There are three doors Mineola ISD needs to walk through to help its students succeed.

Mineola Superintendent Cody Mize outlined the three in presenting the annual District Improvement Plan to the school board Monday.

The first is third grade reading, the second is Algebra I and the third is college, career and military readiness, which high schoolers are required to achieve.

Reading on grade level in the third grade is “absolutely crucial,” Mize explained.

Last year’s goal was to improve those scores from 54% to 59%.

The district hit a five-year goal in one year, he said, reaching 82%. By comparison, the region average was 71% and the state average 68%.

This year’s third graders will have some tricky things to overcome, Mize said.

As first graders – the year they are learning how to read – they were sent home for the last three months of the school year.

Then as second graders, even though on-campus learning resumed, there were still some challenges with people in and out.

And now as third graders they are preparing to be the first group to take standard tests online.

Studies show scores generally decline initially when switching from paper to online tests.

Concerning algebra, Mize noted the eighth graders who take algebra always score well. With a goal last year of increasing from 81% to 84%, MISD hit 86%. The region was 77% and the state 72%. The goal is to continue to move that up.

Mize said not only will college, career and military readiness continue to rise, the district will begin tracking graduates to see how effective those programs are.

The newly-adopted Tyler Junior College Promise program will help propel that, Mize said, as it helps students prepare for college.

Campus principals detailed the individual campus goals as well, with plans to continue improving test scores.

The board approved three bids, including new HVAC systems, flooring and computers – all purchased with federal COVID relief dollars.

The winning bid for HVAC systems was $257,300 by East Texas Refrigeration of Tyler.

New flooring will cost $267,508 from Southern Polishing and Flooring Systems of Tyler.

Apple won the bid for laptops and iMacs for $114,563.

During recognitions, Mize pointed out that October is Principal Appreciation Month and noted that “Leadership matters on your campuses” before introducing the district’s principals and assistants.

They include High School Principal Mike Sorenson, Middle School Principal Kendall Gould, Elementary Principal Brittany Thompson and Primary Principal Jole Ray.

Assistants include Jeffery Tittle at high school, Joshua Snook at middle school, Angela Shine at elementary and James Knabenshue at primary.

Student recognitions included first graders Hayley Molina and Eason Hooton at primary, fourth graders Eli Palacios and Abygail Galaz at elementary, seventh graders Journie Wilson and Kingston Straznicky at middle school and juniors JaMarcus Kennedy and Brittnie Christopherson at high school.

Teacher of the month is Josh Burns at fourth grade, and support staff of the month is custodial director Cecil Teague.

The board approved a request from Gould to plan a student trip to Washington D.C. and New York during the summer of 2023. The middle school students would be responsible for the cost.