Extra Credit

Everyone's history should be remembered, say TCU students

(Photo by Ron T. Ennis)

About 14 students marched Feb. 28 to mark the end of Black History Month and the beginning of Women's National History Month. The event, organized by TCU NAACP, aimed to drive home the idea that histories should be remembered 12 months a year.

The event also tried to bring awareness about civil and human rights, said organizers.

-Diane Smith

Mirabeau B. Lamar Day was a coup for schools

If you can read this post, Texans, thank Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the Republic of Texas. 

He championed the Education Act, passed on Jan. 26, 1839, which set the foundation for Texas public schools. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas later designated the date as Mirabeau B. Lamar Day.

Though the 1836 Texas Constitution called for "a general system of education," nothing happened until the Georgia-born Lamar was elected in late 1838 on a vow to get Texas schools up and running.

Texas was cash-strapped but land rich, so Lamar decided to use public domain lands (and their value) to endow education. Each county got three leagues (more than 13,000 acres each) for public schools, and 50 leagues were designated to fund higher education in the new republic.

County schools had received more than 4 million acres of land by the time the State  of Texas switched to a different school funding mechanism.

_Shirley Jinkins

 

Applications ready, due Jan. 11 for Fort Worth ISD's Gold Seal Programs

Update:

Applications for the Gold Seal programs and schools are online and due on Jan. 11. The school district posted some pics from the weekend Expo event.

 

Fort Worth schools officials expect hundreds of students and parents to learn about programs for specialty study at their annual Gold Seal Programs of Choice Expo this weekend.

It is a chance for families to find out about Gold Seal Programs of Choice and Schools of Choice, billed as "a private school education without the cost."

 

 

High schools offer courses in culinary arts, fire science, law enforcement, business marketing, aviation technology, engineering and medical art professions. 

In middle school, Choices programs are offered that focus on college readiness, international studies and science and the arts. Elementary schools offer programs in orchestra, science, math and technology and in Spanish immersion.

Here's how the school district describes the initiative: "Simply put, students and their parents have the power of choice - the power to choose courses of study based on personal interests and passions; the power to take ownership in the education experience; and the power to be engaged in learning and excited about the future."

• Third annual Fort Worth ISD Gold Seal Programs and Schools of Choice Expo
• Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center, 5201 CA Roberson Blvd., Fort Worth
• 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7 and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8
• View the Catalog
• Information: Advanced, Accelerated and Innovative Learning Dept., 817-814-2580
• Twitter: #FWISDgold
• Spanish/Espanol: Programas De Seleccion Con Sello De Oro Del Fort Worth ISD
  

Upcoming dates for Choices:

• Dec. 10: Choices applications available. Complete online or on paper
  
• Dec. 11-13 and 17: Presentations at high schools
• Jan. 11: Applications due by 5 p.m.
• Feb. 15: Acceptance letters mailed to students this week

Jessamy Brown

New scholarship aims to help first-generation students at UT Arlington

First-generation college sophomores at the University of Texas at Arlington will be able to access a new scholarship thanks to the newly established Shirlee J. and Taylor Gandy First Generation Scholarship Program.

A new $1 million endowment was established with the help of a $500,000 gift committed by the Gandys. Their gift aims to provide scholarships to sophomores who excel academically and who are the first in their families to attend college.

UTA sophomores will be selected for the scholarship based on merit and financial need. The Gandy’s gift was doubled in value through the university’s Maverick Match program, which leverages UTA’s natural gas royalties to encourage new donations.

Shirlee Gandy, president of RPM Commercial in Fort Worth, earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from UTA in 1970. She also serves on the university’s development board.

“I was the first in my family to graduate college, and at the time I did not realize the tremendous impact it would forever have on my life,” Shirlee Gandy said in a press release. “...We wanted to make this financial commitment to help first generation students achieve their goals.” 

Gandy said students can apply for the scholarship for their sophomore year plus the junior and senior years.

 “It’s not a one time thing,” she said, adding that she and her husband want to ease the burden of student debt for these students.

Gandy said the rising cost of tuition, housing and books can result in painful student debt.

Georgina Martinez, a 21-year-old first-generation college student, said she juggles her studies with two jobs. She also relies on UTA academic aid programs through the Maverick Promise to pay for tuition. She said it is a major effort to continue to find scholarships to pay school bills, but investment in higher education is key to a better future.

"Education is the way to go," Martinez said.

-Diane Smith

 

McLean Middle School student joins national scholars program

Eighth grader Timothy Im is one of 52 students entering the national Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's Young Scholars Program. Im is a student in Fort Worth ISDs McLean Middle School.

