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Texas Education News
Texas Education News
December 2008
Copyright © 2008 Queue,
Inc.
IN
THIS ISSUE:
El Paso, McAllen Teachers Named Texas Teachers of the Year
Texas Education Report Back Issues
(http://www.queuenews.com/TXnews.html)
Queue, Inc. is offering public schools free previews of QueueÕs best-selling test prep and curriculum-based workbooks. Queue publishes test prep workbooks in reading comprehension and math for grades 2-8 based on the Sunshine State Standards as well as a a wide variety of workbooks in language arts, reading comprehension, math and science ideal for test prep.
Go to http://www.qworkbooks.com/TX/TX.html for descriptions.
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The 2007-08 Academic
Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) reports are now
available at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2008/index.html.
The
Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) compiles a wide range of
information on the performance of students in each school and district in
Texas. The performance indicators are:
¥
Results of Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS); by grade, by
subject, and by all grades tested;
¥
Participation in the statewide assessment programs (TAKS/TAKS
(Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt);
¥
Exit-Level TAKS Cumulative Passing Rates;
¥
Progress of Prior Year TAKS Failers;
¥
Results of Student Success Initiative;
¥
Attendance Rates;
¥
Annual Dropout Rates (grades 7-8, grades 7-12, and grades 9-12);
¥
Completion Rates (4-year longitudinal);
¥
College Readiness Indicators;
Advanced
/ Dual Enrollment Course Completion;
Completion
of the Recommended High School Program or Distinguished Achievement Program;
Participation
and Performance on Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB)
Examinations;
College-Ready
Graduates;
Texas
Success Initiative (TSI) Ð Higher Education Readiness Component; and
Participation
and Performance on the College Admissions Tests (SAT I and ACT).
Performance
on each of these indicators is shown disaggregated by ethnicity, sex, special
education, low income status, and limited English proficient status. The
performance of at-risk students is also shown on the district, region, and
state AEIS reports. In addition to the performance indicators, the reports
provide extensive information on school and district staff, finances, programs,
and student demographics.
Becoming
a certified teacher in Texas just got a little easier. ACT Houston, an
Alternative Certification Program for Texas educators, has launched a new
website for their teacher certification programs in Dallas, Houston and Austin.
The site also provides a wealth of information for those looking to become
certified teachers in Texas.
Originally
developed by teachers, ACT Houston provides researched-based instruction
designed to help develop skills and learn strategies that are essential for
making a smooth transition into teaching. The programs are 7-8 weeks long, and
are taught by master teachers from local school districts. Applicants must have
a Bachelor's Degree, and must have at least a 2.5 GPA. After completing the program,
students must complete 2 semester long, paid internships. Upon program
completion, teachers are provided with a full year of support as they begin to
master the teaching profession.
Phil
Saviano, Program Coordinator for ACT Houston at Dallas offered this piece of
advice, "The one thing I always stress with candidates who come into our
office is you have to have passion for what you'd like to do. Teaching is a job
of passion - students must be cared for. It's a job in the sense that it is a
job, but it's working with young people and [they] deserve enthusiastic
teachers who care about their best interests."
Brandon
Manbeck, Account Manager at LevelTen shared his thoughts about the experience,
"We were really excited to work with ACT Houston. We felt their needs were
a perfect match for our services, and were happy to help them reach their
goals."
The
new website, designed by LevelTen Interactive in Dallas, TX, uses Silverstripe,
which is an easy to use, open source content management system. ACT Houston will
also be using LevelTen's comprehensive marketing program to drive traffic to
the website and encourage potential teachers to use ACT's alternative teacher
certification program.
About
ACT Houston:
Founded in 2003 by Drs. Debbie Dunlap, Bobette Dunn and
Vicki Johnston, ACT Houston is dedicated to providing quality preparation for
individuals whose goal is to enter the teaching profession with standard
certification as a classroom educator. The program meets the requirements set
forth by "No Child Left Behind" legislation, and is approved by the
State Board for Educator Certification. They offer a variety of certification
programs, from Art to Science and more. For more information visit their
website at www.acthouston.com.
What is Measuring Up?
