01.16.06
Posted in Resources at 10:26 pm by Paloma Cruz
Do you need more materials, computers, books or money for your classroom? Interested in helping some schools, or teachers, get the resources they need to teach our kids? Sign up with Adopt-A-Classroom!
Adopt-A-Classroom invites the community into the classroom in support of teachers and their students. By adopting a classroom, donors form partnerships with specific classrooms providing financial and moral support. The result is a meaningful contribution to education in which donors experience the impact of their efforts and celebrate in a classroom’s success.
FYI, there are already several schools listed for “adoption” in Houston and Pasadena. Check it out.
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01.14.06
Posted in Resources at 11:46 pm by Paloma Cruz
In my quest to find good resources for my sisters, and their colleagues, I found the Greensheet’s Youth School Web site. Among the many things offered, they have Educational Supplments, which include:
About them:
The Greensheet Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation whose mission is to enhance curriculum and support Texas and Arizona communities as a free educational resource.
We reinforce literary arts and promote critical, creative, and independent thinking skills through high quality educational programs, publications, and partnerships.
Since I’m not a teacher, I can’t give testimonials. However, their site has plenty of teacher’s testimonials posted.
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01.13.06
Posted in News at 12:06 am by Paloma Cruz
HISD Board Unanimously Approves Teacher Pay Plan
$14.5M Plan Rewards Teachers Based On Performance
– reported by Click2Houston.com
The salary of some of Houston’s best teachers will increase by thousands after the Houston Independent School District’s board members unanimously approved a new bonus system Thursday that rewards educators based on the performance of their students, KPRC Local 2 reported.
Board members voted 9-0 Thursday in favor of approving the $14.5 million plan in which teachers could earn up to three bonuses for a total of $3,000 a year due to the success of their students.
The approval makes HISD, the state’s largest and the nation’s seventh largest school district, to reward teachers for their students’ performance. More than 200,000 students attend HISD schools.
[snip]
The bonuses are based on school performance, individual teacher performance and classroom performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests. Non-core subject teachers, educators whose performance cannot be based on their students’ test scores, will also have the opportunity to earn the bonuses.
[snip]
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01.12.06
Posted in News at 11:57 pm by Paloma Cruz
New school lunch system gives parents veto power on foods
– reported by KTRK ABC Channel 13
The Houston Independent School District is considering a plan to give parents the power to control what their children eat in the school cafeteria.
The school board voted on Thursday to approve a plan that could revolutionize school lunches in the district.
More than 200,000 students eat school lunches at HISD campuses every day. But are they eating healthy? The school board voted on a plan that would give parents complete control of their children’s eating habits.
[snip]
The $5.3 million program would computerize the school lunch system. Each child would be given an ID number, which they punch in at the check out line. That student’s information comes up on the screen and money is debited from a pre-paid account.
The new system would give parents the ability to track what their kids eat at school. It would also give them the authority to tell the school what their kids are allowed and not allowed to eat.
[snip]
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01.11.06
Posted in News at 11:07 pm by Paloma Cruz
HOPE THROUGH EDUCATION
Tackling city’s ‘hidden secrets’
New classes will help some of the 550,000 adults in county without diplomas or GEDs
– reported by the Houston Chronicle(1)
An $8 million initiative will allow residents of some of Houston’s poorest neighborhoods the chance to learn English, study for the GED exam and receive vocational training at nearby schools and community centers.
As part of “Project Houston Hope,” classes for adults will start later this month at Booker T. Washington High School, Kashmere Gardens High School, the Acres Home Multi-Service Center and the Third Ward Multi-Service Center. City leaders said they plan to expand to more schools and centers as soon as possible.
[snip]
The classes, created by a partnership that includes the Houston Community College System and the Houston Independent School District, are designed to help some of the more than 550,000 adults in Harris County who don’t have high school diplomas better their education, learn job skills and land careers that pay more than $35,000 a year.
[snip]
* * *
Reminders:
- Houston Chronicle links expire after a few days because they’re archived. If you want to access these articles after that, you either have to be a subscriber or go to the Houston Public Library and access the database using your Library Power Card.
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Posted in News at 10:59 pm by Paloma Cruz
Truth is stranger than fiction…
Schools suspend more than 1,000 students over homework
– reported by KTRK ABC Channel 13
School officials in the southern Dallas suburb of Lancaster have suspended more than 1,000 students for not completing assigned holiday homework.
[snip]
I re-read this several times to make sure that I’d understood it. 1,000 students were suspended. That’s approximately 20% of the total student population of the entire school district.
All I can say is WOW!
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01.10.06
Posted in Resources at 11:26 pm by Paloma Cruz
A great resource for parents and educators:
Colorín Colorado is a web-based service that provides information, activities, and advice for Spanish-speaking parents and educators of English language learners (ELLs).
The name of the service, “Colorín Colorado,” comes from a playful phrase that is said at the end of many stories in Spanish-speaking countries. There’s no literal translation, but the phrase is similar to “…and that’s the end of the story!” or “…and they lived happily every after.”
Find “Simple ways to encourage learning,” information on “Reaching out to Hispanic students and families” and “Bright ideas that work” in the classroom.
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01.09.06
Posted in News at 9:55 pm by Paloma Cruz
Wealthy school districts won’t have to pay as much as first thought
– reported by KTRK ABC Channel 13
Some wealthy Texas public schools won’t have to contribute as much money to poorer districts as expected.
[snip]
Texas law requires wealthy school districts to send some of their tax revenues to the state, which distributes the funds to poor districts. But the more students wealthy schools districts have, the less money they pay the state.
The Texas Education Agency says the state will make up any differences so less-wealthy schools districts will receive the money they expected.
[snip]
Good news, I guess.
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