Dulles teacher is a hero for jumping on car: Page 5
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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 40 • No. 39
Texas Education Commissioner tells Fort Bend Chamber:
Our schools must perform better
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Texas State Technical College named its machining lab after retiring trustee and former Rosenberg mayor Joe Gurecky. (Submitted photo)
College names lab after leader
By Joe Southern JSOUTHERN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath discussed some of the many challenges the state faces when it comes to educating more than 5 million children in public schools each year. His remarks came while speaking at a luncheon hosted by the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce last Wednesday at Safari Texas Ranch. “When you are around educators you are around people who have chosen to devote their lives, their time, their talent, and their energy to helping the next generation to do better than the last one,” Morath said. He began by talking about his experience as a mentor in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program. He said he was fortunate as a child, unlike
some in the state, including a “little” he mentored. “Our public schools, this is it; this is the great equalizer in America. This is the whole that we get to make sure that regardless of where our kids are from, regardless of the families they were born into … that we will give them the … highest bar possible to equip them to pursue the American dream. This is the grand tradition of public education in Texas,” he said. Morath, a former school board member from Dallas, shared some alarming statistics about education in Texas. “About 59 percent of our 5-year-olds are ready for kindergarten when they start kindergarten. Think about that for a minute. About 40 percent of our kids when they start kindergarten are not ready for basic lessons in pre-literacy and pre-numeracy,” he said. “Fully 40
percent of our students when they start kindergarten are starting that far behind.” He said if people think those statistics are bad, they’ve been worse. “The good old days were not that good for all of us. This is as good as it’s ever been but it’s still not good enough for our kids,” he said. At the other end of the spectrum, “16 percent of our high school kids score high enough on ACT or SAT to indicate they’re ready for college. Only 16 percent of high school graduates are ready for college. This, by the way, is also the highest it’s ever been,” he said. “Our graduation rate at 89 percent is epically high,” he said.” It puts us in the top five of all states in the country. It’s as high as it’s ever been.” After providing more statistical analysis, he pointed out some conclusions. “There’s two quick con-
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath addresses the gathering last Wednesday at a luncheon hosted by the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce at Safari Texas Ranch. He presented some alarming statistics about the state of education in Texas. (Photo by Joe Southern)
From staff reports
SEE TSTC, PAGE 11
SEE SCHOOLS, PAGE 12
H-E-B honors FBISD
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In what was an emotional Texas State Technical College Board of Regents meeting, outgoing regent Joe M. Gurecky was recognized for his service to the college, the manufacturing industry and the community. At that special meeting a resolution of appreciation was presented to Gurecky and in a rare and distinguished tribute the lab inside the Industrial Technology Center was named the Joe M. Gurecky Machining Laboratory. “I am overwhelmed and moved with emotion,” said Gurecky. “I never expected to have the lab named after me. It is a true honor.” Gurecky was appointed as a TSTC Regent by Governor Rick Perry on June 9, 2006, and reappointed on Sept. 1, 2011, serving more than a decade. It was also some 15 years ago, as mayor of Rosenberg and sitting on the Rosenberg City Council, that he worked diligently to bring TSTC to the community. “It is impossible to state the importance Joe Gurecky has had on TSTC,” said TSTC Chancellor Mike Reeser. “And I want to note that without his contribution, TSTC in Fort Bend County may have never happened.” TSTC Board of Regent Chairman John Hatchel shared Reeser’s sentiment. “It’s going to be difficult to replace Joe,” said Hatchel. “He added stability and wisdom to our decisions.” A product of technical education, Gurecky knows first-hand the impact it can have on a person’s life and calls it a privilege to provide the same opportunity to the community. “The doors of opportunities that opened for me because of my technical education was remarkable,” said Gurecky. “And I, along with my wife Doris, want to give the same opportunities to the students of TSTC.”
gaps between the haves and
clusions that you can draw from this. One, our system is getting better. But two, there are some very serious
From staff reports FOR THE FORT BEND STAR
Mascot meets Methodist doctor Dr. Clive Shkedy, a radiation oncologist at Houston Methodist Cancer Center at Sugar Land, meets Houston Texans mascot TORO Thursday during the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce Network Nites event there. Hundreds of people came out for the open house at the cancer center and enjoyed food, beverages and live music. In addition to TORO, Houston Texans player Jonathan Joseph was there to sign autographs and pose for pictures. (Photo by Joe Southern)
On Sunday, May 6, H-E-B announced statewide winners of the 17th annual H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards during an awards ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Houston. Fort Bend ISD came home with the award for large school district and a check for $100,000. During the ceremony, H-E-B Chairman and CEO Charles Butt personally handed out $430,000 in cash awards and grants, and congratulated eight educators, two school districts, one early childhood agency and a public school board for being among the best in Texas. The program has given away more than $9.5 million in cash and grants since 2002. Sal Khan delivered the keynote address to a ballroom packed with hundreds of educators, elected officials, community leaders and H-E-B employees. Khan founded the Khan Academy, a nonprofit organization that aims to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. The following winners were selected from a pool of 58 finalists by judges who include former winners, school administrators, and university and
SEE AWARDS, PAGE 2
Sugar Land police rescue woman from sinking car By Joe Southern JSOUTHERN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Sugar Land police officers (from the left) Garrett Driscoll, Michael Candler, and Micah Wiks address a press conference Thursday after they were honored for rescuing a woman who was trapped inside a sinking vehicle after she crashed into a lake the morning of May 5. (Photo by Joe Southern)
Three Sugar Land police officers were touted as heroes last week for rescuing a woman who drove into a lake in the Telfair community early Saturday morning and couldn’t escape her sinking vehicle. Officers Micah Wilks, Michael Candler, and Garrett Driscoll recounted the event during a press conference
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Thursday. Wilks, who was the first officer on the scene, said the call came in around 6:20 a.m. just as shifts were changing. The lake at the intersection of Meadowcroft Boulevard and Westcott Avenue was near the police station, so he responded. “I dropped off my duty rig, all of my equipment, jumped in the water and go in after her,” he said. The woman, identified as Mercy Inyang, was described
by police as a 48-year-old nurse who was on her way home from a long, overnight shift and had fallen asleep at the wheel. When Wilks arrived she was wide-awake and panicking inside the sinking SUV. “As I was approaching the lake, I could hear her screaming. She was banging on the window, so you know that she was in desperate need of help,”
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