Extra Credit

UNT students use social media to organize march for Trayvon Martin

University of North Texas students are on spring break this week, but that isn't keeping them from mobilizing for a cause.

The shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Florida prompted a march for justice in Manhattan earlier this week. Now, students at the University of North Texas are working to hold a similar event. Their effort was trending on Twitter Thursday (see #UNTHoodieMarch).  

The effort refers to a "Hoodie" because the Florida teen was wearing one when he was shot. (See column about stereotypes associated with the hoodie.)

“Trayvon Martin was murdered in a hoodie.. That's why its called a"HoodieMarch". #UNTHoodieMarch #TrayvonMartin” said Berry, Bredic @King_Berry via Twitter Thursday. 

Also Thursday, the Florida police chief in the case stepped aside.

Some area students called on others to sign a virtual petition demanding an arrest in the case which has sparked national controversy. Others wanted to pin down when and where such an event will be held. Still others, called for students from other North Texas colleges to join the effort. 

"#UNTHoodieMarch let's do it," wrote Davonne Rahman @DeeComeUp.

Herbert Moore II from DeSoto said: "This is not about blacks this is about justice. #UNTHOODIEMARCH."

-Diane Smith

Texas Sen. Wendy Davis to speak at education rally at Texas capitol on Sat.

UPDATE:

Texas senator Wendy Davis, of Fort Worth, is among the officials on the schedule to address education supporters at Saturday's Save Texas Schools rally in Austin, according to organizers and Davis' spokesman.

Other speakers are:

Rep. Mike Villarreal, San Antonio; Rep. Donna Howard, Austin; Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, San Antonio; John Kuhn, Supt. of Perrin-Whitt schools in North Texas,  Dr. John Folks, Supt. of Northside schools in San Antonio; Thomas Ratliff, Texas State Board of Education; Pastor John Ogletree, First Metropolitan Church, Houston/Cy-Fair schools; Congressman Lloyd Doggett; State LULAC Director Joey Cardenas

The event will include a performance by Austin musican Eliza Gilklyson and the march to the Capitol will be led by the McNeil High School Drum line.

A group from Arlington schools is carpooling to the rally, organizers said.

Original post:

Fearful that lawmakers will slash the Texas public education budget when the legislature meets again next year, the Save Texas Schools coalition is rallying at the capitol on Saturday.

Supporters are organizing carpools to the event, which starts with a march departing from at 12th and Trinity streets in Austin.

Organizers say that they want to demand that legislators and candidates running for seats to prioritize education.

"Why rally when the legislature is not in session?," the group asks on their website.

Here's their answer:

"In 2010, many pro-public education legislators were defeated in their primary elections by candidates who had one mandate, and that was to cut the size of government, including schools. With so few people voting in primaries, it was easy for one interest group to change our whole legislature. We need to do the same in 2012!

"If we can energize supporters of public schools to get out and vote for pro-public education candidates in the upcoming primaries (where 130 of 150 house seats will be determined), we can restore funding to education and prevent further deep cuts in 2013."

In addition to school funding, they're concerned about overtesting, increased tuition costs and dwindling financial aid.

Details: March 24, the march is at 11 a.m., the rally is at noon on south side of state capitol.

Jessamy Brown

 

Keller School Board President told employees yesterday that superintendent is a finalist for Arizona job

Keller School Board President Kevin Stevenson sent a letter to district employees yesterday about Superintendent James Veitenheimer's consideration of the top post in an Arizona school district. Here is the letter he sent (provided by KISD communications):

 

Dear Keller ISD employees:

Welcome back!  I hope you enjoyed your spring break.  This is just a quick note to confirm what is currently very public out in the desert today.  Dr. Veitenheimer was invited by a consultant to Deer Valley Unified School district, located outside of Phoenix, as one of three finalists for the position of superintendent.  While having no prior contact with the district he was intrigued, flew out, and participated in the interview process.  

