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RECOGNITIONS

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

• Sally Provenzano, Cypress Springs High School drill team director, for being selected the Texas Dance Educator Association’s Drill Team Director of the Year. The award was presented on Friday, Jan. 9, and is bestowed on an educator with five or more years of service who exemplifies the philosophy, ethics and standards of the TDEA; and
• Gary Durrenberger, CFISD photographer, for winning Best In Category for his photo “MVP” from the Texas School Public Relations Association for districts with more than 30,000 students. He received the honor at the state conference in February.

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 winner and runner-up at the district-wide Middle School Spelling Bee, held Feb. 17 in the ISC Board Room. Hannah Bonner, an eighth-grade student from Arnold Middle School, won first place by correctly spelling the word loquacious. Kaylie Brown, an eighth-grade student from Labay Middle School, was the district’s runner-up. Each middle school was represented at the district competition. Bonner and Brown will advance to the PBS Regional Spelling Bee on March 28, along with the winner and runner-up of the Elementary School Spelling Bee;

• Eight high school teachers who were named 2009 Claes Nobel Educators of Distinction for excellence in teaching by the National Society of High School Scholars: Nancy Crawford, Jersey Village High School; Kim Fitzgerald and Chris Rajadurai, Cypress Falls High School; Jessica Haddox, Jane Howard and Antonia Wong, Cypress Creek High School; Eileen Newland, Cypress Springs High School; and Demetra Roane, Cypress Ridge High School;

• Cypress Falls paraprofessional Michelle Curless, for winning an Advocate for Education 2009 Bridge to the Future Award. The award is presented by the Phi Delta Kappa Texas Lone Star Chapter. PDK is a professional organization for educators, and Michelle won the award for “always going the extra mile and making a positive difference in the classroom;”

• Heather Jankowski, a librarian at M. Robinson Elementary, for receiving an appointment to the American Library Association’s School Librarians Annual Conference Committee 2010;

• CFISD Communication Department staff members, for winning several gold and silver star awards and a Best in Category award from the Texas School Public Relations Association: Gary Durrenberger received a Best In Category and gold star for his sports subject photo “MVP,” a gold star for “Bond 2007” and a silver star for “Sound of Silence;” Kimberly Foster won gold stars for “Cy-Fair District News-Live,” “Cy-Fair ISD: A Family History,” and “Cy-Fair District News;” Joel Weckerly received gold stars for “Schools Benefit from Service Project,” “Bond 2007;” Stephanie Migl won a silver star for “INSIDE Cypress-Fairbanks ISD;” and Rosario Meehan won a silver star for “INSIDE Cypress-Fairbanks ISD – Bond 2007;”

• Four drivers who placed in the School Bus Safety Road-e-o competition and will advance to the regional competition in April: Oscar Castiblanco from the Falcon Center, first place; Shirley Montgomery from the Telge Center, second place; Helen Nixon from the Eldridge Center, third place; and Christine Mangum from the Falcon Center, fourth place. The Road-e-o consists of 12 events, including parallel parking, straight line (aligning the bus to allow front and rear dual wheels to travel between a row of tennis balls without disturbing them) and a written exam;

• Jersey Village High School JVTV teacher Cindy Stoker, who helped her school win the 2009 Best Buy Teach Award. This includes a $5,000 Best Buy gift card;

• Schools that were recognized by Taylor Publishing with an Award of Excellence honoring their accomplishments in yearbook design and coverage: Cy-Fair, Cypress Creek, Cypress Ridge, Cypress Woods and Langham Creek high schools; and Bleyl, Goodson, Hopper, Kahla, Labay, Spillane and Watkins middle schools;

• Eight Swimmers who placed at the state swimming and diving championships out of the 19 total entries: Cypress Creek High School freshman Kathryn Eckhart won the state title in the 50 freestyle and Cypress Woods High school senior Seraphina Van placed second in the 200 individual medley. Cy-Fair High School senior Hudson Rains placed second in 1 meter diving;

• The 13 wrestlers who advanced to state, all placing in the top five at regionals. Cy-Fair sophomore Jake Ekster placed second in state in the 125-pound weight class and Cy-Fair senior Julie Smith placed third in the 128-pound weight class. CFISD had four students place in state overall;

• Girls basketball teams that advanced to the playoffs. The Cy-Fair Lady Bobcats were first place in district, then won at regionals and advanced to state, where they finished their season as Class 5A state semifinalists; and the Cypress Falls Lady Eagles finished their season as district runners-up and Region II area finalists;

• Boys basketball teams that advanced to the playoffs. The Cypress Woods Wildcats were first place in district and advanced to regionals, where they finished their season as Region II semifinalists, and the Langham Creek Lobos finished their season as runners-up in district and Region II area finalists; and

• Fourteen Sampson Elementary students who qualified for the World Sport Stacking Association World Championships, which will be held April 18-19 in Denver.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSIGNMENTS

Kelly Gerletti, an assistant principal at Hamilton Elementary School, was named the new principal at A. Robison Elementary School. Gerletti replaces Dan McIlduff, who was named the assistant superintendent for educational support services this month.

Laura Perry, the director of instruction at Cypress Creek High School, has been named the principal at Thornton Middle School, a position she took over on Monday, March 2.

