Extra Credit

Tarrant County schools eligible for about $119 million in stimulus

If President Obama signs the stimulus package as expected today, Tarrant County schools could be in line to receive $119 million over the next two years. This House Committee on Education & Labor blog has a state-by-state list of district level estimates for special education and programs for low-income students.

The original stimulus package had targeted about $206 million for Tarrant County schools, about $70 million of which was for modernization and technology upgrades. The package now has $53.6 billion for construction and modernization efforts nationwide, which will be given to districts based on state and federal formulas. About $650 million will be available nationwide for technology grants.

Here's a breakdown of what area schools could receive as estimated by Congress:

District 
Aledo                                $594,000
Arlington                           $25,371,000
Azle                                 $1,747,000
Birdville                            $7,594,000
Burleson                           $1,775,000
Carroll                              $1,364,000
Castleberry                       $1,413,000
Crowley                            $2,813,000
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw    $1,798,000
Everman                           $1,533,000
Fort Worth                        $49,220,000
Grapevine-Colleyville          $3,653,000
Hurst-Euless-Bedford         $6,717,000
Keller                               $4,410,000
Kennedale                        $847,000
Lake Worth                      $1,098,000
Mansfield                         $4,336,000
Northwest                        $1,727,000
White Settlement             $1,594,000

- Traci Shurley and Eva-Marie Ayala

North Crowley High football team grows milk moustaches

Chugging chocolate milk garnered the North Crowley High School Panther football team $2,000 in prizes this week from the Milk Processor Education Program in Washington, D.C. and the title of Body by Milk Coach of the Year for head football coach Mike Papas (he's the one not in blue). Player Emilio Vera found out about a national campaign contest somewhere on the Internet earlier this year and sent in a photo of his team. The campaign awarded the school a $1,000 check and a $1,000 Adidas product voucher on Tuesday. North Crowley was one of 25 teams nationwide to get the honor.

The award is welcome in the district, which faced a $4 million budget deficit this year. Money concerns persist after voters in October rejected a proposal to increase the school property tax rate by 13 cents.

Papas said the $1,000 cash award will be used to buy the athletics department a computer server to assist in storing and transferring digital game video footage. The $1,000 Adidas voucher will be used to buy sweats for the kids, who noted the need after working out in Tuesday's frigid wind, Papas said.

Does Papas really expect us to believe his players drink chocolate milk after a big game?

"Apparently the sugar in chocolate milk allows some of the vitamins and minerals and protein and good stuff in milk to be absorbed more quickly by the body," Papas said. "And milk is mostly water, so it has rehydration value."

OK. I'm going to tell that to the folks at Lily B. Clayton Elementary in Fort Worth, where my kindergartner is allowed only to purchase white milk until he makes it to first grade.

- Kristin Sullivan

Tarrant schools not alone in struggles to meet federal standards

Eva-Marie Ayala and Traci Shurley report that the Fort Worth, Arlington, Crowley, Everman, Kennedale and White Settlement school districts missed federal academic standards this year, after more special-education students took a modified version of the TAKS as required by law.

In all, 34 public high schools in Tarrant County missed federal Adequate Yearly Progress standards, which gauge whether public schools and school districts are making gains in reading and math. The report also considers high school graduation rates and attendance in earlier grade levels.

Many schools were penalized for low passing rates among special-education students, according to the state’s preliminary 2008 AYP report released Tuesday.

The list spanned the county, including Bowie High School in southeast Arlington and Trinity High School in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford school district.

Colleyville Heritage High School missed AYP standards because attendance among lower-income students on math test day was too low. The school needed 95 percent participation but had only 92 percent. The difference amounted to two students.

The AYP report is tied to the federal No Child Left Behind law, which instructs schools that accept Title I money for low-income students to have 100 percent proficiency in reading and math by 2014.

More to come in Wednesday's Star-Telegram.

But the struggles are far from limited to North Texas. Here's what The New York Times had to say:

Across the nation, far more schools failed to meet the federal law’s testing targets than in any previous year, according to new state-by-state data. And in California and some other states, the problem traces in part to the fact that officials chose to require only minimal gains in the first years after the law passed and then very rapid annual gains later. One researcher likens it to the balloon payments that can sink homebuyers.