We certainly don’t want to lose James, but we definitely understand that he had to at least take a look at this opportunity.  I know that he is not actively looking and should this offer be given to one of the other two candidates, James expects to stay right here and continue his extraordinary work in Keller ISD.

The Deer Valley district is expected to make an offer to one of the candidates by April 10^th. 

The Board and I will keep you informed!

Sincerely,

Kevin Stevenson

Board President

Look for more on the Keller superintendent and Arizona search in tomorrow's Star-Telegram. 

--Sandra Engelland

Good morning from the White House conference at UT Arlington

The White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools and Communities is under way at the  University of Texas at Arlington.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will be the keynote speaker later this morning. UT Arlington President James Spaniolo led off by telling those in attendance that it is critical to provide safe and secure schools and communities for everyone in the community.

Spaniolo said campuses are the ideal places to exchange information and ideas while searching for common ground.

"College campuses are where people of all walks of life can find acceptance and can express their views freely," he said.

Thomas Anable, president of Fairness Ft. Worth, welcomed participants while explaining how difficult it was for him to find resources for gay people during his college years. During his days at UT Arlington, there were no resources or people to turn for advice or knowledge.

While times have changed, the need to address bullying in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth community is a top concern.

"We must do the right thing and protect all students," Anable said.

-Diane Smith @dianestar

-Patrick  M. Walker @patrickmwalker1

#whlgbt

 

Keller superintendent a finalist for Phoenix school chief's post

Keller Superintendent James Veitenheimer is one of three finalists for superintendent of the Deer Valley Unified School District in Phoenix, an Arizona newspaper reports. Veitenheimer attended a public reception on Thursday in Phoenix along with the other two finalists, according to the report. The other two finalists are from Arizona. In late January, the Keller school board voted to give Veitenheimer a three-year contract extension along with a pay raise commensurate with what other district employees will receive. No information was readily available on the salary for the Deer Valley superintendent. The Phoenix district has about 34,580 students, compared with Keller ISD's enrollment of about 33,000. But Deer Valley's enrollment has been shrinking, while Keller remains one of the fastest-growing districts in Texas. Deer Valley hopes to name a superintendent by late April. Veitenheimer has been superintendent in Keller since 2004. - Lois Norder

Is pink slime on the menu at your kids' school cafeteria?

The USDA says they will leave it up to schools to determine whether or not they'll accept the controversial beef product dubbed 'pink slime.'

Here's a full report from McClatchy Newspapers' Maria Recio from today's Star-Telegram.

The food --described as ground beef extended with filler that is made from beef renderings and treated with ammonia hydroxide (AP photo, left) -- is safe, the feds say. But the US Department of Agriculture says they've gotten many requests on the matter from school districts across the country.

In a news release on Thursday, officials said: "USDA only purchases products for the school lunch program that are safe, nutritious and affordable – including all products containing Lean Finely Textured Beef. However, due to customer demand, the department will be adjusting procurement specifications for the next school year so schools can have additional options in procuring ground beef products.

In an interview with the Star-Telegram on Tuesday, Audrey Rowe, administrator of the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, gave heads up that the agency was reviewing the matter and noted: "We believe in having safe and healthy foods."

Some local school districts weighed in briefly.

Fort Worth school district spokeswoman Barbara Griffith told Recio: "We don't receive any meat directly from USDA. We just don't do it. We use private vendors."

Birdville schools spokesman Mark Thomas said: "Birdville will evaluate the latest information and make the best determination for our students. At this time, we do not know if we will serve this new product choice next year."

Southlake Carroll's Director of Child Nutrition Services Mary Brunig said: "We buy a minimal amount of beef from the National School Lunch Program and prefer to buy fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables from the USDA," she said. "We plan to continue to monitor the issue to understand the concerns about the beef industry."

