TSB—May 2011

THE INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION IN TEXAS FOR 57 YEARS

May 2011

A new focus on students with ADHD

In the Spotlight Paul Foerster Alamo Heights ISD

TACS President Linda Kay Barnhart Anahuac ISD

Robert Chapa, United ISD

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TSB contents In the Spotlight Paul Foerster wraps up 50 years at Alamo Heights High

11

by Melissa Gaskill

photo features

14

Community schools require a special kind of leadership

TASBO annual conference

27

President Profile Linda Kay Barnhart Anahuac ISD

SXSWedu event draws hundreds to capital city

28

by Stacy Alexander Evans

departments

16

TSB Professional Development & Events Calendar

21

Who’s News

29

Advertiser Index

34

columns From the Editor

by Mike Smith

5

by Katie Ford

The Law Dawg — unleashed

7

by Jim Walsh

Tech Toolbox

9

by Terry Morawski

18

Cover Schools play vital role in identifying and helping students with ADHD

The Back Page

34

by Riney Jordan

by Raven L. Hill

The views expressed by columnists and contributing writers do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or Texas School Business advertisers. The publisher also makes no endorsement of the advertisers or advertisements in this publication.

May 2011 • Texas School Business

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Texas School Business • May 2011

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From the Editor Those who work in public education know that the academic success of all students is only one of many responsibilities they were handed when they signed up to serve Texas schoolchildren. These days, administrators and educators are also advocates, mentors, discipliners, mediators, life coaches and so much more. In this month’s cover story, we learn that school personnel also play a vital role in addressing the needs of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Though technically a medical condition, not a learning disability, experts say that ADHD treatment plans are much more effective and successful when school staff can provide regular feedback to parents about their student’s demeanor in school. Writer Raven L. Hill explores how administrators and teachers can help identify possible cases and improve the quality of learning for those diagnosed.

Also in this issue, you’ll find an engaging interview with the new president of the Texas Association of Community Schools: Linda Kay Barnhart, Anahuac ISD superintendent.

And thanks to a tip from Alamo Heights ISD, we have a wonderful “In the Spotlight” for May: math teacher Paul Foerster, who retires in June after teaching for 50 years at Alamo Heights High School!

A quick note about the Fifth Annual Bragging Rights 2011-2012 special issue: We put out the call for nominations on April 1, and we’ve already received an influx of fantastic, brag-worthy nominees. To learn more about Bragging Rights and how to nominate your school or district, visit our website at www.texasschoolbusiness.com.

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ISSN 0563-2978 USPS 541-620 Published monthly, except for July/August and November/ December, and for the Bragging Rights issue published in December (11 times a year) by Texas School Business Magazine, LLC, 1601 Rio Grande Street, #441, Austin, TX 78701. Periodical Postage Paid at Austin, Texas and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas School Business,1601 Rio Grande Street, #441, Austin, TX 78701. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $28 per year; $52 for two yrs; $72 for three yrs.

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THE LAW DAWG – unleashed

by Jim Walsh

Comprehensive . Curriculum . Assessment . Professional Development

Online Instructional System

War on poverty or war on the poor?

H

iroo Onoda was a Japanese soldier in World War II who apparently did not get the memo. The war ended in 1945. Onoda did not believe it. He was one of the Japanese “holdouts” who continued to fight. Onoda surrendered in 1974.

We have some teachers in Texas who also did not get the memo. They don’t know that the War on Poverty ended a long time ago when America surrendered. As a country, we decided that the problem was just too big for us. Moreover, we certainly would not expect the government to address the problem. The poor could take care of themselves as the opportunities and revenues trickled down.

And yet, in classrooms from El Paso to Orange, from Texarkana to Presidio, we have teachers who continue to fight the War on Poverty, one classroom at a time, one child at a time.

Texas educators should call to mind the War on Poverty with pride. After all, this war was declared by a Texas teacher. When Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty in 1964, he knew what he was taking on.

He had seen the enemy face to face, both in the Texas Hill Country, where he grew up, and in the classroom in Cotulla, where he taught.

A classroom teacher can do a lot, but only for a small group of kids. When that classroom teacher became president of the United States, he was in a position to do something big for a whole lot of children.

So Johnson held out a vision of a Great Society, and in that connection, he declared war on poverty.

Nowadays, many people scoff when they hear these terms. The conventional wisdom is that the Great Society failed and the War on Poverty was a grandiose vision that only made the government bigger. But people forget that education is the best weapon we have in any war on poverty.

Let’s set aside our arguments and disagreements over welfare programs and

how long unemployment compensation should be available to someone who has lost his job. I think we can all agree that education is the first and most important arrow in our quiver. Surely we understand that you cannot fight a war on poverty and neglect the troops who are fighting it. This would be like sending our troops out to fight without ammunition or food.

But that’s what we are doing. Our state is forcing school districts to fire teachers, terminate programs, enlarge class sizes.

When we should be expanding preschool programs, we are shutting them down. When we should be rewarding and encouraging our teachers, we are forcing them to do more with less. When we should be nurturing all manner of educational opportunities with the arts, music and athletics, we are narrowing our focus to the so-called core curriculum.

We also are eliminating health and social services that are so vitally important to the poor. And as for the education of those who have committed crimes — forget it! Who cares about them? They don’t vote in the Republican primary, which is where our leaders are chosen.

Gov. Rick Perry claims that he is not firing a single teacher. Let’s put that in the category of “factual, but not true.” Starting at the top, our leaders have been deliberately indifferent to the financial crisis now squeezing our school districts. The state comptroller accurately predicted in 2006 that we would be in this mess in 2011. So here we are, and we see no visionary leader in Austin standing up for the people who are doing the dirty work of fighting poverty.

Instead of a War on Poverty, we seem to have declared War on the Poor. Lyndon B. Johnson would be ashamed. We have to do better than this.

JIM WALSH is editor in chief of Texas School Business. He is also a school attorney with the firm of Walsh Anderson Brown Gallegos and Green PC. He can be reached at jwalsh@wabsa.com.

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Tech Toolbox

by Terry Morawski

Some productivity tips to recondition your workday

E

ven with all the tech gadgets, software, smartphones and caffeine available to me, I noticed not too long ago that there were still many things deterring me from being productive. After scanning several sites, reading many books and visiting a few websites, I found some techniques that helped me manage my time more successfully.

Now, before you shake your fist at your favorite school business magazine because this month’s tech column has nothing to do with technology, stop right there! One of my favorite sites for productivity tips is www.lifehacker.com. Just as a computer hacker can take a single-function device and turn it into a rocket ship, you too can re-engineer your workday to get more out of your time. So, let’s get hacking!

Do less. By doing less, I’m not suggesting you put your feet up on your desk and watch old episodes of “The Office” on your computer. I’m referring to the possibility that those 100 projects you have partially completed are eating away at your heart and mind. It’s time to trim it down — which leads me to No. 2.

Create a to-do list and limit it to five manageable tasks. Better yet, stop at three.

The list gives you proof of your progress and serves as a visual reminder of what you set out to accomplish that day. If you don’t create a to-do list, the day will create an agenda for you. One other important tip: Make sure the tasks on your list are specific and action-oriented. For example, “call Dave about the new contract” is better than “budget planning,” which likely requires several smaller tasks — and days — to accomplish.

Focus on one task at a time. People regularly tell me how proud they are that they can review email, check Facebook, listen to the radio and play a smartphone game at the same time. These people are living in a dream world. There is a reason why people are encouraged not to text and drive.

The benefit of a one-track mind is that you will finish tasks more quickly. A 2009 Stanford study found that college students with a high level of multitasking had much more trouble recalling and processing information than their low-multitasking peers.

Cancel that annoying meeting. I realize it’s unlikely you will be able to live a life completely free of meetings, but take a second look at the meetings you set up and the ones you attend. If a meeting or committee is no longer productive, scrap it and move on. If a meeting could still prove effective in a shorter timeframe, with more structure or with a new moderator, make it happen.

Develop a plan of attack for your email. Email has become the ball and chain of professional life. Ask anyone you know if they get too much email; the answer will be a resounding “yes.” Instead of reading your emails as they come in, develop a regular schedule for checking your email; many experts recommend three times a day. My preferred times are mid-morning, after lunch and end of the day. Also, consider getting straight to work in the morning before opening your email. Email tends to pull you off task. Some other great advice I once received was to file, instead of read, the emails sent to you as carbon copies. After all, the person who sent it to you is not expecting any action. Move on. You’ll feel a new freedom once you start to manage your email, and stop letting it manage you.

I’d love to hear some of your favorite methods for tuning out the noise and turning on your productivity. Please send me an email, and you never know, it could show up in a future column.

TERRY MORAWSKI is the assistant superintendent of communications and marketing for Mansfield ISD. Terry writes online at www.communicationsjetpack. com. He can be reached at terrymorawski@ gmail.com.

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Texas School Business • May 2011

In the

Spotlight

Paul Foerster wraps up 50 years of teaching at Alamo Heights High

by Melissa Gaskill

The pressure your heel exerts on the floor is directly proportional to your weight and inversely proportional to the square of your heel width. A weight of 200 pounds and a 3-inch-wide heel exert 24 pounds per square inch of pressure on the floor. How much pressure would a 100-pound woman wearing a quarterinch-wide spike heel exert?