The purpose of a state report card is to provide the general
public and policymakers with information they can use to assess and improve
post secondary education in each state. Measuring Up 2008 is the fifth
in a series of biennial report cards. The report card grades states in six
overall performance categories:
Preparation: How adequately does the state
prepare students for education and training beyond high school?
Participation: Do state residents have sufficient
opportunities to enroll in education and training beyond high school?
Affordability: How affordable is higher education
for students and their families?
Completion: Do students make progress toward and
complete their certificates or degrees in a timely manner?
Benefits: What benefits does the state receive
from having a highly educated population?
Learning: What is known about student learning
as a result of education and training beyond high school?
Grades compare the current performance of each state with the
best-performing states, but do not compare with past performance. Key
indicators (back page) allow states to compare current performance with past
performance.
Texas scored a B in Preparation:
ÒTexas performs fairly wellÑand has improvedÑin preparing its
young people for college. Fairly small proportions of high school students
score well on Advanced Placement tests, but this percentage has tripled over
the past 15 years. n Only 74% of Hispanics and 89% of blacks have a high school
credential, compared with 93% of whites. Ò
Complete Texas report: http://measuringup2008.highereducation.org/print/state_reports/long/TX.pdf
Christine Gleason, an English teacher at Fabens High School in the
Fabens Independent School District, was named the 2009 Texas Secondary Teacher
of the Year, and Dora Newell, a third-grade teacher at Thigpen-Zavala
Elementary School in McAllen ISD, is the new Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Gleason and Newell were each awarded a cash prize of $5,000, a
SMART Board technology package worth more than $15,000, and a commemorative
trophy.
Each
educator vying for the top honors submitted an application that describes the
kind of teacher they are. Secondary Teacher of the Year Gleason writes: ÒI am a
teacher and can relate any piece of literature to teenage life in under 50
minutes. I do it with laughter, poise and integrity. Most importantly, though,
I talk to my
students. They know I genuinely care about them and their issues. I contribute
everything I have every single day because that is what my students deserve.Ó
Elementary
Teacher of the Year Newell had this to say: ÒI am determined that each day each
one of my students will get my absolute best. They will remember me ...with a
smiling face, a kind heart and a genuine desire to form them into the best
citizens they can be. I attend my studentsÕ birthday parties, basketball games,
quincea–eras, and graduationsÑeven when it has been many years since they have
been my students. My students are always important to me, and I let them know
that I will always make myself available to them.Ó
In addition to the stateÕs top two educators, the other 38
outstanding regional Teachers of the Year were honored. These teachers each
received a $500 check and a commemorative trophy. Cash prizes for state and
regional Teachers of the Year, totaling $29,000, were provided by AT&T.
The
2009 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools award honors schools that help
students excel academically and that make significant progress in closing the
achievement gap.
For
the past 26 years, this prestigious program has honored more than 5, 800 of
America's most successful schools, including almost 500 Texas schools. The No
Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private
elementary, middle and high schools.
The
schools are selected based on one of two criteria:
á
schools
with at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that
dramatically improve student performance to high levels on state tests;
á
schools
whose students, regardless of background, achieve in the top 10 percent of
their state on state tests.
Fifty
percent of the schools selected are elementary schools; 24 percent are high
school, 24 percent are middle schools and 2 percent are pre-kindergarten
through grade 12. This mirrors the ratio of elementary, middle, high school and
all grade level schools in the state. For the first time, the list of nominated
schools also includes two charter schools.
The
nominated schools will now complete a rigorous application process.
Announcements of the award winners will be made in September 2009.
The
nominated schools are:
¥
Beaumont Independent School District (ISD):
Fletcher
Elementary School
¥
Bosqueville ISD:
Bosqueville
Elementary School
¥
Brownsville ISD:
Southmost
Elementary School
¥
Brownwood ISD:
Brownwood
High School
¥
Chapel Hill ISD:
Chapel
Hill Elementary School (Mount Pleasant)
¥
Dallas ISD:
George
Bannerman Dealey International Academy
George
Peabody Elementary School
School
of Health Professions
Victor
H. Hexter Elementary School
¥
Devine ISD:
Devine
High School
¥
Galena Park ISD:
Tice
Elementary School
¥
Garland ISD:
Brandenburg
Middle School
¥
Houston ISD:
DeBakey
High School for Health Professions
Garden
Villas, Elementary School
Kennedy
Elementary School
Lantrip
Elementary School
¥
Iola ISD:
Iola
Elementary School
¥
Mumford ISD:
Mumford
Elementary School
¥
Natalia ISD:
Natalia
Junior High School
¥
North East ISD:
Garner
Middle School
¥
Patton Springs ISD:
Patton
Springs School
¥
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD:
Bowie
Elementary School
¥
Sands CISD:
Sands
CISD
¥
St.MaryÕs Academy Charter School
St.
