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Tomball ISD reports Phase 1 results for Exceeding Excellence 2030, launches yearlong Phase 2
Summary
District leaders told the Board of Trustees on June 2 that Phase 1 of the Exceeding Excellence 2030 strategic plan got underway in January, used district funds for initial purchases and pilots, and that the district will seek additional funding for a larger Phase 2 rollout running June 2025–May 2026.
Tomball Independent School District officials presented a Phase 1 progress report on the districtwide Exceeding Excellence 2030 strategic plan at the board workshop Monday, outlining initial spending, technology pilots and the scope of work planned for a yearlong Phase 2.
The update matters because the plan guides hiring, safety, curriculum and technology choices that shape classroom instruction and district budgeting for the next five years. Administrators told trustees they initiated targeted work on human capital, safety and technology during Phase 1 and will carry unfinished items into Phase 2, which the district plans to fund from the $4 million reserved for the plan.
Dr. Amy Shindelwouf, chief of staff and identified in the meeting as soon-to-be deputy superintendent, led the update and described Phase 1 as a short startup phase. “Phase 1 has only been a very short phase that started after the approval of the strategic plan,” she said, adding that work did not meaningfully begin until January and much of Phase 1 focused on initiating strategies rather than finishing them.
The board was reminded that trustees previously approved the release of $1,050,000 from the $4 million committed funds to begin Phase 1. Shindelwouf reported the district spent $795,317 of that release and said the unspent balance would be returned to the budget (amount not specified in the transcript). She said a Phase 2 request will follow; the transcript identifies a $975,000 request for Phase 2 funding to support work in the 2025–26 school year.
Administrators described specific early actions and pilots launched in Phase 1: the district purchased a Lightspeed Digital Insight contract to analyze usage of classroom platforms and learning tools; started pilots of AI and other emerging technologies in limited instructional settings; revised districtwide emergency response and reunification practices; and initiated parent-university offerings to increase family engagement. Shindelwouf said the Lightspeed tool will “look at the usage of all of our platforms and programs in our classrooms to determine which ones are used, how much they are used” and to measure instructional effect.
On student supports and safety, district staff said they began implementing behavioral-health and counseling frameworks and ran an initial reunification practice with campus leaders. The staff also discussed a summer pilot of Transfinder ID and routing services for summer-school transportation, with a possible districtwide rollout targeted for the new school year if the pilot succeeds.
Trustees pressed for detail in several areas. They discussed financial literacy courses and whether recent state legislative changes will require new offerings; staff said Tomball ISD already embeds financial topics in some high school electives and will monitor state graduation-course guidance, but that a more robust, district-directed financial-literacy rollout would take additional planning. Trustees also asked about substitutes and retaining highly qualified subs; staff said Phase 2 will expand professional learning and incentives for substitutes, building on Phase 1 publicity that recognized subs who worked more than 100 days.
Board members raised questions about student digital literacy and how the district will teach students to evaluate online sources and use AI responsibly. Shindelwouf said the district’s digital learning and curriculum teams are addressing veracity and ethical use through curriculum and staff professional learning, and that some work on those topics is expected to continue into later phases of the plan.
No formal board action was taken at the workshop. Administrators said a formal Phase 2 budget request and related contract approvals will be brought to a future public board meeting for consideration. Shindelwouf said staff will post strategic-plan updates to the district website and provide additional detail on timelines and budget line items.
District staff contact: Dr. Amy Shindelwouf, chief of staff (presentation lead).