Answer: almost 2,000 pounds per square inch

W

hen Paul Foerster began teaching algebra 50 years ago at Alamo Heights High School in Alamo Heights ISD, he noticed that the exercises in the textbooks didn’t present math the way he knew it applied to the real world.

So, he began creating original algebraic problems like the one above.

By the early 1970s, he had hundreds of pages of original lessons, which he copied, bound and offered to other teachers at a National Council of Teachers of Mathematics meeting.

“I learned that not only could teachers teach my material,” Foerster says, “but they found it more enjoyable and realistic than what they had been teaching.”

Foerster eventually published textbooks for Algebra I and II, trigonometry, pre-calculus and calculus. Through his books and his 50 years in the classroom, Foerster has influenced hundreds of thousands of students.

Roots as a tutor Foerster, who retires this year after five decades at the same high school, says he didn’t set out to become a math teacher or textbook writer. Born in England in 1935, he went to English schools until

Paul Foerster retires this year after teaching math at Alamo Heights High School in Alamo Heights ISD for 50 years. Of teaching, he says: “I discovered what I really enjoyed was the ‘aha’ moment when students caught on.”

the age of 15, when he moved to the San Antonio area. He graduated from Floresville High School a year later. From there, he attended The University of Texas at Austin, where he graduated in 1957 with an engineering degree and certificate in education. While working for the U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program in Washington, D.C., he tutored high school students for extra income.

“I discovered what I really enjoyed was the ‘aha’ moment when students caught on,” he explains. “What I really wanted to do was teach.”

So, he completed a teaching program at Texas A&M University in the spring of 1961 and started teaching at Alamo Heights that fall. He later earned a master’s degree in mathematics as well.

Foerster’s first class of seniors had already taken algebra in the eighth grade,

as well as all the math classes the school had to offer.

“The principal asked what I thought we should teach them, and I said, ‘How about calculus?’” Foerster recalls. “So, Alamo Heights became the first school in San Antonio to teach calculus. That was in the 1962-63 school year.”

At the time, lecturing was a common teaching method, and Foerster prided himself on doing it well. Later, he started acting as more of a facilitator as his students worked on problems in collaborative groups. Finally, recognizing that students need different approaches, he began mixing it up, using lecturing and group learning in a variety of ways — even posing as a lecturer who spoke no English, which brought independent learning to the forefront.

See SPOTLIGHT on page 12 May 2011 • Texas School Business

11

SPOTLIGHT continued from page 11

“I was simulating what they’re apt to run into in college,” says Foerster, who explains that it’s commonplace to watch a professor work problems on the board with little to no dialogue. “They have to just pick it up.”

Whatever it takes to get through, he admits.

“Research shows that there are things teens just can’t understand,” he says. “The brain hasn’t developed enough, for example, to understand abstractions, which you need for algebra. One of the things they have to learn is that variables really do vary. The x takes on different values at

He can say, ‘Here is where your grandfather sat.’ That’s very rare in a school community.

— Alamo Heights High School Principal Linda Foster

12

Texas School Business • May 2011

FUN FACTS ABOUT PAUL FOERSTER 4 If a biography were written about me, the title would be: “The Real World Interpreted by Mathematics” 7 Five guests (living or deceased) I would invite to my dream dinner party: My father, A.W. Foerster, who died 41 years ago; my wife, Peggy, and my first wife, JoAnn, who died in 1993; Admiral Rickover, my commanding officer in the Navy; and William K. “Bill” McNabb, a teacher who encouraged me. + Skill I would like to learn, but have never attempted/ mastered: Playing the piano = Favorite indulgence: Crossword puzzles ≠ One thing I won’t miss once I retire: Monitoring TAKS tests

Sometimes you have x and have to find y, and sometimes you have y and have to find x. One is scrambling eggs, and the other is unscrambling them.

attend a meeting in Orlando, Fla., where he will speak about some of the things he has learned in 50 years of teaching.

Foerster says in retirement he plans to read more for pleasure and complete a master gardeners’ program that requires 50 hours of class and work — something he never had time to do before.

“I figured after 50 years, it was about time I ‘graduated’ from high school,” he

muses. “I want to retire before I start to lose my effectiveness. It’s time to let other people take over the teaching.”

Fortunately, those other people will have Foerster’s textbooks and expertise to help them along the way.

MELISSA GASKILL also writes for Texas Parks & Wildlife and Texas Highways.

— Alamo Heights High teacher Paul Foerster different times. The miles per gallon you get in your car, for example, depends on the speed at which you drive, so speed is a variable. Sometimes you have x and have to find y, and sometimes you have y and have to find x. One is scrambling eggs, and the other is unscrambling them.

That ability develops slowly and by experience.”

It’s a generational thing Children and grandchildren of former students turn up in his classes. Foerster keeps the seating charts from every year he has taught.

Says Alamo Heights Principal Linda Foster: “He can say, ‘Here is where your grandfather sat.’ That’s very rare in a school community.”

Foerster also regularly attends class reunions.

“I enjoy talking to students about what they are doing now, what they’ve learned,” he admits. “You find out how what you’ve done affected their lives.

They often tell me, ‘You taught me soand-so,’ and that’s been very useful in my life.”

Although he is retiring this year, Foerster will continue to have a presence in the classroom through his textbooks.

“He’s very esteemed as a mathematical expert,” Principal Foster says. “The way he can connect math and write textbooks, with real-world situations and examples, makes a tremendous difference.

Kids can understand. His explanations can make sense of difficult concepts.”

Foerster also will continue to influence students through his presentations at math teachers’ conferences and meetings.

This summer, he and his wife, Peggy, will

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TACS PRESIDENT profile Anahuac ISD’s Linda Kay Barnhart works for the greater good in all things

by Stacy Alexander Evans

N

ineteenth century French journalist and author Charles Pierre Monselet was well acquainted with the idea that our strongest memories are connected to the sensual pleasure of food. “Ponder well on this point,” he said, “the pleasant hours of our life are all connected by a more or less tangible link with some memory of the table.” So perhaps it’s not surprising that Anahuac ISD Superintendent Linda Kay Barnhart describes the various Texas towns she has called home over the years by noting their gastronomic peculiarities.

In her hometown of Pearsall, one can expect to enjoy “tamales and beans on Christmas Eve,” she says. And Anahuac, a little more than an hour’s drive from the Louisiana border, is a Cajun food lover’s paradise. Don’t be surprised to find crawfish étouffée at the concession stands.

“Here, in Anahuac, the men are really good cooks,” says Barnhart. “It’s not thought of as a sissy thing at all. In Pearsall, if you cook and you’re a man, it’s kind of a sissy thing to do.”

No one would ever call Barnhart a sissy. A dedicated career educator and member of the Texas Association of Community Schools, Barnhart steps up this month to serve as the organization’s president. The former elementary teacher has come a long way since she first had an inkling that teaching was in her future.

Early influences According to Barnhart, her childhood was a happy one, but not perfect. After losing her mother when she was only five years old, Barnhart found solace in music.

Even today, as she recalls a time when she was living with her aunt after her mother died, her voice falters with emotion. Her father would pick her up on weekends,

14

Texas School Business • May 2011

Linda Kay Barnhart, Anahuac ISD superintendent and president of the Texas Association of Community Schools, recognizes Anahuac High School junior Dani Delacruz and sophomore Whitney Abshier for their participation in Youth Leadership Southeast Texas. (Photo on this page and table of contents by Nicki Evans Photography.)

and the two would drive around in his pickup and sing.

“He had a good voice and he taught me little songs,” she says.

The most memorable of these singalongs was an Eva Tanguay tune called “Mother” from 1915. When she grew older and went off to college, Barnhart pursued a degree in music as an undergraduate.

She was granted her bachelor’s degree in elementary education/music from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) in San Marcos in 1969.

Today, Barnhart’s favorite hobby is directing her church’s youngest children in the youth choir.

“Through the years, I’ve had as many as 36 kids in the choir, and we’ve traveled to Dallas and done little presentations,” Barnhart says. “I really enjoy that.”

She cites her fourth grade teacher as a huge influence in this regard.

“Mrs. Rylander, one of my favorite teachers, formed a little choir, and she took some of us and taught us how to sing the tenor line an octave higher, so we began to learn how to harmonize.”

It was this very teacher who inspired Barnhart to set her sights on teaching as a career goal. Shortly after her college graduation, she did just that, landing a teaching job in Westhoff ISD. Also during

FAST FACTS ABOUT LINDA Kay BARNHART Title and district: Superintendent, Anahuac ISD Years in that position: Nine Education/degrees and years graduated: Doctorate, educational administration, The University of Texas at Austin, 2001; master of science, administration, Texas A&M University, Kingsville, 1990; bachelor of science, elementary education/music,Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, 1969.

Vision as president of Texas Association of Community Schools: To provide leadership that represents the best interests of Texas students by working together.

suited toward administration.

“I’ve always been a bossy leader type,” Barnhart laughs. “I like organizing teams and being able to pull people together to accomplish something.”

In the early 1990s, while serving as the assistant principal at Pearsall High School, Barnhart was urged to vie for a high school principal job as a gateway opportunity to one day becoming a superintendent.

