Leadership Gillespie County (LGC) Class of 2025 met Wednesday, Dec. 4, at the Fredericksburg Independent School District’s (FISD) Central Office for breakfast, sponsored by The Grace Center.
The group talked about their upcoming event, Ugly Christmas sweater bingo and the big fundraiser in the spring. The group traveled to the new Fredericksburg Middle School where they were given a tour by Satterfield and Pontikes Construction Company.
The tour included the science lab, wood shop, horticulture lab, classrooms, two indoor gymnasiums, locker rooms, classrooms, the cafeteria, and the artificial turf football field. The project will take 22 months from start to finish and will be completed in January 2025. Faculty will begin using it in the spring.
LGC 2025 met Dr. Joe Rodriguez, FISD Superintendent back at the Central Office. He spoke about the strategic plan, the school board’s mission, vision and goals. Rodriguez educated LGC on the opportunities for students to achieve excellence, with courses offered for career, college and military readiness. He also spoke about the challenges they face as a district. One fact that stuck in their brains was that 61.5% of students in this district are economically disadvantaged. Most residents are aware that we are a “Robinhood” school district that is mandated to give away a percentage of our school funds to other districts. The money for the new middle school was raised by a bond.
Next stop was Gillespie County High School. Cayle Koennecke spoke about the program and about who they serve. They serve atrisk students. The student needs to be labeled at risk to not graduate. The staff evaluates what classes the student needs to graduate, gives them a couple of classes to work on at a time, and then the student can work at their own pace to finish the classes. They have students finishing up at different times, but they have two graduation ceremonies a year to celebrate all their graduates.
Advantage Care Services (ACS) was the next location where they learned more about the organization that they were partnering with for the LGC Class Project. Gayle Long is the Director of ACS in Fredericksburg and has been there since they opened their doors in 2007. The owners of ACS, Tony and Patty Ritter, were also in attendance. ACS serves over 300 adults with intellectual disabilities in 19 counties. They do receive some government funds, but it is not enough, and this year they had to close one of their four group homes. They have a non-profit, Starbright Foundation, that can help fill in the gap. LGC will work to fulfill some of their tangible needs and hold a fundraising event. The group listened to the needs and asked questions while everyone enjoyed a delicious boxed lunch donated by Clear River Pecan.
After lunch they traveled to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office where there was a panel of “alternative” educators, including Cristi Ahern, principal St. Mary’s School; Ryan Hoover, Director of Development & Marketing, Heritage School; Chris Coker, founder/director, Apogee Fredericksburg, and Jody Donovan – Building Bright Futures (New Bethany Pre-School Campaign). The first three panel members spoke on their institution’s mission, goals and philosophies.
Donovan spoke about the community need for more daycare space. There is a fund-raising campaign underway to build a new facility. They will need to raise more money before they can even break ground.
The last presenter of the day was Beth McMahon, Horticulturist – Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Beth gave a brief history on Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, how it came about and how they help members of the community. She shared lots of information, including the services, classes and certifications that they provide.
Class members ended the day with a happy hour hosted by Invention Vineyards – a Heath Family Brand, at their location on Texas 16 South.
