Houston parents are concerned that “the Houston Independent School District’s move to combine its selective Vanguard programs with its standard gifted-and-talented offerings — could lead to a watered down curriculum for their children.” They are worried that this means the classes will lose their “academic edge.” I don’t know enough about the program to decide one way or another, but a side effect cited in the Houston Chronicle article includes pulling students from HISD schools into private schools.
Mamie Louis Payte, a former teacher whjo passed away recently (I think) left Alvin Community College half a million dollars. At least that’s what the Houston Chronicle reports. Wow!
Congratulations to the 10 seniors from six HISD schools earn Gates Millennium Scholarships. They are part of the 1,000 students selected nationwide from 11,000 applicants.
Houston-area eight-grader Anna DeSanctis won $10,000 for being one of the “top 10 youth volunteers for 2007.” The Houston Chronicle reports that she is a student at Holy Spirit Episcopal School.
The only way to tell this is to quote the School Zone blog: “If I told you that only 626 residents in the region’s third-largest school district voted in favor of a $365 million bond proposal today, you’d probably assume the measure failed miserably. And you’d be wrong. Those 626 votes were enough to pass the Aldine bond proposal by a comfortable 71 percent majority. In fact, 255 votes would have done the trick. Seeing as how I’m a proud Aldine ISD grad with solid math skills (Nimitz Cougars rule!), I can confidently tell you that those 626 ‘yes’ votes are worth $583,067 in bond money apiece.”
A local teacher is reportedly too scared to go back to work after one of her students assaulted her in class — landing 7 or 8 blows, some to her face, before other students were able to intervene. Teaching is a very dangerous profession these days… and not just because of this.
A correction in the published rankings for Pasadena Independent School District resulted in an increase in the rankings themselves. According to the Houston Chronicle, “Out of 97 schools overall, Pasadena’s South Houston High jumped from No. 92 to No. 73. Pasadena High moved from 85 to 60, Dobie soared from 71 to 43 and Rayburn moved from 68 to 33.”
Galena Park ISD school board recently approved to renovate Woodland Acres Middle School.
Channelview ISD voters turned down a $125 million bond that would have funded a new elementary school and a junior high.
Hillary Clinton says that all 4-year-olds should go to pre-K. This would be a $10 billion federal program. I wonder why she waited until she was campaigning to mention this idea?
Resources
- Will elite magnet program lose pull? Some fear that HISD’s changes to Vanguard classes will take away the academic edge, reported by the Houston Chronicle
- Late teacher left $500,000 to Alvin Community College, reported by the Houston Chronicle
- 10 seniors from six HISD schools earn Gates Millennium Scholarships, reported by the Houston Chronicle
- Eighth-grader earns $10,000 for volunteer efforts, reported by the Memorial/Spring Branch section of the Houston Chronicle
- Every Aldine ‘yes’ vote counts for $583,067, School Zone blog
- Teacher still out after beating by student; Irate 9th-grader landed 7 or 8 blows before classmates could subdue him; reported by the Houston Chronicle
- Pasadena schools get a lift in performance rankings, reported by the Houston Chronicle
- Galena Park ISD OKs Woodland Acres Middle School renovation, reported by the Houston Chronicle
- Channelview ISD voters turn down school bond proposal; Trustees must decide if another election is needed; reported by the Pasadena/Baytown section of the Houston Chronicle
- Hillary Clinton proposes pre-K program for all 4-year-olds, reported by the Houston Chronicle
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