Mike Falick's Blog

My Testimony Before the House Public Education Committee on House Bill 1281

I testified today before the House Public Education Committees on House Bill 1281, which I highlighted as the February 16, 2009, Bill of the Day.  Briefly, HB1281 would add "adult responsibility education" to the foundation curriculum in Texas.  The Bill provides that the Texas Education Agency "shall establish an advisory panel under this section to develop the required foundation curriculum to teach students skills in social, emotional, and behavioral interaction to prepare students for adult responsibility. A primary purpose of the adult responsibility curriculum is to teach students advanced methods of thinking, speaking, learning, and reasoning.

Here is my written testimony, and the archived video is available here (scroll forward to 27:15).

Recap of Tonight's Regular Monthly Board Meeting

Our Board held its regular monthly meeting tonight.  Here's a recap of the issues discussed, and actions taken on tonight's Agenda.

We had three special presentations this evening.  Our first special presentation was recognition of Carolyn Davis, custodial foreman at Bear Boulevard School for Early Learning, as our March 2009 Employee of the Month. 

Our second special presentation recognized Aileen Reilly, a volunteer at Stratford High School, as our March 2009 Volunteer of the Month.

Our final special presentation recognized Youth Art Month by highlighting some of the significant honors received by our District's students.

Our next agenda item was Citizens Participation.  No one spoke tonight.

We then had our Board member Liaison Reports (each Board member serves in a liaison capacity).  Here is the material I provided in my Legislative Update.

We then had the first reading of following Board policy: DNA (Local) Performance Appraisal: Evaluation of Teachers.

Our action items on the Agenda included the approval of the Budget Status Summary Report with Budget Amendments as of March 31, 2009 and the Facility Improvement Program Monthly Status Report with Project Budget Changes as of March 31, 2009.  As we do in every monthly meeting, we also approved the awarding of a number of contracts.

Tonight we also approved the Audit Engagement Letter for Fiscal Year End 2009, and the Appraisal Systems for Counselors, Campus Instructional Specialists, Diagnosticians, School Psychologists, Speech Pathologists, Speech Pathologist Interns, and Speech Pathologist Assistants. 

Our final two action items tonight were the approval of Architectural Schematic Design and Design Development for Bunker Hill Elementary School System Updates and Additions and Architectural Schematic Design and Design Development for Science 4x4 Program Renovations and Additions.  The architectural presentation on Bunker Hill is available here, and the architectural presentation on the Science 4x4 Classrooms is available here.

We next approved our Consent Agenda.

We next had extensive discussion on three additional bond projects.  For each project listed below, you can click on the link for the architectural presentation made to the Board.

• Architectural Schematic Design and Design Development for Hunters Creek Elementary Renovations
• Architectural Schematic Design and Design Development for Spring Woods High School Library Renovations
  
• Architectural Schematic Design and Design Development for Spring Woods High School Soccer Venue and Stratford High School Track Venue Projectsownload Multi Sports Complex
  

Our final agenda item for the evening was consideration of the Spring Branch ISD Board Agenda Planning Calendar.

TED Video of the Week: Matthew Childs: Hang in there! 9 life lessons from rock climbing

This week's TED Video of the Week is from Matthew Childs, whose talk is entltled "Hang in there! 9 life lessons from rock climbing".  From the TED website:

In this talk from TED University 2009, veteran rock climber Matthew Childs shares nine pointers for rock climbing. These handy tips bear on an effective life at sea level, too.

Stratford Wins Best Featured Performer, Best Scenic Design, Best Direction, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Musical, and Memorial Wins Best Supporting Actor Award at Tonight's Tommy Tune Awards

I had the privilege of attending tonight's Tommy Tune Awards honoring the best theater performances of the year.  Spring Branch schools were well represented among this year's nominations (see below).  In fact, Spring Branch had at least one nominee in each of the 15 award categories.

Stratford's production of Barnum, which was truly an amazing musical, was nominated in 12 of the 15 award categories.  Stratford swept the major awards, winning for Best Featured Performer (Karina Ruiz), Best Scenic Design, Best Direction, Best Actor (Al Fallick), Best Actress (Stephanie Cooksey), and Best Musical.  (For more on Stratford's awards, please see Bob King's post on the Chron.commons blog here).  Memorial was also a winner taking the award for Best Supporting Actor (Taylor Harper).

Congratulations to Stratford, Memorial, Spring Woods, and Westchester for being nominated, and to all of the students and teachers and community volunteers and supporters who make Spring Branch's theater productions second to none!



 
























2009 Nominees from Spring Branch:

Best Featured Performer

Mark Frazier (Spring Woods)
Karina Ruiz (Stratford)
Michelle Lin (Westchester)

Best Scenic Design

Stratford
Westchester

Best Lighting Design

Stratford

Best Costume Design

Stratford

Best Orchestra

Memorial

Best Musical Direction

Stratford

Best Supporting Actor

Taylor Harper (Memorial)
The Brothers (Spring Woods)

Best Supporting Actress

Lizzie Wild (Stratford)

Best Ensemble/Chorus

Stratford
Westchester

Best Crew & Technical Execution

Stratford
Westchester

Best Choreography

Spring Woods

Best Direction

Stratford

Best Leading Actor

Al Fallick (Stratford)

Best Leading Actress

Candice Pink (Memorial)
Stephanie Cooksey (Stratford)
Martha Patton (Westchester)

Best Musical

Stratford

Recap of Tonight's Board Workshop Meeting

Our Board held its monthly workshop meeting tonight. Here's a recap of the issues discussed and actions taken on tonight's Agenda.

We had four discussion items on tonight's agenda.  The first continued our discussion of the FY2010 Budget.