“But by that time,” says Barnhart, “I had decided that I really wanted to be an elementary principal. I thought, ‘You know, you ought to just do what you want to do in life.’”

Barnhart served as an elementary principal in Mabank ISD from 1992 to 1995, before stepping up to the position as superintendent for Pringle-Morse CISD in 1995. Barnhart moved to Anahuac in 2002 to take her current position.

“I really love being a superintendent,” she admits. “I’m blessed in that I love what I do.”

STACY ALEXANDER EVANS is a freelance writer in Austin.

A brief departure While the couple was in Pearsall, the owner of the jewelry store where Barnhart used to work in high school called to see if she would like to work one day a week.

Barnhart accepted, and soon one day turned into two days, and two days into five. When the owner decided to sell the business, Barnhart seized the opportunity to become her own boss.

However, after 13 years in retail, Barnhart missed her first love: education.

“I loved the jewelry store, but when you’re in education, you’re affecting society for years to come — a society that we will never see. Selling rings is fun, but I don’t know that you’re making that much of an impact on your world. So, I sold the jewelry store and went back to education.”

Barnhart took various teaching jobs in grades kindergarten through eight before becoming the elementary schools coordinator in Pearsall ISD in 1988. She admits that after a few years in the business, she realized that her temperament was better

Tex. Arch. Lic. #10138 Photos by Scott Hales

this time, Barnhart married her high school sweetheart. When she eventually became a mother, she quit teaching to focus on being a mother, and the young family moved back to their hometown of Pearsall.

May 2011 • Texas School Business

15

Community schools require a special kind of leadership

by Mike Smith “Community” is defined by Dictionary.com as a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, have a common cultural and historical heritage, and share common characteristics or interests.

C

ommunity schools fit this definition, as they often serve as the lifeblood of their respective cities and towns. A community school district is usually described as a “community” with one high school and one school for kindergarten through eighth grade. A real kinship develops within these community school districts, and this kinship requires a special kind of leadership.

You might live in a community school district if: • There are more folks at your junior varsity football or basketball games than at the big city school’s varsity games.

• A bake sale actually involves homebaked goods.

• The concession stand offers home-baked goods, fresh grilled hamburgers, locally made sausage wraps and half a dozen busy dads cooking.

• Someone else’s parents still feel comfortable disciplining you.

• There are a gaggle of teenage boys baking cookies in your kitchen the weekend before Valentine’s Day. • The schools are pretty much open all the time. Most folks have a key, anyway.

• The bond election for facilities passed 16

Texas School Business • May 2011

•

•

without 43 meetings to present the information because everyone knows the kids need it.

The county sheriff and the school superintendent have conversations about things other than felonies, students and employees.

You lock your car and roll up the windows in the summer to prevent your car from being filled with fresh vegetables, daily.

The rules are simple for community school districts. You don’t commute to a community; you are either in it or you aren’t. You work in the community, you go to the grocery store there (assuming you have a grocery store), and you go to church there. You absolutely have your family and kids in school there.

Every community has a set of “sacred cows.” As an administrator, you must determine what the sacred cows are and be certain that you do not inadvertently “shoot” one.

There could come a time when, in the interest of the community, one has to be shot. If that time comes, make certain you do it purposefully, not accidentally.

Community schools have limited capacity for change. “Capacity” is a word leaders throw around, but understanding capacity is vital to leading a community school.

Leaders must gauge carefully their community’s capacity for growth and change. Some communities have capacity to move rapidly; some do not. Some communities have such

a grand capacity for change that it seems limitless, and some have such little tolerance for change that it seems as if they had none.

Knowing a community’s capacity for change will help leaders avoid frustration as they lead their community schools.

It is vital that community schools support community businesses; loyalty is a two-way street. We all learned in educational psychology that a student’s safety and survival needs must be met before he or she can focus on learning. This applies to community school districts as well. Many community school districts are facing a slow, but steady, population decrease within their communities. If the schools are not attentive and supportive to the needs of the businesses in town, local services will become less and less, until there is no longer a community to support. It is difficult to get milk, bread or fresh vegetables without a grocery store. As education leader Bob Thompson teaches: “It is their kids, their school and their money.”

Never forget that school administrators are there to serve their communities as a whole.

To be successful in a community school, a goal is necessary. What does the community want? What does it truly want for itself and its school? Is survival the goal, or is the goal to flourish? What is its true purpose?

Is the purpose of the school to insure the survival of the town? Is it all about playing football after Thanksgiving, or the girls’ basketball team making it to Austin? Or maybe it’s about the agricultural kids making it through the sift to the stock show in Houston. It all may appear so until you dig a bit deeper. A set of goals will help keep everyone on track and working toward a common end.

Be careful, very careful, who you are talking about and what you are saying. The trouble with — and the beauty of — community schools is that most everyone is personally or professionally acquainted; many are related. In community schools, all folks are in the same leaky boat together. It can make for a sticky situation when opinions among leaders, teachers, parents and students strongly differ. That’s why diplomacy, fairness and open communication are paramount in leadership.

The great part of working in community schools is that when someone in the community is in dire need, you can bet everyone is ready to rally and help. I knew a superintendent in a small school in the Panhandle who got a call late one Sunday evening. The school had two to three inches of water covering the main floor. It was February and there had been an extensive cold spell. A pipe had burst inside an exterior wall. A teacher who had gone to work on Sunday evening found

the problem, called the maintenance director, who called the superintendent. Before the superintendent and the maintenance director could get a plan to start moving the school’s furniture and supplies to higher ground, members of the community started arriving on site.

Literally within minutes — and this was way before mobile phones — there were more than 50 people moving boxes, sweeping water and using their personal wet-dry vacuums to remove water. Within an hour, there were well more than 100 people getting the school ready for Monday morning. The local welder was in the closet, welding the copper pipe with the aid of a handheld mirror because the pipe had frozen and burst inside the concrete block wall. By midnight, everyone was gone, save for a professional cleanup crew that arrived after the community to finish the job by 4 a.m. The school opened on Monday — all due to community.

In the same community, the following fall, the young superintendent was out of town at a football game when his son became ill.

As the superintendent stood by the concession stand during halftime, a hand reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder. The superintendent turned to see a gentleman, who told him: “They just took your son to the hospital. The EMT says your son is fine. No hurry. I saw your car is blocked in, take mine and I will trade you later.”

As it turns out, the superintendent’s son had a high fever and a febrile seizure. The volunteer ambulance driver on duty took it upon himself to contact the superintendent by calling a guy whom he knew owned a mobile phone and would be at the football game. That superintendent was me. And in addition to the EMT’s quick and thoughtful action, his wife met my wife at the hospital and sat with her until I got there — and they barely knew each other.

If you are in a community school, be prepared for everyone to know your business and to be aware of everything in your life. But also be prepared for everyone to support you when you really need it. And, if you happen to live in a house that’s across the street from your church, be prepared not to miss a single Sunday morning service!

Community schools are one of many things that make Texas public schools great.

Keep up the great work. You are truly setting the bar for public education in the U.S. of A.

IIn ns su urra an nc ce e P Pu urrc ch ha as siin ng g P Po ow we err R Riis sk k M Ma an na ag ge em me en ntt C Co on ns su ullttiin ng g

Property Auto Worker’s Comp Educator’s E&O

Joe Blasi, ARM, CPCU (713) 940-6565

MIKE SMITH, a former superintendent, now owns and operates Education Solutions and Services, a school services and consulting firm.

May 2011 • Texas School Business

17

Schools play vital role in identifying and helping children with ADHD bsy Raven L. Hill

T

hree decades ago, there was little talk about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in schools.

It was simply accepted that some children were more fidgety than others and had a harder time staying focused on lessons.

Peggy Garen, a special education administrator in Austin ISD, remembers those days all too well. Her daughter, now 28, was diagnosed with ADHD at age 4.

“ADHD wasn’t really heard of. There weren’t a lot of support networks,” Garen recalls.

Greater awareness has resulted in better treatment for children with ADHD, both at home and in the classroom. As the number of children diagnosed with the disorder continues to rise, school districts have become better equipped to confront the challenges that students, teachers and parents face.

ADHD is generally characterized by

Peggy Garen, a special education administrator in Austin ISD, understands well the challenges that students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face. Her daughter, Angela Thompson (pictured in framed photo), now 28, was diagnosed with ADHD at age 4. Garen says that teachers aren’t the only ones who could benefit from learning how to work with students with ADHD. “I’ve trained custodians. I’ve trained the bus drivers. I’ve trained the cafeteria monitors,” she says.

18

Texas School Business • May 2011

impulsivity, inattention and, in some cases, hyperactivity, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), which warns that the disorder can pose serious consequences if left untreated. These consequences include poor academic performance, substance abuse and failed relationships in adulthood. ADHD is also known as attention deficit disorder (ADD), which is more commonly found in adults.

Teachers essential in identifying ADHD For many children, ADHD goes undetected until they are enrolled in school, says Ruth Hughes, interim chief operating officer at Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), a support organization with chapters across the country.

“Often the teacher is the first person to detect that a child may have more than the ordinary problems with attention, activity and impulsivity,” Hughes says. “Teachers have a classroom full of students and have a great sense of the norms of children at each grade level. So, teachers are absolutely essential in helping parents become aware there may be a problem, and giving input in the diagnostic process.”

