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RECOGNITIONS

The Board of Trustees recognized the following students and staff members for their achievements:

• Students from Cypress Creek, Cypress Woods, Cypress Ridge and Cypress Falls high schools who won first or second place at the Texas State Thespian Festival in November: Garrett Line, Bradley Rheinboldt, Rachel Domask, Kathryn Diaz and Megan Tegethoff, Cypress Ridge High School; Jon Cozart, Lauren Harsany, Emily McClennen, Natalie Tischler, Tyler Galindo and Nathaniel Margolis, Cypress Creek High School; Phillip Wozny, Bryan Gray, Ethan Spell, Kaitlin Bennett, Allison Houser and McKenna Wafer, Cypress Woods High School; and Genevieve Simmons, Cypress Falls High School.

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

• The approximately 386 student exhibitors and 550 student projects at the CFISD Livestock Show and Sale, held Jan. 29-31 at the CFISD Exhibit Center. The results are as follows: from Langham Creek High School, Tyler Stitt had the grand champion rabbit, Kevin Perry had the grand champion broilers and Ashley Drake had the reserve champion rabbit; from Cy-Fair High School, Branton Provine had the grand champion goat, Catherine Gwosdz had the grand champion turkey, Rebecca Kleppel had the reserve champion goat, Courtney Weimann had the reserve champion turkey and Keeli Blackman had the reserve champion breeding rabbit; from Cypress Woods High School, Kristina Pederson had the grand champion heifer and Ashley Abbott had the grand champion breeding rabbit; from Jersey Village High School, Meghan Martin had the grand champion steer; from Cypress Springs High School, Shelby Denison had the grand champion lamb, Lauren Hazelrigs had the grand champion swine, Troy Thornhill had the reserve champion broilers and Tyler Miller had the reserve champion lamb; from Cypress Creek High School, John Paul Owen had the reserve champion steer and the reserve champion heifer; and from Cypress Ranch High School, Heather Kilway had the reserve champion swine.

Gross sales for the 2009 auction were $291,350. In addition, $126,597 was raised from freezer sales, and with $78,483 in donations, the grand total raised was $496,430. The district truly appreciates the community’s continued support of its students. Dr. Anthony said it takes a tremendous amount of work and responsibility to raise these animals, and commended the FFA students for their diligence and commitment.  CFISD congratulates the winners, sponsors, parent volunteers, CFISD workers and all the students whose participation made the event so successful;

• Christie McWilliams, English teacher at Cy-Fair High School, who was recently awarded the 2009 Distinguished Secondary Teacher of the Year by the Sam Houston State University College of Education. McWilliams earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from SHSU. In addition, she won a 2009 Crystal Award from the Houston Chronicle and Wal-Mart, based on being an educator who stands out from the crowd and goes above and beyond what’s expected of her;

• Zachariah Heyer, eighth-grade Language Arts teacher at Goodson Middle School, who had his article “Publishing Students with Print on Demand” published in the January 2009 issue of English Journal. This article relates how he published his students’ book of poems;

• Alisha Cunningham, a sixth-grade science curriculum specialist based at the Instructional Support Center, who was recently honored by the North Harris County Regional Water Authority as their Educator of the Month. Cunningham facilitates a Mobile Teaching Lab water trailer, which has visited every one of CFISD’s sixth-grade science classes;

• Gold and silver key regional winners in the 2009 Scholastic Writing competition, coordinated by the Harris County Department of Education. The gold key winners are: Kelli Brown, Cy-Fair High School; Jay Snider, Cypress Falls High School; Rebecca Wood, Joy Perry, Grace Duncan, Kyle Plank, Samantha Katsounas, Hannah Tucker, Mariah Schaefer, Lindsay Oncken (2) and Snigdha Peddireddy, Cypress Woods High School; Emily Gruener, Langham Creek High School; and Avira Som, Labay Middle School. The silver key winners are: Carolyn Wurst (2) and Sarah Cheatham, Cypress Falls High School; Kathryn Hopmann, Sarah Starling, Ian Everett, Kylee Stouder and Adam Waddell, Cypress Woods High School; and Lyee Chong, Cypress Ranch High School. The Gold Key winners will advance to nationals in New York this spring;

