Works
SCHOOL
WINTER 2005 VOLUME 15
A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E H O U S T O N
CHALLENGE
Regional High School Network Builds Teamwork
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uring the 2003-2004 school year, 13 high schools from three local school districts joined forces to create 21st century learning communities for their students with a grant from The Houston A+ Challenge. “Through our partnership in Houston Schools for a New Society with Houston ISD, we saw that when schools begin collaborating with each other and sharing ideas on a regular basis, progress really takes off,” said Michele Pola, Ed.D., executive director of The Houston A+ Challenge. “We took this collaborative model and opened it Taylor High School teacher Adam Frank (far right) looks over his up to the other districts in our network and students’ work during their daily advisory period. found the same success. Collaboration really “Our team members started sharing how they increases the efficiency of the enormous task were moving toward goals of creating student before us—transforming high schools to help students acquire the knowledge and skills they advisories, redesigning their schools into small learning communities and using data teams to need to be successful in life.” increase student achievement,” said Lynn The now 14 schools involved in the project are in Aldine, Alief, Humble and Spring Branch Parsons, the Houston A+ Challenge consultant and former Humble ISD administrator who ISDs. Through the Regional High School facilitates the grant program. “You could see Network, each school district will receive up light bulbs come on across the room. People to $100,000 per year for five years contingent started to pick up ideas from the other teams. on progress. The schools were chosen after In some cases, schools within the same district submitting an application detailing their progress toward reform to date, as well as their had never shared with each other. It created an amazing synergy that carried over to the work plans for future efforts. After the initial grants in their individual schools.” were awarded last fall, representatives from After a review of progress, another round each district and school met on a monthly of grants was awarded to the districts at the basis to share ideas and check progress. beginning of the 2004/05 school year. This year: As the year moved forward, a pattern began to take shape of schools listening and sharing ◆Taylor High School in Alief ISD, which had their successes and struggles. As Houston already begun its work on student advisories, is A+ Challenge officials had hoped, the network building on last year’s success. Their model meetings helped replicable models of reform and other A+ Challenge work provided emerge.
inspiration to both Humble High School and Humble Ninth Grade Campus in Humble ISD, who began implementing their own advisories this fall. (See related article page 4 for details). ◆Hastings High School in Alief ISD’s work using data teams is providing guidance to Humble ISD as it works to develop data teams in a K-12 vertical team of campuses. (See related article page 5 for details.) ◆Spring Woods High School in Spring Branch ISD is serving as a model for a number of the other schools for its work in developing small learning communities. (See related article page 6 for details.) ◆Aldine Senior High School in Aldine ISD joined the network team. Before awarding the second year of funding, teams of educators and A+ representatives conducted peer review visits to each of the participating schools. Each visit centered on observing progress toward the focus of the school’s reform efforts during the year. For example, observers to Hastings High School looked for evidence that school administrators and teachers were effectively using data to improve student learning. Teams of observers visited each campus, spending time in classrooms, talking with teachers and interviewing students to provide feedback to the host school. “The schools were nervous about opening themselves up to such a broad review of their work,” said Parsons. “But they quickly learned the feedback from the visits was intent on
Regional Network . . . continued on page 5
Established in January 1997 with funding from the Annenberg Foundation and local matching contributions, The Houston A+ Challenge is an independent, public-private partnership that develops and funds school programs, professional development and leadership institutes to promote higher academic achievement by all students.