Part of the reason for the troubles was that the states gambled the law would have been softened when it came up for reauthorization in 2007, but efforts to change it stalled. This year Congress made no organized attempt to reconsider the law. With the nation facing urgent challenges, including two wars and economic turmoil, it could be a year or more before the new president can work with Congress to rewrite the law.

Read the article here.

-Patrick M. Walker

Crowley school tax hike defeated

Crowley voters rejected a school tax increase on Saturday that would've helped the 15,000-student district erase a $4 million budget shortfall.

Instead, "We're faced with some challenging budget decisions and will have to make some hard choices in the coming months," said a disappointed Superintendent Greg Gibson. He had visited with some 42 community groups to get across his message that staffing and operating the district's new schools may be a problem. Six new Crowley campuses are set to open in a three-year span, part of the $417 million bond election that voters passed in Crowley last year.

The tax hike vote on Saturday was 790 for, 1,021 against.

All may not be lost, however.

"We'll bring this all back to the board," Gibson said, and another tax ratification election could be scheduled in as soon as 60 days.

--Shirley Jinkins 

North Crowley class may set a world record

Ten sets of twins and one set of triplets will graduate tonight from North Crowley High School, a feat that could land them in Guinness World Records. (Must be something in the water over there, eh?)

Having this many multiples in one class can be a challenge at times, school Principal Trent Lovette said, though none have tried to pull any big stunts, like switching classrooms for a test.

But a few of the identicals have played the role of their sibling before. Read about some of their antics, and find out what they plan to do next, here.

-Patrick M. Walker

UTA Movin' Mavs coach eulogized

It was totally movin' today over at UTA's funeral for their longtime beloved men's wheelchair basketball coach Jim Hayes. Read John Austin's story here.

- Kristin Sullivan

Your A.M. roundup

Today on star-telegram.com:

By far the biggest news involves the percentage of eighth-graders who didn't pass the TAKS math exam on their first try this month. Under new state rules, eighth-graders must pass the reading and math exams to be promoted. Those who didn't do so this month have two more chances to take the test and will receive mandatory remedial instruction.

Diane Smith and Martha Deller have the Fort Worth-area results here.

Shirley Jinkins has the Arlington-area results here.

And Katherine Cromer Brock has the results for Northeast Tarrant districts here.

-Patrick M. Walker

This is just a drill

Motorists traveling on South Hulen today may have been irritated to find the major street shut down or startled to see dozens of ambulances and police cars surrounding North Crowley High School. Have no fear. It was a staged accident _ part of the "Shattered Dreams" program put on every year by a number of area high schools to teach students the dangers of drunk driving. Strangely enough, the district didn't get many frantic phone calls. "Maybe they checked our website," suggested district spokeswoman Jennie Moore. That's where school officials posted a short item about five minutes before the staged accident occurred, she said.

-Martha Deller 

Your A.M. roundup

Today on star-telegram.com:

The University of Texas at Arlington announced Wednesday that Donald Bobbitt, a chemist and University of Arkansas administrator, will be its new provost. By John Austin

Several local students are among the 2008 National Achievement Scholarships recipients who were announced Wednesday. By Eva-Marie Ayala

Wind whipped through the hair of 30-plus Deer Creek Elementary fourth-graders who lined up facing 10 targets on a temporary archery range behind the school gymnasium. By Martha Deller

Grapevine-Colleyville trustees told district's growth likely means no new schools needed. By Katherine Cromer Brock

-Patrick M. Walker

UIL realignments are in!

The University Interscholastic League has realigned its districts in which schools compete against one another in everything from speech and drama to sports. Next year, for the first time, all three Keller high schools will be in the same district. And there's ample opportunity for strong rivalries between Arlington and Mansfield schools in Class 4A and 5A. Powerhouse Southlake Carroll was moved to the east to compete against schools like Coppell and those in the Lewisville district. And the state champ Trinity Trojans will meet Colleyville Heritage, Grapevine and Northwest high schools as well as all Keller high schools in district play. Weigh in on the changes at www.star-telegram.com.

- Lee Williams and Kristin Sullivan