MaryÕs Academy
¥
Wellington ISD:
Wellington
Elementary School
¥
Yes Preparatory:
North
Central Campus
Fort
Worth ISD (http://www.fwisd.org/)is making good on its
promise to become a "digital district," installing Activboard+2
interactive whiteboards (http://www.prometheanworld.com/server.php?show=nav.16005) in each of the District's
5,000 classrooms over the next two years. The full installation will make Fort
Worth ISD the largest district-wide implementation of interactive whiteboards
in the nation.
The first phase of implementation calls for the installation of 1,700 Activboards over the next four months. Fort Worth ISD plans to install the whiteboards in three phases over the next 30 months, balancing fiscal responsibility with the District's mission - to give students the education they need to stay competitive in today's global marketplace. Improving technology in classrooms is also a key component of the District's $593.6 million bond program, approved last year by voters.
"These
whiteboards will help our teachers meaningfully engage our students and assist
in achieving our primary objective: to move Fort Worth ISD from a system of
many good and great schools to a great school system," said Dr. Melody
Johnson, FWISD Superintendent (http://www.fwisd.org/about/Pages/superintendent.aspx), in her recent State of
Education speech.
The
whiteboards consist of a large screen connected to a computer, a projector, and
software programs offering literally hundreds of thousands of digital learning
and multimedia resources. Teachers can access information, pictures and video
from the Internet, display it for students and then manipulate it in numerous
ways with the touch of a pen-shaped stylus - the same way one might use a
"mouse." Teachers also have access to thousands of ready-made lesson
plans through Promethean's web-based learning community, Promethean Planet (http://www.prometheanplanet.com/).
A highlight of the Promethean technology is its interactive response systems. These provide instant communication between students and the whiteboards. In approximately one-third of all classrooms, students will use Activote hand-held devices (to answer multiple choice and true/false questions) or Activexpression hand-held devices (a more robust learner response system that enables students to text complete sentences and numerical answers).
This
interaction allows teachers to:
á
Immediately
assess classroom comprehension
á
Immediately
assess individual student comprehension
á
Collect
data in spreadsheet format for grading and other record-keeping
"We
are committed to providing training for our teachers within two weeks of having
the Promethean board installed in their classroom," said Kyle Davie, FWISD
Chief Technology Officer. "They will receive additional training in the
following weeks to ensure that this is an integral part of their toolbox for
delivering engaging and rigorous instruction."
The
beloved children's classic - the story of the teddy bear Corduroy - took center
stage as Texas children and volunteers from Pearson (http://www.pearson.com/), the world's leading
education publisher, joined readers of all ages to make history in Jumpstart's
(http://www.jstart.org/) third annual Read for the
Record¨ (http://www.readfortherecord.com/) on Oct. 2nd. The campaign created the world's
largest shared reading experience, while breaking the record for the number of people
reading the same book on the same day all across America. With entries still
being tabulated today from all 50 states, Texas has helped create a new world
reading record.
Pearson, the sponsor of Read for the Record events across Texas, employs 2000 people in the state - through its San Antonio Assessment & Information Group, its Operations Center in Austin, through its Pearson School offices in Coppell, and representatives statewide.
At Villareal Elementary School, Pearson volunteers read to more than 400 kindergartners. Bilingual staffers helped lead the Spanish-speaking afternoon kindergarten section, and fifth graders who speak Spanish served as guest readers for the kindergarteners. Several of the Pearson employee volunteers are e-pen pals with students in older grades at Villareal. Pearson employees also helped out at Any Baby Can (ABC), a local organization providing services to families with special needs in San Antonio. Children received copies of Corduroy to take home and share with their families.