Our second discussion item was a report on revisions to the 2007 Bond Budget and Schedules.

Our third discussion item was an update on the District's Dual Language Program.  For more information on this program, please click here and here.

Our final discussion item was an update on the District's Technology and Crisis Plan. 

We concluded the meeting with a discussion on Consideration and Possible Action on Submitted Potential
Amendments on the Board/Superintendent Operating Procedures 16, 30, 32, and 34.

TED Video of the Week: Malcolm Gladwell - What We Can Learn from Spaghetti Sauce

This week's TED Video of the Week is from Malcolm Gladwell, whose talk is entltled What we can learn from spaghetti sauce.  From the TED website:

Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce -- and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.

In Times of Change, Learners Inherit the Earth

"In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."

This quote, by American social philopopher Eric Hoffer, is the introductory sentence to Applebee's America: How Successful Political, Business, and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community.  It is a fascinating look at our country that I highly recommend.

It is my opinion that never in the history of mankind have we seen the type of hyper-accelerated change that we have seen in the last 25 years.  In the nearly 4 years that I have been writing this blog, I have posted many times about what this change means to today's students. (some of those posts are available here).  It has been this idea of accelerated change that has formed the basis of much of my thought process and work on our Board.  I believe the quote above succinctly captures why I have done so.

LIFE.com: Life Magazine Puts Its Content and Pictures on the Web with Continuous Updates

Life magazine's website, LIFE.com, has recently been significantly expanded to include free access to its millions of photographs.  In addition, the site is now is updated frequently with "Today in the News" and other photographs.

From the LIFE.com website:

Welcome to LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the Web.

LIFE and Getty Images, the two most recognized names in photography, have joined forces to provide you instant access to millions of breathtaking photographs — for free. LIFE.com not only lets you wander through the legendary LIFE and Getty archives, but with more than 3,000 new photos added every day, it also gives you the best pictures of the people and places shaping our world now.

These are the photos you won’t forget. Taken by the world’s top photographers and curated by LIFE editors, they tell the story of our times — our heroes, our stars, our celebrations and heartbreak, the events etched in our memory and the small moments that make life sweet. When you find a photo you like, you'll be able to share it, print it, and sometimes even buy it.

We'll update the site throughout the day, but to make sure you never miss a great shot, sign up for our weekly "Picks of the Week" E-newsletter. And if you have suggestions or comments about our site, please share them with us — LIFE.com will be constantly improving and adding new features to give you the best experience possible.

U.S. Supreme Court Sets Hearing Dates on Important Education Cases

Courtesy of the Ed Week blog, below are the summaries of the upcoming dates for oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in cases that impact education.  Horne v. Flores, which deals with funding for English Language Learners, is potentially the most impactful for education in Texas.

________________________________________

From the Ed Week blog:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday announced the dates for oral arguments in three school cases. The justices will hear arguments in April in cases dealing with English-language learners, student searches, and special education.

Here are the dates and case summaries:

Monday, April 20,11 a.m.
Horne v. Flores and Speaker of the Arizona House v. Flores (Case Nos. 08-289 and 08-294)
In these consolidated cases, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal from Arizona's superintendent of public instruction, Tom Horne, and state legislative leaders of lower-court rulings that the state was not providing enough funding for English-language learners. I reported on the court's acceptance of the case in Education Week here and in the blog here.

Tuesday, April 21, 10 a.m.
Safford Unified School District v. Redding (No. 08-479)
In this case, the court will examine whether a strip-search of an 8th grader by school officials looking for ibuprofen pills was an unreasonable search under the 4th Amendment. I reported on the case in this Education Week story (which leads with news involving some other school cases) and in the blog here.

Tuesday, April 28, 10 a.m.
Forest Grove School District v. T.A. (No. 08-305)
The court will decide whether parents in a dispute with a school district over their child's special education plan may win tuition reimbursement for a private school school placement when the child has never received special education services from the public schools. I reported on it in Education Week here and in the blog here (the same stories or blog posts as the Safford case).

Courtesy of the Ed Week blog, below are the summaries of the upcoming dates for oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in cases that impact education.  Horne v. Flores, which deals with funding for English Language Learners, is potentially the most impactful for education in Texas.

________________________________________

From the Ed Week blog:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday announced the dates for oral arguments in three school cases. The justices will hear arguments in April in cases dealing with English-language learners, student searches, and special education.

Here are the dates and case summaries:

Monday, April 20,11 a.m.
Horne v. Flores and Speaker of the Arizona House v. Flores (Case Nos. 08-289 and 08-294)
In these consolidated cases, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal from Arizona's superintendent of public instruction, Tom Horne, and state legislative leaders of lower-court rulings that the state was not providing enough funding for English-language learners. I reported on the court's acceptance of the case in Education Week here and in the blog here.

Tuesday, April 21, 10 a.m.
Safford Unified School District v. Redding (No. 08-479)
In this case, the court will examine whether a strip-search of an 8th grader by school officials looking for ibuprofen pills was an unreasonable search under the 4th Amendment. I reported on the case in this Education Week story (which leads with news involving some other school cases) and in the blog here.

Tuesday, April 28, 10 a.m.
Forest Grove School District v. T.A. (No. 08-305)
The court will decide whether parents in a dispute with a school district over their child's special education plan may win tuition reimbursement for a private school school placement when the child has never received special education services from the public schools. I reported on it in Education Week here and in the blog here (the same stories or blog posts as the Safford case).

Meeting Notice for April 14, 2009 House Public Education Committee

Here is the notice for tomorrow's House Public Education Committee meeting (click on the images to go to the House Public Education meeting notice with links to each bill).