Displaying items by tag: education

MISD expects balanced budget for 2012-13

Monday, 20 August 2012 10:36

Magnolia ISD employees should get a break for the coming year in the form of a three percent raise across the board. According to Chief Financial Officer Erich Morris, the MISD board of trustees is expected to pass a final budget totaling $79.8 million, which is more than $1.3 million higher than the previous year, at its monthly meeting Aug. 20. Along with personnel raises, up to 16 new staff positions (six teachers and ten paraprofessionals) are anticipated, based on specific district needs.

Morris stated the budget should be balanced and would result in a surplus of up to $400,000 at the end of the year, which can help with the budget for the following year. This year’s new funds are a result of slightly higher Montgomery County property appraisals and new student growth, which is projected to be about one percent.

“The property tax rate for schools will remain the same as in 2011-12,” said Morris. “We are adopting a very conservative approach to the budget because we do not know what the next state legislature will do in regard to school funding. We are in the second year of the current two-year state finance system, which means there will be no big uncertainty in funding for the 2012-13 school year. However, there could be changes as a result of the next legislative session.”

Morris indicated that other factors could increase the amount of funding received by MISD, such as greater new student numbers than expected or higher property tax collections. However, he agreed the best approach to the budget was a conservative one, in order to meet the overall needs of the district and ensure no new layoffs.

MISD will also be increasing the lunch price for students that are not receiving reduced-price meals in order to cover rising food costs and to adhere to federal guidelines outlined in the Healthy Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010. The new lunch price will be $2.15 for elementary students and $2.40 for secondary students, an increase of $0.10 in both cases. There will be no increase in breakfast charges.

Published in Top News

Salem Lutheran School brings technology and students together

Tuesday, 04 September 2012 16:02

Steve McEwin, SLS director of technology, is pictured with students in technology class on the first day of school.

Salem Lutheran School (SLS) began its school year with a record enrollment of 470 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and 175 children in its early childhood program.

New this year is a one-to-one laptop project. More than 200 students in fifth through eighth grades received MacBook Air laptops to use in class and for homework. Students in kindergarten through fourth grades will use MacBook laptops, iPads, and iPods in special technology classes, as well as during their regular classroom instruction time.

“The goal is the integration of 21st century skills for today’s learner. The students will be able to use the latest technology to carry out research and to create multimedia projects,” said Steve McEwin, SLS director of technology.

Social studies teacher Dave Boldt is teaching a geography class that is completely online this year.

“I am looking forward to the students being excited about using their MacBook Airs for this class,” Boldt said. “They will no longer need to carry textbooks back and forth. The internet will allow them to access multimedia knowledge in a way that will truly enhance their learning experience.”

“The laptops will make school more interesting. We’ll be able to be more organized,” seventh grader Breanna Lauder said.

Mary Beth Gaertner, Director of Educational Ministries and National Distinguished Principal of the Year, attributes SLS’s enrollment record to its mission to educate tomorrow’s leaders.

“We are truly achieving our mission. We are empowering a generation of leaders,” she said. “God brings us kids with huge potential, and we are able to help them achieve their academic and leadership goals.”

“Salem School teachers and staff make the school a special place,” Gaertner said. “We are a school where teachers truly care about every single child and every single family. Not everybody can teach a heart. You have to really feel it, and that is how we are different.”

For information about Salem Lutheran School admissions and tours, call 281.351.8223 or visit www.salemlutheran.com.

Published in Local News

48 percent of Texas schools fail federal standards

Thursday, 09 August 2012 15:34

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — State statistics released Wednesday show nearly half of Texas' public and charter schools failed to meet federal accountability standards based on the No Child Left Behind Law, a sharp increase from previous years that education officials blame on passing standards that have gotten tougher.

Just 44.2 percent of schools statewide met "adequate yearly progress" standards compared to 47.8 percent, or 4,080 total Texas schools, that fell short of them, according to preliminary figures from the Texas Education Agency. An additional 7.9 percent of schools were not evaluated for a variety of reasons.

When broken down by school district instead of individual campus, the figures are bleaker. Only 339 Texas public and charter school districts — or 27.6 percent — met the standards known as adequate yearly progress or AYP, compared to 876 districts, or 71.4 percent, that did not.

Those tallies were down dramatically from 66 percent of school campuses and 50 percent of districts in Texas that met AYP standards last year. And they represent an especially sharp drop from 2009, when about 81 percent of both campuses and school districts statewide met annual federal progress standards.

According to the Texas Education Agency, a school or district had to have at least 87 percent of its students pass the state reading or English language arts test to meet the passing standards this year, while 83 percent had to pass the state math test. Last year's AYP only required 80 percent passing on state reading or English language tests, and 75 percent on math tests.

Schools that fail to meet federal standards for two or more years and receive Title I funding are subject to sanctions.

Texas has its own accountability system and, up until this year, federal yearly progress standards were measured based on student performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills standardized test, as well as factors including attendance and graduation rates. This past school year, however, students statewide took the more rigorous State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR test.

The state is not releasing its own school and district ratings based on STAAR results this year, as it works to revamp its accountability system using the new test. However, the Education Agency translated students' STAAR performances to how they might have done on the previous exam so federal authorities were able to measure 2012's annual progress.

The Obama administration has granted waivers allowing states that seek permission to escape from certain mandates of the 2002 No Child Left Behind Law, which was championed by President George W. Bush. Texas has not sought a waiver citing possible federal strings attached, though it has not ruled out eventually doing so.

The Texas Association of Business noted that 2012 marked the first time more Texas public school students failed the AYP standards than passed them.

"That is certainly disappointing to hear," the group's president, Bill Hammond, said in a statement. "It does, however, show us the importance of keeping a strong accountability system. These results will force schools to take a look at where their weaknesses are and come up with plans to address those weaknesses."

Hammond said the results indicate that Texas schools "aren't meeting the demand of preparing graduates for college or careers."

Published in Around Texas