The Board of Trustees recognized
the following staff members:
· Sharon Rump, secretary at Horne Elementary, was chosen as this year's
Spotlight Award winner by the Paraprofessional Service Committee (PSC). Tying
for this year's runner-up are Gloria Blackman, psychological services secretary
at the Reo Annex, and Linda Smith, classroom assistant at the Alternative Learning
Center.
· Alyce Purdion, a custodian at the Alternative Learning Center, was
selected by the Education Support Personnel Committee (ESP) as this year's Spotlight
Award winner. Deshea Gregory, a custodian at Watkins Middle School, was named
as runner-up.
· In recognition of their high expectations and dedication to student
success during the 2001-02 school year, 64 elementary and secondary teachers
were selected as Spotlight Teachers, Vol. 17. The following teachers were introduced
as this year's inductees:
Rebecca Adams and Tonya P. Coleman (Watkins M.S.); Loretha Daymon (Dean M.S.); Orene Fanyo (Truitt M.S.); Phillip Gage and Jill Devillier (Adam); Kathy A. Harris (Ault); Linda Hinze (Windfern H.S.); Karri Parlevliet (Lieder); Kim H. Richardson (Walker); Sandy Selmser (Horne); George Villamagna and Sharon Paul (Cypress Creek H.S.); Lyn Baker (Fiest); Michael Barstow (Aragon M.S.); Yvette Culp (Sheridan M.S.); Noelie B. Day and Ami Ruby (Langham Creek H.S.); Janet Epresi (Hamilton); Jeannie Hammer (Matzke); Cathy Hicks (Cy-Fair H.S.); Christina Hoover (Thornton M.S.); Linda Hoskins (Millsap); Cassandra Hunter (Emmott); Charlotte M. Johnson (Campbell M.S.); Janet Kramer (Owens); Mariana Therese Machado (Post); Monica A. Martinez (Carlton Learning Center); Lisa Millenbah (Goodson M.S.); Lolly Rajabi (Hairgrove); Libbi Risinger (Farney); Narda Solis (Kirk); Betty Bailey (Bang); Andie Comer (Moore); Gerónima Garza (Bane); Ann G. Hollenbeck (Cook M.S.); Barbara S. Holsome (Metcalf M.S.); Kathy Kinninger (Frazier); Deanna Napier, Ruben G. "Jerry" Perez, Lois Morton and Linda Williams (Wilson); Laura A. Perry (Hancock); DeeDee Piper (Copeland); Mary Susan Stevenson (Lowery); Tom Weinkauf (Adaptive Behavior Center); Michelle Wooten (Alternative Learning Center); Carol Carlson (Hamilton M.S.); Nadine Dickson (Jersey Village H.S.); Mark Duncan (Lamkin); Jan Englander (Jowell); Beverly Cotton Hurst (Arnold M.S.); Susan Moody (Gleason); Cathy Oberle (Willbern); Linda Powell (Reed); Tommie Taylor (Bleyl M.S.); Scott Christensen and Claro Dumlao (Holmsley); Teresa Clever (Labay M.S.); Cathie deLeon (Yeager); Donna Greek (Cypress Falls H.S.); Stacy Griffin (Francone); Mike Nebel (Cypress Springs H.S.); and Diann Sowell (Holbrook).
Information about each of this year's Spotlight Teacher's is available online at www.cfisd.net.
Additionally, the superintendent
recognized students and staff members for honors and achievements earned in
recent weeks. Congratulations were extended for the following:
· Langham Creek High School senior Jennifer Gamber was selected as one
of 24 finalists from a pool of 1,800 entries in the Coca Cola "Share the
Dream" Essay Contest.
· The Cypress Falls High School baseball team won first place in district
competition and advanced to the area championship. The Langham Creek High School
baseball team earned third place in district.
· The Cy-Fair High School girls' softball team won first place in district
competition after finishing the season with a 14-0 record. The team also advanced
to win the regional quarterfinal championship.
· In track, the Cypress Falls girls' team finished second, the Cypress
Springs girls' team finished third, and the Cy-Fair boys' team finished second
in district competition. Additionally, Brittany Brockman from Langham Creek
won first place in the 1600 and finished second in the 3200 at the regional
competition, and took third place in both events at the state championships.
Antoine Washington from Cy-Fair High School won first place in the long jump
at the regional and state championship meets.
· The Cypress Falls High School girls' golf team and the Cypress Creek
High School boys' golf team finished the season with third place honors in district
competition.
· The Cy-Fair High School boys' doubles team and the Cypress Falls High
School girls' team won second place in district tennis competition. In addition,
Alyssa Rodriguez from Jersey Village High School won second place at the regional
tennis contest and advanced to win this year's state championship title.
· In addition to the 23 students with perfect scores on college entrance
exams that were announced at the April Board meeting, nine more students were
recognized for earning a perfect score on portions of the ACT or SAT exams.
Those students are Michael Bertoli of Cypress Springs; Kim-Chi Nguyen, Matthew
Lee, and An Dinh of Jersey Village; Jeffrey Chan, Jeremy Rynders, Patrick Kruse
and Megan Czepiel of Langham Creek.
