09.07.08
Posted in News at 12:36 am by Paloma Cruz
Some stories to watch & things to do:
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
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09.01.08
Posted in News at 8:46 pm by Paloma Cruz
Congratulations to Carol Medgen, of La Porte, for winning the Harris County Public Library’s iReader Summer Reading Program for adults. (Found on the Houston Chronicle.)
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08.27.08
Posted in News at 9:36 pm by Paloma Cruz
Business Week reports that, thanks to the bad economy, business school programs have seen an increased enrollment.
Hmmmmm…….
I’ve been considering a master’s in business, but it was a thought I’ve been puttering with for a few years. Looks like it’s a thought a few people have had recently.
The strong demand for business school did not surprise admissions
officers, who note that applications for MBA programs typically go up
when the economy slides. A similar upturn was seen following the
dot-com crash earlier in this decade.
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Posted in Resources at 9:33 pm by Paloma Cruz
MomHouston had a great blog post on easing your child’s first day jitters. It’s actually a point to the Federal Citizen Information Center. Even though it’s over, it’s a good post to bookmark for next year.
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08.05.08
Posted in News at 10:25 am by Paloma Cruz
Texas earns higher scores
Houston-area school districts that joined the state in earning top academic rating this year include: Cypress-Fairbanks, Deer Park, Galena Park, and Katy. The Houston Chronicle reports that HISD “nearly doubled its number of high-rated campuses and maintained its overall ‘acceptable’ rating.” This was due, in some part, to the fact that the Texas Education Agency did not hold the district accountable for the high school graduation or middle school dropout rates this year.
As a non-educator, I don’t understand how discounting the dropout rates is a good thing. Can someone explain it to me?
Quality of teachers is uneven
Research conducted for the Association of Texas Professional Educators shows that the quality of teachers is uneven between rich and poor school districts. The Houston Chronicle reports that “Wealthy, high-performing schools attract and keep experienced, higher-quality teachers, while schools with large numbers of low-income and minority students are left with less-experienced teachers, according to a new study.”
So… what’s the solution?
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08.01.08
Posted in General at 10:55 pm by Paloma Cruz
Cheerleader hazing
The Houston Chronicle1 reports that Katy Independent School District is investigating claims that varsity and junior varsity cheerleaders tat Morton Ranch High School are being subjected to hazing.
Spokesman Steve Stanford said administrators learned of allegations that the school’s varsity squad “kidnapped” junior varsity members from their homes, blindfolded them, bound their hands and mouths with duct tape and tossed them into a swimming pool last Friday morning.
Hazing is considered a Class B misdemeanor by the Texas Education Code.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Watch the trailer of the much-anticipated sixth movie. In this one, a prominent character dies. It’s the darkest of all the books, and the only one my niece didn’t finish. “It was boring,” she explains. I didn’t think so, but I’m no a pre-teen.
Footnotes
1 = article may expire in a few weeks.
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07.31.08
Posted in News at 10:58 pm by Paloma Cruz
HISD to unveil new charter school
– KHOU CBS Channel 111
Early next month a simple complex on the La Porte Freeway will host HISD’s newest charter school.
It will be called the Houston Advantage East End High School. The facility will be publically funded, privately run and will serve up to 450 students who struggle in traditional school settings.
[snip]
Footnotes
1 = may require free registration.
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Posted in News at 10:58 pm by Paloma Cruz
Moment of truth for 8th-graders
Thousands won’t get into high school this year unless they pass the TAKS test
– Houston Chronicle2
Thousands of eighth-graders across Texas will sit this week for the biggest test of their young lives.
For the first time in the state, eighth-graders must pass standardized exams in math and language arts to be promoted to high school automatically. The students had two chances during the school year, but that was not enough for many who failed the exams on both attempts.
[snip]
Statewide, nearly one in five eighth-graders has yet to pass the math portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
That’s at least 55,918 students who face retention in eighth grade if they again fail the test, which is being given for the third and final time today.
Texas is one of the toughest states when it comes to tying grade promotion to testing. Students in grades 3, 5 and — now — 8 must pass the TAKS in some subjects to advance. High school students must pass four exams to graduate.
[snip]
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
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07.11.08
Posted in News at 11:14 pm by Paloma Cruz
Welcome new Dickinson Independent School District principals:
- Kellie M. Shotwell is the new principal at Dickinson High School
- Traci Goodwin is the new principal at McAdams Junior High School
- Patricia Lankford is the new principal at Hughes Road Elementary School
- Stephanie Williams will become the principal of San Leon Elementary mid-year
Source: The Houston Chronicle
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07.08.08
Posted in General at 10:13 pm by Paloma Cruz
The principals for success
The new heads of a troubled HISD campus are eager to turn it around
– Houston Chronicle2
[snip]
Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott announced that Sam Houston must close after six straight years of unacceptable student test scores, and HISD had until August to transform the Northside school.
The reform plan split Sam Houston into two schools: one for freshmen and the other for students in grades 10-12. Both will focus on math and science. Saavedra put Crump in charge of the upper school and tapped Treviño to head the ninth-grade campus.
Neither Crump nor Treviño has run a high school, but both have led campuses that proved successful with at-risk students.
Now, they face the biggest test of their careers as they rebuild the academic program at Sam Houston, a sprawling campus that has had its share of gang problems, staff turnover and low morale.
The first and biggest step for the new principals is hiring teachers. Combined, they must fill about 140 positions, a massive task this late in the year. Under the commissioner’s order, only 25 percent of the Sam Houston staff can return to the new schools.
[snip]
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
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