Extra Credit

Fort Worth celebrates the spirit of Poly

Today hundreds of students, faculty, alumni, parents and other supports came to Polytechnic High School's community party to celebrate the dramatic gains students have made to turn the school around. Last year, the East Fort Worth campus faced state closure because of years of poor academic accountability ratings. But students made double-digit gains in every portion of state testing to keep the school open. Reporter Anna Tinsley covered the party and will posting pictures soon. Here's some video from the event including part of Principal Gary Braudaway'sspeech about the "spirit of Poly." In it he notes how the football team rarely won a game three years ago but pushed on anyway. Now, in the wake of their academic success, the Parrots' football team is heading into the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

A nod to bands state bound

This morning Azle mayor Russ Braudisread a proclamation in on honor of the Azle High School band (pictured here at the reading) declaring next Tuesday as "Marching Green Pride Day." The Hornets will be in San Antonio with four other local bands competing in the state marching band contestat the Alamodome. Click here to see the band's first-place performance at last weekend's area finals in Odessa (it has red shoes!).

Also going to state are: the Mansfield Legacy High School band, the first band from that district to attend state; the Boswell High School band; the Saginaw High School band; and Southwest High School, Fort Worth's first band to make it to the contest in San Antonio.

I'll be blogging from the Alamodome all day Tuesday, so check here for updates and pictures throughout the day. Until then, here's Southwest's video of that band's area final performance.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

El Paso, Wichita Falls educators are state Teachers of the Year

Names of the two top teachers in Texas were unveiled at an Austin lunch today. Yushica Walker, who teachers sixth grade science in El Paso was named the 2010 Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year.

The Elementary Teacher of the Year is Donna Patrick, a math and language arts teacher in Wichita Falls. 

The Texas Education Agency honored 39 regional teachers of the year. Four state finalists - including Carroll schools biology teacher Keeley Lowery - won a $750 cash prize and a commemorative trophy. The other regional teachers got a $500 award.

The top teachers were awarded prizes including a $5,000 award and laptop computer. Walker will go on on to compete for the national title.

Jessamy Brown

Nominations for new Roanoke school due now

Fast-growing Northwest school district is looking for help with naming a new campus. An accelerated high school is to open in August 2010 at the site of Roanoke Elementary School, 606 N. Walnut St., Roanoke. The elementary will relocate to a new site in the Briarwyck neighborhood.

Under district rules, names of  proposed honorees "shall not be considered while living."

Friday - that's today - is the deadline to nominate names for the high school. Electronic nomination forms are posted on the district’s Web site. Trustees are expected to settle on a name in December.

Or e-mail suggestions to: schoolnames@nisdtx.org.

Jessamy Brown

Northwest students honor memory of former classmate

Students at two Trophy Club campuses joined children in several states Thursday to salute a former classmate who died in a summer bus crash.

 The “Maggie Lee for Good” project challenged young people to do a good deed on Thursday, which would have been Maggie Lee Henson’s 13th birthday. Maggie Lee attended Lakeview Elementary four years ago before her family moved to Louisiana, Northwest school district officials said.

Campuses in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas organized events Thursday.

Lakeview Elementary students are holding a food drive this week and staffers wore t-shirts in her honor.

Students at Medlin Middle School are collecting MP3 players, iPods and iTunes gift cards to donate to hospital intensive care units and are hosting a Thursday evening birthday celebration at the elementary campus. The event was organized by the seventh grade Destination Imagination team, who knew Maggie Lee when she was a team member as a Lakeview Elementary third grader.

 Maggie Lee died in August from injuries after her Shreveport, La., church bus flipped over on its way to a Georgia youth camp.

Jessamy Brown

Westlake Academy trustee feted for fundraising work

Westlake Academy school board president Laura Wheat has been chosen as an "outstanding volunteer fundraiser" by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The group’s greater Dallas chapter will honor volunteers and philanthropists at a Nov. 10 luncheon in Dallas.

Wheat, who also serves as Westlake mayor, has served as chair of the non-profit Gilda’s Club Worldwide, a support organization for those affected by cancer and their families and friends. It's named for comic Gilda Radner. Wheat also chaired a campaign to raise funds for the municipally operated charter school’s Sam and Margaret Lee Arts & Sciences Center, which opened in September.

Jessamy Brown

Carroll schools chief to match wits with Southlake gifted students

Can super smart kids best the leader of one of the state's few exemplary-rated school districts? The Carroll schools superintendent will take on students enrolled in district gifted programs in an unusual matchup. It is billed as a local version of the TV show, called “Is Dr. Faltys smarter than a CISD fifth grader?”

The event featuring David J. Faltys will take place at 4 p.m. on Nov. 7 at Barnes and Noble in Southlake Town Square. The Southlake Association for Gifted and Talented is hosting the game as part of a weekend fundraiser. 

Jessamy Brown

Rain cancels Northwest High's homecoming festivities - again

Northwest High School's actual homecoming game was on Sept. 18. But the community parade, fireworks show and pep rally were called off because of rain. They were going to try again tonight. But, the gloomy, wet weather has caused a second rainout for the festivities. The Texans are scheduled to take on football powerhouse Euless Trinity at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at NISD Stadium.

Jessamy Brown

Arlington's Martin High School wins rating appeal

The Texas Education Agency has granted Martin High School's accountability ratings appeal. It is now a recognized campus.

The west Arlington high school was rated academically acceptable when ratings first came out this summer. However, the district challenged that finding, saying that some of the students the state counted in the "economically disadvantaged" subgroup did not belong there based on district records. 

- Traci Shurley

Keller ISD wins ratings appeal to return to recognized status

Keller school district is once again rated "recognized," the second highest level on the state's four-tier education accountability scale. The district had lost its rating earlier this year when the Texas Education Agency gave it a rating of "academically acceptable." Keller officials had appealed the decision because of a discrepancy between the the district and the state about data on the school district's completion rate.

Jessamy Brown