The U.S. Department of Education describes how ADHD typically presents itself in the classroom: “Difficulty sustaining attention to a task may contribute to missing important details in assignments, daydreaming during lectures and other activities, and difficulty organizing assignments. Hyperactivity may be expressed in either verbal or physical disruptions in class. Impulsivity may lead to careless errors, responding to questions without fully formulating the best answers, and only attending to activities that are entertaining or novel.”

ADD can be harder to detect. Children who suffer from ADD may come across as withdrawn, says Somya Kumar, assistant superintendent of special education in Houston ISD. “Usually you find out about them when they really start lagging behind in achievement,” she says. “Sometimes they look like they’re paying attention, but they’re just not getting anything.”

Approximately 8 percent to 10 percent of students nationwide have ADHD, according to some estimates.

NIMH puts the figure between 3 percent to 5 percent.

Somya Kumar Various studies have shown that students with ADHD tend to receive more failing grades than their peers, as well as more suspensions and expulsions. There’s also a higher dropout rate among students diagnosed with ADHD. Other conditions may accompany ADHD, such as learning disabilities, severe behavior problems, anxiety and depression.

Given the right attention, students with ADHD still can do well in school.

“As long as they learn enough about who they are, what they can and can’t do, and have learned to cope with their difficulties, I think most will do just fine,” Kumar says. “When it’s part of multiple disabilities, then it ends up compounding the impact.”

The Texas Education Agency does not track incidences of ADHD. However, special education directors around the state say they are seeing more students treated for the disorder. Not every child with ADHD needs special education services, though. But when school staffers suspect a child might have the disorder, they should recommend a medical evaluation.

“It’s a medical diagnosis,” Kumar says, “not an education diagnosis.”

Educators generally recognize when a child is having trouble paying attention, but they may not understand the specific reason, says Betty White, a longtime counselor who works in Granbury ISD, near Fort Worth.

“Without the involvement of a medical professional, we cannot say for sure,” White says.

Parents should make sure that their children are observed in multiple settings to determine if they have ADHD. “You can’t just be inattentive in algebra,” says Ginger Gates, executive director of special services in Deer Park ISD.

To ensure resources and support are available, teachers need to be informed at the beginning of the school year or immediately upon diagnosis if their students have ADHD. Also, disGinger Gates trict and school staff need to understand that they are highly valuable in providing feedback that informs a student’s treatment plan — whether that plan involves medication, counseling, specialized instruction or some combination of these tools.

“We do not make medical decisions, but it’s important for parents to maintain close contact with the school district, so the district is aware of the decisions (affecting their students),” White says. “ Those of us who are observing the children every day can provide feedback about any changes we see.”

White says she has noticed more interest among parents in using behavioral techniques — instead of medicine — to treat ADHD. Moreover, Garen has witnessed firsthand how school districts have adapted to better meet the needs of students like her daughter. Special education and general education teachers are showing more willingness to collaborate, she says.

“They are sharing ownership,” she says.

A mother’s story Garen says she often thinks back to her family’s experiences when advising school staff on working with students with ADHD and their families.

Betty White (third from left), a counselor in Granbury ISD, leads teacher training sessions on working with children with ADHD. Pictured (left to right) with White are fifth grade teachers Vonda Ore and Pam Carver and reading specialist Dana Reinke.

According to Garen, her daughter, from an early age, had an issue with blurting out personal or inappropriate information. After her daughter’s diagnosis and with the help of private counselors, school counselors and her daughter’s teachers, Garen worked with her daughter on developing self-regulation skills. Garen was hesitant to put her daughter on medication — Ritalin was the only option at the time — due to side effects.

Garen lists independent learning, group collaboration and socializing as situations that can be difficult for a student with ADHD — in essence, the entire school experience.

Garen says her daughter’s elementary school years were challenging, but mid-

dle school provided the greatest test when classroom instruction moved toward selfsufficiency.

“In elementary school, the teacher is much more nurturing, much more supportive,” she says. “Middle school is the beginning level of college prep.”

While her classmates found it easy to follow a teacher’s instructions for completing a research paper, Garen’s daughter struggled with working on a project that required a lot of independent research and writing outside of school.

“She knew what the end product needed to look like, but to break down the steps to get there was really hard,” she says. “She literally just couldn’t figure it out.”

See ADHD on page 25

Recognizing the signs Symptoms of ADHD in children are generally grouped into three categories: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

Inattention – A child with ADHD: • is easily distracted.

• does not follow directions or finish tasks.

• does not appear to be listening when someone is speaking.

• does not pay attention and makes careless mistakes.

• is forgetful about daily activities.

• has problems organizing daily tasks.

• avoids or dislikes activities that require sitting still or a sustained effort.

• often loses things, including personal items.

• has a tendency to daydream.

Hyperactivity – A child with ADHD: • often squirms, fidgets or bounces when sitting.

• does not stay seated as expected.

• has difficulty playing quietly.

• is always moving, such as running or climbing on things.

• talks excessively.

Impulsivity – A child with ADHD: • has difficulty waiting for his or her turn.

• blurts out answers before the question has been completed.

• often interrupts others.

Source: WebMD

May 2011 • Texas School Business

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Texas School Business • May 2011

TSB Calendar

Professional Development & EVENTS WEEK OF MAY 30 No events listed.

WEEK OF JUNE 6 June 7 MIA: Managing Inevitable Absences TASB offices, Austin For more info, (512) 467-0222. www.tasb.org Cost: Early registration (by May 23), $180; after May 23, $230.

Summer Best Practices Conference: Teaching and Managing Behavior With Love and Logic Harris County Department of Education, Houston For more info, (713) 696-0756. www.hcde-texas.org Cost: In advance, $100; on site, $125.

June 7-8 Texas ASCD Curriculum Leadership Academy IV (session 2 of 3) Pat May Center, Bedford For more info, (512) 477-8200 or (800) 717-2723. www.txascd.org

June 8 Get a Grip on the Family and Medical Leave Act TASB office, Austin For more info, (512) 467-0222. www.tasb.org Cost: Early registration (by May 23), $180; after May 23, $230.

Post-Legislative Seminar Location TBA, San Antonio For more info, (512) 467-0222. www.tasb.org

June 8-9 All About Grants: A Two-Day Institute Harris County Department of Education, Houston For more info, (713) 696-1393. www.hcde-texas.org Cost: $375.

June 9 Texas ASCD Curriculum and Leadership Academy IV (session 2 of 3) Texas Instruments, Plano For more info, (512) 477-8200 or (800) 717-2723. www.txascd.org

Three Ps: Payroll, PEIMS and Personnel Workshop Location TBA, Edinburg For more info, (512) 462-1711. www.tasbo.org Members, $180; nonmembers, $220.

June 9-11 Summer Leadership Institute Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio For more info, (512) 467-0222. www.tasb.org

WEEK OF JUNE 13 June 13-15 TEPSA Summer Pre-Conference Renaissance Hotel, Austin For more info, (512) 478-5268. www.tepsa.org Cost: Early registration (by May 16): Members, $124; nonmembers, $184. Regular registration (after May 16): Members, $149; nonmembers, $209.

June 14 TASSP/Legal Digest Conference Convention Center, Austin For more info, (512) 478-2113. www.legaldigest.com Cost: Early registration (by May 14): Members, $125 online, $150 off line; nonmembers, $170 online; $195 off line. Regular registration (after May 14): Members, $150 online, $175 off line; nonmembers, $195 online, $220 off line.

June 15 Post-Legislative Seminar Location TBA, Fort Worth For more info, (512) 467-0222. www.tasb.org TASSP Summer Workshop Extended Session: How to Deal With Dysfunctional Teachers Convention Center, Austin For more info, (512) 443-2100, ext. 232. www.tassp.org Cost: Early registration (by May 23): Members, $55; nonmembers, $75. On-site registration: Members, $65; nonmembers, $85.

TASSP Summer Workshop Leadership Seminar: Maximize Your Leadership Opportunity Convention Center, Austin For more info, (512) 443-2100, ext. 232. www.tassp.org Cost: $35.

June 15-16 Texas Girls Coaches Association Satellite Clinic Spring Woods High School, Houston For more info, (512) 708-1333. www.austintgca.com Cost: Clinic and 2011-12 membership fee, $60; clinic only, $30.

June 15-17 TASSP Summer Workshop Convention Center, Austin For more info, (512) 443-2100, ext. 232. www.tassp.org Cost: Early registration (by May 23): Members, $195; nonmembers, $365; student nonmembers, $95. On-site registration: Members, $215; nonmembers, $385; student nonmembers, $95.

TEPSA Summer Conference Renaissance Hotel, Austin For more info, (512) 478-5268. www.tepsa.org Cost: Early registration (by May 16): Members, $299; nonmembers, $538. Regular registration (after May 16): Members, $324; nonmembers, $563.

June 15-18 TREA Summer Conference Marriott Hotel and Golf Club, Fort Worth For more info, 423-0293. www.txrea.com

June 16 TASSP Summer Workshop Seminar: Women in Leadership Convention Center, Austin For more info, (512) 443-2100, ext. 232. www.tassp.org Cost: $35.

