Clear Creek ISD Blog

The Clear Creek Independent School District Board of Trustees has established a citizens committee to prioritize and recommend a list of capital projects to meet the district’s growth and replacement needs for the next three to five years. The special purpose committee of educators, parents, and community members will tour schools, interview staff, review facility assessments, and make a final recommendation to the school board on the timing, funding, and priority of capital projects by February 25, 2013. “As with any growing organization, public or private, capital needs exceed available funding.  This creates the framework for CCISD to engineer cost effective solutions to its infrastructure deficiencies and capacity shortages, stretching limited dollars as far as possible,” said Ken Baliker, School Board President. “In my view, the FAC Committee will provide an important barometer to the Board of Trustees to prioritize infrastructure projects proposed throughout CCISD and to gauge public willingness to fund them.”

The Clear Creek Independent School District is home to 44 schools and more than twenty-percent of the campuses are 40 years or older. “While we have done a great job in maintaining these aging facilities, the truth is many of our classrooms do not have the capacity, technology, or even meet current educational standards,” said Greg Smith, Superintendent of Schools. “In addition, we are still growing as a district and so we need to look down the road and around the corner to make sure we are prepared to handle such growth.”

The Board of Trustees outlined specific guidelines for the committee. They are as follows:

• address any identified safety deficiencies;

• provide learning environments conducive to improved student achievement;

• relieve physical and financial capacity constraints and/or maximize efficient use of facilities and;

• increase student and staff access to technology, consistent with the district’s long-term technology plan

• maintain the district’s fiscally responsible position;

• consider the district’s current and projected operating and debt service fund financial position;

• avoid the use of short-term general fund dollars to meet long-term capital needs; and

• avoid the use of disaster, emergency, and operating reserve funds to meet long-term capital needs where practicable

The Facility Advisory Committee will begin meeting on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 and will continue meeting bi-monthly until February. A website will be established to keep the community updated on the committee’s work.

Bilingual and English Second Language (ESL) programs in elementary school have long been established in the Clear Creek Independent School District (CCISD). The bilingual program was originally developed to support the linguistic and academic needs of Spanish-speakers, while the ESL program was developed to support speakers of other languages. As the number of Vietnamese, Urdu, and Mandarin-speaking students increased, CCISD developed additional bilingual and native language support programs for these languages. 

Traditionally, the focus of all these programs was on meeting the policy set by the Texas Education Agency in servicing English language learners; however, in 2004, a paradigm shift occurred at McWhirter Elementary. The Estrellas Two-Way Immersion program was launched.  In this program, English and Spanish-speakers share a classroom and receive instruction in both languages. Students are able to learn from each other, share cultures, engage in authentic language acquisition, and excel in an enrichment model of bilingual education. The students who began the program in 2004 are now in 7th grade and continue receiving instruction in both languages in the Estrellas Intermediate Program at Clear Creek Intermediate School.

As a district, we are entering into another exciting period of offering even more language learning opportunities at the elementary school level. Brookwood will become the district’s fifth Spanish-English bilingual campus in the 2012-2013 school year.  Bilingual classes will be offered in PK-5, and a Foreign Language Enrichment Program will be offered to entering Kindergarten students. This program will combine Spanish and English-speaking students for part of the school day, with students receiving science instruction in Spanish and math instruction in English.

Stewart Elementary, an established bilingual campus, will begin a dual language program in the 2012-2013 school year. Students entering Kindergarten are eligible to apply for this program, in which English and Spanish-speaking students will receive instruction in both languages based on a model which implements a language of the day for instruction.

This is an extremely exciting time for CCISD as we continue to grow linguistic opportunities for our students. Research from the Center for Applied Linguistics cites a variety of benefits to second language acquisition, such as a positive effect on intellectual growth, flexibility in thinking, and enriching and enhancing cognitive development. While these are important benefits, the philosophy of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages may best exemplify why these linguistic enrichment models are so powerful: Language and communication are at the heart of the human experience. The United States must educate students who are linguistically and culturally equipped to communicate successfully in a pluralistic American society and abroad.

We are excited to prepare students for the human experience that occurs beyond the school door.