Janet Bakondy, an assistant principal at Jowell Elementary School, was named the new principal at Ault Elementary School—a position that will take effect on March 23. Bakondy replaces Donna Guthrie, who was selected to open Swenke Elementary School (No. 50) in the 2009-2010 school year.

Vicki Snokhous, the associate principal at Cy-Fair High School, was named the new principal at Arnold Middle School this week. Snokhous replaces Susan Higgins, who was named the new principal at Smith Middle School (No. 16) in January.

PURCHASING COOPERATIVES

The administration provided a written report on the district’s participation in purchasing cooperatives for the 2007-2008 school year.

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD currently participates in the following purchasing cooperatives:
• Harris County Department of Education (HCDE);
• Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC);
• The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN, Region 4 ESC);
• The Local Government Purchasing Cooperative (Buyboard);
• State of Texas Cooperative Purchasing Program (Comptroller of Public Accounts); and
• Department of Information Resources (DIR, State of Texas contract).

BOND UPDATE

The Board approved the granting of a 0.7925-acre tract for a waterline easement to the West Harris County Regional Water Authority (WHCRWA) located along Cypress North Houston Road at the 130-acre multi-campus site.

The Board approved the granting of a 1.056-acre (22A-3) tract for a waterline easement to the West Harris County Regional Water Authority (WHCRWA) located on the future extension of Tuckerton Road along the south property line at the 40 acre Towne Lake multi-campus site.

SUPERINTENDENT’S BRIEFING

Third-, fifth- and eighth-grade students recently took their reading TAKS tests, and the district expects those results to arrive by end of March. Students who were not successful will have two other opportunities to pass. These students will receive small-group instruction in groups of 10 or fewer students with a teacher who has received specialized training. The teachers will be studying their students’ results and will address any areas of weakness prior to the second administration of the test, scheduled for April 29.

Testing for students identified as limited English proficient (LEP) in grades 2-12 will occur on March 16 - April 10. During this time, teachers will also be observing and rating their LEP students in English language proficiency in all subject areas. CFISD’s next TAKS testing will occur April 7, when fifth- and eighth-grade students are tested in math.

Gov. Perry signed a proclamation setting aside the week of March 2-6, 2009 as Educational Diagnosticians’ Week. Dr. Anthony praised the educational diagnosticians who work diligently to evaluate and create personalized learning programs addressing the unique educational needs of students in the Special Education program.

Spring Break is the week of March 16-20. All schools will be closed and classes will resume on Monday, March 23. To contact the CFISD security department, the number for emergencies is 281-897-4337. Dr. Anthony wished CFISD students and employees a safe, enjoyable and well-deserved vacation.

Students from Cypress Falls, Cypress Ridge and Jersey Village high schools were invited to join other community members in “A Day at the Capitol” with Representative Gary Elkins. In addition to photo opportunities with Speaker of the House Joe Straus and Lt. Governor Dewhurst, the students were given special recognition from the floor of the House of Representatives by Rep. Elkins. Rep. Elkins hosted a luncheon meeting where he discussed the challenges of the Legislative Session, including the school funding challenges for CFISD, and provided CFISD students an opportunity to ask questions. Dr. Anthony thanked Rep. Elkins and his district staff person, Kelli Ray, for providing our students such a relevant learning experience, and thanked CFISD students and teachers who represented the district.

AGENDA ITEMS

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

• approved the following additional secondary summer opportunities for students: Student Success Initiative (eighth-grade math and reading), ESL Enrichment, New Arrival Program Summer School – High School, New Arrival Program Summer School – Middle School, TAKS Remediation, Accelerate to Algebra, Moving Up in Math, Scholars’ Program (PSAT Prep), Carverdale Tutoring Program, Willow Green Apartment Tutoring Program, Somerset Apartment Tutoring Program, SAT Prep, Extended School Year (ESY) – High School and Middle School, and 21st Century Community Learning Center;
• 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 the resolution of extension for the two-year depository contract between JP Morgan (Chase) and Cypress-Fairbanks ISD as required under Texas Education Code Subchapter G, Section 45.205;
• approved on second reading additions, deletions or revisions to district policies:
  • FL (LOCAL) STUDENT RECORDS;
• approved on first reading additions, deletions or revisions to district policies:
  • CDA (LOCAL) OTHER REVENUE INVESTMENTS
  • CE (LOCAL) ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET
  • FB (LOCAL) EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
  • FNCE (LOCAL) STUDENT CONDUCT TELECOMMUNICATIONS/ ELECTRONIC DEVICES;
• approved recommendations regarding which campuses will be open for student transfers for 2009-2010;
• approved the superintendent’s contract recommendations for school year 2009-2010 of administrators and non-teaching professionals to 1) renew term contracts; 2) issue one-year term and probationary contracts; and 3) issue one-year (annual) contracts as presented in the Administrative Staff Recommendation Report (March 2009);
• approved the superintendent’s recommendation to take the appropriate action required by Texas Education Code, Section 21.158 to discharge a teacher, Loruhamah McCarter, employed under a continuing contract as presented in the superintendent’s memorandum of February 27, 2009; and
• approved the superintendent’s recommendation to take the appropriate action required by Texas Education Code, Section 21.158 to discharge a teacher, Mary Selman, employed under a continuing contract as presented in the superintendent’s memorandum of February 27, 2009.