J. Landon Short Mini-Grants mark milestone with 68 new grants
The 19th annual J. Landon Short Mini-Grants for Educators hit a new milestone as a panel of judges selected 68 winning grant proposals – the most ever – through competitive applications received from nearly all Spring Branch ISD campuses.
The awards were announced during the Nov. 24, 2008, regular monthly meeting of the SBISD Board of Trustees. It’s estimated that almost 14,000 students will be touched by the $500 teacher grants. Total cost for these innovative classroom projects is $33,165.
The Mini-Grants competition program is dedicated in memory of J. Landon Short, a lifelong education advocate who was a founding member of the SBISD Partners in Education Advisory Board.
Educator Mini-Grants are funded through a permanent endowment of The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation. Other significant sponsors recognized this year were the Spring Branch Education Foundation, Ann and Dan McCormack, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, First Community Credit Union, and the Memorial West Republican Women. A special reception was held for winning educators before the Nov. 24., 2008, regular monthly meeting of the SBISD Board of Trustees.
In other Board meeting news, a team of volunteers and a custodian at Buffalo Creek Elementary School won special honors, and many Spring Branch schools were recognized for state-level honors and recognitions.
In addition, academic calendars for the next two school years were approved by the SBISD Board of Trustees. Reports were also heard on upcoming architectural design and development projects at Ridgecrest Elementary School, Memorial Middle School, Tully and Grob Stadiums, Don Coleman Coliseum, and the Natatorium.
Special Presentations
Honored as SBISD’s November Employee of the Month was Buffalo Creek Elementary School custodial foreman Joe Fernandez. Mr. Joe, as he is now known by a generation of Buffalo Creek students, teachers and parents, helped open the elementary school and is considered an important campus asset, with an influence that goes far beyond cleaning tables, chairs and floors.
- Watch Employee of the Month Video Spotlight Now (.mov)>> (TBA)
(Download Varies Based on Connection)
Recognized as November Volunteers of the Month are 10 dedicated women who perform many needed duties at Buffalo Creek, ranging from Parent Center duties to assisting librarians and even controlling traffic in the parking lot and chaperoning field trips. These women, including several who no longer have children attending the school, are viewed as campus assets, too.
The November honorees were Felipa Munoz, Olga Hernandez, Trudy Benavides, Margarita Rodriguez, Juanita Gutierrez, Maria Elena Hernandez, Kerry Jamail, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Maria Candelaria Nicolas and Adriana Tendilla.
Also honored were principals of schools earning 2008 Gold Performance Acknowledgements. In all, 32 of 39 SBISD schools received 116 acknowledgements under the Texas Education Agency’s annual Gold Performance Acknowledgement (GPA) system. The awards recognize schools for high performance in areas critical to student achievement and academic success, TEA reports. In addition, Bunker Hill Elementary was recognized as the only school to earn all 7 Acknowledgements possible.
Elementary schools receiving one or more GPAs were Hollibrook, Pine Shadows, Woodview, Edgewood, Sherwood, Buffalo Creek, Nottingham, Ridgecrest, Thornwood, Valley Oaks, Cedar Brook, Housman, Hunter’s Creek, Meadow Wood, Memorial Drive, Rummel Creek, Wilchester and Frostwood.
Middle schools recognized with GPAs this year include Northbrook, Spring Woods, Landrum, Spring Oaks, Spring Forest, Spring Branch and Cornerstone Academy. High schools honored were Spring Woods, Stratford, Memorial and Westchester Academy for International Studies.
In a separate recognition, seven Spring Branch schools were honored for earning an Honor Roll Award this year from the Austin-based Texas Business & Education Coalition (TBEC). The statewide honor is given by the group to only 4 percent of more than 8,000 public schools in Texas, based on high and sustained academic performance compared to comparable schools and peer student groups.
Named to the TBEC Honor Roll this year are Memorial and Stratford High Schools, Memorial and Spring Branch Middle Schools, Cornerstone Academy, Westchester Academy for International Studies and Frostwood Elementary School.
Approval of Academic Calendars
The Board of Trustees approved new academic calendars for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years. The recommended action followed meetings by the SBISD Calendar Committee and development of two draft calendars and an online calendar survey of parents, teachers and interested community members.
School will begin on Aug. 24, 2009, in SBISD. There is no waiver option for school districts in Texas to begin school earlier than the fourth Monday in August, under a state law created in 2006 by the Texas Legislature. The SBISD Board requires no less than 178 student instructional days.
Architectural Design and Development
Moving forward with the 2007 Bond Plan, the Board of Trustees heard and discussed early design and development plans for Ridgecrest Elementary, a Memorial Middle classroom addition, Don Coleman Coliseum and projects at Grob and Tully Stadium, and the SBISD Natatorium. These projects, which total $20 million, may include the district’s first two-story elementary campus at Ridgecrest, a two-story science classroom and lab addition at Memorial Middle, and major improvements and renovations to two stadiums, the coliseum, and the district’s swimming center.
In other action, the Board of Trustees:
- Heard Board member Liaison Reports on legislation, community relations, finance, facilities, curriculum and instruction, and policies, as well as a Quarterly Energy Update
- Adopted local policies on admissions and student discipline
- Heard first readings of a local policies on new facilities, and on interdistrict/non-resident and intradistrict/resident transfers
- Approved the awarding of a number of contracts and consent agenda items
|