• Winners in the annual exhibit of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo School Art, whose work was displayed at the Instructional Support Center in January. The event showcases the culture, history and heritage of the west, and CFISD had more than 600 student entries from grades K-12. The Rodeo Art Committee held judging on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Best in Show winners are: Manuel Martinez, fifth-grade student at Danish Elementary School; DeAndra Lee, eighth-grade student at Labay Middle School; and Alice Yeh, senior at Langham Creek High School. Gold Medal winners are: Erin Stanz, fifth-grade student at Fiest Elementary School; Jaydi Segura, seventh-grade student at Labay Middle School; Manuel Flores, senior at Langham Creek High School and Helen Han, junior at Cypress Ridge High School. Sarah Nielsen, freshman at Cypress Woods High School, was a Special Merit winner. The winning works will be on display in the Hayloft Gallery at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo from March 3-22, with the Awards Presentation at the Reliant Center – Main Arena on Saturday, March 7 at 9 a.m.;

• The winner and runner-up in the district-wide Elementary Spelling Bee, held last Thursday at the Berry Center. Delany Ramirez, a fifth-grade student at Warner Elementary, won first place by correctly spelling the word conceivable in round 19.  Ethan Truong, third-grade student from Lieder Elementary was the runner-up. The Middle School Spelling Bee will be held Feb. 17; and

• CFISD’s Higher Performing Schools, according to the National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA)’s Just for the Kids, which provides schools, districts and other education leaders with essential system performance and best practice information they need to make sound decisions. The Just for the Kids Higher Performing lists are a select group of schools that exhibit outstanding performance across multiple grades and years. NCEA’s analysis includes student test results from spring 2006, 2007 and 2008. For grades 4-11, NCEA used an academic growth analysis that examines whether the students in each school perform above predicted, based on their prior year’s scores. Just for the Kids has selected the following 18 CFISD schools as 2008 Higher Performing Schools in Texas, based on analyses conducted by the NCEA: Cy-Fair High School for Social Studies; Aragon and Goodson middle schools for Science and Social Studies; Dean Middle School for Social Studies; Hamilton Middle School for Math, Reading, Science, Writing and Social Studies; Ault, Bang, Emmott and Moore elementary schools for Math; Copeland, Hamilton and Sampson elementary schools for Math and Reading; Danish, Hancock, Lowery and Millsap elementary schools for Science; Keith Elementary School for Math and Science; and Yeager Elementary School for Reading.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSIGNMENTS

Becky Cook, CFISD’s elementary technology coordinator, was named the new director of instructional technology. With the December retirement of Nancy Lee, coordinator of instructional technology for secondary schools, the elementary and secondary technology coordinator positions were consolidated into one director position that took effect Jan. 5. Cook has 27 years of experience in public education.

Donna Guthrie, principal at Ault Elementary School, was named principal at Deanna Swenke Elementary School (No. 50), which will open in 2009-2010. Guthrie has 22 years of educational experience, and has been principal at Ault since 2002.

Susan Higgins, principal at Arnold Middle School, was named principal at Jodie Smith Middle School (No. 16), which will open in 2009-2010. Higgins has 31 years of educational experience, and has been principal at Arnold since 2001.
Wendi Witthaus, assistant principal at the Alternative Learning Center, was named director of the Alternative Learning Center West, which will open in 2009-2010. Witthaus has 15 years of educational experience, all of which have been in CFISD.

Dan McIlduff, principal at A. Robison Elementary School, was named the new assistant superintendent for educational support services. McIlduff replaces Nadine Fidler, who retired in December. He has 30 years of educational experience.

2009 SUMMER SCHOOL

The Board approved the 2009 summer school plans for elementary, middle and high school:

• Elementary summer school will be held at Andre', Bane, Birkes, Emmott, Hairgrove, Jowell, Moore, Reed, Sampson, Sheridan and Tipps elementary schools beginning on Monday, June 15 and ending on Thursday, July 2, 2009;

• Cook, Goodson and Labay middle schools were approved for original credit, make-up credit and ESL classes for sixth- through eighth-grade students. High school summer school will be located at Cypress Ranch and Cy-Fair high schools for original and make-up credit;

• The first summer session for original credit for both middle and high school students is scheduled for Wednesday, June 10 through Tuesday, June 30, 2009; the second session for original credit is scheduled for Monday, July 13 through Friday, July 31, 2009; and

• The first summer session for make-up credit for both middle and high school students will be held on Monday, June 15 through Tuesday, June 30, 2009; the second session for make-up credit will be held on Monday, July 13 through Tuesday, July 28, 2009. Summer school will not be in session during the week of July 1 – 10, 2009.