From the
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onsider this scenario. A young man transfers to a new high school. Since his transcript has not yet arrived, counselors at the new school have no idea what courses he needs to take and use their best judgment to place him in the classes they believe he needs for graduation. But the first day of school he finds himself taking Geometry for the second time. Far fetched? Not at all. His is not an isolated case. Texas, like other states, uses a paper transcript to send a student’s records to his or her new school. As a consequence, records usually arrive weeks, sometimes even months, after the student has started school. Under this cumbersome system, school staff must pull as many as 100 files a year, make copies and send thousands of pages of paper off to other schools. Employees at the new school then have to type Michele Pola the students’ information into their database. There is a solution. WEST, a new web-based system to transfer student records electronically across schools and school districts, is in place in 30 percent of the 1,031 school districts in Texas. WEST (Web Enabled Student Transcripts), which also automates tracking of departed students, is an interface that sits on top of whatever student information management system a district uses. WEST then allows the districts and schools to pass transcripts back and forth. Two recent reports recommended that an electronic, real time student record system be put in place. The Select Committee on Public School Finance in its March 15, 2004, report to Governor Perry and the legislative leadership recommended that the state provide real time data and tracking capability. In addition, the Houston ISD PEER Committee in its June 2003 report to the Houston ISD board recommended that the district implement an electronic student tracking system. WEST was developed after a meeting of the Greater Houston Partnership Education and Workforce Development Committee in which Houston A+ Challenge offered to raise funding to create a web-based record transfer system. At the meeting, superintendents from several Houston-area districts told the committee one of the barriers to increasing the local high school graduation rate was the lag time in transferring records when students left one school and enrolled in another. In addition, students who did not re-enroll often could not be found with the system in place today. The Texas Business and Education Coalition and Triand, Inc., an Austin-based technology company, agreed to work to develop the system. The Region IV Education Service Center agreed to house the system on its servers and pilot WEST in its 54 school districts. Aldine ISD was one of the first districts to implement WEST, while Houston ISD agreed to provide training for other school districts. IBM donated equipment needed to support operation of WEST. And, Houston Endowment Inc. agreed to provide the majority of the funding for the one-year pilot. Where does Texas go from here? We hope to see the state adopt the electronic record as the official school transcript. Then students won’t have to sit twice through lessons on finding the surface areas and volumes of prisms, pyramids, spheres, cones and cylinders.
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FIRES IN THE BATHROOM: Last fall, students from Bellaire, Chavez, Furr, Lee, Madison, Reagan and Scarborough high schools in Houston ISD participated in a national research project that culminated with hosting a Students as Allies Youth Summit. The summit was part of a project to include student voices in the redesign of urban high schools. The student teams read “Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students” and then conducted a research project on their classmates. They used survey questions developed by the MetLife Foundation, which funded the project, as well as questions developed by their teams. The survey results presented at the local summit were included in a recently released national publication. This summer, “Fires” author Kathleen Cushman selected and interviewed several of these local students to provide research for her second book on high school reform.
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“Fires in the Bathroom” author Kathleen Cushman interviewing high school students for her next book.
In the News . . . continued on page 6
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nticipation filled the air. Eager to try their latest experiment, scientists mingled together on an empty field, anxiously sizing up the competition. Ominous clouds gathered in the distance, inching closer by the minute. All eyes turned to project director Ann Mitchell. She gave the thumbs up. A cheer rang out. They were a go for launch. Sound like something out of the latest reality show? Not a chance. This is rocket science, folks. Thanks to the generosity of JP Morgan Chase Foundation and their Champions of Active Learning grants, 160 students at Pershing Middle School in Houston ISD had the chance to practice rocket science during the 2003-2004 school year. The idea for the project was the brainstorm of English teacher Linda Cook, who also serves as the cluster leader for the group of students involved in the project. “Since we live in Space City, we wanted our students to know something of the history and scientific principals of space exploration,” said Cook, who worked with Ann Mitchell, a Pershing Middle School teacher and the school’s science department chairperson, to develop the project. Cook and Mitchell applied for the Champions of Active Learning grant and received one of the $5,000 grants to fund the project. Eighth-grade students in all science and English classes in their cluster participated in the project, which included reading science fiction, as well as using the Internet to learn about famous scientists and the history of rocketry. Students constructed a timeline of the history of space exploration, watched the movie “October Sky,” and went on a field trip to Space Center Houston that included a special hands-on rocket workshop. They heard from a Southwest Airlines pilot who also happens to be an expert in model rockets and watched as he demonstrated some of his own models. The project culminated with students designing and launching their own bottle rockets. One of the parents volunteered his time on launch day to help students measure altitude and make last-minute adjustments to their designs. “In science, I wanted to give my students a chance to experience Newton’s Laws of Motion
A student team prepares to launch its rocket while another student team stands by to collect data.
