Extra Credit

Texas schools chiefs are finalists for superintendent of the year

Five Texas school district superintendents are finalists for the superintendent of the year award, to be handed out next month by the Texas Association of School Boards. 

They are: Arturo Almendarez, Calallen schools; Eddie Coulson, College Station schools; Greg Wright, Hallsville schools; Shane Fields, Albany schools; and Larry Appel, Dumas schools.

Nominees are put forward by their regional Education Service Center. And a selection committee conducted interviews on Friday and Saturday in Austin.

The nominee from Fort Worth-based Region XI is David J. Faltys, who holds the top job in the Southlake-based Carroll school district.

The winner will be announced Sept. 26 at a joint convention of the Texas Association of School Boards and Texas Association of School Administrators.

But meanwhile, Donalyn Miller, a language arts teacher at Trinity Meadows Intermediate School in the Keller school district, is one of six finalists in the running for Texas teacher of the year. Winners will be announced in October in Austin. The top two teachers will get a $5,000 prize and a technology package valued at $16,500, a Keller schools news release said.

Teachers from Keller schools have won the award from the Texas Education Agency in 2007 and 2008.

Jessamy Brown

Castleberry schools voters go to polls Saturday in tax election

UPDATE: measure approved by 76 percent, passing 402 to 126, according to unofficial results.

Voters in Castleberry school district will return to the polls on Saturday to weigh in on whether to provide additional funding for day-to-day operations.

Early voting turnout in the small community has been high, with 307 taxpayers casting early ballots so far, said Superintendent Gary S. Jones.

In the tax ratification election, known as a TRE, voters are being asked whether to increase the property tax rate 13 cents to $1.4533 per $100 of assessed valuation.

Officials have said they need additional monies for expenses such as utilities, furniture, educational technology, salaries and athletic and fine arts programs.

The school district for the first time earned a recognized rating under the state’s four-tier accountability system this month. Two other firsts: Castleberry Elementary School earned the top rating of exemplary and Irma Marsh Middle School was rated recognized. For the second year in a row, Castleberry High School garnered a recognized rating for the second time in a row.

“We have had academic success. The bond package has passed and we are hoping that we can continue to build on that success with new construction and new financial aid from the state,” Jones said

Whatever the outcome, Jones plans to write to voters on Wednesday to outline plans for the future, he said.

Jessamy Brown

Birdville's high school marching band event for Rose Parade

Students from all three high school marching bands in Birdville ISD will show off their skills in a Moonlight Marching Madness event Saturday evening in a fundraiser for the combined bands’ trip to the 2011 Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day.

The mass band will march the equivalent of seven miles around the BISD Fine Arts/Athletics Complex, 9200 Mid Cities Boulevard, North Richland Hills. Admission is free to the event, 6 to 11 p.m., which will include carnival-style activities, including hot air balloon rides.

The trip to Pasadena, Calif. will be the first time marching bands from Birdville, Haltom and Richland high schools will march together. Another fundraising event is scheduled for Oct. 4.

Jessamy Brown

The school year kicks off with high temps, a band, some tears and a singing superintendent

Monday may have been the hottest day of the year but school bells rang just the same. New schools opened in Fort Worth, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Keller and other districts across Tarrant County while students in Arlington showed off a greenhouse they built over the summer. You can see a round up of Star-Telegram photos from the first day of school here. Shown at right is kindergartner Logan McElwain from Weatherford's Curtis Elementary School.

The Fort Worth school district posted its first-day video here that includes some anxious parents at the new Hazel Harvey Peace Elementary school who were more nervous than their kiddos. The short video also shows a brief glimpse of the new TABS prep program at Stripling Middle aimed at biomedical sciences. And wait. Is that superintendent Melody Johnson singing?

Meanwhile students are arriving at local college dorms. About 300 faculty, staff, students, UTA president James Spaniolo and Mayor Robert Cluck helped freshmen get settled in at the University of Texas at Arlington where nearly 4,200 students live in dorms or university-owned apartments, duplexes or houses.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Parents against school bullying to hold candlelight vigil

The Fort Worth/Dallas parent group Families Against Bullying will host a Tuesday candlelight vigil in Joshua to honor of bullied children who have been lost to suicide because of harassment and assault.

