Extra Credit

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

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

Fort Worth-based Region XI Service Center to offer technical help, board training to charter schools

The Fort Worth-based Region XI Education Service Center will host a phone and email support center to help charter schools around the state, the Texas Education Agency said Friday.

The TEA is working with the Region 11 center and Texas Charter Schools Association to launch the Texas Charter School Technical Assistance Network.

The Region 11 service center and charter school group were picked through a competitive application process. They with be paid about $500,000 for this year, a TEA spokeswoman said.

Here's how the TEA described the initiative:

"As part of the network, Region 11 will host a telephone and email support center to assist charters. It will work with new charter schools and those non-profit groups that have been awarded charters but have not yet opened their schools. It will provide on-site technical support, as well as training for board members and officers.

"TCSA will provide comprehensive support to all charter schools. It will provide training webinars on fiscal matters, academic issues and data analysis. The webinars will also be recorded so that the information can be reviewed as a refresher course or when new employees are hired. Additionally, the association will offer intensive budget training.

"TCSA and TEA will work together to provide orientation sessions for those interested in submitting a charter application and for those groups that have just been awarded a charter.  The association will also oversee recruitment and training for reviewers who score charter applications."

The state is limited to 215 open enrollment charters and there are 201 charter holders in Texas.

What's the Region XI education service center? Here's how it is described online:

One of 20 ESCs across the state, ESC Region XI provides professional development, technical assistance and management of educational programs to 77 public school districts and 35 charter schools in a 10 county area in North Central Texas.

Jessamy Brown

 

 

 

West Nile virus message to play on Fort Worth ISD football scoreboards

A public service announcement produced by the Fort Worth school district on how to protect your family from West Nile virus will play at football games and other events starting on Thursday. Check out the video here.

The video features students Mia Cruz, Noah Juvette, Eric Rodriguez, Beth Spears and Eddie Spears.

It's all part of the school district's Know the Plan, emergency operations plan dubbed Know the Plan.

Jessamy Brown

 

Watauga Middle School students on C-SPAN bus

How many times has U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson appeared on C-SPAN?

Students who boarded the high tech C-SPAN bus on Wednesday learned the answer: 70 times in 2011, three for 2012 so far.

Students in eighth grade history classes at Birdville ISD's Watauga Middle School used touch screen computers and HD TVs in the mobile classroom to access C-SPAN's vast library archive, checking out presidential speeches and taking quizzes on how the government works.

The cable network’s custom-made coach launched a nationwide “Road to the White House” tour in August to visit political and campaign events, meet with voters and drop by schools.

Other Tarrant County stops are Fort Worth's Metro Opportunity High School, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Fort Worth and Birdville High School.

Read a Star-Telegram article on the visit here.

The next stop: Phoenix, Ariz.

About 70,000 educators around the country use C-SPAN’s resources to help teach about government, history and civics. Teachers can tap into the network’s library archives to watch videos of candidate speeches, review U.S. Supreme Court cases, and learn about the electoral college.

To prepare for the bus visit, Watauga Middle students studied about the presidential candidates and their Congressional representatives, said Elizabeth Cumbie, a history teacher. Students in teacher Deanna Boyd's classes at the campus got to visit the bus, too.

Jessamy Brown

Students in Watauga, Fort Worth to host C-SPAN bus today

The C-SPAN Campaign 2012 bus is making three stops in North Texas today to visit with students and teachers.

The bus is on a nationwide "Road to the White House" tour as part of the network's coverage of candidates, issues and events that are part of the presidential election. 

Today, the bus will park outside Metro Opportunity High School in Fort Worth, Watauga Middle School and the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Worth. On Thursday, the bus will travel to Birdville High School in North Richland Hills.

Click here for more information about C-SPAN's educational efforts.

UPDATE: Read a Star-Telegram report on the visit to Watauga Middle.

Jessamy Brown

Southlake Carroll football fan pays $1,075 for photo of good luck fox

Billed as the "ultimate Christmas gift for your Dragon," a picture of a fox dashing across the field during Southlake Carroll's winning state semifinal sold for $1,075 in an Ebay auction Wednesday. (Shipping was free).

Proceeds from the picture, donated by Southlake sports photographer Bob Beauvais and autographed by quarterback Kenny Hill and head coach Hal Wasson, will go to charity.

This morning, the folks at www.carrolldragons.com told fans to watch for another auction starting today, this time of a full-sized Dragon football helmet covered in Swarovski crystals.

UPDATE: the Dragon logo helmet auction has begun, with a starting bid figure of $1,500. Bidding ends Saturday at 8 p.m., and if the buyer pays immediately, it can be picked up Christmas Eve.

UPDATE 2: The auction drew a single bidder, who won the helmet after placing a bid for the asking price of $1,500 just two minutes before the auction closed on Christmas Eve, records show. 

Here's a pic from the listing:

Dragon fans are tapping into social media and online sites to continue celebrating their eighth state football title while school is on winter break.

Shortly after the championship game last week, Southlake Carroll ISD Athletics posted Facebook pictures of the trophies at the base of a Christmas tree. The caption: "Merry Christmas, Dragons."

A pic uploaded Tuesday shows team captains designing their Texas football championship rings. Another post says the Dragon Den spirit shop sold out of state champion t-shirts and athletic boosters made a rush order for more, due in on Friday afternoon. The black shirt lists the years Carroll took state titles with the slogan: "History Repeats Itself."

Jessamy Brown

Southlake Carroll to feature graduation messages on Dragon Stadium scoreboard

It's not the huge scoreboard at Cowboys Stadium, but this year's Carroll Senior High School graduates will have the chance to see themselves on the big screen at commencement on June 3.

In a new program, parents, grandparents and other supporters of the Class of 2011 can purchase a graduation announcement and photo to be shown on the new Dragon Stadium video scoreboard.

The seven-second messages will be shown in alphabetical order before and after the 7:30 p.m. ceremony. The number of times each message appears will depend on the total number of messages, said Rick Herrin, Carroll's communications and marketing video-webmaster.

The cost is $50 and order deadline is May 20. The money benefits the Southlake-based school district's general fund.

Last spring, extreme heat prompted Carroll schools officials to take steps to move graduation indoors to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, the first high school graduation at the facility.

Jessamy Brown

 

Northwest students to showcase technology work at Expo

Middle and high school students in the Northwest school district will display their technology skills and designs at a "Techno Expo" event on Thursday.

The community is invited to check out how the students use technology in classrooms and libraries. The students, in grades 6 through 12, and have submitted projects including animation, website design, electronic art and digital design.

The projects to be presented include a 30 second digital video that is a public service announcement for breast cancer awareness and an Internet application called Yum Box for students to order food by iPhone, Android or Blackberry.

Details: Techno Expo, 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Byron Nelson High School, 2775 Bobcat Boulevard, Trophy Club

Jessamy Brown

Fort Worth schools students compete in Whiz Quiz tonight

Big happenings at the Fort Worth school district tonight. The 33rd annual "Are You Smarter Than a 6th Grader" Whiz Quiz begins at 5 p.m. at the Board of Education meeting room, 2903 Shotts St.

The event matches the best academic teams in the district and those interested can watch in person (and play!) or catch it being streamed live on the district's website, www.fwisd.org. It's also being broadcast live on EdTV, the district's educational TV service.