Board Highlights

Board Highlights
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District	January 2001

SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS

The following students were recognized for exceptional achievement on the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test:

Cy-Fair High School: Blythe L. Bergoon, Kira L. Kent, Alan Chuong Q. Pham, Louie Casias, Kenneth A. Marek, Davin K. Reed, Douglas A. Franklin, Lindsay N. McEver, Ashley N. Singletary, Nicholas M. Garelick, Matthew J. McLaughlin, Adam T. Stancil, Amy E. Gray, Laura E. McMullen, James R. Tyler, Joshua L. Harper, Christopher D. Moore, Adam M. Wulf, James K. Hodgson, Rikin V. Patel, and Alice S. Yao.
Cypress Creek High School: Daniel Castro, Michael Jones, Christopher Scarberry, Melanie Harvat, Jeremy Ludwig, Steven Sensarn, Heather Held, John Nguyen, Justin Skidmore, Jimmy Henry Dempster, Heather Owens, Sarah Tan, Seth Holloway, Michael Payne, Michelle Viverette, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Rogers, and David Worrell.
Cypress Falls High School: Anglee Ag, Craig A. Miller, Bijal H. Shah, Katherine A. Leskin, Alison M. Peck, Lewis A. Smith, Lizett Martinez, Benjamin J. Rajabi, Theresa M. Strong, Brian Y. Merritt, and Lisa V. Salazar.
Cypress Springs High School: Shehzaad B. Bidiwala, Jarin R. Gillis, Tracy R. Williams, Zhibo Chen, and Phillip D. Orchard.
Jersey Village High School: Bryan I. Cash, Holly R. Harrison, Chester J. Shiu, Jesse R. Clevenger, Nkechikwere Ironkwe, Nitin Singla, Heath T. Crawford, Catherine A. Matta, Andrew C. Stokan, Justin J. Elliott, Geris A. McMurray, Jonathan C. Surratt, Ashley A. Freeman, John I. Memmer, Shawn X. Tian, Long T. Han, Lindsey L. Monteith, and Michael D. Tovarez.
Langham Creek High School: Zainab Banker, Marian Ng, Mary Sullivan, Kevin J. Cinq-Mars, Brent T. Northington, Kristy M. Tyler, Kristen R. Hajduk, Cristine L. Quidore, Benjamin D. Wempe, Erik Jaeger, Courtney A. Redd, Anthony H. Lin, and Lindsey N. Stein.

PUBLIC HEARING FOR AEIS

A public hearing was held to give the public an opportunity to provide input on the District’s 1999-2000 performance on the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS). The state requires school districts to publish an annual report describing the District’s performance on AEIS indicators and hold public hearings. The AEIS report will be distributed throughout the District.

PUBLIC HEARINGS FOR BUDGET AND BOARD GOALS

It was reported to the Board that public hearings for the 2001-2002 budget and the annual Board of Trustees goal-setting workshop will be held:

January 23, 2001, at Francone Elementary School, from 7-9 p.m.; and
January 25, 2001, at Labay Middle School, from 7-9 p.m.

PROGRESS TOWARD GOAL 1A

The Board heard a report describing progress made toward Goal 1A: Student Growth and Development. The report consists of secondary students’ academic performance by course of study, including:

a comparison of end-of-year grades and TEKS test grades;
an end-of-year course analysis completed by teams of teachers; and
highlights of teachers’ and coordinators’ analyses regarding strengths and weaknesses and the implications for change in curriculum, testing, instructional materials, teaching strategies, and time spent teaching each objective.

The following tables include passing rates for secondary students in 1999-2000.

Middle School Passing Rate			High School Passing Rate
Content Area	Passing Rate	Passing Rate Excluding Excessive Absences	Content Area	Passing Rate	Passing Rate Excluding Excessive Absences
Lang. Arts/Rding.	96.1%	96.6%	Lang. Arts/Rding.	91.9%	95.4%
Mathematics	95.3%	95.8%	Mathematics	89.3%	92.9%
Science	95.5%	96.1%	Science	91.1%	94.1%
Social Studies	95.2%	95.8%	Social Studies	92.2%	95.3%
Physical Ed.	99.2%	99.6%	Health	92.6%	97.0%
Foreign Language	94.7%	94.8%	Physical Ed.	95.4%	98.7%
Fine Arts	98.4%	98.9%	Foreign Language	91.7%	93.3%
Computer Literacy	98.0%	98.0%	Fine Arts	95.5%	97.6%
Career and Tech.	96.7%	97.8%	Computer Literacy	97.2%	98.1%
Total Passing Rate	96.4%	96.9%	Career and Tech.	92.5%	96.6%
			Business	92.0%	95.9%
			Total Passing Rate	91.8%	95.1%

SAT/ACT TEST SCORES

A report on SAT/ACT test scores for twelfth graders in 2000 was presented to the Board. There was a 7.8% increase in the number of students taking the SAT last year compared to the previous year, and an increase of 31.3% over the past six years. Districtwide 72% of students took the SAT and 76.1% took either the SAT or ACT, or both, according to the 1999-2000 AEIS report.

(The following table provides a comparison of Cypress-Fairbanks, Texas, and National Scores.)

SAT and ACT Scores for Selected School Districts
			SAT			ACT
District	Enrollment (10-1-99)	% Tested SAT/ACT*	Verbal Score	Math Score	Composite Score	Composite
Texas	1,882,991	61.8%	493	500	993	20.3
National	N/A	N/A	505	514	1019	21.0
CFISD	60,540	76.1%	510	533	1043	21.6

EMPLOYEE INSURANCE

The Board heard a report regarding Cypress-Fairbanks ISD’s employee group health plans. The total cost of the program is projected to increase $3,662,134 over the current year due to increased:

claims cost due to medical inflation;
prescription drug costs;
use of prescription drugs;
fees of third-party administrators; and
cost of stop-loss insurance.

The Administration will make a final recommendation to the Board in February for the District to absorb a portion of the increase, resulting in an increase in employees’ insurance premiums. If the new plan is approved by the Board, the new premiums will go into effect May 1.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #35

The Board was presented with a progress report of the design of Elementary School #35, one of the five elementary schools included in the 1998 bond referendum. The school, a repeat of Gleason Elementary, will be located on Coles Crossing Drive near Barker Cypress in the Coles Crossing Subdivision and should be completed for the 2002-03 school year.

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD is scheduled to receive competitive sealed proposals on February 13, 2001, from interested general contractors.

BOND PROCESS

The Board discussed implementing a process for developing a bond issue recommendation. The process will be similar to the one that led to the 1998 bond referendum, with the goal to involve members of the community in evaluating the need for, and the scope of, a bond referendum due to district growth, facility renovations, and technology needs. In March, the administration will ask the Board to approve the bond study process and the members who will serve on the 30-member Bond Steering Committee. The bond election could be held as early as the fall of 2001 or as late as the spring of 2002.

CYPRESS RIDGE HS COLORS AND UIL ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION

School colors for Cypress Ridge HS will be navy blue, forest green, and white and will be incorporated into the color scheme of the school. The colors were derived from the school’s feeder schools: Campbell, Dean, and Truitt. Students will have the opportunity to select the school’s mascot.

In UIL competition, by the second year all sports, except for football, will participate at the varsity level. This is the same model used for Langham Creek and Cypress Falls High Schools. Students participating in speech, drama , swimming, tennis, golf, cross country, and track will have the opportunity to participation in varsity competition beginning with the first year. Music participation will follow the same model used for Cypress Spring HS.