Tacy King
Director of Instructional Services for ELLS

Read more on this subject at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-benefits-of-bilingualism.htm?_r=1&scp=1&sq=bilingual&st=Search

The Clear Creek Independent School District is driven by the spirit of exploration. We work tirelessly to provide our students opportunities to demonstrate the Courage, Collaboration, Innovation and Self-Direction to succeed in the 21st century. For more than five decades, Science Fair has been one of those hallmark activities where we ask, and in many grade levels require, students to complete their own independent science project and compete against their peers. Many of our students have embraced Science Fair and successfully competed nationally and even globally with their projects. Tyler Raboin, Kusal Kadakia and Ashwin Varma are such examples. Their science fair projects earned them 2011 Broadcom Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars (MASTERS) award. There are many more stories of successful science projects including a young homeless boy who told his teacher that his science project is what kept his mind off of his living environment. Science Fair has also become a family and community affair, where hundreds come into our schools to view some outstanding work.

Science Fair in CCISD is not going away. However, the 50-year tradition is in need of a few adjustments.  Over the last several years, parents have voiced concerns that Science Fair had become synonymous with CCISD’s science curriculum versus serving as an enrichment opportunity. Their concerns have not been about requiring students to conduct their own science experiment but rather how the district utilized competition guidelines as parameters for approving and conducting projects. CCISD’s Science Fair guidelines are in line with the Science Engineering Fair of Houston and the International Science Engineering Fair.  One of the top concerns among parents is that students’ project ideas were denied because those topics had been covered in previous Science Fair competitions, thus preventing students from pursuing topics of interest. These parental voices include NASA researchers and biotechnology engineers. I was in one meeting where an engineer feared we were unintentionally driving students away from pursuing higher levels of science.  Unfortunately, he may be correct. A district-level team has been reviewing this issue and discovered there are significantly fewer students participating in Pre-AP science classes than Pre-AP math classes. We also examined a CCISD survey that sampled secondary-level teachers’ attitudes toward requiring outside, independent science projects. The survey indicated most teachers felt that our curriculum should have a stronger emphasis on scientific inquiry during the school day. The surveys also showed that teachers do not feel that requiring outside science projects promotes student enthusiasm for science.

Here are the steps CCISD is taking to promote science, maintain the rigor of our standards in science and keep the long-held Science Fair tradition alive in CCISD:

Beginning 2012-2013 school year

• CCISD teachers will provide students increased opportunities to participate in experimental design during science classes and assign homework to reinforce those activities. Experimental design is the process in which you create an investigation to answer a question. To view what experimental design looks like at the elementary level, click here. To view what experimental design looks like at the high school level, click here.
• Experimental design in Pre-AP and AP science will mirror the College Board’s philosophy of ‘inspiring deep thinking’. Although Science Fair is not required, students still need to demonstrate, through teacher-led projects and assignments, mastery of experimental design from posing the question to developing the research/investigation to answer the question.   
• CCISD’s Science Fair will continue on a voluntary basis.
• After-school clubs or teams at the intermediate and high school will be encouraged to fuel science fair interest and collaboration.

While Science Fair will be a voluntary activity, creating an environment where students can excel in science, exploration and discovery is still very much required in CCISD!

Lacy Elliott
Clear Creek ISD
Child Nutrition Asst. Director

In 2012, preventing hunger among school-aged children continues to be a main goal of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs and Clear Creek ISD. In order to address the health issues of a new generation, a new focus has been placed on reducing childhood obesity.  In December of 2010, Congress approved what has resulted in the most drastic change in school lunch guidelines in 30 years.  The guidelines will most likely be mandatory for the 2012-2013 school year.

By increasing the amount of fruits, vegetables, and whole-grains offered to students, school meals will be aligned with the 2005, “Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”  In addition, the proposed guidelines also set specific, age-based calorie requirements, allow only fat-free and low-fat milk to be offered, and aim to reduce the amount of sodium and saturated fat in meals.

In anticipation of the upcoming guidelines, CCISD implemented several changes at the start of the 2011-2012 school year. A few of these changes include offering all whole-grain items on our elementary menus, offering only fat-free or low-fat milk, and placing a variety of dark green and orange vegetables on our menus.

During the fall 2011 semester, six CCISD schools participated in a pilot program with Baylor College of Medicine to study the impact of the proposed guidelines.  Based on the success observed in these schools, we are implementing additional changes in each CCISD school in order to extend the benefits to all students.

