Extra Credit

Texas' application for stimulus funds in

Texas Gov. Rick Perry submitted the state’s application for billions in education funds from the federal stimulus package Wednesday, just before a deadline to do so passed.
If the application is approved, Texas would begin getting the $3.25 billion in Education Stabilization Fund dollars when fiscal year 2010 begins in September.

By Thursday morning, 42 states had already been approved to receive the bulk of their education funds. Another distribution will be later this year.
Some school districts in Texas have worried that Education Secretary Arne Duncan could balk at state legislators’ use of $1.9 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to fuel a funding increase, which also includes a mandatory $800 teacher raise. He has warned at least one other state against using stimulus money as a way to decrease state funding.
In Texas, school funding is through a combination of state money and local property tax revenue. In his application, Perry said that the state portion of funding would have dropped in the coming fiscal years because of increases in local property tax revenues. So, the $1.9 billion in stimulus money is restoring funds, not supplanting them, the application said.
The remainder of the $3.25 billion is being used to replace money lost because of declines in the state's Permanent School Fund, the application said.
“State leaders are confident that the allocation of SFSF (State Fiscal Stabilization Funds) are consistent with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” Perry’s letter to the education department said.

- Traci Shurley

State plan for education stimulus money comes due

Today's the day for Gov. Rick Perry to submit the state's initial application for education funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Thirty-seven states have already had their applications approved by the U.S. Department of Education.

Some districts have been hesitant to approve budgets and teacher salaries until they find out what the Education Department will say about Texas' plan.

About $2.3 billion in stimulus funds is expected to be distributed directly to school districts through formula funding for programs like special education and Title I, which helps schools with large percentages of low income students. The application from Perry relates to the $3.9 billion the state expects to get in State Fiscal Stabilization Fund dollars.

Texas and the other stragglers have until 4:30 p.m. eastern time (3:30 here) to get their paperwork in.

- Traci Shurley

Daggett teacher helps others in death

  NBC5 has a nice story (link below) about Dawn Patino, a teacher at Daggett Elementary School who died on Father's Day of complications from surgery. Patino was a Sunday school teacher and taught at Daggett for 11 years.

She was injured while playing kickball with her students on the last day of school, and then suffered complications after she underwent surgery and had a cast placed on her leg.

Here is NBC5's video report on her family's decision to donate her organs:

New Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Birdville Schools

The Birdville school board recently approved the appointment of Donna Solley as director of curriculum and instruction. Solley replaces Dr. Lane Ledbetter, who was recently named associate superintendent for curriculum for Birdville schools.

Solley has been serving as principal at Holiday Heights Elementary, where she had been since 1990. In addition to Holiday Heights, she has been a language arts consultant, administrative intern, ESL teacher and English teacher.

Solley earned her bachelor's from the University of Texas of Arlington  and her master's degree from the University of North Texas.

Dallas best city for young teachers?

Well, according to this top 10 list, it is. Dallas tops Certificationmap.com's list of cities for young teachers to work. Now the list doesn't mention the Dallas school district specifically as the best district to work for but notes two of its high-achieving magnet schools as some reasons why the area is attractive. The list did not mention that Dallas ISD recently cut about 240 positions at specialized schools or that it laid off hundreds of teachers in the fall because of budget issues. Now the district's bond credit rating has slipped as it plans to borrow $100 million for next year's budget, according to this story.  The other Texas city to make the list is Austin, which has a hiring freeze.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

A different kind of summer camp

Youngsters who are recent immigrants are getting extra help this summer at a Texas Christian University camp. The Math, Science and Language summer program helps fourth and fifth graders from Fort Worth schools improve their English skills while working on math and science concepts, officials said. The three-week program, a partnernship with the school district and TCU's College of Education's Center for Urban Education and the Andrews Institute of Math, Science and Technology Education, is taught by TCU and Fort Worth school district instructors. The program is also used as a learning lab for TCU students who learn about teaching methods or are conducting research on science education. The students and their families will also learn about college admissions at the event. The current session ends July.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

New fine arts director in Irving ISD, former HEB director of bands

L.D. Bell Director Hired for IISD Fine Arts Post

 

Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Neil Dugger has named Jeremy L. Earnhart, director of bands at

L.D.

Bell

High School

in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD, as director of fine arts for Irving ISD.

 

Earnhart began his career in music education in 1997 with

Brewer

High School

in Fort Worth ISD. In 1998 he became assistant band director at L.D. Bell and was director of bands in 2002. During Earnhart’s tenure, bands at L.D. Bell have grown by 50 percent, won the 2004 Texas UIL marching competition, earned the Sudler Shield from the John Phillip Sousa Foundation, and won Grand National Champion at Bands of America competition in 2007.

