Extra Credit

Three-hundred families get help at CHIP enrollment event

Arlington schools teamed with the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Health Underwriters, local legislators and several other agencies last week try to keep students healthy.

An event to share information about health insurance coverage available for low-income children drew more than 300 families on Jan. 23 to four Arlington school campuses. Of those, 287 families with a total of 726 were able to complete applications for the state Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or children's Medicaid.

Many families eligible for CHIP don't get it because they don't know they qualify or don't know what paperwork is involved, according to the Tarrant County CHIP Coalition. The coalition will hold more sign-ups on Feb. 27 at Fiesta food stores.

- Traci Shurley 

Grapevine-Colleyville superintendent headed to Richardson

Kay Waggoner, superintendent for the Grapevine-Colleyville school district, has been chosen as the new superintendent in Richardson.

The Richardson school board met behind closed doors Friday morning to make their selection to replace former superintendent David Simmons.

Waggoner was the sole finalist, the district says. By law, the school board must wait at least 21 days to vote to finalize the hire.

State details new grad requirements

Earlier this month, the Texas State Board of Education approved changes to state graduation plans that will allow high schoolers to earn four credits toward their diploma for playing athletics.

Before, they could only get two.

The 15-member board also approved a slew of other tweaks to the programs, including saving a course called Integrated Physics and Chemistry. That class was previously scheduled for phasing out. Other changes involved adding classes that could be counted as a fourth science or math credit.

Here's a list of changes, which go into affect in the fall, from the Texas Education Agency.

- Traci Shurley

We have a new STAAR in the Lone Star state

Education commissioner Robert Scott just announced that State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, is what the new end-of-year exams will be called. They will replace the current Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests now administered in grades 3-11. The new tests will begin in 2011-12 school year and the class of '15 will be the first required to pass all STAAR tests in order to graduate.

STAAR (pronounced like "star") sounds a little more upbeat than TAKS (pronounced like the "tax" you pay) but for some kiddos, a test is a test.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Video highlights local youth aviation program that recently suspended flights in wake of deadly crash

Here's a video from this summer that shows teens from the CRP Future Pilots Flight School at an American Airlines event meeting pilots and comedian Steve Harvey. The school suspended its flights this week after a deadly crash that killed Dunbar High School student Eric Schultz and flight instructor Gregory Green.

 

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Arlington trustee asks when committees become too much

The Arlington school board discussed establishing a citizens bond oversight committee Thursday night. It's a move that several other districts in the state and nation have made in recent years and Arlington, which passed a $197.5 million bond in November, may join them.

But before they do, Trustee Wayne Ogle asked his fellow board members to consider the demands such committees make on district resources, specifically staff at the administrative level. The board also recently established a citizen advisory committee that is going over numerous aspects of the district's operations budget and requesting paperwork and frequent presentations by staff.

Ogle didn't say he was against the new committee. In fact, he supports the spirit of transparency that motivates it. But, he quipped that trustees might want to consider establishing a "board impact on staff committee" too.

The board could take action on establishing a bond oversight committee at their next meeting, Feb. 4.

- Traci Shurley

First Lady mentions Arlington mayor

Arlington is getting some national attention for something other than its football stadium.

Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck got a mention from First Lady Michelle Obama Thursday as she addressed the U.S. Conference of Mayors' meeting in Washington, D.C. She was talking to the group about efforts to address childhood obesity.

Cluck, a doctor, got an attaboy along with a few others for encouraging kids to get active during the summer by giving them pedometers.

- Traci Shurley

Texas schools might have chance for Race to the Top money afterall

Today President Obama announced he wants to expand Race to the Top stimulus money that will allow individual districts to apply directly for the funds rather than going through their state education agencies. This comes a week after Texas Gov. Rick Perry turned down the aid the state would not be seeking the grants as it could lead to a federal takeover of schools as it would force the state to adopt yet-to-be-determined national standards. Local school leaders were split on Perry's decision. The Race to the Top federal funds are aimed at helping to improve education quality. Ed Week reports that Obama wants the grants expanded, in part, so that, “Innovative districts … in Texas whose reform efforts are being stymied by state decision-makers will soon have the chance to earn funding to help them pursue those reforms.”

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Principal picked for Northwest ISD's fourth middle school

Northwest schools has picked the leader for its new middle school opening in the fall. Shane Conklin will move from his post as Lakeview Elementary principal to take the helm of Tidwell Middle School, under construction and Haslet-Roanoke and Ridgetop roads. Trustees gave the appointment the nod at a meeting this week. The campus is being built to relieve crowding at Medlin Middle School. Enrollment in the fast-growing school district has topped 14,175 students and more kids are coming. Enrollment is expected to nearly double within five to seven years.

Jessamy Brown

State board considers hip hop's role in social studies

State Board of Education member Patricia Hardy became an unlikely defender of the study of hip hop music and culture Friday, as her colleagues discussed what to add and subtract from a draft of social studies curriculum standards.

The standards are up for a vote later today and will effect what is taught to Texas' more than 4.7 million school children. 

Don McLeroy, a board member from College Station, suggested an amendment taking hip hop out of a list of examples of arts movements that could be studied in U.S. History for high schoolers. He wanted it replaced with country and western music.

Some board members - including Mavis Knight, of Dallas, and Lawrence A. Allen, Jr. of Houston, - opposed the amendment to the draft. They said hip hop's impact could not be denied and wasn't all bad. Hardy, a Republican from Weatherford, joined them.

"I do not like hip hop. I can't stand it myself, but I'm not 16 and I think it's had in many ways a negative effect on our society," she said. "But I think when we don't discuss things, positive or negative, we don't know and to pretend it's not there is crazy."

The motion to take out hip hop failed. A separate motion to add in country and western music passed.

- Traci Shurley