When students line up in the cafeteria on January 4, 2012, they can choose more servings of fruits and vegetables at breakfast and lunch.  Under the old guidelines, at breakfast, students could only select one fruit at breakfast while under the new guidelines students can choose two fruits.  At lunch, students may now select two different fruits and two different vegetables instead of two servings of fruit and/or vegetables.  We are pleased to be able to offer these additional selections to students with no change in breakfast or lunch prices.

It is an exciting time in CCISD cafeterias!  We invite parents to join us for breakfast and lunch to experience all of these new changes with your child.

For more information about meal program changes in CCISD, visit the Child Nutrition Department’s webpage.
http://www2.ccisd.net/Departments/ChildNutritionDepartment.aspx

For more information about the proposed guideline changes to the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs visit USDA’s School Meals webpage. http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/

One of our goals in the Clear Creek Independent School District is to provide rigorous learning opportunities and curriculum that transcend state and national standards to improve the achievement of each student while meeting their individual needs and aspirations. You can see this goal at work when visiting the Webster Academy Visions in Education or commonly known as WAVE at Westbrook Intermediate off El Dorado and Highway 45. This program for the Gifted and Talented is nationally recognized and is considered one of our flagship offerings in Clear Creek ISD. Its success is worth duplicating in League City. At the time when WAVE opened in 1996, our student enrollment hovered above 29,000 and Clear Creek High School was the only high school in League City. Today, League City is home to three comprehensive high schools and the school district now serves more than 39,000 students. 

Westbrook Intermediate has also experienced exponential growth, largely due to the popularity of the Gifted and Talented program as it serves students from across the district. WAVE grew from 320 students in 2000 to 748 students in 2011. Westbrook Intermediate today is above capacity while League City Intermediate is under capacity. We have proposed opening a second WAVE location at League City Intermediate to serve League City, Kemah and Seabrook.

At a time when school districts across Texas and the nation are reducing or eliminating special programs due to budget constraints, some may question why the Clear Creek Independent School District would invest $200,000 in the expansion of WAVE. I would argue we would not be fulfilling our mission as a district, of developing students who will lead the way to the future, if we kept WAVE at a location where it can no longer physically meet the unique needs of students. Not to mention, why would you not duplicate success? And why not duplicate that success in League City, where even more students can excel?

Greg Smith, Superintendent of Schools
Clear Creek Independent School District

By Heber Taylor
The Daily News
Published October 11, 2011

The Daily News recently published a story with several pages of graphics about the changing demographics of Galveston County, particularly as they affect schools.

If you missed it, the most intriguing idea was that the school-age population is different from the older population in one respect — it’s much more Hispanic.

Many people reacted angrily to the story. At least one threatened to cancel the paper. Some complained that school districts should take a harder line against paying for students who are here, as immigrants, illegally. Others said school districts should not spend money on bilingual education, but should teach English only.

Most of the anger was about change. The statistics clearly indicate the future of Galveston County increasingly will be in the hands of people who do not look exactly like the people who are in charge today.

But there is a larger picture.

First, this demographic trend is not something that’s theoretical. It’s not something that can be changed by anger. It’s just a fact.

In 10 to 20 years, when these children are grown, they will be the leaders of our communities.

The question is not whether those of us who are older like that picture. The question is whether that picture of Galveston County looks better if all those children are educated well, if they are able to compete in a global economy and if they are in a position to bring resources back to this place we call home.

Does investing in their education result in a better picture for Galveston County — or worse?

Second, the question about learning one language, rather than another, is for dinosaurs. Already, people who are limited to one language find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in a global economy.

Europeans, who frequently learn three or four languages in school, do so for a reason: They find that they need those skills to compete in a world in which business routinely crosses national boundaries.

The changes in our schools reflect changes in our communities. The question is whether we’ll see opportunities in those changes or whether we’ll just be angry.

Read the story that sparked debate:
http://galvestondailynews.com/story/262146

Let us know what you think. Please click comment below.

Contributed by:
Greg Smith
CCISD Superintendent of Schools

Clear Creek ISD is ready for the launch of the 2011-2012 school year. Our teachers are back in their classrooms devising creative lesson plans that will engage students. The buildings have been cleaned, the lawns are mowed, and the cafeteria menus are good to go.  As much as some things stay the same, such as filling out bus route cards, providing proof of residency, and registering to become a volunteer on campus, some things do change. 

CCISD usually welcomes staff back with a rally attended by almost every employee. This year, as a cost-saving measure, we decided to create a virtual rally. Click here to watch a video which I hope will inspire everyone to make this the best year ever in Clear Creek ISD.

