The Great Place welcomes students back

FORT CAVAZOS, Texas - As the 2024-2025 school year commences, it means the end of long, lazy days and carefree summertime activities, but also the beginning of renewed energy and optimism only a new school year can bring about.

The Killeen Independent School District welcomed approximately 44,000 students back to 53 schools Aug. 14, 31 of which teach elementary. Of these KISD schools, eight reside on the installation.

Fifth-grader Garret Nutt, 10, expressed the most exciting thing about the first day of school is "meeting new people and meeting new teachers."

Fellow fifth-grade student Rowan Thompson, 10, was also eager to connect with his peers, noting his favorite thing about the day was "getting to make new friends" and "getting to see old friends."

For the staff at Montague Village Elementary School at Fort Cavazos, the first day of school signifies much more than advancing to the next grade.

It means yet another opportunity to provide guidance, impart knowledge and instill confidence, preparing today's youth to become tomorrow's leaders.

"I always tell (students) that you just have to be who you are," said MVES Principal Natalie Cue. "It's important that you be your authentic self."

It's a mantra that has helped her to positively influence each of the nearly 600 students under her supervision and collaborate with dedicated educators and parents to ensure youngsters are "future ready."

"It started with educators who did that for me and became that for me," Cue shared. "Just giving me that example and giving me someone to look up to. It was like being what they were for me for someone else.

"I always had that as a student growing up, and I wanted to be that for kids," she continued. "That's what inspired me to do the work that I do."

Inspiring others keeps her coming back year after year.

"In order to stay with it, you have to continue to find what's inspiring you to do the work," she explained. "This work is hard, and you have to find something that keeps you going."

Cue noted educators must know their "why," to which fifth grade teacher Hasina Rogers agreed.

"My why was always … I can do more for (students)," she explained. "Provide extra support that they might not receive at home or through any other type of resources. So, for me, that was my … 'this is where I'm supposed to be. These kids need me.'"

Rogers started as an aide in 2011 but desired to do more.

"Once I started getting more hands on and seeing the difference that it really made, it just lit a fire in me," she said. "I could do so much more in education."

Rogers reminds herself and her students that to know better is always to do better and encourages them to learn from mistakes.

"We don't ever give up," she said. "We always put our best foot forward to push through. We're going to have obstacles, we're going to make mistakes, but we're not going to let it take us down. We're going to keep persevering and try to see the good of it and what we can do to make it a success."

Educators realize that making mistakes is part of maturing, but a little grace makes it easier to accept shortcomings, conveyed kindergarten teacher Sarah Baez.

"Something that I try to come into each school year with is that just as much as I need to be graceful and give grace to my students, I also need grace," she expressed. "We're going to be working through all the new things together, so extending grace to teachers from the administration team and from parents and the community is needed."

Baez shared she came from a family of teachers, and though she resisted the notion of upholding the tradition, she "stopped fighting the journey in 2019."

"I truly believe that it is a calling, and that the role of a teacher is not something that just anybody can do," she said. "You have to have the heart for it."

Teaching wasn't the first choice for first grade teacher Jessica Butler.

"If you had told one of my teachers when I was in high school that I would be a teacher, they would have laughed," she recalled. "I was never going to be that kid who wanted to be at school."

A military spouse with an autistic son, Butler was inspired to switch careers from human resources to education upon seeing the effect dedicated teachers had on her son.

"You don't realize what an impact teachers who are passionate can have on a student," she expressed. "I got to watch it with my own child, and I saw what an impact I could have."

"Never stop growing, never stop learning" is a mantra Butler lives by and infuses into her classroom.

"Being a teacher is one of those experiences where every year is different … so, we never really stop growing," she said. "It's not just like I'm adding and growing, but I'm watching our students learn and grow in all these different ways, and it's pretty powerful."

Akin to a delicious recipe, with each ingredient contributing a flavorsome note to the dish, the educators at Montague Village Elementary School work in harmony to serve up success.

"We all came into this profession for different reasons, and I think that we have to recognize and remember our why, and whatever that looks like and that it's going to look different for everyone," Cue said. "Every year has its twists and turns, but we have a great staff, we have a great community and our kids are excited to come back."

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