Dr. Kathy Rollo Talks Teacher Retention Funding & Dupre Elementary Closing

Tuesday on Sunrise LBK with Dave King and Tom Collins, The Superintendent of the Lubbock Independent School District Dr. Kathy Rollo joined Dave King and guest host Rob Snyder to talk about the return from the holiday break starting tomorrow, federal funding and teacher retention, Dupre Elementary School's closing and what will happen next, making up for online learning setbacks, and more.

Dr. Rollo was asked about the $75+ million in federal funding that Lubbock ISD has received, and how it is planned to be spent. Rollo explained that a portion of the money will be used on teacher and staff retention in a plan called "1-2-3 and Lubbock ISD". Starting this January, teachers who have been with the district through the fall semester and are committed to staying during the spring semester will receive an additional $1,000 in their paycheck with half of the amount in January, and the other half in June. Next year, that amount bumps up to $2,000, and $3,000 the year after that. This program is to give thanks to those who have stayed with the schools through the hard times of COVID, and applies to teachers, nurses, teaching assistants, and everyone who is helping our kids. Rollo said,

It is a noble profession and it's a very important profession for our country and for our future, and so we appreciate our staff, and that (includes) teachers but also everybody else who works with our children, and there is not another job in this world that is more important than that right now.

The superintendent was then asked where else the money will go. Rollo explained that the money will also go to "wrap around" services for students, and social-emotional learning, which would help students develop the "soft skills" of conflict management, how to get along with others, how to self regulate, and and how to deal with their stress and emotions. When asked if she has seen an increase of anger and emotional issues in her years of teaching she said that she doesn't know if she has seen an increase in that specifically, but the coping skills for dealing with those issues are lacking.

Another topic of discussion concerned Dupre Elementary. Rollo said that it is never easy to have to close a campus and assign those students to another school, but that is what will happen after the recent vote. She explained that there were a number of factors in the decision, including the declining enrollment over several years, the fact that they had Brown Elementary nearby that had space, and the programs at Brown that students would benefit from. She went on to say that they are offering parents both transportation options, as well as a choice if they would like to send their kids to the newer Carmona Harrison Elementary school in North Lubbock instead.

Listen to the full interview with Dr. Kathy Rollo in the audio above.

Sunrise LBK with Dave King & Tom Collins airs weekday mornings live, from 6:00 AM to 8:30 AM on News/Talk 95.1 FM and 790 AM KFYO, online at KFYO.com, & on the free KFYO app.