Quitman Independent School District

Building Career Pathways That Match East Texas Workforce Demands

This School District is Preparing Graduates for Immediate Employment in High-Demand Regional Industries.

Quitman Independent School District operates on a straightforward principle that guides every decision, every classroom interaction, every student relationship. “We are here to educate every child, every chance, every day,” says Christopher Mason, superintendent of the 1,230-student district located in Wood County’s East Texas timberlands. “Our big push is that the 8, 10, 12 hours our students get to be with us, it’s the best hours of their day from the time they walk in, to the time they leave.”

For a small rural school district serving the county seat and surrounding communities, those hours carry weight. The district’s three campuses cover kindergarten through 12th grade, preparing students not just for graduation but for what Mason calls being “life ready”—equipped to step into the world and compete in whatever path they choose. That preparation encompasses the fabric of community life, where values like waking up early, working hard, and building positive relationships shape the classroom and the town square.

“The school district is kind of a hub of the community,” Mason explains. “It’s where most of the events take place, where people come to gather and get to know each other and live life together.” This interconnection runs deep, manifesting in what the district calls Team Quitman, an active partnership with city leadership, police department, county commissioners, and judges. The collaboration brings school resource officers into buildings and creates opportunities that leverage civic relationships for students’ benefit, turning a geographic community into an educational ecosystem where success becomes a shared responsibility.

Mental Health and Wellness Initiatives

The pandemic’s aftermath continues to reverberate through school districts nationwide, but Quitman ISD has taken proactive steps to address student and staff wellbeing. Through a partnership with Andrew Centre, the district contracts mental health services that bring counselors onto campuses two to three times weekly. “We contract with them with the help of our Wood County hospital district to provide mental health services to students,” Mason says. “That’s a referral process, but they come, and they meet with students to provide those mental health supports.”

The arrangement is an unusual resource for rural districts, where access to specialized services often requires families to travel significant distances. Wood County’s healthcare infrastructure strengthened considerably with the 2014 opening of UT Health Quitman, an 84,000-square-foot facility that transformed local medical capacity. The hospital district’s support includes educational partnerships like the mental health initiative, creating a network that recognizes student success depends on more than academic instruction alone.

Staff wellness receives equal attention. “We just recently paid for gym memberships for all our staff, for some health and wellness support there for them,” Mason notes. This dual approach addresses what many rural Texas districts struggle with; nearly 75 percent of new hires in rural areas during the 2023-24 school year were unlicensed, and turnover remains high when teachers face challenging conditions without adequate support. By investing in mental health access for students and physical wellness for staff, Quitman builds infrastructure that sustains its educational mission beyond crisis response into ongoing prevention and care.

Attracting and Retaining Exceptional Educators

Teacher recruitment remains fiercely competitive across Texas, where rural districts start beginning salaries $15,000 to $27,000 lower than their suburban counterparts. Quitman ISD confronts this challenge through a combination of financial incentives and intangible assets that money alone cannot replicate. “We just implemented the first round of TIA, which is the teacher incentive allotment,” says Jeffery Tittle, high school principal. “That’s going to aid, but I think the teachers that come to Quitman and work here, it’s because they’re bound to this area regionally and are local.”

Beyond compensation, the district offers what Tittle describes as an environment that distinguishes itself even among similar rural communities. “We have great administration, we have a great community, we have great students,” he explains. “And so, as they get here, they recognize this is an area that is not necessarily unique in retrospect to East Texas and rural, but it’s special.” That quality stems from what he calls good communities with good families and hardworking people who ultimately produce good kids.

The hiring philosophy prioritizes passion over credentials alone. “We want them to have a love and passion, not just for their content, but for students foremost,” Tittle says. “And building those relationships with students and with parents and being a part of the community.” Teachers must engage students actively, making curriculum pertinent to their lives and career aspirations. Mason reinforces this approach by removing obstacles that prevent teachers from excelling. “We have great folks that we give support to and allow them to have the autonomy to be good at what they do and remove things that get in their way,” he says, recognizing that retaining quality educators requires trusting their professional judgment.

Career Pathways Aligned with Regional Workforce Needs

Wood County’s economy runs on agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing, sectors that require skilled workers capable of stepping into careers immediately after high school. Quitman ISD designs its career and technical education programs to match these demands. “Our strongest programs of study are agriculture,” says Amy Park, director of CTE and college, career, and military readiness. “And we have four paths within that umbrella: the ag business, ag mechanics, plants, and animals. Being a rural farming community, that’s where most of our students gravitate.”

The health sciences pathway has grown substantially since UT Health Quitman opened its doors. “With the new hospital that was built here in Quitman four or five years ago, that is the top hospital in our area,” Park notes. “We definitely see the health science pathway growing every year. We offer both the pharmacology certification and also patient care technician where those students are getting hands-on experience.”

