Extra Credit

Winning Fort Worth student artwork to be on sides of The T buses this summer

Ten pieces of award winning artwork from Fort Worth school district students will be shown on the sides of public buses starting in June.

The students won The T's year-long Expressions That Move You art contest, for students in the school district's Fort Worth After School program.

In all, 86 pieces of artwork were submitted. Students could enter a drawing, painting, photograph or collage. Here was their assignment: "Express what moves you about The T – what it means to you and your family, the city of Fort Worth and our environment."

This year's winners:
• Julissa Sandoval, 4th grade, MH Moore Elementary School – Grand Prize
• Cung Nei Sang, 3rd grade, L. Clifford Davis Elementary School
• Joycelyn Garza, 3rd grade, Charles Nash Elementary School
• Ashley Houze, 3rd grade, E.M. Daggett Elementary School
• Binh Le, 8th grade and CharmaineThomas, 7th grade, Handley Middle School – Grand Prize
• Monica Johnson, 8th grade, William James Middle School
• Dekota D’Brell, 8th grade, Monnig Middle School
• Jocelyn Hernandez, 12th grade, Dunbar High School – Grand Prize
• Criseida Valdez, 11th grade, Paschal High School
• Manuel Valdez, 9th grade, International Newcomer Academy

Jessamy Brown

 

Three Fort Worth high schools rank among top urban schools in North Texas that serve students from low income backgrounds

Three Fort Worth high schools got a nod from a Houston-based research and advocacy group as among the top urban high schools in North Texas that serve low-income students.

Children At Risk this week posted a list of rankings of comprehensive high schools that are located in urban school districts that also have a high concentration (74 percent or more) of students from economically disadvantaged families.

There were 22 North Texas neighborhood schools (not magnet schools or charter schools) evaluated for this list, of which eight were considered the top, said Caroline Neary, a data analyst for Children at Risk.

Read the sub list for North Texas here.

Diamond Hill-Jarvis High School was ranked first on the list. Carter-Riverside High School ranked seventh and North Side High School ranked eighth. The sub list also included four Dallas ISD schools and Irving High School.

Schools in other metropolitan areas were ranked on separate lists, Neary said.

The group performs an annual study issuing letter grades and rankings for public and charter schools in major metropolitan areas in Texas. On the group's overall list, Diamond Hill-Jarvis High was ranked 101st among 191 schools in North Texas and 591st among 1,171 high schools statewide.

Carter-Riverside High ranked 149th in North Texas and 926th statewide and North Side High was ranked 154th in North Texas and 964th statewide. 

All three schools were given C grades. The highest ranking Fort Worth ISD high school was Paschal High School, which ranked 69th in North Texas and 333rd statewide. The population of economically disadvantaged students there is 46 percent; it is 86 percent at Diamond Hill-Jarvis, according to the Texas Education Agency.

The North Texas region includes nine counties: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Rockwall and Tarrant.

More on Star-Telegram.com. 

Jessamy Brown

Paschal High School wins $500 at National Science Bowl

The Paschal High School science bowl team is back from the national finals in Washington D.C. and while they didn't take the top prize, the Fort Worth team won first place in the division team challenge and won $500 for the science club.

In the division team challenge, Paschal's team outscored the team from Mira Loma High School in Sacramento, Calif., which eventually won the National Science Bowl. The contest is run by the U.S. Department of Energy. Click here for competition results.

"This was the best performance by Paschal so far in the Science Bowl," said Andrew Brinker, the team's faculty sponsor.

Team members are: Dominic Yurk, Erik Nguyen, Abrahim Sharaf and Wyatt Reeves. 

Jessamy Brown

Memorial for Nash Elementary principal set for Sunday afternoon at TCC

Update: the service is scheduled to include remarks from schools officials and students as well as a song by children. The location is: Trinity Building, fourth floor, TRTR 4202. Here's a link for a map.  

Friends, family and coworkers will gather on Sunday to remember Pamela Hsiu Lo Day, principal at Nash Elementary School in Fort Worth, who passed away on April 7. She was 62.

The family is hosting a public memorial service from 1 to 3 p.m. on April 28 in the auditorium of the Tarrant County College's Trinity River Campus in downtown Fort Worth, according to a school district news release.