The location of the DFW Stand for the Silent event was held under wraps until this week. It is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at R.C. Loflin Middle School (old campus), 520 Stadium Dr., Joshua.

The vigil is in honor of students Montana Lance, Jon Carmichael, Hunter Layland, Ty Field-Smalley and others, a group news release said.

"Please set this evening aside and come to share the love and prayers for survivors and support the local families who are tirelessly working toward effective implementation of safe Texas schools," the news release said.

The event is being held in conjunction with a similar one in Oklahoma City.

Jessamy Brown

Arlington fire stations are drop off sites for school supply rally

A back-to-school rally to collect school supplies which Arlington schools officials will dole out during the school year is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Fort Worth’s Score a Goal in the Classroom, a school incentive program, is launching the pilot program in the hopes of sparing teachers from digging into their own pockets to provide school supplies. The items will also be used for rewards and incentives for students, said Ernie Horn, executive director.

The rally is at Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts at Founder's Plaza, 110 W. Abram St., in downtown Arlington. Parking is free.

All Arlington fire stations are accepting donations through Tuesday or donors can bring items to the rally. The two hour event will include a "city-wide concert of prayer," with praise and worship music "imploring the Lord to protect and bless Arlington's students and school employees during the 2010-2011 school year."

Donations of children's socks and underwear will be distributed by charity Mission Arlington. The school supplies will be delivered to campus principals for distribution.

Horn said teachers can spend up to $1,000 per year of their own money to provide extra pencils, pens and other essentials, lunch money and field trip fees when families can't afford the expenses.

"The vision is to bring together the community of Arlington to honor the real heroes of Arlington - the teachers and school employees," Horn said. "We can't idly stand by and see teachers spending their own money."

Officials hope to expand the program to other communities in upcoming years.

Chesapeake Energy and Moritz auto dealerships provided underwriting for the event and Office Depot donated $15,000 worth of school supplies and backpacks for the effort, Horn said.
Jessamy Brown

Fort Worth school trustees vent frustrations

Mounting tension on the school board had some board members venting their frustration while they discussed the controversial delinquent tax collection contract.

Trustee Norm Robbins was talking about the need to have an outside law firm involved in the vendor selection process when he began commenting on fellow board member Ann Sutherland’s public information requests on various subjects, including money spent on outside legal fees.

Robbins said board members don’t have to do a Freedom of Information request and should be sensitive to staff members’ time and workload.

Sutherland said it is a privilege of every citizen to request public documents.

Later, trustee Christene Moss said that to the outside, trustees look like “a group of out of control board members.”

Moss said she was concerned about things happening “under the table” in relation to this contract, which is why she is in favor of an outside firm involved.

“You can talk about transparency all you want but it’s not happening,” Moss said.

Trustee Juan Rangel said he didn’t want to hire an outside law firm because of district finances.

“We’re putting money into a process that we should be taking care of ourselves,” he said.

The board is set to vote how to select the vendor for delinquent tax collection later tonight. Trustees voted last month to revoke the contract extension approved in December to Perdue, Brackett, Flores, Utt & Burns Joint Venture.

 

 -Eva-Marie Ayala

Weatherford schools shuffling activities in wake of water line break

Various school-related activities have been canceled or moved as Weatherford remains without water on what could be the hottest days of the year.

Weatherford school-related closures on Tuesday include the central office and Crockett Elementary where the  Kids Unite, ESY and the summer lunch programs were being held. Volleyball two-a-day workouts for high schoolers have been temporarily moved to Brock ISD.

Kangaroo Football Camp, sponsored by Kids Unite, has been changed to 6-8:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at The Outback field house located just southeast of the high school. New information about tennis tryouts will be updated soon, officials said.

Check out Weatherford ISD's web site for more information.

-Eva-Marie Ayala