first hand,” said Mitchell. “I used an alternative assessment tool at the end of the project, on which almost every student demonstrated a solid knowledge of Newton’s laws and the scientific process. It also brought new energy to the classroom at the end of the school year. I thought some students were done listening for the year, but the rockets really perked them up again.” Students in all classes launched their rockets from the school’s athletic fields with varying degrees of success. “One rocket went so high and far that it landed on the roof of a home
across the street,” Mitchell said. “The students in that group gained status among the other students as the champion rocket builders.” “I learned a lot from the project,” said student Emalie Kane. “We learned how certain parts do certain things.” Fellow student Joshua Young concurred, “I think I would have understood without the rocket but it definitely helped to build it.” For a list of 2004-2005 Champions of Active Learning grant recipients, see related article on page 7.
Students in Ann Mitchell’s eighth-grade science class carefully measure water into their bottle rocket. The water pressure will serve as a propellant for the rocket.
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ast year, when the senior class graduated from Taylor High School in Alief ISD, they left behind for the teachers a list of things all freshmen should know. Things like: •Know your graduation plan…keep a list of credits earned and needed, pass your classes and know your counselor. •Join clubs and stay with them…volunteer and keep a record of your involvement. •Athletics…get to know the coaches for the sport you want to play, pass your classes and get a physical every year. •Do not get in trouble at school… trouble can hurt your financial aid package with colleges, trouble costs money and you can become excluded from clubs and activities. •Make a junior year checklist… preparing for standardized tests, investigating colleges of interest, taking the PSAT, passing TAKS and saving money for school-related expenses. •Make a senior year checklist…double checking credits against graduation requirements, getting copies of transcripts, filling out applications for schools and financial aid, visiting and selecting a college.
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was for the seniors to become mentors and tutors to the freshmen. By all accounts, the system worked beautifully.
followed by tips on setting up a study area, how to avoid procrastinating, understanding grade calculations and examining credits and schedules. Students also will take a survey to determine their learning style and will be given strategies to help them learn more effectively. Throughout the year, students will choose a class name and motto, decide class rules and expectations, examine their community service records and learn to set goals. Taylor shared its experiences in “The bonding really paid off,” said developing student advisories during Manette Schaller, Taylor’s principal. “We monthly meetings of The Houston are proud of the relationship between the A+ Challenge Regional High School 12th and 9th graders. And, we had a Network (see related article page 1 number of students who requested the for details on the network’s first year). same PRIDE TIME advisor this year.” An advisory, or student advocacy, is the intentional personalization of the learning environment that provides a long-term adult mentor for each student. Advisories take the small learning community a step further by ensuring that each student has at least one adult who provides academic assistance and information on planning for life beyond high school. Research has shown that During their advisory period, a group of Taylor High School the personalization of the learning students work on a class door decoration celebrating the environment—by making schools school's Red Ribbon Week. The week highlights smaller and by providing student consequences of drug and alcohol abuse and encourages advocates—are critical to the students to “Just Say No.” success of today’s students. This year, several additional schools Every school in the Regional are implementing their own advisories, High School Network is planning including Humble High School and for or implementing student Humble Ninth Grade Campus in advisories this year. At Taylor Humble ISD. High School, the daily PRIDE “The A+ network has been a great TIME advisories will continue resource to us,” said Melinda Knight, this year. Teaching days are advisory and Service Learning Tuesdays and Thursdays. During coordinator at Humble High School. the summer, Taylor staff wrote a “We have been able to keep in touch curriculum that is tailored to with several schools who are facing the each grade level and also is fun challenges of a large school continuing to A peer tutor helps another Taylor High School student with math during and interesting for students while grow just as we do. It has been their daily advisory period. addressing key issues faced by wonderful to see how other schools are What inspired the list? During the each student. The remaining three days dealing with the growth and starting a 2003-2004 school year, Taylor High are reserved for tutorials, bonding, small school environment within the School reworked its schedule to create mentoring, peer mediation and larger schools. Seeing these schools time for a student advisory period every privileges. accomplish their goals…makes us realize day. Called PRIDE TIME, advisories For example, students started this we can reach that same goal.” were divided by grade level. In addition, school year with a Name Game aimed at Humble High School began planning 9th-grade advisories and 12th-grade breaking the ice and introducing its advisories last year. Implementation advisories were paired together. The idea students to each other. This was
