By Michelle Pitcher
Editor-in-Chief
Two members of the technical crew stand at attention on either side of the stage, armed with confetti cannons. They are ready to show the crowd what Coppell ISD is all about.
CISD Superintendent Jeff Turner has a lot on his plate this year. After being a member of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) for 23 years and serving on various leadership committees, Turner has been elected president of the group, which holds an annual joint conference in Austin with the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).
TASA is composed of superintendents, assistant superintendents and curriculum officials from over 1,000 school districts in the state of Texas, totaling around 3,000 members. Turner rose to the top of this organization through networking, years of leadership experience and with the help of Coppell’s status.
“Coppell has such a great reputation,” Turner said. “What we’ve been able to do in Coppell in terms of pushing the envelope of what it means to be educated in the 21st century [as well as] the kind of success we have with our students, we start to get a lot of recognition about that.”
It is customary for the presidents of TASA and TASB to prepare short presentations about their districts to show to all attendees of the conference. At this year’s conference in Austin, which is the weekend of Sept. 28, Dr. Turner and 89 students from across CISD will give the approximately 6,000 guests a taste of what it is like to be a learner in CISD.
After reviewing presentations from past conferences, Turner decided he wanted to do something different. He noted how segmented all of the shows seemed – band in one corner and choir in another while the drill team does high kicks center stage. He wanted to create something that would showcase Coppell’s unique talent and cohesiveness.
Theater department head Lisa Tabor was put in charge of the script last February, and with the help of several other teachers and administrators, she came up with the idea for this year’s show. The show begins with a traditional black and white video playing on the large screens. A spin on the sitcom Leave it to Beaver, “Leave it to Coppell” tells the story of a young boy, Pete (named after former CHS theater teacher and graduate Pete “Wheelice” Wilson), living in the 1950s who is reluctant to begin his first day of kindergarten.
Pete, in an odd twist of fate and extreme technical malfunction, is sucked into the TV, straight into 21st century CISD. Here, he is shown around by a Red Jacket, played by senior Alex Smith, and led through several musical numbers featuring members of Vivace!, theater, Lariettes, Air Crew and cheerleading, as well as middle and elementary school students.
“It’s so wonderful to see all of the fine arts come together,” Tabor said. “One of the bad things about all of our departments being so good is that we don’t get to work together. This has just been so amazing.”
Tabor worked closely with fellow CHS theater teacher Bruce Hermans, who was in charge of all things technical; Cottonwood Creek music teacher and CHS graduate Sarah Meador, who was in charge of all things musical; CMS North theater teacher Brittany Reese, who served as assistant director; Hayley Hoffman and Julie Stralow worked with the drill team; and varsity cheer coach Tiffany Ganss was in charge of the cheerleaders in the show.
While the teachers have spent numerous hours planning, writing, choreographing and delegating, the kids have been working just as hard to bring their ideas to life.
“I can’t even venture a guess as to how many hours these kids have put into this show,” Tabor said.
Last year, several KCBY members, including seniors Eric Park, Mason Adams and Adam Borel, were enlisted in the project to help create the video components of the show. They began filming in April, traveling around the district to collect footage of real students and their everyday lives.
“During the song ‘Fly,’ a video plays that highlights everything that’s going on in our district,” Meador said. “It shows the parts of Coppell we cannot bring to the stage; the technology shows the football team, the elementary classrooms, the huge band – all the different aspects we have in Coppell that make us great.”
In addition to the video team, students are working behind the scenes to ensure that everything runs smoothly in Austin. Senior Lucy Coles acts as stage manager, while juniors Jack Parker and Travis Bauman control the lights and Borel makes sure the audio runs smoothly.
The students, both workers and performers, have put in countless hours of rehearsal to reach the standard they wish to achieve. This is no small undertaking, either, especially for the younger cast members.
As choreographer Whitney Hennen shouts, “Little ones, you’re about to run onstage,” the concentration and determination in the room is palpable. The elementary kids come into the light to do their part, and it is evident how much work they have put into this show.
“It’s nice working with the younger kids, giving them insight into what this district is about,” said junior Jack Robertson, who plays Pete’s father in the video. “A lot of the younger kids are getting a head start on being involved in making CISD better.”
The quality of the show seems to suggest a high production value. The school district provided a budget for this rare opportunity to showcase itself in front of some of the most distinguished administrators in Texas. However, all possible cost-reduction measures were taken to ensure the show not cost the district too many resources.
“We solicited some donations from some of our local businesses, and that’s one of the reasons we wanted to put this show on – to try to raise some funds,” assistant superintendent Brad Hunt said. “All the money from the show goes to offset the cost of getting the kids down to Austin. We did a lot in house; the kids pretty much did everything. We did get help with choreography; we utilized existing staff members.”
In all, Turner looks forward to bringing a taste of Coppell to the state capital.
“Because of the talent we have here in Coppell, and because it is such a cute show, such a different show, I think it will be very well received by the audience,” Turner said. “People will be singing along and dancing in the aisles, and I’m really excited about it.”