 

Originally from

Mineola

,

New York

, Earnhart attended

University of North

Texas

, earning Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Education degrees. Earnhart holds certification in Instructional Leadership Development and International Baccalaureate Music Level 1 & 2. He is a member of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, International Baccalaureate Organization, International Trumpet Guild, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Professional Music Fraternity.

 

Earnhart is the recipient of numerous awards including Phi Beta Mu Texas Outstanding Young Bandmaster, H.E.B. Education Foundation Award of Excellence, and was a finalist in the Dallas Symphony Janet S. Freelander Memorial Concerto Competition.

 

Earnhart fills the vacancy left by the retirement of Alfred “Buzzy” Green.

 

New principal for Wilshire Elementary School

Board Approves New Principal for Wilshire Elementary

 

The HEB ISD Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of Carma Schellhorn as Principal of Wilshire Elementary School, after Jonathan James was named Principal of Central Junior High School, which follows David Robbins’ retirement.

 

Schellhorn has been Principal of South Euless Elementary School for the last four years. She has spent her entire 18-year career with HEB ISD in teaching and administrative positions. She has both master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the

University

of

Texas

at

Arlington

.

 

HEB tops on student performance, operating efficiency

District Ranked #1 Again by Education Resource Group

 

Education Resource Group (ERG), a company that annually examines the student performance and operating efficiency of the 200 largest

Texas

public school districts, has once again named the HEB ISD the top school district in the state, based on state test data and financial audit information from the 2007-2008 school year. This is the third year in a row that HEB ISD has received this designation.

ERG analyzes the 200 largest districts, which enroll the majority of students who attend

Texas

public schools. The ERG analysis measures the relationship between operating expenditures and student achievement. Based on their most recent analysis, HEB ISD was the only district in

Texas

to receive the highest honor.

HEB ISD was named what Education Resource Group designates as a "Best Practices" district. Superintendent Dr. Gene Buinger said this honor means the district is serving students, parents, and the greater HEB community.

"The combination of increasing student performance and low operating costs means that HEB ISD is giving parents and taxpayers the most bang for the buck," Buinger said.

 

There are four levels in the Academic Performance Index and four levels in Operating Efficiency. Level One in each area results in the highest rankings. This makes HEB ISD a “1:1” district for achieving Level One status in both academic and financial performance.

ERG uses academic, demographic, staffing, and financial information to determine "Best Practices" districts. The academic information includes TAKS pass rate; graduation rates; SAT scores; and ACT scores.

The company uses financial data to measure operating costs in relation to student demographics. The financial data make adjustments for regional cost differences in

Texas

.

 

HEB has strong dedication to music programs

NAMM Foundation Honors School Districts with Strong Dedication to Music Programs

The NAMM Foundation has named HEB ISD to the prestigious listing of "Best Communities for Music Education” for the third year in a row. Only 10 Texas school districts received this national honor, and this designation once again illustrates the academic “edge” that the HEB ISD provides its students. Arlington schools also made the list for the sixth year in a row.

“This is a wonderful tribute to the great teachers we have and to the support we get from administration, campus and community,” Mark Chandler, HEB's director of Visual and Performing Arts, said of the award.

The 2009 roster of “Best Communities” includes school districts from 21 states that are committed to quality music education programs and providing access to music education. The districts were measured across a variety of program support, curricular and programmatic criteria.

Thousands of participants filled out an extensive survey of questions about funding, enrollment, student-teacher ratios, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, private music lesson participation, and other factors in their communities' music education program.

The responses were verified with school district officials, and the sponsoring organizations reviewed the data. Each school district was then scored, and the “Best Communities” districts were then selected for this year’s roster.

The “Best Communities” survey was sponsored by the NAMM Foundation and a partnership of leading national associations working to promote the benefits of active participation in music and music education. NAMM is the association of the international music products industry.

 

See the 2009 roster at www.nammfoundation.org.

HEB wins SchoolMatch Award, in top 16 percent of U.S. school systems

District Wins National SchoolMatch Award

The HEB ISD has once again been named in the top 16 percent of more than 15,000 school systems nationwide as a recipient of the 2009 national SchoolMatch What Parents Want Award.

An outstanding curriculum, academic test scores, class size and an above average expenditure on pupil instruction are the criteria for this prestigious award. HEB ISD won this award in 1992 and again every year from 1994 through 2009, for providing what parents want in a school district.