June 16-17 TASBO Summer Conference Location TBA, Corpus Christi For more info, (512) 462-1711. www.tasbo.org

June 16-18 Summer Leadership Institute Omni Hotel, Fort Worth For more info, (512) 467-0222. www.tasb.org

See CALENDAR on page 22

May 2011 • Texas School Business

21

TSB Calendar

Professional Development & EVENTS CALENDAR continued from page 21

WEEK OF JUNE 20 June 21 Texas ASCD Southwest Building Learning Communities Summer Technology and Curriculum PreConference Dallas-Fort Worth area For more info, (512) 477-8200 or (800) 717-2723. www.txascd.org

June 21-24

June 22-25

Texas ASCD Southwest Building Learning Communities Summer Technology and Curriculum Conference Dallas-Fort Worth area For more info, (512) 477-8200 or (800) 717-2723. www.txascd.org

TESA Summer Work Conference Embassy Suites, Frisco For more info, (512) 477-0724. www.tesatexas.org

June 26-28 Summer Conference on Education Renaissance Hotel, Austin For more info, (512) 477-6361 or (800) 725-8272. www.tasanet.org

WEEK OF JUNE 27 June 29 Texas ASCD New Science TEKS Help for Elementary Grades K-5 Channelview ISD For more info, (512) 477-8200 or (800) 717-2723. www.txascd.org

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Texas ASCD Achieving Excellence in Secondary Science Channelview ISD For more info, (512) 477-8200 or (800) 717-2723. www.txascd.org

WEEK OF JULY 4 July 8-10 Texas PTA Summer Leadership Seminar Convention Center and Hilton Hotel, Austin For more info, (512) 476-6769 or (800) 825-5782. www.txpta.org

July 10-12 Annual TAHPERD Summer Conference Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center, San Marcos For more info, (512) 459-1299. www.tahperd.org Cost: Early registration (by May 15): Professional and associate, $75; student and retired, $35. Pre-registration (by June 15): Professional and associate, $85; student and retired, $35. Late registration (after June 15): Professional and associate, $95; student and retired, $45.

WEEK OF JULY 11

Scan this QR Code to see interviews with SunGard K-12 Education customers. Smart phones now come with QR Readers, if you don’t have one, search your Apps for free QR Readers like CertainTeed (Blackberry, Droid) or Optiscan (iPhone).

Business 22 Sungard_K12_BUS_PLUS_Texas Texas School Business School • May 2011Affairs_Full Page 2011_QR.indd

June 30

2/23/11 4:45:07 PM

July 11-15 Texas Girls Coaches Association Summer Clinic Convention Center, Austin For more info, (512) 708-1333. www.austintgca.com

TSB Calendar

Professional Development & EVENTS July 12-14 TRTA District Presidents Leadership Training Conference Airport Hilton, Austin For more info, (800) 880-1650. www.trta.org

TASPA Summer Law Conference Doubletree Hotel, Austin For more info, (512) 494-9353 or (800) 346-4111. www.taspa.org Cost: Before July 13, $75; after July 13, $95.

July 14-17

July 20-22

New Principal Academy Trinity University, San Antonio For more info, (512) 443-2100. www.tassp.org Cost: Early registration (by June 21), $775; after June 21, $875; no on-site registration available.

Cost: Early registration (through May 8), $150; regular registration (until July 13), $175; late registration (after July 13), $195.

July 21 Environmental, Facilities and Energy Services Workshop: Indoor Air Quality TASB offices, Austin For more info, (800) 580-8272. www.tasb.org Cost: On site for members, no charge; nonmembers, $425.

TASPA Annual Summer Conference Doubletree Hotel, Austin For more info, (512) 494-9353 or (800) 346-4111. www.taspa.org

See CALENDAR on page 24

July 15-17 Texas Educational Theatre Association K-12 SummerFest Baylor University, Waco For more info, (979) 826-5533. www.tetatx.com Cost: By May 15, $90; after May 15, $125.

WEEK OF JULY 18 July 18-22 NAEOP (National Association of Educational Office Professionals) Conference Embassy Suites Airport, Charleston, S.C. For more info, (512) 477-0724. www.tesatexas.org Cost: By May 31: Members, $223; nonmembers, $268. After May 31: Members, $258; nonmembers, $303.

July 19 Environmental, Facilities and Energy Services Workshop: Asbestos Designated Person TASB offices, Austin For more info, (800) 580-8272. www.tasb.org Cost: On site for members, no charge; nonmembers, $425.

TCASE Pre-Conference Hilton Hotel, Austin For more info, (512) 474-4492. www.tcase.org

July 19-21 TCASE Summer Camp Convention Hilton Hotel, Austin For more info, (512) 474-4492. www.tcase.org

July 20 Environmental, Facilities and Energy Services Workshop: IPM Coordinator TASB offices, Austin For more info, (800) 580-8272. www.tasb.org Cost: On site for members, no charge; nonmembers, $425.

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May 2011 • Texas School Business

23

TSB Calendar Professional Development & EVENTS CALENDAR continued from page 23 July 21-22 Texas Girls Coaches Association Satellite Clinic Del Valle High School, El Paso For more info, (512) 708-1333. www.austintgca.com Cost: Clinic and 2011-2012 membership fee, $60; clinic only, $30.

July 24-27 Texas High School Coaches Association Convention and Coaching School Convention Center, Fort Worth For more info, (512) 392-3741. www.thsca.pointstreaksites.com

WEEK OF JULY 25 July 25 Texas ASCD Differentiated Instruction – Brain Research Northside ISD, San Antonio For more info, (512) 477-8200 or (800) 7172723. www.txascd.org

WEEK OF AUGUST 1 No events listed.

WEEK OF AUGUST 8 No events listed.

WEEK OF AUGUST 15 No events listed.

WEEK OF AUGUST 22 No events listed.

WEEK OF AUGUST 29 No events listed.

TSB

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visit www.txascd.org for more information and register today!

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Texas School Business • May 2011

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ADHD continued from page 19

Everyone plays a role in treating ADHD

Her daughter also had trouble working in collaboration with other students. “She didn’t understand group project dynamics — that if she failed to complete her task, the entire group would get a bad grade,” Garen says.

Making friends also was a struggle.

“It was difficult in the social arena because she was so impulsive,” Garen recalls.

“She would talk about personal issues to perfect strangers. She had a lot of kids either want to fight her or walk away.”

Garen put her daughter in private counseling, which proved a tremendous support, but it was expensive. A public educator tried and true, Garen didn’t want finances to bar other children with ADHD from receiving similar help. She became a speech language pathologist and joined Austin ISD in 1996. Garen is now the district’s special education coordinator for autism. She doesn’t fault public education for its shortcomings 24 years ago.

“The education system really didn’t know what was coming down the line,” Garen says. “Bad behavior tends to look the same.”

Treating ADHD in school doesn’t start and stop with special education and general education teachers, experts say. Garen takes a district-wide approach in Austin ISD. “I’ve trained custodians. I’ve trained the bus drivers. I’ve trained the cafeteria monitors,” she says.

Schools should opt for the least intrusive method when treating students with ADHD. Often, school psychologists can consult with teachers on successful intervention strategies, thus avoiding the need for special education services, Gates adds.

The next chapter Given the high prevalence of ADHD, it is unusual that teachers are not provided more pre-service training on managing classrooms and supporting students with ADHD, Hughes says.

“Every teacher is likely to have one or two students with ADHD in the classroom each year,” she says. “Our experience at CHADD is most teachers are really eager for information and practical techniques for helping students with this disorder.”

The organization has developed “An Educator’s Manual on ADHD” to help teachers learn more about the disorder.

It includes several interventions that can be used successfully in the classroom. Throughout the year, CHADD offers an eight-hour training program, “Teacher to Teacher,” which provides an in-depth look at students with ADHD and interventions to address the academic, organizational and behavioral challenges presented in the classroom.

CHADD also houses the National Resource Center on ADHD, a federally funded technical assistance center that provides information on management and treatment options.

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Educators and administrators can check with their regional education service centers for additional training opportunities. ESC Region IV in Houston hosted a session in early spring about comprehensive ADHD evaluations, for example. Participants reviewed how to conduct clinical interviews, utilizing appropriate behavioral rating scales, and how psychological tests and direct observation play into treating ADHD. The also heard about successful interventions and recent advances in treatment.

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ADHD continued from page 25

teachers who have students with ADHD. She shares techniques to help students maintain organization and focus, as well as address their students’ need for movement.

Counselors and teachers play a similar role in ensuring a student’s success, White says.

“School counselors provide that same focus on staying organized, keeping focused and getting their work done,” she explains.

Differentiated instruction has been particularly useful, administrators says, because it allows teachers to use hands-on methods, and visual and auditory assistance, depending on students’ needs.

“A lot of differentiated instruction strategies are actually very good for kids with ADHD,” Gates says.

In working with students with ADHD, Kumar suggests keeping workstation distractions to a minimum.

“Keep their environment as uncluttered as possible,” she says. “Have the student in a place where they’re not going to get distracted by other kids or by sitting near a window.”

Kumar also points to the student with ADHD as a fantastic resource. Don’t hesitate to ask the student what methods work best for him or her, she says.

TEXAS’ HOME TEAM

“Sometimes we go to great lengths to create this program for kids, and many times it’s helpful to just talk to the kid and ask, ‘What do you think would help?’” she says.

