Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District                                          January 2006
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RECOGNITIONS

The superintendent recognized students and staff members for honors and achievements earned in recent weeks. Congratulations were extended to the following:

• Several district high schools participated in a computer programming contest in December. Cypress Creek High School placed first and third; while Langham Creek High School placed second and Cy-Fair High School placed seventh in the Advanced Division. In the Novice Division, Cypress Creek placed sixth, while Langham Creek placed eighth. Cy-Fair schools earned three of the 20 top places at the contest. Cypress Creek brought eight teams to the contest and three of those teams placed in the top 10 in both novice and veteran divisions earning them the overall Sweepstakes trophy.   Cypress Creek senior Alan Viverette placed first in the Individual UIL Test Results.
• Thornton Middle School student Daniela Perez and Danish Elementary student Aaron Garza have artwork that is featured in PBK Architects, Inc. 2006 calendar. Daniela’s artwork was selected for the month of January while Aaron’s was selected for the month of March.   The artwork created by Duryea Elementary student Savannah Renteria was selected as honorable mention.
• The Texas High School Coaches Association announced the Class 5A Academic All-State Football team for 2005-06. The teams are selected by a point system that awards points for GPA, class rank and SAT or ACT scores. The student athletes are then placed on teams according to the number of points earned. The following CFISD students were selected:      
• Elite Team – David Brekke Cy-Falls (highest point total that can be achieved and is the first football player in the history of Cy-Falls to be named Academic All-State, Elite Level)        
• 1 st Team – Matt Pyeatt and Robert Taylor, Cy-Fair
• 2 nd Team – Alex Lathrop, Cy-Fair, Ryan Bruce, Eric Pennington and James Simpson, Jersey Village
• The Cypress Springs football team has been named a finalist for the Inaugural Pro Staff High School Sportsmanship Award, sponsored by the Touchdown Club of Houston. Ten area high school football teams attended a gala on Jan. 18 where the winner of the award was announced.
• Two award-winners from Cypress-Fairbanks ISD were chosen as state winners from more than 80 nominations by the Texas Association of Partners in Education . The Cy-Fair ISD Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) have been selected as the Crystal Award winners for the Texas Parent Involvement Award in a large district. Timm Gleason , a volunteer atLamkin Elementary, has been selected as the Crystal Award winner for the Texas Top Adult Volunteer Award in a large district. Each winner will be recognized by the Commissioner of Education, Dr. Shirley J. Neeley, and the Texas Association of Partners in Education Board during the awards program Tuesday, Jan. 24 in Austin, Texas. CFISD will recognize both state award winners during a VIPS General Meeting in April.

PRINCIPALS NAMED FOR THREE NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

After approving personnel transactions at its Jan. 17 meeting, the Board of Trustees recognized current Horne Elementary principal Marilyn Fredell to open Woodie Coker Andre' Elementary, current Hamilton Elementary principal Lillian Chastain to open Royce Black Elementary, and current Lieder Elementary principal Deborah Jackson to open Joan Spillane Postma Elementary. All three campuses are scheduled to open in August with the start of the 2006-2007 school year.

HEALTH AND INSURANCE PRESCRIPTION PLAN

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD has extended its current contract for the plan years 2006-07 and 2007-08 with Cigna with no increased premiums for employees. This is the fourth consecutive year that employee premiums have not increased. The district will realize a savings of $60,531 over the two-year period due to a guaranteed administrative cost increase of 3 percent for the two plan years.

In addition to knowing that premiums will remain the same and that Cy-Fair ISD offers quality health care at a much lower cost than most school districts in the greater Houston area, employees may also utilize the improved interactive features and cost savings in the Medco prescription plan. This plan offers guaranteed pharmacy pricing and money-saving options such as moving daily prescriptions to mail-order or ordering and keeping track of prescriptions and account information through the Medco website.

BOND UPDATE

The Board approved a six-lane, 25-yard practice pool to be constructed at High School #10 and an eight-lane, 25-yard meet pool with a five-lane, warm-up pool area at High School #9. The total estimated construction cost is $8.2 million. Constructing the meet pool allows CFISD to host larger swimming competitions such as district meets as well as tri- and quad-meets in which three or four teams compete. Currently, the district swim meet is held outside Cypress-Fairbanks ISD.

In other bond-related items the Board:

• approved the granting of a 1.170-acre tract for a waterline easement to the West Harris County Regional Water Authority located on the north side of West Little York near Kahla Middle School;
• approved the granting of a .9219-acre tract for a waterline easement to the West Harris County Regional Water Authority (WHCRWA) located along the south property line of Tipps Elementary School;
• approved the granting of a waterline easement to Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 165 to provide permanent water service for Andre' Elementary School;
• approved Package F-2006 for miscellaneous renovations at Bane, Jowell and Willbern elementary schools and Cook Middle School; and
• approved Package B-2006 for miscellaneous renovations at Langham Creek High School.

ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES       

Trustees approved the recommendations for the attendance boundary changes and rules for student transfers associated with the opening of three new elementary schools for the 2006-2007 school year during the Jan. 17 Board meeting. Woodie Coker Andre' Elementary, Royce Black Elementary and Joan Spillane Postma Elementary will open their doors for the first time when the 2006-07 school year begins Aug. 16.

In addition to setting the boundaries for the new campuses, trustees also approved attendance boundary changes at Cypress Springs and Langham Creek high schools as well as Thornton and Aragon middle schools. These moves were done to alleviate overcrowding at Cypress Springs and Thornton. Detailed information on the boundary changes is available at http://www.cfisd.net/aboutour/attend/approved_0106.htm.