I also want to thank our local businesses who have become such great CommUNITY Partners. CCISD’s newest program launched in July and is on track to help us make sure every student has access to a world-class education.   

Other changes this school year involve state mandated testing of students. The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) will replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) beginning in spring 2012. The STAAR program for grades 3–8 will assess the same subjects and grades that are currently assessed on TAKS.

At the high school level, students will now take 12 End- Of-Course (EOC) exams. New ninth-grade students entering high school in 2011-2012 and beyond will fall under the STAAR testing system and graduation requirements. Current high school students who entered prior to 2011-2012 will remain under the TAKS system and their existing graduation requirements. The Texas Education Agency is still formulating a complete game plan for STAAR, but we already know it is a longer, more difficult test and students will have four hours to complete it.

Without question, the drought is testing us in many ways. This has been the hottest summer in recent memory. Our teachers however, were able to quench their thirst for learning this summer despite the record temperatures. Here’s one example: Weber Elementary 5th Grade Teacher, Nancy Watson, attended Space Camp this summer in Alabama along with 4th Grade Teacher and Science Coach, Elizabeth Rasch, from McWhirter elementary.  (Thank you, to the Boeing Corporation for providing this exceptional opportunity for our teachers year after year.) CCISD’s dynamic duo returned home with materials to use in the classroom as well as access to online training and a website with science experiments and other class activities they can use to inspire their students to dream big.

It’s a good reminder for all of us about the power of being a life-long learner, collaboration and team work.  Together, we can do amazing things this school year. Let’s make it happen! 

As the weather gets warmer and the sun stays out later, kids are ready for those lazy days of summer!  For many students, sleeping late, spending countless hours with friends, traveling, and no homework increase the excitement of summer vacation.  After working so hard throughout the school year on their academics as well as dance, sports, theater, and other extra-curricular activities, they deserve a break!  But this summer, it is important to remember that parents never truly get a vacation…

At the Bay Area Alliance for Youth & Families, we dedicate ourselves to making our community safer for the students of CCISD, and we want to remind you of a few important safety tips this summer:

1. Create safe environments for your children to have fun.  It’s important to know who your kids are with, and it’s always ok to call and check in!  Remember, parenting isn’t a popularity contest.
2. Set out your expectations and any special rules at the beginning of the summer.   This way there are no questions about the boundaries you have set.  And, be consistent with enforcement.
3. Always remind your child just how much they mean to you.  You can never tell them “I love you” too much!
4. Remember that your kids are always watching you.  The old adage “Do as I say, not as I do” just doesn’t ring true for the wise kids of this generation.  Modeling positive behavior is one of the best things you can do for your children.
5. Find time to spend with your children this summer.  In the hectic school year, it is often difficult to spend quality family time together.  This summer, spend some time reflecting on the past year and setting goals, both family and individual, for the next year.
6. Talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol.  Summers offer more free time than usual and often teenagers stay home while their parents work.  Remind them of the dangers of drinking and using any other kind of substance including prescription drugs not prescribed for them.

Remember, you, as parents, possess the opinion most valued by your child.

In Texas, it is against the law to make alcohol available to a person younger than 21 (other than your child) even in your own residence, even with their parent’s permission. If you break the law:

• You face a maximum penalty of one year in jail
• A $4,000 fine
• An automatic suspension of your driver’s license for 180 days upon conviction.

Wishing you a safe and healthy summer,
Amanda McLauchlin
Coalition Manager
Bay Area Alliance for Youth & Families

www.ccisd.net/alliance
www.crazymamas.org
http://www2.ccisd.net/AboutCCISD/AntiDrug.aspx
www.drugfree.org
http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/laws/underage_drinking_laws.asp

Contributed by Jamieson Mackay
Gulf Coast Educators Federal Credit Union
Vice President/Project Development

We’ve seen a lot of rhetoric about how the business community has had to tighten its belt and make cuts and education needs to do the same. Many districts have been very proactive when it comes to evaluating where cuts can be made. The news is full of stories of school districts already making cuts and evaluating each and every staff position.
The problem is that education isn’t like a business at all. In most cases, a business has to make cuts due to lower demand. Lower demand = Less sales = Less revenue= Need for cuts. The demand for education in our region and Texas in general is growing, not slacking. If education were like a business, we would expect that in order to meet increased demand, we would actually need to invest greater amounts in staffing and capital.

