Extra Credit

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

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

Starting pay for early childhood teachers in San Antonio's pre-K program is $60K

Months after voters gave the nod for a new pre-kindergarten program in San Antonio, officials are coming to the Metroplex looking to hire teachers and other employees before the program launches in August, according to a news release.

The City of San Antonio is holding a job fair in Dallas on April 4. They are seeking to hire more than 100 positions, including master teachers (who will start at a $60,000 annual salary), teacher assistants, nurses and professional and administrative staff. It's an informational job fair, so resumes and applications are not being accepted at the event.

The "Pre-K 4 SA" program gained national attention when voters approved it in November 2012. Four "model education centers" are planned to provide prekindergarten instruction for 2,000 four-year-olds. Staffers are being hired for the first two centers, scheduled to open in August.

Master teachers must have: at least three years of early childhood teaching experience, a teaching certificate with endorsements to teach early childhood education from any state's educator certification department and the ability to get Texas certification.

DFW job fair details:

• 4 to 7 p.m. on April 4
• Dallas Public Library, 1515 Young St., Dallas.
• Program overview presentations: 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

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

 

Fort Worth school board candidate maintains he is eligible for district 1 seat

In the middle of a three-way race for the Fort Worth school board’s district 1 seat, questions surfaced about whether one of the candidates meets the residency requirements for the post.

At issue is whether Jacinto A. Ramos Jr. lived in the single-member district for six months before the March 1 filing date, as required.

The Star-Telegram asked him to respond. Ramos said he has lived in the district, representing Fort Worth’s north side, since July 2012. That’s seven months. [Update: okay, it was pointed out that it is more than seven months. ]

Two people are challenging incumbent Carlos Vasquez, a teacher, for the seat. Camille Rodriguez, a podiatrist, is also in the race.

Ramos used to live in a home he owns on Cochise Drive in far north Fort Worth (near Haslet), but said he leased the property out in June 2012. Because new tenants were located quicker than expected, the family stayed with Ramos’ mother in her home on Northwest 30th Street from June 15 to 30. The next month, they moved into the property they own on Harrington Avenue. In August, they registered a son at Northside High (two other children attend school in another school district, where Ramos’ wife is an employee).

Tarrant County property tax records show Ramos still has a homestead exemption on the Cochise Drive property. He paid taxes on the property in December.

Ramos says he filed documents to have the homestead exemption changed this month but more paperwork is needed for it to be complete.

He said one part of the initial delay was he had to supply a drivers license with his new address on it to switch the homestead exemption. That’s according to state law changes that went into effect Sept. 1, 2011.

He said he renewed the license in October. Also, he said, the new one had not arrived by Nov. 6, election day. So he voted back at the Haslet-area precinct that matched the license he had at the time, he said.

“I thought that it updated the voter registration when I did the license renewal,” he said. He changed his voter address on March 4 at the Tarrant County Elections Center, a clerk said Thursday.

Jessamy Brown

Teachers to rally, march to Austin capitol for Save Texas Schools event on Sat

Teachers and public education supporters are traveling to the state capital this weekend for a Save Texas Schools march and rally at the Texas capitol.

Organizers expect about 15,000 people to the Saturday event. The rally is to start with a march from the Congress Avenue bridge to the capitol site.

Here's their battle cry: "Say NO to school funding cuts, vouchers and a broken testing system. Say YES to great public schools for ALL Texas children."

The group's website says that a group from Everman ISD is chartering a bus to Austin.

And Fort Worth-based United Educators Assocation is taking a bus full of folks, leaving about 6 a.m. on Saturday morning from Tarrant County College-South Campus, says Steven Poole, UEA executive director.

Here are the details:

• March: 10:45 a.m. on the Congress Avenue Bridge to the capitol. Gathering at the Austin American-Statesman at the corner of Riverside Drive and S. Congress Avenue.
• Rally: Noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Texas State Capitol on the South Steps, Congress Avenue & 11th Street
• Directions and Parking: here.

Many educators have traveled to Austin in recent weeks while the legislature is in session. Fort Worth school district teachers Dolores Rayas and Raul Duran joined 400 teachers who met with state legislators at the Association of Texas Professional Educators' lobby day on Feb. 11. Rayas and Duran teach at Como Montessori School, according to a news release from spokeswoman Ashley Anthony.