SchoolMatch, an independent, nationwide service, helps corporate employee families find schools that match the needs of their children. SchoolMatch also has conducted more than 1,000 Educational Effectiveness Audits of school systems throughout the country and assists corporations with site selection studies.

SchoolMatch selected school districts to receive the award based on the results of more than 95,000 parent questionnaires completed by SchoolMatch clients.

More than seven million parents accessed SchoolMatch services through a variety of website locations including national, regional, and local real estate firms, various multiple listing services, chambers of commerce, economic development offices, and other family oriented sites, as well as by personnally contacting SchoolMatch's Columbus (OH) office.

Corporations and consumers use SchoolMatch when moving across town, upgrading residences, relocating to a new area, when negotiating child custody issues and for general information about schools.

SchoolMatch maintains information on every public school system throughout the nation. The service is offered as an employee benefit by about 600 companies, including Office Depot, Ernst & Young, Hewlett Packard, KPMG Peat Marwick, Nationwide Insurance, and Cinergy Corporation.

 

Mansfield to spend natural gas revenues

Mansfield school trustees decided how to use some of the district's gas well revenue Tuesday night. They voted to use about half of the $6.8 million collected in lease bonuses and royalties on technology upgrades.
Mansfield will spend $1.4 million on cabling projects; $151,215 on Microsoft Office installations; and about $2 million for switches and desktop computers that need replacing, according to board documents.

Also on Tuesday night, the board approved several new teaching and staff positions and new mascots and school colors for the district’s three new schools. Information about each school is online.

- Traci Shurley

Blog follows Mansfield students in national competition

Seven recent graduates from Mansfield high schools are competing in the national SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City this week and their teacher is blogging all the action.

SkillsUSA, formerly known as Vocational Industrial Clubs of America or VICA, is a competition for high schoolers and college students involved in technical and vocational education. The students from Mansfield were involved in various programs at the district's Ben Barber Career Tech Academy.

The blogger, Justin Dearing, teaches radio broadcasting/advertising design at Ben Barber. (At right is a picture from the blog.)

Here are the former students (they all graduated this spring) who are competing:

Construction Teamworks
Phillip Kriesman - Legacy HS
Francisco Rodriguez - Legacy HS
James Buford - Summit HS
Hugo Dominguez - Summit HS

Radio/Audio Production
Hileigh Armenta - Mansfield HS
Jonathan Solis - Mansfield HS

Technical Computer Applications
Alex Roman - Summit HS

- Traci Shurley

Trustees cut $15.4 million from next year's budget

Trustees approved cuts that will mean laying off about 50 employees, 40 of whom are campus monitors. The cuts also eliminate district funding for the Dunbar Area Community School, which has provided academic, vocational and recreational programs to residents of all ages since 1973.

Trustees Juan Rangel and Carlos Vasquez voted against all cuts. Trustee Christene Moss voted against cutting funds to the Dunbar community school.

Rangel said he was concerned about approving the cuts because it was not clear what some of the impact would be long term, such as the security impact on campuses that will have a reduction in campus monitors.

"There's a lot of holes here," he said.

Superintendent Melody Johnson said cutting employees was a difficult decision but is needed to make up for financial shortfalls. This year the district was short about $43 million. Officials were facing a $15 million shortfall next year.

"No one likes doing this," she said. "This is absolutely the worst thing you can do as an organization."

A campus monitor, who has been with the district 23 years, told trustees that monitors help keep students and staff safe. Reducing numbers would be a safety concern, he said.

"I believe in that monitor that shows up everyday on time -- visible and vigilant," he said.

Administrative staff said the cuts to campus monitors will be based on seniority with some monitors being reassigned.

Moss said she voted against the Dunbar community school because she is concerned that future funding from the city was not certain.

Today city council members approved using stimulus money to take over only some job-related programs the community school offers. City officials said the funding is for one year only and there are no current plans to takeover the programs permanently.

The nearly 50 people cut in the budget recommendations approved are in addition to the 44 Tier 1 employees who will be laid off as well.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Fort Worth trustees approve discipline program changes

Trustees approved a policy change in a split vote that would mean changes to the district's alternative placement policies for discipline reasons.

The change will eliminate the Tier 1 sites, which are located on six campuses throughout the district but serve all middle and high schools, and cut 44 employees. Students assigned to the alternative placement work with teachers in the program and can be placed there for up to 30 days. Under the changes, they now will be placed in their own campuses' in school suspension room, which is for students who need to be removed from regular classes throughout the day. The teacher overseeing in school suspension will work with th students assigned to both. Students will work on their studies via online programs.

