in the district, and about 60% of those are defined as economically disadvantaged. In addition to the basic and college preparatory classes typically offered, Tivy High School offers numerous technical pathways to train students in specific trades so they have a clear direction to pursue leaving high school.
 
Some of those trades include Aviation Ground School, Accounting and Financial services,  Manufacturing and Machinery Mechanics, Animal Science, Automotive, Carpentry, Culinary Arts, Cybersecurity, Design and Multi-Media Arts, Digital Communications, Healthcare and Teaching and Training.  Certifications were awarded to 423 students this year in a variety of these technical fields.
 
Dr. Ringo indicated that compensation is one of the biggest issues in recruiting and retaining teachers in Texas. Unfortunately, the most recent Texas Legislative session ended without addressing increases in teacher pay, since there is ongoing disagreement between the House and Senate about public versus private school funding. This could be addressed in an upcoming special session.