Taylor High School Models Student Advisories
Student Advisories . . . continued on page 7
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Hastings Data Teams Add Up Success
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exas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores, benchmark surveys, student portfolios, databases, report cards, demographics, Stanford 9 scores and course schedules. What do these have in common? They are some of the sources of data used by schools to measure and then plan for how to improve overall student achievement. They can also be a source of frustration for administrators, teachers, parents and students if there is not a deliberate plan to align the data with the school’s instructional focus. At Hastings High School and Hastings Ninth Grade Center in Alief ISD, school officials have created data teams aimed at providing useful feedback to the schools’ content teams. In short, they help collect data on individual students and groups of students, analyze the data and provide it to teachers in a format that can be used for improved classroom instruction and student learning. In their applications for a Houston A+ Challenge Regional High School Network grant, Hastings High School and Hastings Ninth Grade Center outlined their progress toward the development and use of data teams. Once they were awarded the grant, they began participating in regular network meetings and discovered they were ahead of many other schools in the use of data teams. “(In meetings,) we heard that, whereas some schools are still in the initial stages of implementing data-based evaluations of curriculum, instruction and assessment, we are already getting data into the content teams’ hands,” said Dave Holmquist, coordinating principal at Hastings High School. For example, the United States history team at Hastings last year decided to make all unit tests 100 percent common assessment, meaning they are testing for the same skills. This year, based on the success of the U.S. history team, the world history team at Hastings will move toward increasing the number of common assessments it uses for testing. Also last year, the Chemistry, Biology and Introduction to Physics and Chemistry teams discovered differences in grading policies and adjusted them to be the same for each teacher. And in Algebra I, Geometry and
Algebra II, teams made great strides in making sure every student has an equal chance of passing the class. All efforts combined mean that students in these content areas are being tested on the same set of skills and graded by the same set of policies regardless of the teacher. In the end, that means the data coming out of the classroom is more consistent and is a more accurate tool in assessing student achievement. “Collaboration is more widespread than ever before,” said Holmquist. “Our teams are using data to learn what is working and what is not working. And, teachers have a more positive attitude about working with each other.” Drawing on Hastings’ experience with data teams, Humble ISD is now in the process of developing K-12 vertical data teams across the district. Humble, too, was looking to create a comprehensive plan for compiling, analyzing and using data to improve student achievement. “In the network meetings, I had the chance to talk with the Hastings team at length about their data teams,” said Dr. Cecilia Hawkins, assistant superintendent for learning at Humble ISD and former principal of Quest High School. “Dave Holmquist encouraged me to contact the University of Texas Dana Center, where his team had received training. We sent two people to the center this summer, and our process committee used the initial information to develop an implementation plan for this school year. We also contracted with the Dana Center to provide training for our first 60-member team.” To start, Humble ISD selected the Humble High School feeder pattern, which covers students Pre-K through 12th grade. This feeder pattern is the district’s most ethnically and economically diverse, making it the area of greatest need. A 60-member team, composed of the Humble High School feeder campuses and learning support staff from the district office, received four training sessions this fall and one in the spring. The sessions, delivered by the University of Texas Dana Center staff, included TEKS, benchmark assessment and data analysis. “Right now, we have data teams in place
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at every campus,” said Hawkins. “By the end of the year, it is our goal for the individual campus data teams to have a vertical awareness of the work done by all of the campuses in this feeder pattern. For instance, we would like for the elementary team to know
Data Teams . . . continued on page 6
Regional Network
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highlighting areas that were working really well and giving them ideas for areas that needed work. It was definitely a very positive experience for them.” In addition, the groups held district summary visits at the end of the school year to review information that demonstrated success on each of the school’s objectives; to review the benchmark data required for the grant; to discuss principals’ perceptions on their progress; to present results of the campus visits; and to refocus on plans for the 2004-2005 year. “It was exciting to watch the transformation of our partner schools take shape last year,” said Pola. “We are even more excited to see what this year has in store for our team and their students.”
