Extra Credit

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

Childrens Lighthouse collecting donations from families, public to support West

Childrens Lighthouse Learning Centers in the Metroplex are collecting donations for families in the city of West in the aftermath of the deadly explosions on Wednesday.

They are collecting these items: 

bottled water, toiletries, blankets, diapers, formula, bottles, toys, first aid products, cots, air mattresses, pillows, linens, pet food, pet crates/carriers, medical supplies, alcohol, car seats, boosters.

The Fort Worth-based company plans to send seven vans with the items to West on Friday, April 26, a spokesman said in an email.

Rose Morelock, vice president of operations for Fort Worth-based Childrens Lighthouse issued this statement:

"At times like these, we need to all pull together to help support our neighbors. Our thoughts and prayers go out the victims and their families in West, Texas. We are hopeful the supplies and relief aid we bring next Friday will help ease the burden of losing a loved one." 

Donations can be dropped off at these Childrens Lighthouse childcare centers: 

• 11845 Alta Vista Road, Fort Worth
• 1001 Point Vista Road, Hickory Creek
• 5025 Teasley Lane, Denton
• 2029 W. Hebron Parkway, Carrollton
• 4095 Eldorado Parkway, McKinney
• 3420 W. Risinger Road, Fort Worth
• 6250 Matlock Road, Arlington
• 4636 Texas 360 South, Grand Prairie

Jessamy Brown

Texas Senator Wendy Davis to hold town hall meetings on public education

Two town hall meetings on Saturday will focus on public education topics, including funding, accountability and curriculum issues.

The town halls are being held by Texas Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth). (Davis at a 2011 education town hall at Paschal High School/Joyce Marshall)

• In Arlington: 9:30 a.m. at the Mac Bernd Professional Development Center, 1111 W. Arbrook Blvd.
• In Fort Worth: 2 p.m. at Nichols Martin Hall at Texas Wesleyan University, 1309 Wesleyan St.

Jessamy Brown

Fort Worth ISDs free mobile app ready to download from Apple and Google stores

UPDATE 3/27/13 

To find the mobile app:
It is a free download for smart phones and tablets on Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store. Users can search for “Fort Worth ISD” to find the app, located in the education category. Developed by Parlant Technology Inc., the app has a red icon with a white apple.

The app has been downloaded 690 times since January, including 456 times since it was announced on Monday, officials said Wednesday afternoon.

ORIGINAL POST

A smart phone app with news and student information about Fort Worth schools is ready, officials announced in a Monday news release.

Users can download the app for free from the Apple App Store for iPhone users and the Google Play Store for Android users.

The app is available in 70 languages and folks can access the district's social media sites and lunch money accounts, make a report to the safety and security office, find school phone numbers and check sports scores. The district will also use the app for school and district updates and news and will send voice messages to parents, who can access them when it is convenient, rather than being interrupted by a phone call, said Clint Bond, director of external and emergency communications.

Here's a January Star-Telegram article about the app.

"We are extremely excited to be deploying this mobile app," Walter Dansby, Fort Worth schools superintendent, said in a Monday news release. "It's so important that we can communicate effectively when there is an emergency. But it is even more important that we can communicate with our parents about the progress of their children in school. Our new mobile app puts the facts right into the hands of people who need it the most ... our parents."

Jessamy Brown

Donation will fund four billboards to publicize Fort Worth schools May 11 walk

Four billboards touting the Fort Worth school district's District Walk are going up next month.

The school district on Monday was given a $15,000 donation to help pay for and publicize the annual walk, scheduled for May 11. Participants will meet at athletic tracks at Fort Worth ISD high schools and walk. The event is 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The Humana Foundation's donation will pay to buy water, water bottles, t-shirts and other expenses. It will also cover the costs of four billboards.

Starting on April 14, the billboards will be located at:

• Beach Street and Elinor Street (south facing)
• Berry Street and Mississippi Avenue (east facing)
• North and Pharr Street (north facing)
• Vickery Boulevard and Lovell Avenue (east facing)

Jessamy Brown

 

Fort Worth seniors can write their way to new wheels in annual Frank Kent Honda contest

A Fort Worth school district senior will have the chance to use their ability to turn a phrase into the turn of the wheel of a new car.

In the second annual Words for Wheels essay contest, students are writing up to 1,000 words on this topic: "In the future, how do you plan on using technology to promote and help your community?" The pieces will be judged on originality, clarity of message and presentation, according to a news release from Frank Kent Honda.

Starting this week, students will get a chance to check out the model as it makes stops at various Fort Worth high schools.

The contest is a partnership between Frank Kent Honda, Fort Worth schools and the City of Fort Worth. Graduating seniors have the chance to win a 2013 Honda Civic LX coupe or sedan - and they can pick the color. The EECU will cover the cost of tax, title and license fees on the vehicle.

The deadline is March 17. The winner will be presented with the car at the Fort Worth-based dealership on April 29. The contest was created by Frank Kent Honda co-owners Will Churchill and Corrie Watson, graduates of Arlington Heights High School.

Jessamy Brown

New building eyed for Fort Worth ISDs Young Women's Leadership Academy

The girls at the Young Women's Leadership Academy may be moving to new digs on Eighth Street in Fort Worth.