And Kennedale school district trustees, district administrators and city of Kennedale reps spent Feb. 12 in Austin. They met with Rep. Bill Zedler, Sen. Wendy Davis and Rep. Diane Patrick, said Erin Hyden, school district spokeswoman. (R: Kennedale Day at the state capitol. Via KISD)

Jessamy Brown

 

First elected in 1983, Fort Worth ISD trustee TA Sims files for May 11 election

Tuesday update
The last incumbent with a seat up for election on May 11 has filed. No opponents have filed.

On Tuesday, Dr. Theophlous Aron (T.A.) Sims Sr., a pharmacist, filed paperwork seeking another term representing the board's district 4. Sims, 72, was first elected to the board in 1983.

Monday update:
Dr. Carlos Vasquez has filed for the upcoming Fort Worth school board election, scheduled for May 11.  Vasquez, 45, who listed his occupation as an educator, is seeking another term as the board's district 1 representative.

All incumbents except Dr. Theophlous Aron (T.A.) Sims Sr. have filed to retain their seats on the board. And Sims, in a telephone interview on Monday with the Star-Telegram, confirmed that he intends to run for another term in district 4. He expects to file paperwork this week.

The board of education trustees are elected by voters in each of nine districts and serve as single member district representatives. Trustees serve four year terms and are not paid for their service.

Friday update:

Trustee Norman Robbins, 65, has filed for the May 11 election. Robbins, a senior community relations manager, is seeking another term to represent the board's district 7.

So for those keeping track, incumbents in districts 7, 8 and 9 have filed this week.

Original Post:

Two Fort Worth schools trustees on Wednesday filed paperwork to seek another term on the board.

By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, the opening of the campaign filing season for municipal and school board elections, Juan Rangel, 65, a marketing/management consultant, filed in district 9 and Joe Ralph (J.R.) Martinez, 46, a realtor, filed for district 8.

The Fort Worth school board has nine single member districts. Districts, 1, 4, 7, 8 and 9 are up for election on May 11. Members serve four years.

We'll add more trustee filings as they are posted on the school district's website.

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 students choose Obama in nationwide mock election by 80 percent

UPDATE: Fort Worth school district officials released the outcome of student voting in the National Student Mock Election.

Fort Worth ISD students who cast ballots in the program joined their statewide peers in supporting President Barack Obama's re-election bid. Participating students represented a very small percentage of the school district's student body of 80,000 children. Here are some FWISD photos from the Seminary Hills Park Elementary School mock election.

The Fort Worth district results:

• Barack Obama: 1,096 votes, 80 percent
• Mitt Romney: 172 votes, 12.5 percent
• Gary Johnson: 52 votes, 3.7 percent
• Jill Stein: 53 votes, 3.8 percent

ORIGINAL POST

Students participating in the National Student Mock Election project to learn about the democratic process chose Barack Obama to win a second term as U.S president.

Results were released late Tuesday, after the voting period was extended after super storm Sandy closed some schools on the east coast.

Results posted on the organization's website show that Obama, a Democrat, won 460 electoral votes to Republican Mitt Romney's 78 electoral votes in the student election. The winner needed 270. In the general election on Tuesday, Obama won 303 electoral votes. Romney won 206, which included all 38 electoral votes from Texas.

Among Texas students participating in the mock election, Obama won 70.7 percent of the vote over Romney's 26.8 percent. In the general election, Romney prevailed in Texas, taking 57.2 percent of the vote to Obama's 41.4 percent.

In mock election results for Texas a race for the U.S. senate, Republican Ted Cruz took 42.8 percent of the student vote to Democrat Paul Sadler's 37.9 percent.

Texas students identified the economy as the most important issue in the election followed by health care. Issues were:

• Economy: 35 percent
• Education: 16.4 percent
• Energy: 4.1 percent
• Environment: 10 percent
• Health care: 18.8 percent
• National debt: 15.6 percent

Jessamy Brown

Arlington student's poster among statewide winners in voting campaign

Nobody can blame Phillip Smith, a student at Arlington's Ousley Junior High School, for being apathetic about voting.

Smith came up a winner in a statewide contest for his poster aimed at inspiring more people to get out and vote.

He won third place in the Tex Elects middle school poster contest, sponsored by the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at the University of Texas at Austin. Kevin Nute, his teacher, sponsored his entry.

There are sections for essays, posters, and other media created by middle and high school students in the contest to create nonpartisan campaign messages.

The Tex Elects contest complements civics and government classes, where students are taught about the presidential election and the importance of citizen participation.

About 3,000 posters have been distributed this year through the Institute's coalition of campus voter registration organizations, teachers and schools.

Ousley will receive a $50 gift in honor of Smith's win. The money can be used for classroom supplies, books and equipment, or a class field trip or party.

_Shirley Jinkins