07.03.08
Posted in News at 12:10 am by Paloma Cruz
Fewer than 10 percent of high school seniors are fit, tests show
– Houston Chronicle2
Results of a new state physical fitness test confirmed fears that Texas children, especially teenagers, are seriously out of shape.
The fitness assessment of 2.6 million students, touted as the largest exam of its type, shows that only 30 percent of third-graders reached healthy performance levels in all six areas tested. By the 12th grade, less than 10 percent made passing marks.
[snip]
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
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06.30.08
Posted in News at 11:54 pm by Paloma Cruz
It’s official, the face and voice of the Houston Independent School District, has resigned effective the end of August 31st. Often criticized for his dealings with the media, mostly by the media itself, he’s leaving to join former HISD staffer Adriana Villarreal in her PR agency.
I’m curious to see who they choose to take his place.
FYI, I think this is Adriana Villarreal’s agency: Orquesta Communications.
Source: the Houston Chronicle’s School Zone blog.
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06.28.08
Posted in News at 5:10 am by Paloma Cruz
Houston ISD to get pay raises
The Houston Chronicle reports that there’s some good news for teachers of Houston Independent School District. “After some infighting this week, the Houston school board on Thursday unanimously approved a $1.6 billion budget that includes pay raises of at least 3 percent, plus millions more for library books, computers, fine arts programs and principal training.” The good news is that this doesn’t call for a tax-rate increase.
Keep your kids sharp over the summer
Need ideas on keeping your kids sharp this summer? The Houston Chronicle1 recently ran a story focusing on tips to do just that. A snippet:
Some tips for keeping kids sharp over the summer: Visit the library: Find out what interests your child and select books on that subject. Participate in free library summer programs and make time to read every day. Take educational trips: These can be low-cost visits to parks, museums, zoos and nature centers. Plan vacations with educational themes. Practice math daily: Measure items around the house or yard. Track daily temperatures. Add and subtract at the grocery store. Learn fractions while cooking. Play outside: Limit TV and video-game time during summer, just as during the school year. Intense physical activity and exercise contribute to healthy development. Keep a schedule: Continue daily routines during the summer with structure and limits. The key is providing a balance and keeping kids engaged. Prepare for fall: Find out what your child will be learning during the next school year by talking with teachers at that grade level. Preview concepts and materials over the summer. Source: Center for Summer Learning, Johns Hopkins University
Footnotes
1 = article may expire in a few weeks.
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06.20.08
Posted in News at 12:04 am by Paloma Cruz
Reports show that the new SAT hasn’t don’t anything to improve predictions of how well a student will do in college. A few stories on this topic:
Footnotes:
1 = Story found on the Houston Chronicle. Article may expire in a few weeks.
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06.13.08
Posted in News at 12:09 am by Paloma Cruz
South Houston, Kruse elementary schools receive grant
– reported by the Pasadena Citizen
Kruse and South Houston elementary schools will be expanding their school library collections with the help of a $6,000 grant from The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries.
[snip]
Congratulation, Kruse & South Houston.
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06.03.08
Posted in News at 1:30 am by Paloma Cruz
KIPP to graduate first senior class
– reported by the Houston Business Journal
KIPP Houston High School will graduate its first senior class on May 31.
The high school, the first created in the Knowledge Is Power Program network, opened in 2004 as a public charter school. It was
started with $680,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation –
part of an $8 million grant to the KIPP Foundation in 2005 to start
KIPP high schools across the country.
[snip]
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05.25.08
Posted in News at 12:25 am by Paloma Cruz
Award will fund teacher training, pique student interest in history
– Houston Chronicle2
Pasadena students could soon receive a better education in history after the school district was awarded the Teaching American History Grant.
The Pasadena school district is the newest recipient of the grant aimed at simultaneously improving students’ history knowledge and teachers’ classroom skills.
The $949,434 grant will fund training with expert historians in cutting-edge techniques to develop teacher knowledge and appreciation for American history, encourage dynamic instruction and make history an interesting subject.
The curriculum is geared toward developing the classroom strategy of teachers and to help them bring American history alive for students.
Teachers in this program gain a deeper understanding of history.
[snip]
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
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Posted in News at 12:21 am by Paloma Cruz
Students’ phones seized over girls’ nude photos
‘It’s child pornography,’ superintendent says
– Houston Chronicle2
Police in the Santa Fe school district have confiscated dozens of
phones as they search for nude images of two junior high school girls
that were forwarded to numerous students, the district superintendent
said Tuesday.
“Those students forwarded the images and the circle opened up and got wider and wider,” Superintendent Jon Whittemore said.
The two Santa Fe Junior High School students took nude photos of
themselves and sent them to their boyfriends, Whittemore said. The
boyfriends forwarded the photos to others, who in turn forwarded them
again, he said.
“It’s child pornography, is what it is,” Whittemore said.
[snip]
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
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05.15.08
Posted in News at 12:17 am by Paloma Cruz
HISD names its Teachers of the Year
– KHOU CBS Channel 111
[snip]
The Houston
Independent School District crowned one elementary and one secondary
school teacher as their Teachers of the Year: Melaine Leavens of
Wainwright Elementary and David Brown of Challenge Early College.
[snip]
Footnotes
1 = may require free registration.
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Posted in News at 12:07 am by Paloma Cruz
Teach for America to add 230 teachers in Houston
– Houston Business Journal
[snip]
More than 230 new teachers will be in place, up 15 percent from last year.
The new teachers will form an active Houston corps of more than 400
first- and second-year teachers who will reach 32,000 students during
the 2008-09 year.
This year’s growth is made possible in part by a $1 million commitment from Laura and John Arnold in support of Teach For America’s presence in the Houston area.
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