The Fort Worth school board in January agreed to purchase the Tarrant County Education Center building at 401 E. 8th St.

On Tuesday, trustees are to consider using $5.8 million from funds left over from the Capital Improvement Program to pay for renovations to the building.

The deal still must still be considered by the Tarrant County Commissioner's Court, which is expected to take up the matter at a meeting scheduled for Feb. 26, a school district spokeswoman said. If both parties approve, officials hope to be done with renovations and ready to move into the new building in time for the fall 2013 semester.

The academy has outgrown its current space, Fort Worth schools spokesman Clint Bond said.

The school opened in August 2010 in a converted building on West Magnolia Avenue that served as the school district's adult education center. Officials are adding one grade per year. This year, there are students in grades seven through 10.

Jessamy Brown

 

 

Fort Worth schools leaders to get orientation on new student records system

Fort Worth schools officials have created "Focus Leadership Teams" at each campus to help with the transition to a new student information system.

Schools trustees agreed to go forward with a new system to replace the current Connects system. The aim is to have the new system by Florida-based Focus School Software in place by the fall for the 2013-2014 school year, according to a news release on the school district's website. The teams are scheduled to attend an orientation session and an online webinar in February.

Schools officials agreed to change vendors after a series of problems with the Connects student data software system that produced inaccurate transcripts, incomplete grade reports and incorrect attendance records.

The Connects system, by Tyler Technologies, was launched in 2010 and reports soon after began emerging of problems including inaccurate student schedules and disappearing grades.

The Focus system was chosen after "district stakeholders and end-users spent several months interviewing, visiting and evaluating products submitted by top vendors," the release said. The school district also worked with the Center for Educational Leadership and Technology on the project.

Jessamy Brown

PBS' Independent Lens to spotlight Texas education board fight over textbooks

UPDATE

"The Revisionaries" documentary is available for viewing online at the PBS Video website through Feb. 27.

On KERA, here are showtimes to watch or record:

• Today: 10 p.m.
• Wednesday: 8 a.m., 2 p.m., 7 p.m.
• Thursday: 12 a.m., 2 a.m.
• Saturday: 11 a.m.

ORIGIONAL POST

The Texas board of education's rancorous debate over textbook standards will be the focus of a TV documentary on PBS this week. Check out the preview:

Watch Witness a Texas Showdown Over Teaching Standards on PBS. See more from Independent Lens.

 

In North Texas, KERA-13 has scheduled the episode of Independent Lens to first air at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night. (By the way, the state school board meets in Austin on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Here's the agenda).

A key player in The Revisionaries is former board president Don McLeroy, described as a "dentist, Sunday school teacher, and avowed young-earth creationist" and the 15-member state board's adoption of new science and history curriculum standards in 2010.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Bud Kennedy weighs in here.

The show's backers say that the state board's action is important because decisions about Texas textbooks have a nationwide effect.

"Texas is one of the nation's largest textbook markets because it is one of the few where the state decides what books schools can buy rather than leaving it up to local districts, which means publishers that get their books approved can count on millions of dollars in sales. Further, publishers craft their standard textbooks based on the requirements of the biggest buyers. As a result, the Texas board has the power to shape the textbooks that children around the country read for years to come," according to a post on the PBS website.

But the extent of Texas' influence on publishing has been the subject of debate. The executive director of the Association of American Publishers' school division, Jay Diskey, told the Star-Telegram that the idea that Texas standards will be forced on other states is "really an urban myth in the year 2010."

Former Star-Telegram reporter Traci Shurley wrote on March 20, 2010: "Over the past 15 years, he said, most states have asked or required publishers to align textbooks with their own state standards. Also, digital publishing has allowed the industry to customize books, not only by state but also by district."

Jessamy Brown

Fort Worth police, schools team to launch clothes closet for homeless teens

Fort Worth police and the Fort Worth school district are launching a clothing closet to provide free clothes to homeless teens.

Officials are working to open the program, to be based in a large room and attached closet at Arlington Heights High School, next month. The teens will get vouchers and be able to choose clothes and accessories, said Fort Worth police officer Julie Cox, liaison to the homeless and elderly populations.

Cox said that 1,182 homeless students have been identified by Fort Worth ISD.

The items will be displayed in a retail-style store, where the teens will "shop" for goods, including clothes, toiletries, book bags and purses.

"Once the design is complete we will be able to reach out to the community for donations of the supplies that our homeless and at-risk youth desperately need.

"After meeting with Principal (Jason S.) Oliver, it was decided to allow the Arlington Heights students to name the room. We wanted the students to have a sense of “ownership” of the project and encourage their input and participation. It is our hope that they will learn that no matter what the situation or how small the contribution, they too can make a difference," Cox said.

Officials are seeking donations of items, including used jeans and clothes for junior and senior high teens. Socks and underwear should be new. Officials are also seeking donations of material to display and store the items, such as modular shelving, racks and large baskets with wheels, Cox said.

The drop off site will be on East Lancaster Avenue in Fort Worth, but that will be by appointment. Contact Cox at 817-851-2520 or by email at julie.cox@fortworthtexas.gov.

Jessamy Brown