Livingston NNDCC continues to excel

By Brian Besch
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Tristan Hardy and Kathryne Griffin present the colors at the April board meeting. Courtesy photoThe Livingston ISD Board of Trustees heard a presentation on a school program, was introduced to the new director of transportation, and passed a consent agenda at its monthly gathering for April Monday.   

Sergeant First Class Grady Tinker spoke to the board about the Navy National Defense Cadet Corps program, that has shown marked improvement under his watch.

“I took over the program in 2019. You were required to have 50 cadets to hold that curriculum,” Tinker explained. “I think the first year I came in there were 30 kids, and 12 of them were leaving. I talked them into staying, then from each year, we built it into 50. By the time we got to the end of the year in 2019, we were up to 78. We were most improved unit in that second year, which is unheard of. Their achievements have been really excellent. We were at the bottom nationally in testing for the national academic exams. I think one of the teams scored a three, and another scored a six, and another was a 10, and I think 12 was our highest. I was like, ‘We have to do something different.’ That is all off of SAT and ACT scores. We put work into that and revamped things there, and in the second year we were in the 60th percentile and had come up to about 50% nationally. Every year after that, we were in the top 20 and top 15. This year, we finished in the top 3% and the top 10%. You are talking about probably 1,700 schools nationwide, and these folks are not NNDCCs like us. They are predominantly sanctioned, and money driven, with the Navy or Army, and we compete with all the branches of service. We have also been a distinguished unit with academic honors since the third year – so the third, fourth, fifth and sixth year.”

The program is now thriving with 118 students. Tinker said he just received word that his group will receive academic honors yet again. He said that many confuse his program from what the NNDCC actually does. They are not recruiters directing students into the military. Instead, he said the group promotes patriotism, responsible citizens, developing respect and leadership potential, and promote community service.

“We had over 6,000 community service hours this year. We have 928 community service hours from the school,” he said. “The kids are busy. When they get in class balancing their grades, life at home, and also the program over here, it is a challenge. Not all of them can stay in leadership and do that, because I do not do it for them. I tell them that I will give them all the directions and all the tools you need, but this is yours. It is cadet-led, and that is the way the program is designed in the book. A lot of instructors don’t go by that.”

Tinker also told the board that the program will receive funding just as it once did under the Army and JROTC. It was one of the goals he had set, along with becoming the best unit in the state of Texas. He claims that the group has yet to reach the second goal, and there is still work to be done.

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“We have kids in our program that have been accepted to Harvard in their freshman year and turned it down. We’ve got some very high-speed, academically sound kids. Every one of my seniors this year is either going to a two-year college or a four-year college. I think I have one that is going into the National Guard. My numbers have kind of changed from that in the first year, where a lot were going military, and not so much college. We have kind of shifted that around. I have told them that I really don’t care where they go, but I want them to have a plan.

“Teamwork is everything in our program. I know if they don’t love each other – where they care about people, that is what that is all about. If you can’t love the person next to you, you are not going to go where you need to, because you are going to need somebody one day. I am very proud of the program and very happy about the opportunity to come talk about the program. They are great kids.”

Livingston School Board president Bea Ellis said she has been impressed by the group. “It has been fun to watch those kids mature over the past five years,” she said. 

Introduced at the meeting was the new director of transportation. Tina Maddox was the assistant director of transportation at Cleveland ISD before accepting her new role in Livingston.

“I want to thank everybody for the opportunity,” Maddox said. “I look forward to seeing where Livingston ISD and the transportation department can go. My door is always open to each and every one to come visit. If you want to ride a bus, come on.”

The board passed a consent agenda of athletic insurance for the 2024-2025 school year, financial audits and nomination of superintendent.

The nomination for Livingston Superintendent Dr. Brent Hawkins is to the Texas Association of School Boards for Superintendent of the Year. A resolution explained the nomination was for his “exemplary and visionary leadership toward improving student performance in our schools.”