Three trustees voted against the changes, including trustee Carlos Vasquez.

"We are rushing and not taking the time to understand what the changes will do," he said.

Students can be placed in Tier 1 sites for various discipline reasons for up to 30 days. The sites are located at six campuses throughout the district. Administrators noted that most placements are discretionary and that there was a high rate of repeat offenders in the program.

But J.R Miller, a teacher at Dunbar's Tier 1 site, told trustees that students have a better chance of correcting their behaviors and maintaining academics by working closely with qualified teachers. Without the Tier 1 programs, Miller worried students could be subjected to the more severe punishments.

He said he rarely works with same students.

The district has Tier II and Tier III placement sites, including the Middle Level Learning Center and Horizons, at which students are placed for up to 180 days for more serious discipline issues. Students can be placed at Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Programs for felony-related discipline issues.

Steven Poole, deputy executive director of the United Educators Association that represents some district employees, spoke out against the changes saying not enough time has been spent examining the recommendations and its possible implications.

"It's a rush plan," he said, noting that staff was recommending trustees adopt the policy change in one reading rather than the traditional two it would have needed.

The Tier 1 programs cost the district $3.1 million a year.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Parents speak out against FWISD principal reassignments

Several parents from the Riverside Applied Learning Center told trustees they opposed recent principal changes that reassigned their principal Paula Carter Taylor. Some held signs in protests outside the meeting. They said she has worked hard to improve student performance, particularly in science, so that the school would receive the state's highest rating of academically exemplary, which district officials expect the school to be rated later this summer.

"I understand that her skills might be needed elsewhere, but I understand the disruption it will cause and the effect on our children," said one mother, who said she feared the school's academics would drop over the next few years as a result.

Just after school was out, Taylor was reassigned to Mitchell Boulevard Elementary, which was rated academically unacceptable last year. Principal Rudy Valdez was moved to RALC from T.A. Sims Elementary, which has been rated academically acceptable in recent years.

Parents said they were concerned Valdez does not have training in applied learning nor as successful a track record as Taylor.

District spokeswoman Barbara Griffith has said the move was made to help bring much-needed gains to Mitchell Boulevard and that Valdez is a very qualified principal who will maintain RALC excellence.

Parent Kellee Loridgue spoke out against changes that affected Springdale Elementary in which the principal and assistant principal were both moved to new schools. Springdale has been had the second highest rating of academically recognized for the last three years. The new Springdale principal was recently an assistant principal at W.J. Turner, which is expected to receive its first recognized rating later this summer.

Click here for a list of recent reassignments.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Arlington neighborhood association's natural gas money helping students

Twenty-five students at Arlington's South Davis Elementary are attending Tarrant County College's summer enrichment program, thanks to a $10,000 grant that the South Davis Neighbors Association gave the school last year.

The money was part of a donation that the neighborhood group received from Chesapeake Energy and Dale Resources. They passed it along to the school in December. South Davis has one of the highest percentages of low-income students in the city, with 91 percent of its population qualifying for free and reduced lunches.

Erma Nichols, principal at South Davis, said the students attending TCC's College for Kids are in grades kindergarten through sixth. The school has also used part of the grant money to provide a bus that takes the children from the campus to TCC's southeast campus.

The course offerings include core subjects like science, sports like swimming and creative endeavors like photography.

The students chosen for the camp are academic standouts. Many would not have otherwise been able to afford the three-week camp, which costs $160 a student, or have the transportation to get there, Nichols said.

"We've had parents in tears because they are so proud of the things their children are able to do this summer," Nichols said.

- Traci Shurley

HEB ISD recognized for Excellence in Education Award

HEB ISD was one of four large school districts that were finalists for the H-E-B grocery store chain’s Excellence in Education Awards, which were presented at a banquet June 14 in Austin. Dr. Gene Buinger, superintendent of schools, accepted the award in front of a ballroom full of hundreds of educators and supporters of public education.

The H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards were created in 2002 to celebrate and recognize the contributions of public school professionals whose leadership and dedication inspire a love of learning in students of all backgrounds and abilities.

The H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards is the largest monetary recognition program for educators in Texas and one of the largest in the nation. H-E-B awards more than $500,000 in cash prizes to deserving teachers, principals and school districts.