Houston A+ Challenge Regional High School Network Aldine ISD Aldine Senior High School Alief ISD Elsik Ninth Grade Center Elsik High School Hastings Ninth Grade Center Hastings High School Taylor High School Humble ISD Humble Ninth Grade Campus Humble High School Kingwood Ninth Grade Campus Kingwood High School Spring Branch ISD Memorial High School Northbrook High School Spring Woods High School Stratford High School
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SPRING WOODS LAUNCHES SMALL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
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ince its inception, one of the three guiding principles of The Houston A+ Challenge has been to help teachers and administrators personalize the learning environment. With the organization’s work in Houston Schools for a New Society and the Regional High School Network, this has taken the form of helping districts and individual campuses create small learning communities or schools-withinschools for many local high schools. One school, Spring Woods High School in Spring Branch ISD, began implementation during the 2004-2005 school year. Spring Woods created five small learning communities based on student interests. Called majors, the student advisories meet each Thursday morning. “We liked the term ‘major’ because the groups are based on major areas of interest that we identified from student surveys,” said Wayne Schaper, principal at Spring Woods High School. “We also like the term because it is used by universities, and we are always talking to our students about having a six-year plan that covers the two years beyond high school.” Spring Woods adapted its schedule to create time for the weekly advisory period based on the experience of Kingwood High School in Humble ISD. Next, Spring Woods is developing relevant connections between the advisory periods and the curriculum. Research has shown that creating smaller schools is not enough without also personalizing the curriculum. “As we studied different approaches to creating the learning communities, we learned that the schools who worked on their curriculum first had the most success,” says Schaper. Spring Woods also is developing partnerships with local businesses to help teachers create lessons that include real-world examples. In the weekly advisory period, students have the chance to listen to a variety of speakers in different careers related to their chosen major. Spring Woods is working with Texas Work Source to provide the speakers and tie the presentations into the curriculum being taught in school. “We have learned many things from the A+ meetings last year,” said Schaper. “Paula Almond at Kingwood High School was very helpful in giving us ideas on the
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implementation of our small learning communities. And we’ve also started four Critical Friends Groups with more than 40 teachers involved. We added two more facilitators this summer so we are anticipating growing our members to more than 60.”
Data Team . . . continued from page 5 what is being done at the middle school level, and the middle school level to know what is going on at the junior high and high school levels. By the end of the 2005-2006 school year, I would expect the teams to move from an awareness or articulation level to vertical integration, that is using data from all levels as a complete team.” Along with providing a model for other network participants on
Like many of the other principals in the network, Schaper said his experience was invaluable. “We enjoyed meeting with the other schools and learning all of the innovative things that others are doing.”
the use of data teams, Holmquist and Gina Tomas, principal at Hastings Ninth Grade Center, also learned a few things from their colleagues. “Feedback from the A+ network was valuable in helping focus the work of our data team,” said Holmquist. “(From our network experience,) we concluded that the focus of our data team should be to provide assistance with data from the state and district and to facilitate, rather than supplant, existing data pathways.”
I n t h e N e w s . . . continued from page 2 FRSSI UPDATE: Fondren Reforming Schools Summer Institute VIII drew more than 300 educators to the annual two-day conference, which focused on “Keeping Kids Connected.” Nearly 130 participants were new to FRSSI. Strands included literacy, math and fine arts programming and instruction for students Pre-K through 12. “Thanks to all of you who gave me a chance to present at the Institute,” said Drew Academy teacher Karen Looney of Aldine ISD. “I felt so honored and humble to have the opportunity to share my Karen Looney, a teacher at Drew Academy in Aldine ISD, makes passion with these incredible people. a presentation during Fondren Reforming Schools Summer Institute VIII. The networking was another gift. Because of the nature of the home groups, including protocols and processes, participants were able to shed facades and relate in a deeper manner. Connecting with my colleagues removes the sense of isolation that grows during the school year.” CRITICAL FRIENDS GROUP TRAININGS: This summer and fall, The Houston A+ Challenge trained more than 60 new Critical Friends Group coaches, bringing the total number of coaches trained to more than 650 people in 11 states and 26 cities from Texarkana to Washington, D.C. The work has become so important that CFG protocols are now a foundational piece of every Houston A+ initiative. Correction: A story on page 7 of the summer 2004 issue of “SchoolWorks” incorrectly cited the university where Dr. Cheryl Craig is a professor. Dr. Craig teaches in the College of Education at the University of Houston. She is the author of “School Portfolio Development: A Teacher Knowledge Approach” in the March/April 2003 edition of “Journal of Teacher Education.” Craig also authored “School Portfolio Development: A Way to Access Teacher Knowledge” in “Developing Teachers and Teaching Practice: International Research Perspectives.”