Administrators also recommend that school staff make parents aware of organizations like CHADD, so they can arm themselves with the latest strategies and findings.

Garen says that an informed parent is an empowered parent.

“As a parent, if you can feel like you’re adding to the solution to support your own child, then you feel empowered as well,” she says.

Statewide, district programs are growing as more research becomes available, Garen says. Austin ISD is doing research on ways to improve instruction for students with ADHD and building students’ social skills.

“We’re still learning and growing in our district, and I think that’s true in the state of Texas,” she admits. “We’ve reviewed other large districts and programs in the state, and there are a lot of good things that we see coming out of the research.”

Tips for Teachers

RAVEN L. HILL is the former education reporter for the Austin American-Statesman.

Source: U.S. Department of Education

Here are some helpful hints for teachers who have students with ADHD: • •

• •

Work on the most difficult concepts early in the day.

Give directions for one assignment at a time, instead of directions for multiple tasks at once.

In lesson plans, vary the pace and type of activity to maximize the student’s attention.

Structure the student’s environment to accommodate his or her special needs. For example, the student should be seated away from potentially distracting areas (such as doors, windows and computers) or near another student who is working on a shared assignment.

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TASBO hosts annual conference in Houston From Feb. 27 to March 2, school business officials gathered at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston for the Texas Association of School Business Officials’ annual conference, which featured a wide variety of education sessions, courses and networking opportunities.

Ken Eudy and Alan Swinford of Crane ISD and Kathy McDonald of Katy ISD.

Stella Mendoza, Sheree Coleman and Sylvia Nations of Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD.

Rodney Shelton, Mark Frese and Marshall Schroeder of Conroe ISD.

Bethany Larned, Anna Winard and John Piscacek of Pasadena ISD.

Meta Jones and Paula O’Neil of Midland ISD.

David Tiffin of RBC Capital Markets and Kelly Penny of Coppell ISD.

Mike Nielsen of Corsicana ISD and Michael Pointer of Killeen ISD.

Denise Wallace of ESC Region 5 and Brenda Richmond of Hays CISD.

Holly Bryan of Wink-Loving ISD and TASBO’s Becky Bunte.

May 2011 • Texas School Business

27

First-ever SXSWedu conference draws hundreds of educators to capital city In early March, more than 800 educators traveled to Austin for the first-ever South by Southwest (SXSW)-branded education conference, known as SXSWedu. It kicked off the annual SXSW Interactive, Film and Music conferences and festivals. The two-

day event consisted of nearly 60 innovative teaching presentations and a showcase of sorts for Project Share, the Texas Education Agency’s new and free professional development e-learning environment.

Judith Pate and Judy Bruning of Odem-Edroy ISD.

Ann DeBolt of Brenham ISD and Delise Becker, Pearson representative.

Cara Nunn and Chris Nies of Pampa ISD.

Karen Fallin and Allison Johnson of Center ISD.

Angela Woolley of Forsan ISD and Chris Tussos of Nixon-Smiley CISD.

Jill Williams and Amy Bradfield of Hays CISD.

Barb Lecheler of Allen ISD with Susan Badger, Pearson representative.

Lacy Robinson and Karen Phillips of ESC Region 8.

Nancy Moerbe and Eden Hernandez of Bishop ISD.

28

Texas School Business • May 2011

Who’s News Alief ISD

The Alief ISD Board of Trustees has named H.D. Chambers the district’s new superintendent. He comes to Alief from Stafford MSD, the only municipal school district in Texas, where he served as superintendent since 2006. He has been an educator for 25 years, having spent six years teaching and coaching in Aldine ISD and 14 years with Cypress-Fairbanks ISD as a teacher and administrator. Chambers earned his bachelor’s degree from Lamar University and his master’s degree from Sam Houston State University.

Aransas Pass ISD

New Superintendent Royce Avery comes to Aransas Pass ISD from Waco ISD. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Rice University, he began his education career in 1992 in Corpus Christi’s Calallen ISD Royce Avery as a special education teacher and head soccer coach at Calallen High School. He then spent three years as a special education teacher and head track coach in Robstown ISD, before returning to Calallen as assistant principal of Calallen Middle School. He held the same position at Robstown High School from 1999 through 2000, moving to serve as principal of Woodsboro High School in Woodsboro ISD. He then spent a year as an executive assistant in the special education division of the Texas Education Agency on a cooperative superintendent fellowship, before returning to his position in Woodsboro in 2002. He was principal of Dunbar Middle School’s Math and Science Academy in Lubbock ISD from 2004 to 2006, during which time he also served as an adjunct professor of educational administration at both Lubbock Christian University and Texas Tech University. In 2006, he became executive director of secondary education and student services in Waco ISD, where he served until accepting this job in Aransas Pass. In addition to his degree from Rice, Avery holds a master of education degree from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi and a doctorate in education from The University of Texas.

Bastrop ISD

Cedar Creek High School will have a new head football coach and athletics coordinator when the school year starts in August. Daniel Hernandez has been named to these positions, returning to Bastrop from Del Valle High School in Del Valle ISD, where he is assistant principal and defensive coordinator. He began his career in 1995 in Hays CISD, teaching social studies at Hays High School. He made the move to Bastrop ISD a year later, where he taught and served as defensive coordinator.

He remained in Bastrop until 2009, when he accepted his current position in Del Valle. Hernandez earned his bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University, a master of education degree from The University of Texas, his teaching certification from Texas State University and his principal certification from Concordia Lutheran University.

Cameron ISD

Collin Clark is the new superintendent. He has been an educator for 31 years, having begun as a middle school teacher and coach in Sulphur Springs ISD. He next served with Community ISD, first as a teacher and then as a Collin Clark middle school principal.

He spent 10 years with that district before taking on the job of junior high principal in Celeste ISD. He then was named superintendent in 2001, remaining there until accepting his new position. Clark earned his bachelor’s degree from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M University at Commerce) and his master’s degree in education administration from the same institution.

Columbia-Brazoria ISD

Superintendent Carol Bertholf has announced her upcoming retirement, effective in June. She has been an educator for more than 48 years.

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

The district’s current director of instruction at Cy-Fair High School will be the next principal of Aragon Middle School.

Maria Mamaux has spent all of her 19 years as an educator in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, beginning at Dean Middle School, where she taught math for eight years be-

fore serving three years as an assistant principal at Truitt Middle School.

She then was director of instruction at Hamilton Middle School for six years, before joining the staff of Cy-Fair High Maria Mamaux two years ago. Mamaux earned her bachelor of science degree in education from Texas A&M University and her master of education degree from Prairie View A&M University.

Denton ISD

Carla Ruge, assistant dean of instruction at the LaGrone Advanced Technology Complex, has been named Texas Outstanding Administrator by the Association of Texas Technical Educators (ATTE). She also earned the North Texas ATTE’s Regional Administrator Award.

She is a certified teacher in several technical disciplines and has been in her current position with Denton ISD since its Technology Complex opened in 2006. Ruge has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Hawaii Pacific University and a master’s degree in education from the University of Missouri.

Douglass ISD

Eric Samford is the new superintendent of this district comprised of one school and 360 students. He had served for the past five years as principal of Douglass School. Prior to that, he served as a math teacher and baseball coach.

Floydada ISD

The new superintendent is Gilbert Trevino, who has been serving as principal of Duncan Elementary School for the past six years. He has been with the district for 12 years, beginning as a coach and teacher at Floydada Gilbert Trevino Junior High. He then taught English at Floydada High before returning to the junior high as assistant principal. Trevino earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Wayland Baptist University. His superintendent certification is from Texas Tech University.

See WHO’S NEWS on page 30 May 2011 • Texas School Business

29

Who’s News WHO’S NEWS continued from page 29

Fort Bend ISD

The district’s 14th middle school campus, James Bowie Middle School, will open in August with Chris Morgan as principal. Currently serving as principal of Garcia Middle School, where he has been for the past two years, Morgan arrived in Fort Bend as principal of Walker Station Elementary School. Prior to that, he was principal of Keyes Elementary School in Irving ISD. Morgan earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Stephen F. Austin State University and his master of education degree from Texas Woman’s University.

Granbury ISD

Leta Andrews, head coach of the Lady Pirates basketball team at Granbury High School, was honored by the Texas Legislature in March for becoming the All-Time Winningest American High School Basketball Coach. She Leta Andrews began the 2010-2011 season needing only six victories to achieve the goal; she broke the record on Dec. 7, 2010, when the Lady Pirates defeated Midlothian. A coach since 1962 when she began her career in Tolar ISD, she also coached in Comanche and Calallen ISDs, as well as Granbury ISD, where she served from 1976

to 1980, returning in 1992. Andrews earned her bachelor of science degree in physical education and English from Texas Wesleyan University and her master’s degree in kinesiology and English from Tarleton State University.