In December 2008, the HEB ISD received an application packet from the grocery store chain, with a letter stating that the district had been nominated for the award. The H-E-B awards program received 6,000 nominations of districts, teachers, and principals, and it received 800 completed applications. These applications were reviewed by teams of judges from the Colleges of Education at Trinity University and Texas State University. They narrowed the field to 213 semi-finalists, 23 of which were school district applications. Another panel reviewed the applications to narrow the list again.

Dr. Buinger received a letter in February, stating that the district was one of four state finalists in the large district category.

A six-member panel visited the district for half a day in early March. They requested a visit to two secondary schools. They visited LD Bell High School and Central Junior High School. Their video crew shot footage of both schools and footage of Spanish Immersion at Bedford Heights Elementary School. The panel held a working lunch with school administrators, school board members, community members, and a student representative from Trinity High School. Lunch was provided by the Technical Education Center’s Culinary Arts students.

The large district winner was Lamar Consolidated ISD, near Houston. The other finalists were Harlandale ISD, near San Antonio; and Pharr-San Juan-Alamo, in the Rio Grande Valley. The winning school district will receive $100,000. HEB ISD was awarded $5,000 for being named a finalist.

HEB schools get a new assistant superintendent of elementary administration

EULESS _ Lydia Scozzari, director of special education, was named new assistant superintendent of elementary administration by the HEB school board. She has spent her entire career in HEB schools, where she began as a special education teacher at South Euless Elementary. She is homegrown -- attending Bellaire Elementary, Hurst Junior High and LD Bell High. Congratulations, Lydia!

New principals at two Arlington schools

Two Arlington assistant principals became principals thanks to trustees' actions Thursday night.

The board appointed Andrew Hagman (pictured on the left) the new principal of Shackelford Junior High. He has been an assistant principal at Lamar High School since last fall. Before that he was an assistant principal at Venture High School and a teacher there.

Trustees also named Shane Nelson (pictured on the right) principal of Hale Elementary. Nelson has been assistant principal at Arlington High School since 2005 and started with the district in 1995 as an elementary school teacher.

 - Traci Shurley

More Arlington schools to share Title I money

Arlington is adding five more schools to the list of campuses receiving Title I funding for next year, though the designation will only be temporary for four of schools.

Title I schools receive additional federal funds based on their high percentage of students on free and reduced-price lunches. The money can be used to buy computers and other equipment and provide services like tutoring and staff development to benefit the entire campus.

Pope Elementary, which has consistently had a low-income student ratio of more that 55 percent since last fall, will now become a Title I school, according to an announcement by the district Wednesday.

In addition, Sam Houston High School, Gunn Junior High and Bryant and Starrett elementaries will become temporary Title I campuses in order to receive federal stimulus funds targeted to Title I schools. After stimulus funds are gone, in two years, those temporary designations will end too.

"The change in Title I status for our campuses means we will be able to assist the entire school with additional resources, such as computers, equipment, tutors and innovative programs," Superintendent Jerry McCulloughsaid in a press release. "The change in status doesn't alter the school or their rich legacy; it only means they will receive additional support to help take them to the next level. I am excited to see how our students' academic achievement will improve."

- Traci Shurley

  

What did the Texas Legislature do for Fort Worth ISD?

That's what trustees wanted to know at tonight's budget meeting. But administrators said this year's session didn't do much for the Fort Worth. In fact, if federal officials deny the state's plan to use stimulus money for mandated raises, that would be better for the district.

Chief financial officer Ron Wilson said the district will get an additional $15.5 million in new money from school finance changes the Legislature passed. But that additional money comes with "strings attached," Wilson said. The district must use $8.4 million of it in raises. And it is unclear if there are specific rules for how the district can use the additional $4.9 million in high school allotment funds.

The money for the raises will be funded with the help of $1.9 billion in federal stimulus money, and the state must get approval from the federal government to use it in that way. Wilson said if the federal government denies Texas' plan, then the state must give districts the money based on percentage of students on free or reduced lunch. Of nearly 80,000 students, 68,8 percent are considered economically disadvantaged, which means Fort Worth would get significantly more than the $15.5 million currently planned, Wilson said.

Trustee Jean McClung expressed much frustration over how the Legislature seems to tie the districts hands on how they can spend money.
"We really need to not let them keep doing this to us. ... Our children deserve more than that," she said.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Mansfield coaches' losses = gains for students

Five 2009 graduates of Mansfield High School are leaving with an extra $500 each in scholarship money, thanks to some coaches who shed pounds earlier this year.

Coaches John Fazekas, Danny Huffman, John Strafford and Janale Stockett lost a total of more than 101.1 pounds to win the $2,500 Coaches Weight Loss Challenge Scholarship. The contest against other Mansfield coaches was sponsored by Methodist Mansfield Medical Center. (The picture of some of the happy students and coaches is courtesy of the hospital.)