There are 270 in the young scholar program.

Fort Worth ISD says in a news release: "The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's Young Scholars program seeks high-achieving, low to moderate-income students and cultivates their talents and abilities throughout high school by providing the personalized advising and financial support needed to secure challenging academic opportunities."

Jessamy Brown

UTA's College of Nursing reaccredited

Two nursing degree programs at the University of Texas at Arlington were reaccredited for 10 years by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Association. The university's bachelor of science and master of science each received the designation, according to a news release.  

The commission accredits higher education institutions and health care providers across the country by assessing the quality and integrity of their educational programs, according to the university. The new designation follows a three-day visit by evaluators in 2011.

“This is a major accomplishment,” said Elizabeth Poster, dean of The University of Texas at Arlington College of Nursing. “The accreditation process was rigorous, and the results we achieved attest to the unsurpassed quality of our campus-based and online programs.”

-Diane Smith

UNT Citizen-scientists to record Vensus's transit across the sun

Ron Dilulio, director of UNT's Astronomy Laboratory Program and planetarium

(Photo provided by UNT)

A team of modern citizen-scientists is picking up some unfinished science.

In 1769, British Capt. James Cook led an expedition to Tahiti to document the transit of Venus across the sun in an effort to calculate the astronomical unit – the earth's distance from the sun, according to the University of North Texas.

But weather conditions and a conflict with the people of Tahiti halted Cook's work. Now, nearly 250 years later a team of citizen-scientists from the University of North Texas will attempt to complete the experiment on June 5 (Tuesday) during this century's last Venus transit, the university said in a press release.

"Scientists have been able to calculate the astronomical unit, but we want to validate that the methods proposed by Edmund Halley in the 18th century were sound," says Ron Dilulio,director of UNT's astronomy program and leader of the expedition.

DiIulio will lead a team to Anchorage, Alaska, and Preston Starr, UNT observatory manager, will lead a team to South Point, Hawaii. These locations will allow the teams to capture the entire Venus transit before the sun sets, according to the university.

Randy Peters, UNT planetarium manager, will lead a viewing of the transit on the UNT campus. The viewing is open to the public and will be held in the parking lot on the western side of UNT's Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building. Venus will make first contact with the sun in North Texas at 5:07 p.m. on June 5 (Tuesday), and second contact at 5:22 p.m.

-Diane Smith

 

 

Texas should work to reduce student loan dependence, says policy group

The Center for Public Policy Priorities released a report called, "The Cost of College: How Students and Families are Financing College Education. The report looks at the financial aid picture for Texas college students and notes that too many students and families have to use loans to meet the gap between financial aid and education costs. 

The paper also offers some proposed fixes, including declaring a statewide goal to reduce a dependence on student loans, increase financial aid planning, invest in financial aid programs that target community college students and basic adult education students.

-Diane Smith

TCC trustees start reviewing 2012-2013 budget wish list

A recent budget workshop for TCC board trustees covered a number of projects and programs, including a proposed multi million Alliance Learning Center that would help prepare more workers for jobs in aviation, aerospace and logistics. (See the Star-Telegram's coverage.)

TCC appears focused on improving student success with efforts to add more programs to help students in developmental math, reading or writing. (See recent story about TCC's efforts to improve developmental math instruction.)

TCC administrators are requesting funding for student success efforts such as a mentoring program for Men of Color and establishing a Math Emporium and math boot camp at the Northwest Campus.

Trustees also got a glimpse of  how classrooms may look in 2030 - a preview of an institutional plan that is in the works. Imagine CSI: Crime Scene Investigation meets English 101 with glass monitors that students touch to research online. Picture more open spaces that allow students to reshuffle tables, desks and chairs as they discuss lessons.

If you want to find out more, you can watch the video.

-Diane Smith

 

UT Austin students launch campaign in support of campus president

University of Texas at Austin students (or their parents) cheered recently when a proposed tuition hike was rejected (See story here). But now it appears higher education infighting is fueling  rumors  that President William Powers - who recommended a tuition increase -  could be forced out. The UT Chancellor has stated publically that he was not directed to fire Powers. 

Alumni, students and faculty are stepping up their support for Powers. Students have started a page on Facebook: "I Stand With Bill Powers."

The UT Faculty Council has penned public letter. 

The presidents of the university's Senate of College Councils, Student Government and the Graduate Student Assembly issued a letter to each individual regent this week discussing why students stand with President Powers and support his vision for the university. The letter is part of a greater campaign, which includes a postcard drive and the Facebook page, to show student support for Powers. 

-Diane Smith