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/15/3813177/usda-to-allow-schools-to-opt-out.html#storylink=cpy

Jessamy Brown

Fort Worth teachers seeking help for class projects, bank will match donations

South Hi Mount Elementary's Mrs. Johnston has one day left to raise $444 for a new electronic tablet she hopes to use in her music class. At Kirkpatrick Middle School, Mrs. Sprinkles needs $578 dissection specimens for hands-on science lessons. Then there's Ms. Ford at Mitchell Boulevard Elementary who is asking for $648 for access to a color printer and ink so her students can print out their class projects.

As schools continue to face budget challenges, teachers are looking for more creative ways to get the extras -- and sometimes even the basics -- in the classroom. These three are among the 93 Fort Worth school district teachers seeking help through the online charity DonorsChoose.org through which supporters can donate money directly to class projects. And from now until April 1, JPMorgan Chase will match each individual donation up to $50 for a total of $250,000 for its Tools for Classrooms campaign.

Once to the you're on the screen that has the Chase donation code, click on "view classroom projects." Then on the next page, select state, city and school district at the left. (Note: the district is listed as "Ft Worth Ind School District.") Other districts with a few teacher projects listed include Arlington, Birdville, Everman and Hurst-Euless-Bedford.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Sid Richardson Museum's first ever spring break day camp was a watercolor whirl of fun

It got messy early Wednesday morning with younsters splashing, dabbing and dripping watercolors across small canvasses at the Sid Richardson Museum.

Olivia Elofsson, 8, painted big waves of deep blue across a wet surface and the added just a quick stroke of red, creating a sort of dreamy ocean-like hodgepodge scene using the so-called "wet on wet" technique.

"I like 'wet on wet' better because it looks all tie-dyedy," Olivia said, reaching for more blue.

The watercolor workshops this week are the museum's first ever day camps during a Spring Break, and officials said they quickly filled with a long waiting list. About two dozen students filled each workshop to learn about water coloring techniques (such as wet on dry, wet on wet, crayon resistant, and salt) and Western artist Charles M. Russell, who was a famous watercolor painter whose works are on display at the downtown museum.

Carson Long, 9, couldn't decide if he liked the "wet on wet" or the so-called salt technique in which the salt is sprinkled on the watercolor, distorting the paint and adding a bumpy texture.

"On this paper, I'm going to do them all at once and it's going to look awesome," Carson said.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Photo: At right, the museum's Kat Yount teaches students the "crayon resistant" method in which the crayon helps contain the spread of watercolor paint.

Azle High recognized for efforts to improve graduation rates

Today Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott recognized a handful of school districts and schools for offering exceptional programs to improve graduation rates and college readiness through use of the state's High School Allotment funds.

Azle High School used the funds to develop and operate "The Hornet Academy," which includes a credit recovery system and individual study for students who have previously dropped out of school and are trying to get back on track. Many students in the program have jobs or family obligations that make a traditional school day challenging. The academy opened in April 2009 and has served 150 students so far.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Tarrant school districts cancelling Thursday sports activities due to weather

As possible severe thunderstorms and cooler temperatures move into the Metroplex, some Tarrant County area school districts are cancelling Thursday afternoon and evening athletics matches.

Hurst-Euless-Bedford: high school level track meet, baseball and tennis are cancelled Thursday. Awards of Excellence banquet going forward.

Grapevine-Colleyville schools: all outdoor athletic events for Thursday are cancelled. Elementary open houses tonight are going forward.

Arlington schools: Thursday's freshmen soccer games and a baseball tournament at Arlington High scheduled for Thursday through Saturday are cancelled. For Friday: all junior varsity soccer games cancelled. Varsity games will go forward but some have been moved to different locations.

Northwest schools: all track and tennis activities cancelled for Thursday.

Southlake-based Carroll schools has cancelled baseball and track activities for Thursday.

Haltom City-based Birdville schools cancelled an outdoor track meet on Thursday.

Fort Worth schools cancelled middle school track meets and baseball tournament at Western Hills High on Thursday.

Keller schools has cancelled a Special Olympics track meet and rescheduled the event for March 20. 

Check back here for more updates.

--Star-Telegram Education Team