BOND UPDATE

The Board authorized the superintendent or designee to enter into an agreement with Environmental Design Inc. (EDI) for removal and transplantation of trees from the district’s 30-acre middle school site in Fairfield, to complete the terms of the agreement and to execute the documents on behalf of the district.

The Board authorized the superintendent or designee to negotiate the final terms and conditions and execute all documents for a Temporary Construction Access Easement between Northwest Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 12 and Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District for the construction of a concrete sidewalk from Westfield Village Drive to connect with an existing sidewalk on the north side of M. Robinson Elementary School.

SUPERINTENDENT’S BRIEFING

All Cy-Fair ISD approved fundraising vendors have been invited to display their products at the Richard E. Berry Center, located at 8877 Barker Cypress Road at West Road, on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2009 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the district’s annual Vendors Fair. The P.T.O. Presidents Council Annual Vendors Fair provides an opportunity for booster clubs, sports associations, school supply chairpersons and school spirit chairpersons to view the goods and services that vendors have available.

2009 TAKS testing for CFISD students begins on March 3. The following is a testing schedule for students in grades 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11:

• March 3
• Grades 3, 5, 8 and 9 will take TAKS reading; some students in special education will take the TAKS-A or TAKS-M in reading as an alternate;
• Grades 4 and 7 will take TAKS writing; some students in special education will take the TAKS-A or TAKS-M in writing as an alternate;
• Grade 10 students will take the TAKS English Language Arts test; some students in special education will take the TAKS-A or TAKS-M in writing as an alternate; and
• Grade 11 will take the TAKS Exit Level English Language Arts or the alternate tests for some students in special education, TAKS-A or TAKS-M.
• March 5
• Make-up testing session for the grade 10 TAKS and TAKS-A English Language Arts test; and
• TAKS Exit Level retesting for English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies will occur on March 3 – 6.

Dr. Anthony encouraged parents to help their students get a good night’s rest, have a hearty breakfast. Dr. Anthony said he was confident that CFISD students are well prepared for these state assessments and will do a fantastic job.  

The district recognized February as Black History Month by acknowledging the contributions of Black Americans to the nation’s history. Curriculum activities and cultural arts programs will focus on the influence of Black history and its impact on the diversity of the nation and world. Dr. Anthony said one great way to celebrate the month is to spend a few minutes with early settlers of Independence Garden, which is currently known as the Carverdale community. This can be done by viewing the video-on-demand posted on the home page of the district website. Dr. Anthony said it is amazing to hear long-time community members sharing their memories of such an important part of the district’s history.

CFISD is partnering with YMCA, TXU, Cigna, Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital, North Cypress Medical Center, Cy-Fair Houston Chamber, HEB and others to sponsor the first annual Community Health Expo, Saturday, May 16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Berry Center. The district plans to have more than 60 vendors plus health screenings, performances, demos and a recycling center. The district’s goal is to help educate the community on physical, mental, spiritual, financial and environmental wellness. CFISD will have CPR and First Aid classes, a blood mobile and hands-on activities for children. More information about the upcoming event will be provided to the community through various sources. PDNC (Professional Development Not for Compensation) credit will be available for staff members who provide activities on that day.

AGENDA ITEMS

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

• approved and submitted to the Commissioner of Education a Request for Maximum Class Size Waiver;
• approved bids and contracts to the recommended vendors;
• approved tax refunds of $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and/or Harris County Education District;
• approved budget amendments for the period of Oct. 1, 2008 through Dec. 31, 2008;
• approved external auditors, Hereford, Lynch, Sellars and Kirkham, P.C., to perform the annual audit of the district’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009;
• approved on first reading additions, deletions or revisions to district policies:
• FL (LOCAL) STUDENT RECORDS;
• upheld a Level II decision denying a parental grievance filed by Byron Stewart against Roslin Copeland, teacher and coach at Langham Creek High School;
• upheld a Level II decision denying a parental grievance filed by Kelly Hamlin-Frere and Bill Frere against Roslin Copeland, teacher and coach at Langham Creek High School; and upheld a Level II decision denying a parental grievance filed by Paul and Deslie Piercy against Roslin Copeland, teacher and coach at Langham Creek High School.