The scholarship winners plan to study a variety of majors, including sports broadcasting and pre-medicine.

- Traci Shurley

Fort Worth, Arlington get stimulus funds for cafeterias

Cafeterias in Fort Worth and Arlington schools will be getting some new freezers, ovens and food processors thanks to grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The stimulus fund awards - $563,000 for Fort Worth and $111,000 for Arlington - are part of an $11.5 million allocation to the Texas Department of Agriculture for nutrition equipment assistance grants. The department reviewed grant applications from more than 2,500 Texas schools; 381 received funding.

To qualify for consideration, the equipment had to be worth more than $5,000 and be expected to last more than a year.

- Traci Shurley

Area schools put graduation photos online

Want to see some great pictures of local graduations? Or maybe try to pick out your favorite grad?

Several districts - including Fort Worth, Arlington and Mansfield- have lots posted on their Websites.

Here's a good one from Mansfield High School's Monday ceremony at The Potter's House.

- Traci Shurley

Arlington schools get more good news

The good news just keeps getting better in Arlington. This week, district officials increased the number of schools they expect to be rated exemplary by the state in July to six and the number that they expect to be recognized to 32. That's up from three exemplary campuses and 15 recognized last year.

The projections are based on preliminary Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores. Gains made by test-takers and a new process that gives schools credit when failing students are projected to pass the test in the future has drastically increased the number of schools that will get better rankings this year, Arlington officials said in a story last week.

The six schools expected to be rated exemplary are all elementary schools. They are Ashworth, Butler, Ditto, Farrell, Key and Moore. A list of the schools expected to be recognized is online.

- Traci Shurley

Mansfield student artist wins big with creative cow

The artistic skills of a senior at Mansfield’s Legacy High School recently helped him outdo a herd of competitors in a contest to decorate a fiberglass cow.

Abner Cabriales was one of three honorable achievement award winners in the Fourth Annual Lucerne The Art of Dairy art contest. The theme for this year’s competition was “Taste of Moo-sic.”

Students from across the nation submitted designs and Cabriales was one of 30 finalists who got to create their design using a life-size cow sculpture. Cabriales and the other honorable achievement winners each got $1,000, as did their art teachers. His design – “Plunge into the Moosic” - is on the Lucerne contest Web site.

Cabriales' design also featured a car stereo system inside, according to a March story in the online edition of The Rider, Legacy’s student newspaper. He told The Rider: “I tried to visualize the feelings that people associate with music and put that in my design.”

- Traci Shurley

Follow Mansfield speller in national competition

Elizabeth Adetiba, the eighth-grader at Mansfield's James Coble Middle School who won local spelling competitions to get into the Scripps National Spelling Bee, is competing this morning in Washington D.C.

It's her second trip to the national bee.

You can follow the action on Twitter @scrippsbee. Elizabeth, number 253, already spelled annoyance correctly (the picture is from Scripps).

- Traci Shurley

Fort Worth trustees awaiting TAKS results

While most Texas districts have received results on how their students did on state tests, Fort Worth officials are still waiting. Some results are in, but the unexpected school closure due to swine flu concerns interrupted the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills testing. Fort Worth schools should be getting the rest of their results by the end of this week, officials said.
At tonight's board meeting, superintendent Melody Johnson was hopeful that they would show improved student performance. But some trustees expressed frustration that the gains may not be as significant as they want. They briefly discussed the forthcoming results as they asked staff questions about renewing a contract with the College Board for a program aimed at improving math performance. "We're not gaining at the rate we should with the money we have," trustee Christene Moss said. "It doesn't seem as we're moving quickly."
Trustees did approve renewing the $394,346.51 contract for SpringBoard, which was put into all high school and middle schools this year. Administrators said they expect it to increase the number of students taking advanced placement courses and improve test scores over time. Full implementation of the program is expected to take three years.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Arlington schools announce big gains in TAKS scores

The numbers crunchers at Arlington schools are predicting that this year's state testing results will earn the district a near doubling of the number of campuses that are rated exemplary and recognized by the state.

The district, along with others in the county, recently received preliminary Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) results. According to Arlington, those preliminary results show the number of exemplary campuses will go from three to five when school accountability rankings are released in August. The number of recognized campuses will go from 15 to 30, they said. 

The Texas Education Agency expects to release state-wide preliminary TAKS results early next week, according to a spokeswoman there.

