Monday night’s  Coppell ISD Trustees meeting was filled with updates and proposals of expansion as well as recognition of exemplary figures in the district.

Ashley Minton was named principal of Canyon Ranch Elementary after a rigorous screening and interview process. Minton, a Baylor alumni, was previously a math coach in the district and currently the assistant principal at Lee Elementary. Minton will begin her tenure as principal on Jan. 7..

“She is such a good fit for so many reasons: obviously, that instructional background, and for our newest elementary, we have someone who is such a proven leader,” CISD assistant superintendent Kristen Streeter said.

With the ongoing construction of the new Canyon Ranch Elementary School, changes to elementary and middle school zoning were controversial topics of Monday night’s board meeting, with some parents objecting to new zones.

CISD associate superintendent Sid Grant presented the proposed zoning changes in a map for A2, the elementary school redistribution proposal, and B3, the middle school redistribution proposal. The most recent proposed map and demographic data can be found here.

However, the redistribution was not without criticism. Parents Tammy Steward of the Huntington Ridge neighborhood, Sumedh Panaparambil and Nikhil Watkar of the Parkside neighborhood brought forth some concerns over elementary school redistribution in particular.

Steward, a teacher at Stringfellow school at First United Methodist Church Coppell, spoke on behalf of her neighborhood, which had concerns over being rezoned to Wilson Elementary. Students walking or biking to Wilson would have a 32 minute commute as opposed to a 10-14 minute commute to Town Center Elementary, the school that the majority of her neighborhood (87 percent, as Steward had polled her neighbors) requests their children attend.

“I know people are very concerned about moving their kids to a new school and there are lots of parents concerned about splitting an elementary school and going to two schools. We just want safety,” Steward said.

Panaparambil and Watkar’s concerns focused mainly on the zoning of southern Coppell neighborhoods such as Parkside West, which would be zoned to Canyon Ranch Elementary across a major highway. Bussing of students would require that they wake up at 5:30 a.m.

The board was also updated on construction projects at Canyon Ranch Elementary, in which crew made up for weather days, Coppell Middle School East and Coppell Middle School North.

Several student awards were presented at the meeting as well. Diya Firos, a third grader at Lee Elementary, is one of the winners of the 2018 Dallas Celebration of Reading Competition by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy; Lee Elementary Principal Chantel Kastrounis recognized Firos, who was present at the board meeting.

Uttalika Duta, a fifth grader at Austin Elementary, was also recognized at the board meeting. Duta won the CISD Holiday Card competition for her illustration of a bright red car carrying a Christmas tree.

Not only students were recognized at the board meeting. Trustee Thom Hulme was awarded membership of Leadership TASB from the Texas Association of School Boards by Ty Jones from Lancaster Independent School District.

Superintendent Brad Hunt informed the board and the audience of district highlights, including Great Educators Matter (GEM) recognition of CISD teachers, Campus Teachers of the Year, Education Foundation Grant recipients ($50,000 to all CISD campuses excluding CHS9), and Coppell High School students’ band and choir performances at elementary schools in place of the canceled homecoming parade.