Student Advisories . . . cont. from page 4 began this fall. Knight said the planning team hopes to focus on four major issues this year: academic support, goal setting, character education and connectivity. At Humble Ninth Grade Campus, planning for advisories began with the formation of the H9 CAT Committee in the spring. Using input from Taylor High School and Kingwood High School (which has been using advisories for several years), the H9 CAT Committee developed a plan for the 2004-2005 school year that includes professional development training for teachers and a revised schedule that includes the weekly advisory period. “Learning to become an advisor versus functioning as a teacher has definitely been a shift for some but they are catching on fast,” said Ruby Stanley, advisory coordinator at Humble Ninth Grade. Advisors have been encouraged to find a comfortable place within their leadership style and guide students from that standpoint following weekly goals and objectives. Advisors and students are all learning. Some advisories at Humble Ninth Grade have already selected team or family names for future competitions, Stanley said. And through phone calls to parents at the beginning of the year, advisors discovered issues and support systems they would have never known, making a real difference in the lives of their students. For example, one advisor spoke with a mom who had a terminal illness and had unique concerns about her child. Another discovered that a student had previous discipline issues that could be traced back to the death of his dad eight months earlier. Officials at Taylor High School didn’t just share their model with their colleagues in the Regional High School Network, they will also be implementing some ideas from other schools, including the expansion of their privilege system and enhancement of their tutorials. “We are always looking for ways to increase student success,” says Schaller. “Expanding the privilege system to other grade levels and providing both mandatory and optional tutorials were good tools to give our students. “I was very proud of the program last year,” said Schaller. “We are really working as a team to refine, revise and reflect upon our practices. I am really hopeful for year two.”
Champions of Active Learning Grants Four Houston ISD middle school teachers each received $5,000 grants to create hands-on, interactive lessons for their classrooms. Sponsored by JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Public Education Network and The Houston A+ Challenge, the grants will be used for the special projects during the 2004-2005 school year to improve achievement for middle school students. Recipients are: Sherri Powell
Pin Oak Middle School
The Charger Project
In this interdisciplinary project, an estimated 200 seventh and eighth grade students will explore various forms and purposes of communication, as well as address school wide issues to produce an original magazine. Student writers will employ the tools that professional writers use, including word processors, the Internet and print sources. As they develop the magazine, students will consider their target audience, the greater school community and the purpose—to educate the community about particular topics and issues they have studied. They will write across the curriculum and use their writing to effectively communicate their knowledge. The project culminates in publication of the magazine, which will serve as a final performance assessment for the year. The project also contributes a final piece to each student’s technology portfolio, demonstrating the growth of student writing over time. Once printed, “The Charger” will be distributed throughout the Pin Oak community for a minimal fee, which in turn will provide for its continued upkeep and ongoing success. Annette Boles
Sharpstown Middle School
Give Her a Sporting Chance!
