Extra Credit

N. Texas bands head to Alamodome for UIL 5A state marching contest

Bands from the Dallas-Fort Worth area are going head-to-head at the state band contest at the Alamodome today.

Bands from large schools compete today. Those in the University Interscholastic League's Class 5A include Keller, Flower Mound-Marcus, Keller-Fossil Ridge, Keller-Central, Richland and Hurst-L.D. Bell. See today's Star-Telegram.

On Monday, bands from Class 3A performed (results: here). Argyle High School's Eagle band, directed by Kathy Johnson, came in first place, winning its third state title in a row. Springtown High's band took 10th place after the finals. Kennedale and Castleberry High Schools also competed. (r: Castleberry High band performs at state UIL, via Craig Stuard).

Here is the performance schedule for today's 5A preliminaries:

The top 10 ranked bands will head into the finals tonight, which are scheduled to start at 8:15 p.m.

There are several ways to follow the action.

The Star-Telegram is retweeting social media posts from band supporters, parents, students and teachers using the Twitter hashtag #TopTxBands.

Here's a live blog.

Here's a live webcast of the contest. Access costs $4.99 for a one-day pass.

Look for results tonight here.

Jessamy Brown

 

Texas school districts seek to overturn federal Adequate Yearly Progress ratings

A coalition of more than 80 Texas school districts is seeking to overturn all federal accountability ratings issued since the program started in 2003.

The school districts filed a legal case against the Texas Education Agency on Thursday, challenging the Adequate Yearly Progress ratings issued under the No Child Left Behind Act.

The 87 school districts say all AYP ratings issued under the program are invalid, said Ken McCraw, executive director of the Texas Association of Community Schools, an Austin group that organized the legal proceeding.

“It’s a pretty big deal because it could set aside the AYP ratings of school districts if it is upheld,” McCraw said in a Friday telephone interview. “What we're saying is that the feds only contribute a small amount of money but they’re trying to control 100 percent of the accountability. We don’t think the federal government ought to be devising the accountability system.”

DeEtta Culbertson, a TEA spokeswoman, said Friday: “We are reviewing the filing.”

The group is asking the State Office of Administrative Hearings to review the case.

“The challenge asserts that the ratings constitute an unlawful, costly and destructive federal intrusion into local school operations and that the Texas Education Agency, in its efforts to comply with federal mandates, acted without authority from the Legislature and denied school district leaders their right to due process,” the Community Schools group said in a Thursday news release.

If the challenge is successful, the TEA will be required to "withdraw its AYP regulations, wipe the federal ratings slate clean for the past nine years, and start AYP implementation over," the release said.

The school districts involved in the case include several from Greater Tarrant County, including: Alvarado, Castleberry, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Everman, Grapevine-Colleyville, Lake Worth and White Settlement.

Additional school districts are expected to join the case, McCraw said.

Jessamy Brown

#FirstBell Contest: Tell us about your first day of school

School is back in on Monday at most Tarrant County area districts and Star-Telegram reporters will be out and about at several campuses.

We'll be tweeting our observations on Back to School and we want you to join in.

Parents, grandparents, students and teachers: post your experiences and photos from the first day of school using the hashtag #FirstBell. And don't forget to include the name of the school and/or location in your tweet.

Tweets with the #FirstBell hashtag may be used by the Star-Telegram online or in print.

The Star-Telegram is running a contest, giving folks to participate the chance win a backpack filled with school supplies, Mom2Mom gear and 4 tickets to the Movie Tavern.

Jessamy Brown

 

Marching bands get top scores at regional

Update: All six 5A bands competiting in the UIL Region 2 contest on Wednesday recieved the best rating, Division 1.

They are: Keller Central High, Keller Fossil Ridge High, Denton Guyer High, Keller High, Northwest High and Saginaw High.

Fossil Ridge junior Emily Perkins, 16, commented: "I thought that it went really well." She plays the mellophone. That's a French horn for marching band players, she explained.

Original post: Ten high school marching bands competed in the Region 2 University Interscholastic League competition on Wednesday morning.

Results from 3A schools are in. These bands earned the top Division 1 rating: Lake Worth, Mineral Wells, Bridgeport, Pilot Point, Aubrey, Decatur, Sanger, Castleberry and Argyle. Gainesville High was rated Division 2.

Bands from 5A schools compete this afternoon. Parents from students at Central, Keller and Fossil Ridge High schools are among those climbing into the stands to watch their teens perform.

Jessamy Brown

Will local grad win on tonight's Apprentice?

Tonight we find out if Clint Robertson is the big winner on The Apprentice. Many local schools have bragging rights to Robertson, 40. He was Castleberry High School's valedictorian in 1988. He then earned his bachelor's at Texas Christian University and a law degree from Southern Methodist University. Robertson is real estate attorney and property developer who owns Stewart Title in Willow Park. We'll see what The Donald thinks of Robertson's skills tonight.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

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

How did the Texas Education Agency rate your school?

The state agency released its annual academic accountability ratings on Friday which, for the most part, was good news for area schools. However, some campuses slipped in their ratings. Castleberry, for example, had its high school and Cato Elementary receive the second-highest rating of recognized, but its James Elementary dipped from that rating to acceptable. The Aledo, Azle and Kennedale school districts received the recongized rating at the district level. Read today's story here and look up how your school performed here.

-Eva-Marie Ayala