School Board Recognition Month

January 2010 is School Board Recognition Month in Texas. Irving ISD students, staff and community members are honoring school trustees who volunteer countless hours each year to ensure quality education for Irving’s children.

As citizen leaders, they face complex and demanding challenges in providing effective public schools. This annual recognition is a way of saying “thank you” to our trustees.

During 2009, IISD Board of Trustees and superintendent worked with other staff members and volunteers to update the district vision and mission statements and refine major goals.

Significant district accomplishments throughout the past year include:

• Three elementary schools — Farine Elementary School, John Haley Elementary School, and Stipes Elementary School — were rated Exemplary by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

• Fourteen IISD schools were named Recognized by the TEA: Barton Elementary School, Britain Elementary School, Brown Elementary School, Davis Elementary School, Gilbert Elementary School, Good Elementary School, Thomas Haley Elementary School, Hanes Elementary School, Keyes Elementary School, Schulze Elementary School, Townley Elementary School, Townsell Elementary School, Lamar Middle School, and Jack E. Singley Academy. All other schools were rated Academically Acceptable.

• Twenty-four IISD schools earned 60 Gold Performance acknowledgements from the TEA during 2008-2009.  Irving ISD also received a district-level acknowledgement, commended in social studies.

• Advanced Placement test results indicate 690 IISD students earned scores of 3, 4 or 5 and 110 students were recognized as AP Scholars during the 2008-2009 school year.

• IISD Trustees adopted an average four percent pay raise for employees, bringing the beginning teacher’s salary to $48,300.

• The Partnerships in Education Program has more than 200 active alliances with businesses and other organizations and over 1,500 volunteers.

• 33,798 IISD students — a district enrollment record — are receiving a well-planned education in a safe and secure school environment.

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Nimitz Hosts BEST Community Day

Nimitz High School will host Building, Educating, Supporting & Teaming (BEST) for the Community to commemorate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. and the National Day of Service from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. January 18.

Funded in part by the $80,000 Learn & Serve Texas Grant awarded to Nimitz, the purpose of the grant is to help students apply their skills to solve the needs of the community. The BEST committee, an advisory board comprised of members of the Nimitz community, planned the event to address four specific areas of concern raised in a community-wide survey. Respondent concerns were environment, literacy, teen pregnancy and poverty.

In partnership with Nimitz faculty and students, the City of Irving, Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce, Habitat for Humanity, Irving Cares, Parents of Latinos Stand-Up, and the Internal Revenue Service, activities have been scheduled to address the areas of concern. These activities include a teen pregnancy discussion, the acceptance of donations to a clothes closet; voter registration and new tax law information sessions; Habitat for Humanity home frame construction; fitness and nutrition presentations; drug and alcohol awareness; North Lake College educational classes; and shredding of personal documents and electronics recycling by City of Irving.

The BEST event will set the stage for the Global Youth Service Days April 23-25. Nimitz applied for the grant from Learn & Serve Texas to support service-learning activities planned throughout the year. As a grant recipient, the BEST committee will send students to San Jose, California, for the National Service Learning Conference March 25. Alongside students from across the country, Nimitz BEST Committee members will present their service learning projects in a conference showcase. Students will also talk with other attendees about project implementation, connection to curriculum goals, and community impact.

Nimitz is located at 100 W. Oakdale. For more information about BEST Community Day, call 972-600-5700.

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Microsoft Hosts MacArthur Teams for Contest

The Microsoft campus in Las Colinas hosted 37 students from MacArthur High School December 15 in a contest where students presented solutions to twenty-first century learning challenges.

The teams were comprised of students from MacArthur’s Business Education Career Preparation and Business Information Computer Systems classes. Each of the 11 teams of two to four students presented solutions to modern problems such as class size and lack of teachers, make-up work for students who miss school, reducing skipping school, teen pregnancy, drug abuse, and excessive paper usage.

MacArthur High School Team

Students began working on projects October 22 and collaborated to find a solution using various Microsoft tools including Excel, PowerPoint, Office Live Meeting, and Office Live Workspace. During the three-hour contest held December 15, students presented their solutions and were evaluated according to specified criteria.

To view the Office Live Workspace for the contest, which includes photos of the event, group presentations, and contest notes, access http://tiny.cc/MicrosoftContest.

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More Schools Noted on NCEA List

Five more IISD schools have joined the National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) Higher Performing Schools list since John Haley Elementary School was announced in the area of math December 16.

In the NCEA Just for the Kids program, IISD schools and the areas in which they earned recognition are: Hanes Elementary School, math; Stipes Elementary School, writing; Austin Middle School, reading; Lamar Middle School, math, reading and writing; and Jack E. Singley Academy, reading.

At the elementary and middle school level, the NCEA Just for the Kids campaign recognizes schools’ better improvement rates compared with students at other schools with similar demographics. For high schools, recognition indicates a higher standard of college and career readiness related to specified subject areas.