Mrs. Day was Nash Elementary School principal for 13 years and previously was principal at Sam Rosen Elementary, assistant principal at Manuel Jara Elementary and also taught at Diamond Hill Elementary. She worked at Fort Worth ISD for 23 years. Here's a photo gallery on the Fort Worth ISD's website of an April 11 candlelight vigil in her memory. 

Mrs. Day died of complications of cancer, according to her obituary on Star-Telegram.com.

Here's more about Mrs. Day's work at Nash Elementary: "During that time, she came to think of the staff and the faculty as family, and the kids in the school as an extension of her own family. She cared deeply for the welfare and well-being of her students and her teachers. Nash achieved exemplary status during statewide accountability reports several times during her tenure, and she always put the credit on her teachers' and students' shoulders, saying that she was merely a guide to help them find their way," the obituary states. "Pamela loved practical jokes, and her staff at Nash Elementary was often on the receiving end."

Jessamy Brown

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey honors Trimble Tech scholarship winners on House floor

Update

The one minute speech happened at about noon. MV TCU Floor Remarks 4-26-2013.

Veasey said: "I commend these students. I know they will wear their purple with pride."

Original Post

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey plans to speak on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this morning to honor students from Fort Worth's Trimble Technical High School who won full scholarships to Texas Christian University.

The remarks will likely take place between 11:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. central time, an official with his office said. Watch it live on CSPAN here.

The students were among several area high school seniors recently named TCU Community Scholars. Here's a Star-Telegram report on the 7 winners from Trimble Tech and five winners from Sam Houston High School in Arlington. And a news release from Fort Worth ISD on TCU scholarship winners.

The $200,000 awards are enough to finance all four years of their undergraduate college careers. The cost for an academic year at TCU is estimated at $48,530, including tuition, room, meal plan, books and supplies.

Here's part of what Veasey (TX-33) plans to say: "The students chosen from Fort Worth's Trimble Technical High School add to the prestige and quality of the Community Scholars program and TCU overall. Each of these students are bright, motivated and accomplished. Not only do these students exhibit academic excellence, but they also take part in volunteer work, extracurricular activities and demonstrate leadership in their communities."

In the photo: Sharron Herrea, FWISD Student Engagement Office; Victoria Herrera, TCU Representative; Beatrice Gutierrez, TCU Representative; Elijah Herring, Tech Senior – TCU Scholar; Nian Dim, Tech Senior – TCU Scholar; Consuelo Cuevas, Tech Senior – TCU Scholar; Ysenia Ortiz, Tech Senior – TCU Scholar; Mariah Mathews, Tech Senior – TCU Scholar; Miguel Lopez, Tech Senior – TCU Scholar; Alejandra Benavidez, Tech Senior – TCU Scholar; Maria Delgadillo, Tech Senior – 4 year Student Engagement and Completion Scholarship; E. Omar Ramos, Principal Tech High School. Photo from FWISD

 

Jessamy Brown

Fort Worth students show "encouraging gains" in early STAAR results

Fifth and eighth grade students in the Fort Worth school district made "encouraging gains" on this year's standardized tests, administrators announced.

Preliminary results show an increase in the percentage of students who passed the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Skills (STAAR) tests in math and reading. But scores for Asian students as a whole dropped. The tests were given earlier this month.

This week, third, fourth, sixth and seventh graders took the reading and math tests. Fifth graders took the science test and eighth graders took the science and social studies tests.

On the math test, fifth graders improved their passing rate by seven percentage points. Last year, as fourth graders, 59 percent of those students passed the test. This year, as fifth graders, 66 percent of students passed. African American students showed double digit gains, improving from 40 to 50 percent.

On the reading test, fifth graders improved four percentage points, from 63 to 67 percent passing. And students who took the reading test in Spanish improved nine percentage points, from 68 to 77 percent.

For eighth graders, students jumped 13 percentage points in math, from 58 percent passing as seventh graders to 71 percent passing this year. Gains were even greater for Hispanic students, who jumped from 60 percent passing to 75 percent, a 15 point boost. African American students, too, jumped 15 percentage points, from 41 percent passing to 56 percent.

On the reading test, eighth graders improved four points, from 66 percent to 70 percent passing. Hispanic students had a seven point gain, from 65 to 72 percent passing.