In this project, more than 30 eighth grade female students will study math and science concepts. Students will be given the opportunity to collect statistics at local professional and amateur female sporting events. Students will use the data to calculate percentages, learn to display the data in various forms and will present the data in written and oral presentations. Students also will have the opportunity to hear from females who have chosen non-traditional careers and will learn the correlation between having a healthy body and being a professional athlete. In addition, students will use these skills to practice released standardized math and science tests on both national and state levels with the goal of increasing their knowledge, improving their test scores, graduating from high school and making educational choices to guarantee their professional place in society. Brenda Dwyer
Fonville Middle School
Medical Science at Work
Students in the Medical Science Small Learning Community at Fonville Middle School will study the causes and effects of hypertension. In the project, students will take and record in a spreadsheet the blood pressure of various teachers, students and community members during the course of a year. The students will discover causes and effects of hypertension and will become more aware of how to prevent it. They will become advocates for a healthy community and will publish a newsletter and brochure on the topic to distribute at a local Health Fair. Carolyn A. Barnes
Ezekiel W. Cullen Middle School
Taking Responsibility Against Crime (TRAC)
Ezekiel W. Cullen Middle School is an inner city school located south of downtown Houston. In TRAC, sixth grade students will use language-based, hands-on learning experiences to investigate the rate of crime in their community. Students will learn to think critically, analyze data and apply problem-solving skills in their research and prevention of crime. They will compose, publish and disseminate their findings, which will be shared with their partners at the Houston Police Department, local businesses and the community. They will provide a valuable service to their community and will potentially impact a major barrier to student success. All grant recipients attend a yearly national Champions of Active Learning Conference and have access to technical assistance opportunities provided by the Public Education Network (PEN). The Houston A+ Challenge is a member of PEN. The Champions of Active Learning program is sponsored by JP Morgan Chase Foundation and administered by the Public Education Network (PEN) and The Houston A+ Challenge.
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THE HOUSTON
CHALLENGE
formerly The Houston Annenberg Challenge
1415 Louisiana, Box 9 Houston, Texas 77002-7332 713-658-1881 fax 713-739-0166 www.houstonaplus.org
Winter 2005 Calendar of Events
JANUARY
5
High School Principal Network Meeting
7
Inservice for Math Specialists
11
New Visions in Leadership Academy Cohort Meeting
12
“Celebration of Schools” Dinner
13-15
National School Reform Faculty Winter Meeting
19-21
TIPS Mentor Academy
20
Critical Friends Group K-16 Coaches Clinic
21
Inservice for Math Specialists and Principals
25
Regional High School Leadership Team Conference
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID
#11363 HOUSTON, TEXAS
THE HOUSTON A+ CHALLENGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Harry Reasoner, Chairman Vinson & Elkins, LLP Joe B. Foster, President Chairman, President & CEO Newfield Exploration Company
BOARD MEMBERS Jack S. Blanton President Eddy Refining Company Leonel Castillo Education Liaison, Mayor’s Office Jonathan Day Managing Partner Andrews & Kurth, Mayor, Day, Caldwell & Keeton, LLP David French Division Vice President & General Manager Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. Ann Friedman, Ph.D. Adjunct Professor, The University of Houston Roberto Gonzalez Vice President, Employment and Training Centers, Inc.
FEBRUARY
2 3-4 5 15 24-25
School Visits for Math Specialists with Virginia Bastable Inservice for Math Specialists with Virginia Bastable Critical Friends Group Coaches Clinic Regional High School Network Collaborative Meeting National Speaker Series - Geneva Gay
H. Devon Graham, Jr. R.E. Smith Interests Jenard Gross President, Gross Investments Steve Miller Chairman & President SLM Discovery Venture Inc. Karol Musher, M.A., CCC-SLP Speech, Language and Learning Disorders Texas Children’s Hospital Maconda Brown O’Connor, Ph.D. Chairman, Brown Foundation
SchoolWorks is published by: Houston A+ Challenge
J. Victor Samuels Chairman, Victory Packaging
1415 Louisiana, Box 9 Houston, Tx 77002 713.658.1881 / 713.739.0166 (fax)
Yava Scott Community Volunteer
Executive Director: Michele Pola, Ed.D.
H. Michael Tyson Vice Chairman, Retired, Chase Bank Texas
Director of Programs: Jocelyn Mouton, Ed.D. Director of Public Affairs: Nan Powers Varoga
Andrea White Civic Volunteer
www.houstonaplus.org
Randa Duncan Williams President, Enterprise Products Company Rosie Zamora President, Telesurveys Research Associates