Schools identified by NCEA will be recognized at an event January 21 at the Dallas ISD boardroom. The program will include keynote address from Texas Representative Diane Patrick, as well as a discussion panel of leading superintendents and principals from Higher Performing Schools.

For more information about NCEA, access www.nc4ea.org.

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Academic Decathlon Teams Go to Practice Meet

Academic Decathlon teams from IISD high schools traveled to Holmes High School in San Antonio for a practice meet in preparation for the Regional Academic Decathlon January 29-30.

The Nimitz High School Academic Decathlon Team, competing in the large school division, finished second out of 36 teams. Individually, Chris Rohrs was the second place “A” student at the competition and was the team’s top scorer. David Orozco was the second place “B” student, Linda Dao was the third place “B” student, Joel Garcia was fourth place “C” student, and Ana Ibanez was fifth place “B” student. Contributing team members were Edgar Ibarra, Ashlyne Menchaca, Genesis Sanchez, and Maggie Stiggleman.

MacArthur High School, who also competes in the large school division, finished in sixth place at the competition. Andrew Ellington won first place in Speech, and Pearl Choi won second place in Language & Literature. Contributing team members were Brenda Amata, Theo Beyene, Zach Brown, Jason Ikpatt, Karissa McCalip, Jinae Sakai, and Eurika Sulypa.

Also competing in the large school division, Irving High School “B” student Martha Covarrubias and “C” student Jane Lee won fourth and third place in their respective categories in the Essay event. Luis Nambo placed fourth among “B” students in the Math event. Contributing team members were Alvaro Aleman, Marisol Almaraz, Stefany Barboza, Edgar Cortez, Carolina Diaz, Laura Hernandez, Santos Mar, Harley Rubio, and Alejandra Salvador.

Competing in the medium school division, the Jack E. Singley Academy team finished 13th out of 18 teams. Taylor Terry was the team’s top scorer, won first place in the math category, and was eighth place overall “B” student. Gi Ju Ju was Singley Academy’s top “A” student and Josue Caraballo was the team’s top “C” student. Contributing team members were Carlos Andrade, Oscar Escajeda, Maria Gonzalez, Dennis Le, Cesar Pineda, Viviana Ramos, and Tiffani Rodriguez.

Regional Academic Decathlon will be at Richland High School in Birdville ISD.

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Irving ISD Designing Net Zero Middle School

Since identifying the need for an eighth middle school, Irving ISD administrators are designing the “net zero” concept for the new facility.

A net zero energy building is one that produces as much energy as it consumes. Through efficiency technologies and on-site power generation, the use of renewable energies allows the building to produce as much energy as it consumes from the electric grid.

According to Scott Layne, assistant superintendent for support services, the construction of a net-zero building helps reverse negative trends associated with climate change. Layne said the building could be constructed using the most energy efficient materials and systems available. By doing so, energy consumption would be approximately half the consumption of a typical middle school building.

The net zero school will reinforce teaching and learning as it becomes an extended classroom. Because of the use of efficient materials and cutting-edge renewable energy technology, the building becomes a three-dimensional learning space. Students will learn through practical, hands-on experiences. Issues such as geothermal science, rainwater collection, solar panel usage, and wind turbine efficiency will help students learn responsibility for energy conservation.

In order for the project to become a reality, IISD is exploring alternative funding options. Generally, a project of this type requires 20-30 percent additional funding, with the majority of those costs being utilized for renewable energy source equipment. For more information regarding the net-zero concept, or to discuss partnering with IISD in the concept, contact Scott Layne at 972-600-5400.

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Holiday Activities in IISD

During the final weeks before the district holiday break, many schools and administrative centers in IISD conducted activities to commemorate the holiday season.

	Approximately 40 volunteers from Baylor Medical Center in Irving visited students in need at partner in education Bowie Middle School to bring gifts, provide a holiday lunch, and lead students in Christmas carols December 17.
	The Lively Elementary School Choir performs in the IISD Administration Building December 16.   Lively Choir
	Head Start students from Pierce Early Childhood School visited partner in education Heritage Senior Center for Christmas caroling December 17.
	Irving High School Toy Tigers marched and performed in the Adolphus Christmas Parade December 5.
	The choir, drummers, bell ringers, and drummers from Townsell Elementary School perform in the Administration Building atrium December 17.   Townsell Drums
	Cardettes from MacArthur High School perform at the City of Irving Christmas Tree Lighting December 5.
	Students from Gilbert Elementary School attended a Christmas event with former Dallas Cowboy Toni Casillas December 17.
	Lively Elementary School hosted Carol-a-Palooza December 17.
	Representatives from MJB Wood Group, Inc., partner in education with John Haley Elementary School, presented gifts to students in need at John Haley December 18.

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