Arlington Superintendent Jerry McCullough credited the preliminary results to the hard work that's been going on at Arlington campuses. He said gains were particularly strong in science.

"That was a weak point for us, but all the schools got in there and did a lot of activities that emphasize science," he said. "We focused on it and we saw results."

McCullough has set a goal of attaining recognized status for the district. That will not happen this year. Officials said the district's science scores were not high enough to be considered for recognized status. Also, for a district to be recognized, no campus can be ranked academically unacceptable and one junior high in the district will miss the mark this year, McCullough said.

"We're going to get there," McCullough said. "Our focus is on instruction and we're going to keep that focus."

Arlington is currently ranked academically acceptable.

Want to see how your school did? Here's the district press release.

 - Traci Shurley

Kennedale students complete 24,000 piece jigsaw puzzle

A year-long project that’s taken the work of about 300 students at Kennedale's James Arthur Intermediate School literally came together Friday.

A teacher, a parent and eight children snapped in the last ten pieces into the World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle, a 24,000 piece behemoth that Principal Danny Greenfield ordered last fall. It is about 14 feet long and about five feet high. (picture courtesy of parent Ann Beck)

“I just thought, ‘Well, that would be fun,” he said. “My vice principal thought I was crazy.”

Throughout the year, students who had good behavior and were caught up on their assignments could work on the puzzle as a reward. Greenfield said it was a popular pass-time with teachers too.

The school held an assembly Friday to finish the colorful puzzle. Now, they plan to send their results into a Web site that has blog entries from people around the world who have completed the puzzle.

“We decided we wanted to try to be the first school in the world to complete it, and it looks like we’ve made,” Greenfield said.

- Traci Shurley

Funding bill to give less to Arlington schools

Cindy Powell, Arlington's associate superintendent of finance, had some unhappy news for trustees Thursday night.

The financially pinched district has been counting on legislators in Austin to make significant changes to the state's school funding structure by the time the session ends June 1. HB3646, which went before the Senate Education Committee Thursday, seems like the most likely legislation to get passed. But, the version that came out of the Senate committee, left trustees less than enthusiastic.

According to Powell, the version to be considered in the Senate drops the amount of additional funding Arlington could expect to receive next school yearfrom $20.1 million to $12 million. The reason, Powell said, is that the new version raises the minimum increase guaranteed to districts from $100 per weighted average daily attendance to $135 per weighted average daily attendance.

With everybody guaranteed more money, it leaves less to spread around to districts like Arlington that are on the lower end of the state's current target revenue funding system, Powell said. About half of the funding increases would have to be spent on yearly raises for teachers and some other school professionals.

Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, said earlier this week that he shaped the bill to stay within the $1.9 billion education spending increase in the proposed budget. He said he wanted to help all school districts and especially those hit hard by 2006 changes to the funding system.

Trustee Jim Ash said he was frustrated and discouraged by what he was seeing. He complimented local legislators like Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, but pointed out that they can't do it alone.

"We've got two weeks," he said. "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

- Traci Shurley

Arlington teachers rewarded

A residents group established to reward Arlington teachers who excel held its annual banquet recently and awarded checks to 10 teachers. The AWARE Foundation, which stands for Arlington Will Award and Recognize Excellence, has been around since 1989. The winners of its yearly Award of Excellence get $3,000 to spend however they like; runners-up get a $1,500 check. Funds come from private and corporate funding, according to the group’s Web site.

This year’s winners (pictured, thanks to AISD) were: Debi Roberts, a Webb Elementary kindergarten teacher; Jessica Hall, a fourth-grade teacher at Miller Elementary; Valarie Yurkunas, a sixth-grade teacher at Pope Elementary; Kat Wells, an eighth-grade teacher at Bailey Junior High; and Susan West, a teacher at Arlington High School.

The runners-up were: Cynthia Johnston, a kindergarten teacher at Sherrod Elementary; Dawn Zdrojewski, an instructional facilitator at Short Elementary; Jennifer Hammonds, a fifth-grade teacher at Short Elementary; Pam Hodges, a teacher at Shackelford Junior High; and Barbara Applequist, a teacher at Sam Houston High School.

- Traci Shurley

Arlington explains school finance

Confused by the school funding system in Texas? You're not alone.

The folks over at Arlington schools' AISD-TV put together a great, quick presentation that will help.

- Traci Shurley

Health department investigating Mansfield TB case

A student at Legacy High School in the Mansfield district has tested positive for Tuberculosis and county health officials are providing free screenings for about 275 students who had contact with the student, according to information released by Mansfield officials.   