Houston ISD

A new chief technology officer, Arnold Viramontes, has been hired. Viramontes will oversee the district’s research and accountability department and will guide a major upgrade of Houston ISD’s network security system. He also will lead the creation of an electronic data warehouse that will give administrators and teachers quicker and easier access to information they need to accomplish their jobs. Viramontes was with Dallas ISD since 2005, serving as chief technology officer, chief transformation officer and chief of staff. He also spent four years as executive director of the Texas Telecommunications Board and was executive director of technology for El Paso’s Ysleta ISD. Irving ISD

Cheryl Jennings, currently serving as division director of elementary teaching and learning, will take over the position of assistant superintendent of teaching and learning in July. She has spent her entire career in Irving ISD, beginning in 1979 as a physical education and fifth grade teacher at

Barton Elementary. She then taught second grade at Johnston Elementary, before moving to Good Elementary, where she served first as assistant principal and then as Cheryl Jennings principal. She became the district’s division director of elementary teaching and learning in 2002; during that time, Jennings had the additional duties of serving one semester as interim director of secondary mathematics and one year as interim director of middle school teaching and learning. Jennings did undergraduate work at Mountain View College in Dallas before completing her bachelor of science degree in physical education and English at Texas Woman’s University.

She then earned a master of education degree from North Texas State University and a doctorate in educational administration from the University of North Texas, where she also has been an adjunct professor of personnel administration and K-12 curriculum and instruction.

Mollie Lusty, special education program director, was named Special Education Director of the Year by the Dallas Association of Vocational Adjustment Coordinators. Lusty began her career in 1974 as a general and special education teacher in Dallas ISD, arriving in Irving ISD in 1985 to serve as a special education teacher at Crockett Middle School. She was appointed as the district’s inclusion specialist in 1994.

In 1996, she became Irving ISD’s middle school special education coordinator. Lusty’s bachelor of science and master of education degrees are from Texas Woman’s University.

Klein ISD

Klein ISD Superintendent Jim Cain has been named Superintendent of the Year by the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) in recognition of his support of using technology for the improvement of teaching and learning. The award was presented in February at TCEA’s annual conference in Austin. In the 1980s, Cain was Klein ISD’s first technology director.

Little Elm ISD

Sandra Howell has been named the new athletics director for the district. She is currently director of athletics and physical education for Galveston ISD, where she

30

Texas School Business • May 2011

Who’s News has been for the past five years. Prior to her time in Galveston, she was athletics director of Alvin ISD from 1999 to 2006. She began her career in that district in 1989 as a biology and health teacher and as an assistant basketball, softball and tennis coach. She was named head softball coach in 1998. Howell has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in kinesiology and biology from Sam Houston State University. She earned her mid-management certification from the University of Houston.

Howell will replace Bill Wakefield, who will retire as athletics director, a position he has held since 1998. He began his career in 1978 as a coach and English teacher. He also worked in Lake Travis ISD as a principal and athletics diBill Wakefield rector. Wakefield holds a bachelor of science degree in education from Emporia State University and a master’s degree in educational administration from Texas State University.

Northside ISD (San Antonio)

The new principal of Passmore Elementary School is Veronica Arteaga, currently serving as vice principal of Linton Elementary. She began her career as a physical education teacher at Veronica Arteaga San Antonio’s St. James Catholic School. Arteaga also taught in Edgewood and La Joya ISDs before joining Northside in 2002. She also worked in Brauchle, Passmore and Hull elementary schools before taking on her current role at Linton in 2004. Arteaga earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio and her doctorate in educational administration from Texas A&M University.

Erin Carlson is the new principal of Evers Elementary School. She was previously the vice principal at Cable Elementary School. She came to Northside ISD in 2003 as a math support teacher at Thornton Elementary Erin Carlson School; she also worked at Fisher, Boone and Burke elementary schools before taking her most recent job at

Cable. Carlson has two bachelor’s degrees from Winona State University in Michigan and a master’s degree in education leadership from The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Pearland ISD

The new interim superintendent is Virgil Tiemann. He is stepping in to fill the vacancy left by Bonny Cain, who is now superintendent of Waco ISD. Tiemann, who was most recently a consultant with ESC Region 4 as Virgil Tiemann coordinator of the superintendent certification program and the Aspiring Superintendent Academy, has served as superintendent of Alvin and ColumbiaBrazoria ISDs and as deputy superintendent of Fort Bend ISD. His doctorate in administration and supervision is from the University of Houston.

Salado ISD

Michael Novotny, currently superintendent of Moulton ISD, will be the next superintendent of Salado ISD. He began his career in 1996 as a teacher and special education team leader in Plano ISD, moving on in that district to serve as coordinator of special education services, high school assistant principal and high school principal.

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San Angelo ISD

Jim Slaughter has been named the district’s executive director of athletics. A native of West Texas, he began coaching in 1967 as a graduate assistant at Angelo State University.

He launched his public education career in 1968 Jim Slaughter when he joined the staff of Boswell High School in Eagle MountainSaginaw ISD as the junior varsity basketball coach, head track coach and football defensive coordinator. He next spent two years in Colorado ISD as Colorado High School’s football defensive coordinator, moving to San Angelo ISD’s Lake View High School See WHO’S NEWS on page 32

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In 2008, he accepted the position of superintendent of Moulton ISD. Additionally, Novotny has been an adjunct professor at the University of Houston in Victoria Michael Novotny since 2009. He received his bachelor’s degree in K-12 physical education and a master’s degree in special education from Bethel College. His master’s and doctoral degrees in educational administration are from the University of North Texas.

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Who’s News WHO’S NEWS continued from page 31

in 1973, where he was head track coach and defensive coordinator. A move to Carroll High School in Corpus Christi ISD came next; he spent five years there as athletics coordinator and head football coach. He then was with Lufkin ISD’s high school in the same positions for three years. Next, he was athletics director in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD for five years, followed by serving as the athletics and head football coach at College Station ISD’s A&M Consolidated High School from 2000, until accepting his new position in San Angelo. Slaughter spent several years on the board of directors of the Texas High School Coaches Association, serving as president during 1991-1992.

He was named to the organization’s Hall of Honor in 2006. His coaching awards include All West Texas Coach of the Year, District Coach of the Year, Metro Coach of the Year and South Texas Coach of the Year.

Texarkana

Marsha Burris, principal of the OPTIONS Academic Alternative High School, has been chosen to serve as president-elect of the Texas Association for Alternative Education (TAAE). She will take on the role of president of the organization in 2013 and continue in that role for two years, followed by two years serving as

My RTI Series Andrea Ogonosky, Ph.D., Author

past president. Burris has been a member of TAAE since 2002 and spent five years on the legislative committee, two of those as chair.

In 2009, she was elected treasurer. Burris has been an educator for 23 years, having started her career as an educational aide in Birdville ISD. She joined Texarkana ISD in 1993 as a sixth grade teacher at Westlawn Middle School, where she remained until 1999. At that time, she took on the position of coordinator of testing, textbooks and technology for a year. She was appointed OPTIONS principal in 2000. Burris was chosen in 2008 and 2010 by the nonprofit organization Raise Your Hand, Texas! as one of only 100 Texas public school leaders to participate in the summer institutes at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

Tomball ISD

Tomball ISD’s newest campus, Tomball Memorial High School, will open in August for the 2011-2012 school year. A number of new hires have been announced.

Jamey DeBruin will be the school’s football offensive coordinator and head golf coach. A teacher and coach in Angleton ISD for 10 years, he is a graduate of Sam Houston State University.

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selors at the new school will be Sheri Forsyth. A psychology graduate of Texas A&M University with a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Prairie View A&M University, she was with Sheri Forsyth Cypress-Fairbanks ISD until coming to Tomball High School in 2007.

The Tomball Memorial High School drill team will have Samandra Nail as a sponsor. She was a Rangerette while attending Kilgore College and earned her bachelor of science degree from Sam Houston State University, where Samandra Nail she is completing work on her master’s degree. In addition to working as a dance instructor for Magnolia and Conroe ISDs, she has been a Radio City Rockette.

Lashelle Nix will be a counselor at the new school. She began her career in 1998 and has served in Spring and Cypress-Fairbanks ISDs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Baylor University and two master’s Lashelle Nix degrees, one in counseling from Sam Houston State University and one in administration from Lamar University.

Kevin Webb will be the new school’s football defensive coordinator. After completing his bachelor’s degree at Tarleton State University, he began his education career as a science teacher in Meridian ISD, later moving to Angleton Kevin Webb ISD as a coach and special education teacher. He has coached football, baseball, golf, and track and field.

Tyler ISD

Larry Goddard, executive director of the Tyler ISD Foundation for the past five years, has been elected to the board of directors of the Texas Association of Partners in Education. He was also unanimously chosen as president-elect in a statewide

Who’s News vote. Goddard, who has 30 years of experience in educational public relations, has served as education foundation chair for the Texas School Public Relations Association. Prior to coming Larry Goddard to Tyler ISD, he was vice president of development for Texas A&M University at Commerce, as well as assistant vice president for communications, public relations and marketing, and assistant provost for special programs.

Waco ISD

Bonny Cain is Waco ISD’s new superintendent. She initially taught second grade in Bay City ISD, switching to teach fifth grade language arts in that district for a year, before moving to Alvin ISD, where she was a seventh and eighth Bonny Cain grade remedial reading teacher before taking on the assistant principal position at Disney Elementary School.

While in Alvin, she also was a teacher in the adult basic education reading and GED programs at Alvin Community College.

