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

Funeral set for Paschal teen

The funeral for Xavier Ramirez is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 100 E. Pafford St.

Ramirez, 17, was found dead this past weekend after apparently working out at the Paschal High School track. Friends and others in the community raised more than $9,000 to helpwith expenses, namely through a candlelight vigil at the school Monday night. Friends said his coworkers at Pappaduex raised several hundred dollars to help and the restaurant's parent company donated $2,000. A rosary will be said tonight for Ramirez at Amalla Funeral Home, 5210 McCart Ave.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Arlington kindergartner honored for calm under pressure

School officials and Arlington emergency response personnel on Friday recognized a Miller Elementary kindergartner whose levelheadedness is being credited with saving her grandma’s life.

Triniti Hawkins, 6, was at the Arlington home of her grandmother, Janice Williams, on Oct. 10. She tried to wake Williams  about 9 a.m., but the 57-year-old wouldn’t respond, said Neka Hawkins, Triniti’s mother.

Triniti immediately called her parents, who were already at work at American Airlines. Then, just as her father had asked her to do, she called 911. She stayed on the phone with emergency operators until paramedics got to the house, and she opened the door for them.

Hawkins said her mother had pneumonia but didn’t know it. Her blood pressure had dropped dangerously low.

“If Triniti wasn’t there, she wouldn’t have made it,” Neka Hawkins said. Williams was in the hospital for a week, but she’s out now, on the mend and extremely proud of her granddaughter, Hawkins said.
 “She calls Triniti her little angel,” she said.

- Traci Shurley

Local educator included in 'Band of Brothers' placed on Fort Worth ISD's Wall of Fame

Ralph Stafford joined the Army just after graduating from Paschal High School in 1942.

Serving in Easy Company, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Stafford was among those who dropped into Normandy on D-Day and later crossed the Rhine River into Germany to rescue more than 100 American and British servicemen and Dutch resistance fighters trapped behind enemy lines, according to Star-Telegram archives.

He was injured twice and received the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal and the Croix de Guerre from Belgium and France.

Tales from his time with E Company were included in Stephen Ambrose' 1992 book Band of Brothers, which went on to be a 10-part HBO mini-series in 2001.

Stafford, a graduate from Texas Wesleyan University, was a long-time elementary school principal in the Birdville Independent School District. He died in 1995 at the age of 71.

Fort Worth school officials searched for nearly a year to find a picture of Stafford in uniform to place on the district's Wall of Fame. Finally this picture was located in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection at the University of Texas at Arlington Library.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Arlington criticized for Chavez holiday decision

Former school board candidate Luis Castillo had some harsh words for Arlington school board members Thursday night regarding their recent 5-2 vote against establishing a Cesar Chavez holiday in the district.

The board turned back a school calendar proposed by a committee that wanted to give students a day off on March 28, 2011 to honor the late civil rights and labor leader. Opponents of the holiday said they didn't think students should be out again so soon after spring break and so close the beginning of state testing.

During an open forum portion of their Thursday meeting, Castillo, who is president of Council 4353 of the League of the United Latin American Citizens, told the board: "Managing diversity is more than simply talking about it or acknowledging differences. It entails recognizing the value of those differences, fighting discrimination and promoting inclusiveness. It is self-evident that the five gentlemen who voted against the Cesar Chavez school holiday opted to perpetuate an exclusionary policy on an issue of importance to the Hispanic population."

- Traci Shurley

Hill School takes holiday performance to hospital

Students from Hill School, a private school with campuses in Fort Wort and Grapevine, recently took their show on the road. And in this case, that show was a "December in Our Town" and the road led to a Monday performance at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.

Hill School is a nonprofit school that focuses on helping students with "learning differences" excel. Elementary and high school students work together each year to produce a musical.

This year's musical, which students performed in the atrium of the hospital for staff, patients and their families, is about students collecting canned goods and celebrating December holidays. Students have also been doing canned food collections in real-life and will donate the proceeds to Mission Arlington, school officials said.

(The picture is of a rehearsal of the play. It is of Hill School fourth-graders Jourdan Lutter, of Fort Worth, Kevin Carter, of Fort Worth and Deanna Hilliard, of Arlington)

- Traci Shurley

Fort Worth's special education staff bears with it

The deparment's staff members participated in the second annual "Bear Drive" for Cook Children's Medical Center. Here are Karen Ario (left) and Rebecca Quintana (right) with the 150-plus new stuffed bears and animals for patients. (Photo by Mike Zukerman courtesy of the school district)

-Eva-Marie Ayala 

Fort Worth issues statement about state's PEG list

Today we ran a story about the state's annual list of schools in the Public Education Grant program. The Legislature created the PEG program in 1995 to allow students to transfer from poorly performing schools. Fort Worth tied with Houstonto have the second-highest number of schools on the list. This afternoon, Fort Worth officials issued a response that in part said:

“The criteria often use data that can be three years old,” said Chief Academic Office Michael Sorum. “If a campus was Academically Unacceptable in 2007 but earned an Acceptable or higher rating for the last 2 years, students can still request a transfer for next year. And that is exactly the situation for some of our campuses.”

Thirty Fort Worth ISD schools are on the current PEG list. However, eighteen of those schools are rated by the TEA as Academically Acceptable and two of those schools are rated as Recognized. Twelve schools have been rated Academically Acceptable or higher for the last two rating periods with seven being Academically Acceptable for the last three rating lists.

Arlington Heights High School, for example, has been rated Academically Unacceptable in 2008-2009 but only because of attendance data that is several years old and not because of academic performance.

“There is no doubt that some of our campuses still need improvement in student performance, we know that,” said Mr. Sorum. “Not understanding the significant academic achievements that have been accomplished, however, and how these designations are determined, is almost unfair to our students and teachers.”

-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

Arlington's Bowie High School gets AVID funding

Arlington’s Bowie High School has become one of six schools nationwide to receive a grant from the Citi Foundation that is aimed at encouraging African-American male students to enroll in honors level classes and prepare for college, the district said.
The African American Male Initiative is part of a partnership between the Citi Foundation and AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination. AVID is program to encourage college readiness in traditionally underserved high school students who are in the academic middle by providing guidance and support.
The grant Bowie received is for $24,235. Guidelines require the school to increase the number of black male students involved in the district’s AVID program by 25, which it has already done. Another goal is to increase the number of African-American college students tutoring at the school. Teachers are also participating in increased training.
Linda Rodgers, Arlington’s secondary special populations coordinator, said Bowie’s staff has done a great job of getting the grant program up and running. The high school’s commitment to the AVID program is an asset to the district, she said.
“Data has shown that we need to do a better job of creating equity for all of our students and, in particular, our African-American males,” she said. “The campus is just doing such a great job meeting that goal and meeting the students where they are and bringing them to where they need to be to be college ready.”

- Traci Shurley