Extra Credit

Former Mansfield trustee seeks seat in Legislature

Check out reporter Aman Batheja's posting on our PoliTex blog about Joy Kellerfiling for the District 96 seat that includes parts of south Arlington, Mansfield, Kennedale, Fort Worth and Burleson. Keller, who served on the Mansfield school board for a dozen years, goes up against Bill Zedler (who formerly held that seat before losing it to Chris Turner in 2008) in the Republican primary.

Many former school trustees have sought a seat in the Lege. Local reps who have served on a school board in the past include Diane Patrick, R-Arlington (former Arlington school board president), and Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills (Birdville school board).

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Mansfield students still raising bicycle money

Mansfield school officials say it's not to late to donate to the Bikes for Angels program at Ben Barber Career Tech Academy.

On Friday, Rick Curlee, a teacher at Ben Barber who heads up the yearly donation, said auto tech students were on track to have about 350 bikes to donate to children at the district's elementary schools who otherwise wouldn't be able to get one. However, that's below the 460 requests the students got this year.

(Update: On Wednesday, Richie Escovedo, Mansfield's spokesman, said more donations came in and the bike total has reached 461. If more donations are collected than needed for district students, the bikes purchased go to local charities.) 

Deliveries start Wednesday, but Curlee said the classes planned to continue taking donations this week. (The picture by Star-Telegram photographer Rodger Mallison is of Ben Barber students putting together bikes last week.)

"There's never not a place for them to go," Curlee said.   

- Traci Shurley

Mansfield seeking parents' opinions

Mansfield school district parents, administrators want to hear from you.

The district is doing an anonymous parent satisfaction survey with help from the National Center for School Leadership and they hope it will give valuable feedback to administrators. The survey is available on the district's Website through Tuesday.

- Traci Shurley

Mansfield teachers get grants honoring former superintendent

Mansfield schools had some extra happy teachers this week, as the Mansfield ISD Education Foundation completed its second round of grant patrol visits to classrooms.

The foundation surprised teachers on Nov. 19 and again on Tuesday with a total of $122,000 in grants, according to Linda Bacsik, the foundation’s director.

Included in those were two Think Big grants of $10,000 each. One will help fund equipment for a new sports medicine class in the district’s high schools. The other will provide 70-feet-by-56-feet maps for all of its elementary schools. Those will be used in social studies lessons.
The foundation also awarded a $10,000 grant for math and science funded by National Semiconductor.

Awards were made to three schools in the name of former Superintendent Vernon Newsom. Newsom, who led the district for 13 years, was killed in a motorcycle accident this summer, shortly after his retirement.
The Vernon Newsom Memorial Grants focused on reading this time. Board members decided that they will focus the grant given in his name on a different academic area each year. Bacsik said giving out the award honoring Newsom was an emotional experience.
“It’s hard because I’m trying to talk to the principal and talk to the teacher and tell him it’s in honor of him and I can’t get the words out. I choked up every time I did it,” she said.

- Traci Shurley

Orchestra classes could be coming to Mansfield

Mansfield school administrators want to build an orchestra program a little at a time for the next few years.
A proposal to be reviewed by school trustees tonight calls for the district to add three stringed-instrument teachers next year to start a pre-orchestra program in the fifth grade. After that, the program will grow each year until it’s fully implemented in the district’s secondary schools in fall 2017, Fine Arts Director Russ Sanders said.
In the past, Mansfield’s rapid expansion kept administrators focused on maintaining the quality of current programs instead of starting new ones, Sanders said. Now that student population growth has slowed to between three and four percent a year, the district can increase its offerings, he said. Mansfield already has successful band and choir programs.
Sanders said it’s hard to estimate how much the orchestra program will cost, but adding the three teachers next year is expected to add about $150,000 in salary expenses. As for the rest of the program: “Trying to decide how much that would be is going to be a little difficult,” Sanders said. “Because we have no idea until the numbers actually materialize what that would look like. Do you plan for a middle school orchestra of 125 or 225? That is going to be the challenge for us.”

- Traci Shurley

Mansfield teen's care package collection exceeds expectations

When Mansfield High School senior Charlie Jordan started the project that will help him become an Eagle Scout, he hoped to collect about 50 care packages to be sent to troops overseas through the Website www.anysoldier.com.

Jordan's father, Lt. Col. Richard Jordan, is serving with the Army National Guard in Afghanistan. It is his third deployment. Charlie Jordan wanted to honor his father's service and help other soldiers. 

The collection exceeded his expectations, by a lot. Help came from other scouts, businesses like AT&T and Federal Heath Sign, and others in the community.

On packing day "we didn't have enough boxes to put all the stuff in," Jordan said of the collection of everyday items like toiletries and snacks. "We didn't have enough customs forms to fill out. We had no idea we were going to get more than 200 ...I ended up with 314."

The overwhelming response led Jordan to send out another appeal, an e-mail to friends, family and supporters looking for help with unexpected mailing costs. That too has been answered with offers of support. Jordan is still collecting donations and said he'll use any extra funds to make and mail more care packages. For more information, e-mail him at texasscout2009-eagle@yahoo.com.

- Traci Shurley

Mansfield auto-tech classes kick off Christmas bike collection

Students in automotive-technology classes at Mansfield’s Ben Barber Career Tech Academy have kicked off their yearly “Bikes for Angels” fundraiser, and they have set a big goal.
They want to raise $25,000 to buy at least 600 bikes for needy children, according to the school district. Last year, students raised $21,000 to buy 425 bikes for students in need at Mansfield’s elementary and intermediate campuses. (That's a picture of last year's collection at the left.) They also gave bikes to the Meredith Hatch Foundation in Mansfield, the YMCA of Arlington and a few other nonprofits.
To learn more, go to the district’s blog. To get involved or make a donation, contact instructor Rick Curlee at 817-299-1939 or e-mail him at curlri@mansfieldisd.org.

- Traci Shurley

 

State marching band finals wrap up in San Antonio

The Dripping Springs High School marching band was named state champions in tonight's finals. The Mansfield Legacy band placed seventh and Waxahachieplaced eighth. Here are how our area bands ranked among the 26 bands during the prelims earlier in the day. Only the top 10 advanced to the finals. Click here for complete results.

Mansfield Legacy, 5th

Waxahachie, 8th

Fort Worth's Southwest, 12th

Azle, 14th

Boswell, 16th

Saginaw, 19th

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Mansfield Legacy HS makes it to the state finals

The Broncos were the only Tarrant County band to make it into the top 10 for the finals at the state marching band competition in San Antonio. Here's part of their show from the finals. The championship winner is expected to be announced later tonight at about 9:45 p.m.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Preparing for state marching band contest today

Hundreds of Texas teens were up before dawn today for the state marching band competition at the Alamodome. Mansfield Legacy High School students were up at 4 a.m.
"We had to try and be asleep by 9:30 last night," senior Mia Payton, tenor saxophone, said. "That was hard."
The band was able to use the North East school district's Virgil T. Blossom Athletic Center to practice at 6 a.m. Before the show, Payton said she was not nervous.
"We just close our eyes before we go out, relax our mind and see what it is we need to do," she said.

The band performed a piece called "Signal to Noise" that highlighted the progression of music from acoustic to electronic. After the show, clarinet player Jorge Morales said he thought the band's performance was amazing. "I was nervous coming here," he said. "But it's been great-- all of it building up to this performance." Legacy is the first band from Mansfield to make it to the state competition. 


-Eva-Marie Ayala