The current budget crisis has serious implications for education in the State of Texas. Cuts will need to be made but we must urge our legislators to minimize the effects of the budget cuts on education. After all, the demand is increasing and we must look at education as an important investment we can make for our future.

 As news of cuts and possible layoffs increase in our local school districts, we encourage everyone to contact their state representatives and let them know that in education, it’s raining. Let them know that you expect them to make education a priority and take the appropriate steps to maintain a bright future for our kids.

If you don’t know who represents you in the Texas Legislature, please visit http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

State Senator:
Mike Jackson

State Representatives:
Ken Legler 

Wayne Smith

Larry Taylor

John Davis

Remember, if you don't contact your representatives to make your voice heard, they will assume that you agree with their actions.

Jamieson Mackay
Gulf Coast Educators Federal Credit Union
Vice President/Project Development

Contributed By: Jason E. Ebey
President & CEO League City Chamber of Commerce

It’s easy to complain. It’s easy to point fingers. It takes a concerted effort to do something. On April 14, the League City Chamber hosted business leaders and educators from across the Bay Area at a Save Our Schools Rally at the South Shore Harbour Resort and Conference Center. We are greatly concerned about the anticipated education funding cuts during the current state legislative session.　

As the League City Chamber of Commerce President & CEO it’s my job to help promote a healthy environment to grow businesses, both new and old. One way to do that is to provide a top quality work force. If the current state budget woes impact public education as much as expected, I am gravely concerned about the impact that will have on workforce development.

Education and economic development are interdependent upon each other. Success in one area is contingent upon success in the other. The League City Chamber understands that education produces a skilled and capable workforce on which our members rely. Financial cuts to our school systems will affect our local economy.

The League City Chamber of Commerce’s Public Policy Committee held the rally in hopes of informing the community of the current financial shortfalls expected by both Clear Creek Independent School District (CCISD) and Dickinson Independent School District (DISD). We also issued calls of action to business leaders.　

We are fortunate to call League City home. This community shares in CCISD’s mission to prepare our students to be successful, contributing citizens to our local economy. Education is an investment in workforce development.

I am appealing to this community to take action now to Save our Schools. Sign a letter of support seeking additional revenue opportunities for local school districts and shift the financial reductions to other agencies. Buy a Save Our Schools sign from the chamber and plant it in the front yard of your business or home. I am also encouraging all business owners and representatives to sign the letter on the Chamber’s website, www.leaguecitychamber.com

Help Save Our Schools. Together we can do it.

Contributed By:  Greg Smith
Superintendent Clear Creek ISD

The controversy that’s brewing in the smallest of towns, the largest of cities and in the Texas Capitol could in fact be ‘the perfect storm.’ When it comes to funding public education (or not), much is being said that is not true. Much is being said that is difficult to understand. Not enough is being said about who will suffer most.

The children of Texas deserve a quality education, one that will allow them to compete at a global level. No longer can we be satisfied with, “Well, if it was good enough for me, it’s good enough for kids today.” The world is not the same.  Expectations have changed. The competition is no longer the business next door or in the next town or even across the country. The competition is every business, in every town, in every country in the world. Jobs can be shipped around the globe with the click of a computer mouse.

If Clear Creek ISD is to produce a successful, sought after  workforce for the 21st century, our teachers  must be able to teach them the skills necessary to do jobs that don’t even exist today. Public education must remain laser focused on teaching students not only reading, writing and math, but how to collaborate, innovate and create.

The budget crisis in Texas can be blamed on lower property values, less revenue, a failed franchise tax or a bad economy. The solution could be dipping into the rainy day fund, raising taxes, eliminating programs, laying off 1,000 employees, increasing classroom sizes or fixing the funding formula. One thing is certain, if something doesn’t change, the children of Clear Creek ISD and every other school district in Texas will at some point feel the impact of dwindling dollars and increased expectations.

To learn more about the funding crisis:

50 Facts About The House’s  Proposed State Budget
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/firstreading/entries/2011/04/01/house_is_in_at_830.html

TEX-OPOLY, the fast-dealing, budget-slashing, horse-trading game  
 http://blogs.chron.com/nickanderson/archives/0327TEX-OPOLY2.html

Of Course We Can Cut The Budget
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-taxes/2011-budget-shortfall/guest-column-of-course-we-can-cut-the-budget/