"These preliminary numbers are telling us that we are on track in narrowing the achievement gap among our students," Superintendent Walter Dansby said in a statement. "We are studying the successes as well as those opportunities for improvement during re-test."

The district is studying the results to determine why there were some drops in passing rates for Asian students. For instance, fifth grade math scores dropped nine points from 90 to 81 percent. And eighth grade reading scores dropped 15 points, from 56 to 41 percent. 

Spokesman Clint Bond said that it could be due to an influx of students who are still learning English.

The school district point out that the district launched block scheduling for middle schools this year, which provides an extra eight weeks worth of instruction time. Also, the district created learning networks, teams of educators who support teachers and administrators on campuses.

Jessamy Brown

 

Fort Worth students put language studies to use at Kimbell Art Museum's gallery night

Fort Worth school district students who are taking foreign languages will put their knowledge to use at Global Gallery Night at the Kimbell Art Museum on Friday.

The teens, who have taken at least three years of language studies, will serve as docents or tour guides, sharing their insights about the artwork in the permanent collection at the museum. The event is sponsored by the museum and the Fort Worth school district's world languages department. Students have taken part for eight years, according to a news release. 

Students had a mandatory orientation at the Kimbell.

The school district offers instruction in several languages, including French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, German, Latin, Chinese and American Sign Language.

Global Gallery Night:

• Kimbell Art Museum, 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth
• Friday, April 19, 6 to 8 p.m.

Jessamy Brown 

Candidate stops quest for Fort Worth school board District 9 seat

The race for the Fort Worth school board's District 9 seat is down to two people.

Candidate Melody Palacios notified supporters on Saturday by email that she is no longer going to pursue the seat because of health reasons, she told the Star-Telegram.

She said school district officials told her that ballots have already been printed for the May 11 election and that it was too late to officially withdraw.

One candidate, Ashley E. Paz, is challenging incumbent Juan Rangel for the seat. Palacios said she is not making an endorsement of either candidate vying for the seat.

Jessamy Brown

When is my kid taking the STAAR test?

Testing under the state's standardized exam program known as STAAR starts this week and school districts are taking to social media to remind parents. 

Last week, the Fort Worth school district posted on its website a list of tips to help children prepare for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests and the program's End-of-Course tests for high school students (EOCs).

Children should get a good night's sleep and eat a good breakfast.

This morning, Fort Worth ISD tweeted: "EOC and STAAR tests this week. Take your time and think. You can do this."

High school freshmen and sophomores will take STAAR end-of-course tests in certain subjects. Juniors and seniors are still tested under the Texas Assessments of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) program.

Here's the STAAR 2013 schedule as posted by the Texas Education Agency:

Monday: High school English 1 and 3 writing

Tuesday: High school English 1 and 3 reading; grades 4 and 7 writing day 1; grades 5 and 8 math

Wednesday: High school English 2 writing; grades 4 and 7 writing day 2; grades 5 and 8 reading

Thursday: High school English 2 reading

April 23: Grades 3, 4, 6 and 7 math

April 24: Grades 3, 4, 6 and 7 reading; grades 5 and 8 science

April 25: Grade 8 social studies

May 6 to 17: High school end of course tests

Jessamy Brown

 

 

United Educators Association endorses Fort Worth ISD board incumbents for re-election

The Fort Worth-based United Educators Association employee group is endorsing the re-election bids of two Fort Worth school district trustees, a news release said.

The group, which represents more than 6,000 Fort Worth school district employees, is endorsing incumbents Carlos Vasquez in the school board's district 1 and Juan Rangel in district 9.

"Juan Rangel and Dr. Carlos Vasquez have proven themselves as champions for our students and our teachers," Steven Poole, UEAs executive director, said in the release. "As a current teacher, Dr. Carlos Vasquez understands the needs of our students. Juan Rangel's experience on the school board is important to help us focus on the continued improvement of our schools."

Vasquez, a teacher, has two challengers: Camille Rodriguez, a podiatrist and Jacinto A. Ramos Jr., a juvenile probation officer.

Rangel, a marketing/management consultant, is also in a three way race. Ashley E. Paz, an event planner and Melody Palacios, who gave her occupation as a housewife, are also running for the seat.

The group's executive board reviewed the candidates' qualifications, voting records and other factors, the release said.

Jessamy Brown