· Lamkin Elementary art teacher Donna Ganster was chosen to participate
in a three-week study-visit to Japan sponsored by the Fulbright Memorial Fund
Teacher Program. As a result of her participation, 10 Lamkin students' artwork
was featured during an international art show in Japan. Ganster presented information
that she acquired during her trip at professional development workshops and
at the Texas Art Educators Association conference.
· Cindy Leins, school nurse at Hairgrove Elementary, was presented with
an Award for Excellence in Texas Health from the Texas Department of Health
in recognition of a program that she developed, Teach Us Body Sense. In honor
of her accomplishment, Hairgrove Elementary will receive an award for a new
school health program.
As the unopposed winners of this year's trustee election, Lou Bertoli and Lida Woodul were sworn in to serve their next three-year terms on the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Board of Trustees. After both Board members were inducted, trustees nominated and elected Dr. William O'Brien to serve as president, Al Martinez to serve as vice president, and Don Ryan to serve as secretary.
In personnel transactions, current Thornton Middle School Principal Jim Wells was named as the new principal for Cypress Creek High School. Mr. Wells will replace Sue Heineman, who was named as the new assistant to the superintendent at the April Board meeting. Additionally, Leslie Thomas, an elementary principal from Lewisville ISD, was named as the new principal of Reed Elementary. Ms. Thomas will replace Barbara Goldstein, who will retire at the end of this school year. Martin Anding, senior director of special services, was named as the district's Integrated Pest Management (IPM) coordinator. Mr. Anding replaces Jim Foxx, director of operations, as a result of recent reorganization in the school services division.
Trustees received a report on two surveys of Houston-area school district salaries for 2001-02. According to surveys conducted by the Harris County Department of Education and the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD human resources department, the salary scale for teachers compared favorably to that of most school districts. Despite a stringent budget that necessitated a review of each department this year, CFISD remained competitive in respect to teacher pay and has been able to retain a majority of experienced teachers. It was reported that turnover, which remains high among newer teachers, is caused by a number of factors that typically occur in the lives of younger educators (i.e. marriage, pregnancies, relocation due to spouse's job, switching professions) and does not appear to be related to pay.
In addition to competitive salaries, training and support were credited with helping to build confidence in young teachers who may have been struggling. Raises that reflect differences in experience levels were credited with helping to retain teachers- one of the Board's top priorities.
The Board adopted a resolution urging the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to study and improve traffic safety at the intersection of FM 529 and Fry Road, which has realized increases in traffic due to the construction of new schools as well as commercial and residential developments in recent years. The same resolution will also be sent to Harris County officials.
Based on the district's own one-year study of traffic passing through this intersection between January 1 and December 31, 2001, there were nine minor and seven major accidents, including one fatality. The study shows that CFISD buses pass through that intersection a minimum of 346 times per day transporting 6,095 students to and from various campuses. Approximately 1,500 Cypress Springs High student drivers and more than 586 CFISD faculty members pass through the intersection at least twice daily.
Recent research into possible road improvements at the intersection has revealed that this project does not top the list of priorities for TxDOT or Harris County construction. Yet, the Board's resolution suggests reduced speed limits and/or rumble strips to alert drivers approaching the intersection could dramatically improve safety until the roads can be widened.
In other action, the Cypress-Fairbanks
ISD Board of Trustees:
· approved the sale of surplus furniture and equipment through the district's
Internet auction;
· received a written report on legislative issues and the activities
of the State Board of Education, Texas School Alliance and the Fast Growth School
Coalition;
· discussed amendments to the district's Student Handbook and adopted
the Student Code of Conduct for the 2002-03 school year;
· approved a joint participation agreement with Harris County Precinct
4 for traffic signals and flashing warning signals along North Eldridge Parkway
near Cypress Ridge High School;
· approved bids and contracts from recommended vendors for goods and
services;
· approved Camp Invention as an additional summer program opportunity
for elementary students;
· approved on second reading revisions to two local policies related
to academic achievement, specifically related to retention and promotion as
well as graduation, and one local policy on credits for individualized learning;
· approved on first reading two local policy revisions regarding investments
and student conduct, respectively;
· waived the rule in policy FMG (local) to allow a team of students from
Hamilton Elementary to participate in the Destination ImagiNation Global Competition;
· approved a list of advanced high school courses for 2002-03;
· approved a waiver to allow for three additional staff development days
in addition to the seven currently authorized by the Texas Education Agency
for the 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years;
· ratified an agreement between Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and White Oak Bend
Municipal Utility District pertaining to MUD fees associated with construction
of the Instructional Support Center Expansion project and Instructional Support
Center MUD fees;
· authorized the superintendent or the superintendent's designee to negotiate
and execute construction and architectural contracts as well as municipal utility
district or professional services agreements approved by the Board, and other
necessary actions required to accomplish the design, renovation and/or construction
of school facilities;
· authorized the superintendent or the superintendent's designee to negotiate
and execute all necessary closing documents related to the purchase of property
as approved by the Board;
· authorized tax refunds of $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
and/or the Harris County Education District in the amount of $346,726.42; and
· approved 130 personnel recommendations, resignations, retirements,
promotions, terminations and discharges.
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