2005 SAT/ACT REPORT

Trustees were provided an oral report on the performance of the class of 2005 on the SAT and ACT exams. Highlights of the report include:

• The number of graduating seniors taking the SAT increased five percent between 2004 and 2005 from 2,825 to 2,960.
• CFISD’s SAT verbal mean scores were higher than state and national mean scores. The district’s verbal mean score was 509 whereas the state score was 493 and the national score was 508.
• Cypress-Fairbanks ISD’s SAT math mean scores were higher than state and national mean scores. The district’s math mean score was 529 whereas the state score was 502 and national score was 520.
• The ACT composite score in CFISD was higher than state and national composite scores. The district’s ACT composite score was 21.3 whereas the state composite score was 20.2 and the national composite score was 20.9.

SUPERINTENDENT’S BRIEFING

District staff and students observed the federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, Jan. 16. All district facilities, including the Instructional Support Center, were closed. The superintendent encouraged staff and community members to reflect on the rights that Americans have and the personal commitment to protect these rights, not only for themselves, but for others. School resumed on Tuesday, Jan. 17 and all support facilities re-opened for normal business hours.

January is designated as National Mentoring Month and provides the opportunity to begin the new year by focusing national attention on the need for mentors in schools. There are many students in Cy-Fair ISD waiting to be matched with a Partner in Education mentor who will help the students with their personal and academic development. Most youth involved in mentoring programs show improved grades, improved self-confidence, improved attendance, and also graduate having improved their relationships with parents, teachers, and peers. CFISD and the community are working together to recruit more adult mentors to serve as positive role models for the youth in this community who are currently waiting for their mentors.   District officials appreciate the Cy-Fair ISD mentors for “Making a Difference.”

The district will be celebrating School Board Recognition Month during the month of February.   Each member of the Board of Trustees devotes many hours to the employees, parents and children, as well as the community members in the Cy-Fair area. CFISD Trustees are the ultimate volunteers, and Dr. Anthony and district employees want to thank and honor them for their dedication.

The 12th annual Cypress-Fairbanks School District Livestock Show and Sale will be held Feb. 2-4 at the Exhibit Center located at 11206 Telge Road. Approximately 475 animals will be exhibited and the judging will begin on Feb. 2, at 10 a.m. with the FFA student tour guide service available for elementary students that day. The highlight of the show will be the premium livestock auction beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4. The superintendent invited everyone to attend and support the district students who have been working diligently for months in preparation for the show and sale.

Also, February is the month for the annual Board Goal-Setting Workshop in which the Board of Trustees and the administration review, add, and modify the goals necessary to provide a quality educational setting for the students in our district. The Portrait of a Cypress-Fairbanks Graduate serves as the vision for the workshop. Employees and parent groups throughout the district are currently providing input for the Board of Trustees to consider. The Goal-Setting Workshop will be held Saturday, Feb. 18, beginning at 7:30 a.m. in the Board room at the Instructional Support Center, located at 10300 Jones Road. Dr. Anthony reminded the audience that this meeting is an open meeting, and the public is welcome to attend and observe as the Board of Trustees begins to set the course for the district’s priorities for the next school year.

TEA has notified the district that CFISD students are required to participate in TAKS and SDAAII field-testing during the later part of January and into early February. The field test requirement is that all potential test-takers in a grade must participate in the field-testing. This requirement places a huge burden on high schools, in particular, Langham Creek, where more than 2,600 students in grades 9-11 must be tested in reading and English Language Arts.

Since high school students are in mixed-grade-level courses and since so many teachers will be needed for administering and proctoring the tests, seniors will be allowed to arrive late on the day of the field test.   Even at Jersey Village and Cypress Ridge, where students at only two grade levels are involved in the field-testing, seniors will be allowed to arrive late.   The field test dates are January 31 at Jersey Village and Cypress Ridge High Schools and Feb. 1 at Langham Creek High School.   CFISD will have six high schools, three middle schools, and 27 elementary schools participating in the field-testing.  

The superintendent highlighted a special event that will occur on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m. in the Board room at the Instructional Support Center. National Merit Scholars from the district’s eight high schools will be honored that evening.   In previous years, this very special recognition has occurred at a regularly scheduled Board meeting. This year, however, to honor these outstanding students, a special-called meeting has been set to allow the Board of Trustees to congratulate and recognize the scholars, along with their parents, for their achievement of academic excellence.  

AGENDA ITEMS

In other action, the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Board of Trustees:

• received a report on legislative issues and the activities of the State Board of Education, Texas School Alliance and the Fast Growth School Coalition;
• received a written report on the Deloitte and Touche Management Letter for the Fiscal year ending June 30, 2005. The Management Letter reflects that the district’s internal controls and operations had no matters considered to be material weaknesses;
• approved the contracts for the associate superintendents;
• approved bids and contracts from recommended vendors for goods and services; and
• approved on first-reading revisions to the following policies:

• CAA (LOCAL) Fiscal Management Goals and Objectives: Financial Ethics
• FD (LOCAL) Admissions
• FDB (LOCAL) Admissions: Intradistrict Transfers
• FDD (LOCAL) Admissions: School Safety Transfers
• And the deletion of the following policy
  • FMF (EXHIBIT) – Student Records: Contests and Competition.