Engineering represents the district’s newest expansion, supported by a Texas Workforce Commission grant that funded state-of-the-art equipment. Tittle describes visiting Texas State Technical College. “What we got to see is very similar to what we have in our own lab where David Cross has access to the same materials, the same curriculum that they have at that school,” he says. “So, they’re going to be getting those types of certifications and experience at the high school level.” Students complete job shadowing at local hospitals in both Quitman and Sulphur Springs, ensuring classroom instruction aligns with actual workplace environments and equipment they’ll encounter upon employment.

Technology Investment and Communication Skills

Capital investment at Quitman ISD flows primarily toward resources that directly touch students. Over the past several years, the district spent approximately $300,000 to $400,000 outfitting every classroom with smart TVs, upgrading instructional technology to give teachers tools they need for effective teaching. “Most of our dollars go back into what we look at: are they primarily touching students?” Mason explains. “So that’s the salary for teachers, that’s instructional supplies, it’s textbooks and instructional technology.”

The high school operates a one-to-one Chromebook program, while junior high and elementary campuses use Chromebook carts that provide access on a more limited basis. This tiered approach acknowledges budget realities while ensuring all students develop digital literacy. “Our high school, our junior high school students, Mr. Tittle, Ms. Park and their staff do a great job of creating 21st century skills,” Mason says.

For instance, Tittle requires students to write proper emails rather than text-style messages, sending back poorly formatted requests with instructions to rewrite them correctly. “They do a great job of trying to promote and model what good communication looks like to them,” Mason notes. The district dedicates 80 to 90 percent of its budget toward student-facing expenditures, whether through instructional salaries or technology purchases. Facilities maintenance receives attention as well with some buildings dating to the 1950s and 1960s, but custodial standards ensure they remain clean and welcoming despite their age.

Academic and Extracurricular Achievements

University Interscholastic League academic competitions yielded exceptional results across all three Quitman campuses last year. “Our elementary school was first place in UIL academics. Our junior high was first place in UIL academics,” Mason reports. “And then our high school was second place in UIL academics, which has got a little fire for the high school staff. They’re fired up. They’re going to be first this year.” The competitive streak includes numerous state qualifiers in cross country and track, with the district sending 10 to 15 students to state competitions in sports alone.

Theatre has sustained remarkable consistency, with the program advancing past district competitions into regional and area levels for at least five consecutive years. The band performs at an equally high caliber, missing state competition by a single spot two years running. “Two years ago, we were a Sweepstakes band, which means we got ones in our marching band and then turned around and got the highest achievement in concert band as well,” Mason says. The proximity to state-level recognition speaks to program quality in a district where per-capita achievement rates far exceed what enrollment numbers might suggest.

Mason attributes these accomplishments to staff quality rather than any single administrative strategy. “I would challenge most schools in the caliber and quality of adults that we have in our buildings,” he says. The approach emphasizes removing barriers rather than imposing additional requirements, trusting educators to pursue excellence when given appropriate resources and freedom to execute their expertise without excessive oversight or bureaucratic interference.

A $30 Million Investment in Students’ Futures

Quitman ISD voters approved a $30 million bond in May with nearly 68 percent support, authorizing renovations, expansions, and construction of a career and tech center that will house medical science and agricultural science pathways. “For us, that’s a huge feather in our cap, but also a huge shout out to our community that trusts us,” Mason says. “The biggest next priority for us is being really, really good stewards of that and maintaining a high level of expectations for our students and staff.” The bond timeline projects completion of all major projects within 18 to 24 months.

Engineering programs will gain dedicated space with equipment that enables students to mill parts and manufacture components for agricultural machinery and industrial equipment. Tittle sees this capability as addressing future supply chain vulnerabilities. “We don’t know what the global economy is going to look like and the availability of whether it’s a part of a tractor that’s out here, baling hay or whether it’s a part of a heavy piece of machinery in a printing area,” he explains. “To have the ability for our students to be able to create those parts and pieces that allow those machines to function opposed to depending on outsourcing it either still maybe within the United States or outside of the United States.”

Health science classrooms will mirror actual hospital environments, creating seamless transitions from education to employment. Park emphasizes the district’s role in lifelong learning. “We want to give them the tools they need to be lifelong learners so that when they leave Quitman high school, they are productive citizens,” she says. Mason frames the district’s mission simply: all 1,230 students who walk through the doors deserve the best education possible, and they’re worth every bit of work required to deliver it.

The bond’s overwhelming approval highlights community understanding that education represents economic development in rural areas where workforce preparation directly affects local prosperity. By aligning facilities with industry needs, Quitman positions itself to retain graduates who might otherwise leave for opportunities elsewhere, strengthening the school district and the broader county economy through students prepared to contribute immediately upon graduation.

AT A GLANCE

Who: Quitman Independent School District

What: A public K-12 school district serving 1,230 students across three campuses with career and technical education programs in agriculture, health sciences, and engineering

Where: Quitman, Texas (Wood County)

Website: www.quitmanisd.net