A letter went out Wednesday to parents of Legacy students, notifying them of the situation and telling them that there is a low risk of contracting the disease because significant exposure is required. The Tarrant County Public Health Department is identifying anyone who may have had close contacts with the student. They are receiving additional notification and opportunities for testing, the letter said. 

Legacy has a student body of 2,256.

“Let me assure you that the health and well being of our students is our top priority and we are doing everything possible to address the situation,” Principal David Wright wrote. Anyone with questions was asked to call the health department at 817-321-4900.

- Traci Shurley

Teacher's Texas past comes to light in congressional hearing this week

A teacher linked to a 2002 student death in Killeen was put on administrative leave in Virginia this week after her past was discussed during congressional hearings, according to the The Washington Post's LoundounExtra.com. The hearing discussed a recent report that found hundreds of allegations of improper classroom restraint, some of which led to student deaths. A 14-year-old special education student died from an extreme amount of pressure on his chest after being restrained by his teacher in the 2002 incident, according to Star-Telegram archives. Dawn Marie Hamilton did not face criminal charges in the incident but a Texas judge put her on a state registry of persons found to have abused or neglected children, according to this Leesburg Today story. Virginia school officials told that newspaper her background check came back clean.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Arlington officials propose lunch price increase

Getting a full lunch tray at Arlington schools could lighten students' pockets a little more next year if trustees approve changes to school lunch prices Thursday night.

The proposed increase of 25 cents would be the first since 2004. District officials say increased food and operating costs are to blame. Trustees at the neighboring Mansfield district approved a similar increase last month.

If the increase at Arlington is approved, lunch at an Arlington elementary school will cost $2. At junior highs and high schools, the new price would be $2.25. Students on free or reduced-price lunch programs would not be affected by the price increase. That's more than half of the district's approximately 63,000 students.

Arlington school trustees meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night at 1203 West Pioneer Parkway. They'll hold two other functions before the meeting starts - at 5:30 p.m., a swearing-in for two re-elected trustees and new board member Aaron Reich and, at 7 p.m., a retirement reception for departing Trustee Sherri Wade (at left).

- Traci Shurley

Arlington school gets burglarized twice in a week

It's not unheard of for school buildings to get broken into, but this past week has been tough on Arlington's Wimbish Elementary. Rock wielding thieves hit the school twice since Thursday, stealing about $6,000 worth of computers after smashing out windows to individual classrooms, school officials said.
The break-ins at the central Arlington campus happened some time late Thursday or early Friday morning and late Sunday or early Monday morning. In the first, two teachers' computers were stolen. In the second, another three were snatched.
School officials say they’ve increased security at the school. They’re asking anyone who may know about the thefts to call Crime Stoppers at 817-469-8477.

- Traci Shurley

Fort Worth high school principals oppose allowing students to participate in graduation if they have failed TAKS

The principals told trustees they do not want students to be allowed to participate in commencement ceremonies if they have not met all requirements to graduate, including passing all portions of the state-mandated Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests.

"It does break our hearts when one has to get pulled from the list," South Hills High School principal  Nancy Weisskopf said. "But what kind of message and what kind of precedent would we be setting? Would we be devaluing the accomplishments of the other 90 percent of our students?"

O.D. Wyatt High School principal Steven Johnson said allowing students to walk without them passing the test would take away the incentive to some students to strive to pass the test even if it is after the school year. "We have to make sure that urgency continues to exist," he said.

All but two high school principals were in attendance to oppose changing the current policy. No action was taken. Trustee Juan Rangel said he asked for the item to be on the agenda to show a united front on why the district has the current policy of not allowing students to participate in ceremonies if they have not passed a portion of the TAKS.

--Eva-Marie Ayala

Turning around failing schools

President Obama and Education Secretary Arnie Duncan want to turn around the 5,000 low performing schools in the next five years. In budget discussions this week, they have said they want to use $1.5 billion take bold action to improve failing schools that could include replacing staff and principals or giving such campuses over to charter school operators, according to this story The Associated Press.

How this plays out will be of particular in Fort Worth. Polytechnic High School will learn its fate at the end of this school year. If it earns the state rating of academically unacceptable, it could be forced close. Should that happen, trustees have approved a plan to turn the campus into two academies -- one for boys and one for girls. On a related note, last week in Alabama the St. Clair County school system said they would no longer have gender-based classes after facing a threat of lawsuits from the American Civil Liberties Union. Similar classes were discontinued in Mobile after the ACLU raised concerns of gender segregation there.

--Eva-Marie Ayala