Leaving Alvin ISD in 1984, she was assistant principal for curriculum and instruction at Dickinson ISD’s McAdams Junior High School for three years, before moving to Mabank ISD to serve as principal of Mabank Primary School. She next accepted an offer from Pearland ISD, serving first as principal of Pearland Junior High, progressing to the role of executive director of the district, and then as assistant superintendent for instruction, deputy superintendent and superintendent. She was superintendent until 2000, when she accepted her new job in Waco. Cain earned an associate’s degree from Kilgore Junior College, a bachelor of science degree in elementary education and English from the University of Houston at Victoria, and two master’s degrees, one in guidance and counseling from the University of Houston at Victoria and a second in reading from the University of Houston at Clear Lake. Her doctorate in educational leadership and cultural studies are from the University of Houston. She is pursuing postdoctoral studies in leadership and education at the same institution.

West Oso ISD

Superintendent Mike Sandroussi has announced his plan to retire at the end of June, after spending two years in the district’s top position.

He began his education career in 1980 and, except for two years working in the private sector, Mike Sandroussi has been an educator for the past 29 years. Assignments have included mathematics teacher and coach in Orange Grove, Calallen and Skidmore-Tynan ISDs; assistant principal and principal of Calallen High School; pre-K through eighth grade principal in SkidmoreTynan ISD; and superintendent of SkidmoreTynan, Edcouch-Elsa and West Oso ISDs. He has been with West Oso ISD since 2009.

Sandroussi, a first-generation American who has spent his career serving in the Coastal Bend area, holds a bachelor of science degree in secondary education from Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University at Kingsville) and a master’s degree in education from Corpus Christi State University (now Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi). He is completing his doctorate at The University of Texas – Pan American.

Ysleta ISD (El Paso)

Emilio Quiroz, principal of Eastwood Heights Elementary School, has been named as one of 10 finalists for the National

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Distinguished Principal award by the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA). One elementary and one middle school principal will each receive a $10,000 prize and Emilio Quiroz will represent Texas in Washington, D.C., this fall at the awards ceremony. School visits to the finalists’ districts took place this spring; announcements will be made to the winning principals in May. (Announcements had not been made as of press time.)

All finalists will be recognized at TEPSA’s annual conference in Austin in June. Quiroz has been with Ysleta ISD for 31 years. He took on the job of principal of Capistrano Elementary School in 1998. He then served in the same capacity at Washington Elementary and Ysleta High School.

He has been principal of Eastwood Heights since 2009.

Other national finalists include Magdalena Aguilar, Socorro ISD; Joyce M. Bannerot, Del Valle ISD; Kristi K. Graham, Plano ISD; Peter A. Heinze, Houston ISD; Marlene F. Lindsay, Conroe ISD; Susan M. Meyer, Grand Prairie ISD; Karen S. Noble, Nederland ISD; Cynthia L. Rodriguez, United ISD; Dawn M. Smith, Duncanville ISD; Billy J. Snow, Corsicana ISD; and DarTSB win P. Spiller, Richardson ISD.

Call Today : 512.454.6864 or visit us online at www.WalshAnderson.com

AUS TI N | SA N A N TON IO | IR VIN G | McA LLEN | HOU STON | AL B U QU ERQU E

May 2011 • Texas School Business

33

THE BACK PAGE Advertiser Index

by Riney Jordan

What budget cuts cannot change

N

ews about the lack of funds for our public schools is everywhere you look. It’s on television, radio, e-newsletters, newspapers, magazines. It’s one of the main topics of discussion in every beauty and barber shop in the country.

Yes, the reduction in school funding is going to hit our schools pretty significantly. Many programs either will have to be eliminated or scaled back. Many staff members will be terminated or not replaced upon resignation. These are dark days for public schools. With an increase in home schooling and the growth of both private and parochial facilities, public schools are feeling the brunt of fewer students, less money and, it seems, harsher comments.

But public schools are one of those institutions for which I would go to the stake.

I believe in them, I support them, and I maintain that there are few organizations that are stronger, more incredible, and produce more positive results with less money and resources than our public schools.

Yes, there are a great many things that money can do. It can increase our programs, our buildings and our staff. But stop for a moment and think about the things that money cannot do.

Money cannot give the compassion needed by a hurting child. Money cannot grasp the depths of despair that a student from a broken and dysfunctional home brings to school. Money cannot wrap its arms around a crying child who sees no hope for himself or his siblings.

Money cannot give the encouragement that is needed to produce the next generation of scientists, doctors, lawyers, professors, engineers and every other position needed to help meet the needs of a growing world. Money cannot sense the excitement on a child’s face when a new concept is finally grasped. Money cannot give a smile to a child as he goes through a lunch line or boards a school bus or walks down the hallway.

Money cannot create a sense of security that every child needs. It cannot offer 34

Texas School Business • May 2011

compassion, or understanding, or love, or kindness.

No matter how much money is removed from our schools, dedicated and gifted educators will continue to give students the things they need the most. Just like we’ve done for hundreds of years, educators will continue to nurture the students they serve.

Tear down our walls. Remove our books. Throw every criticism our way that you can muster. But in spite of our lack of funds or resources or programs, those of us who have been given the role of making a difference in the lives of students will continue to teach. We will continue to encourage. We will continue to instill in our students the value of education.

And I pray that one day this great nation will recognize that our public schools are the cornerstone of our democracy and our hope for a brighter tomorrow. Our public schools are the catalyst for greatness.

They are the encourager and the giver of hope for students who have none.

Take away our financial resources. Oh, yes. You can do that. But you will never, no never, take away our determination to instill learning in the minds of those to whom we have been entrusted. You will never take away our compassion, our understanding and our deep love for students. For it is an unbridled passion that will continue to reach out to a generation of young people who are searching for role models and a spirit of genuine concern. We will continue to seek out those who have lost their hope.

And we will continue to inspire and motivate and educate until the end of time.

These are the most valuable commodities of the educator’s spirit that state budget cuts will not change.

Nor will they ever!

RINEY JORDAN, whose best-selling book, “All the Difference,” is now in its sixth printing, is an international speaker and humorist. He can be reached at riney@yahoo.com or by visiting www.rineyjordan.com.

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CONGRATULATIONS! TO THE 2011 REGIONAL FINALISTS

Leadership

Lifetime Achievement

Ms. Jennifer Garcia

Mr. Michael Massad, Sr.

Ms. Jayne Doxsey

Hornsby Dunlap Elementary

Patton Elementary

Rising Star

Principal Ms. Ann Lilie

Reeces Creek Elementary

Summitt Elementary

Dr. Diana Maxwell

Ms. Levinia Lara

Ms. Lindsay Richard

Ms. Jimmie Walker

Wilderness Oak Elementary

Cambridge Elementary

Fort Sam Houston Elementary

Ms. Kimberly Buskirk

Ms. Cindy Cormier

Mr. Richard Landmann

Gardens Elementary

Jan Schiff Elementary

Ms. Vanessa Rincones

Mr. Michael Sweet

Sam Houston Elementary

Carman Elementary

Thigpen-Zavala Elementary

Ms. Christy Zamora

Ms. Martha McLeod

Ms. Belinda Silva

Flour Bluff Early Childhood Center

Fulton 4-5 Grade Learning Center

Moses Menger Elementary

Luther Jones Elementary

Ms. Ella Whitley

Ms. Jennifer Welch

Ms. Melissa Cooper

Midway Middle School

Mr. David Gonzalez

Claude Cunningham Middle School

Murchison Middle School

Ms. Janice Cuccia

George Washington Middle School

Mr. David Foss

Fox Tech High School

Mr. Jason Sabotin

Dr. Patricia Castillo

Alamo Heights High School

Arlington Heights High School

Ms. Carole Smithwick-Kiebach

Ms. Carol Briggs

Seven Lakes High School

Claude Cunningham Middle School

Westfield High School

Ms. Yolanda Fernandez

Ms. Rachelle Grace

Del Rio High School

McAllen Memorial High School

Ms. Linda Colman

Ms. Penny McCool Robert E. Lee High School and STEM Academy

Dr. Nghia Le Booker T. Washington High School

John Hoffmann Elementary

Ms. Erin Tite

Forest Ridge Elementary

James F. Bay Elementary

Ms. Dora Newell

Ms. Dolores Cisneros Emerson

Cuero High School

Morningside Elementary

Ms. Galen Hoffstadt

Mr. Charles Pickitt Richardson High School

Mr. Michael Cardona Robert E. Lee High School

Ms. Judy Holmgreen

Dr. R. Scott Allen

Alice High School

The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts

Mr. James Butler Uvalde High School

Small Districts Argyle ISD • Large Districts Mesquite ISD

Splendora ISD • Aransas County ISD • Conroe ISD • Edinburg CISD • Brownsville ISD • Harlandale ISD

Finalists receive the following AWARDS • Teachers receive $1,000 and a matching grant goes to their school.

• Principals receive $1,000 and their school receives a grant for $2,500.

• Small School Districts receive $2,500. Large School Districts receive $5,000.

All of these finalists will go on to the statewide competition in May where they have a chance to win $5,000 to $100,000 for themselves and a matching grant for their school.

Visit heb.com/education in June for the list of 2011 awards winners ©2011 HEB, 11-2122

and to nominate your favorite educator or district for the 2012 awards program.