| Greetings!
Clear Creek ISD is leading the way in educating the 2
1st Century learner. There is much to share with you on how your district is preparing our students for the next grade level, college, and beyond.
Last week, Clear Creek ISD announced the E4 Academy, a virtual high school where students can take up to four courses online to count toward graduation. A pilot of the E4 Academy, which stands for Educate, Equip, Excel, Electronically, will launch this summer. This virtual high school is in line with my belief that learning happens anywhere, anytime, and for anyone. With BCIS 1-A, Government, Economics, and Health offered online, students will have additional time during the regular school day for other courses. The E4 Academy is made possible through our successful implementation of Blackboard. There are many facets to this user-friendly, online communication network for teachers, parents, and students, including the ability for a sick child to still log on from home and see what is being taught in class, post questions for the teacher, and keep up with homework. Blackboard and E4 are just two examples of how we are effectively fusing technology and instruction in order to meet the needs of students today.
A final decision has been made in regards to high school scheduling. In February, I presented and the Board of Trustees unanimously approved a plan to keep the current high school schedules for the 2008-2009 school year then move all high school schedules to a straight 7-period day in 2009-2010 school year. A 7 period day allows students to see his or her teacher everyday, fewer opportunities for release time in the senior year for non-instructional periods, and more opportunities to prepare for college and Career and Technology (CTE) fields of interest. The 7 period day may also free up some resources that could be used to fund competitive salary increases for teachers and our increased staffing needs based on growth in student enrollment.
On behalf of all of us in Clear Creek Independent School District, I would like to thank you for your continuing support for the students, teachers, and staff.
Greg Smith, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Clear Creek ISD
Click here to listen to Dr. Smith's podcast, Leading the Way to Educational Excellence on The Buzz. |
| Deadline for Board Candidates |
The Clear Creek Independent School District is now accepting applications from candidates interested in running for the Board of Trustees. Two positions will be filled in the May 10, 2008 election.
The District 2 and District 3 positions are currently held by Paula Tomasi and Ken Baliker. Candidates must file the necessary paperwork to appear on the ballot by March 10, 2008.
To apply for a position on the ballot, please visit the Clear Creek ISD Administration Building located at 2425 E. Main St in League City, TX 77573. Hours are 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday. For more information please contact Cynthia Grisham at 281-284-1081 cgrisham@ccisd.net or Pam Syers at psyers@ccisd.net
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| TAKS Testing Dates Moved |
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Commissioner of Education Robert Scott announced today that he is adjusting the state testing calendar to ensure that no Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exams are given on the March 4 primary election day. "By moving testing dates, we can preserve schools as polling places and maintain a calm, quiet, secure testing environment for our students," Scott said. The commissioner decided to change the testing calendar after consulting with many superintendents, testing coordinators and education service center directors.
Many schools are used as polling places. For the first time, a testing date and election day coincided because of three changes in the law. Lawmakers moved the March election day up by one week. Another law pushed the start date for schools back to late August and, because of that change, a third bill required testing to occur two weeks later than it did during the 2006- 2007 school year.
When public comment was requested on a draft version of the testing calendar this past summer, none of the comments received expressed a concern about conducting testing on election day. But as election day draws near, some district officials began to worry that the steady influx of voters into their building could be distracting to students taking a high-stakes test.
Under the new calendar, all tests scheduled for March 4-6 will be given one day later than originally scheduled. The exit-level TAKS social studies exam, which was originally scheduled for Friday, March 7, will be moved to Monday, March 3. "We know this change causes additional work for our district and campus testing coordinators so we have not made this decision lightly. We had to balance the long-standing tradition of using schools as polling places with children's right to a quiet testing environment as they take high stakes exams," Scott said.
Some of the tests that were originally scheduled to be given on Tuesday, March 4, determine whether children are promoted to the next grade or whether they will graduate from high school. While state tests are not normally administered on Monday, the exit-level social studies exam affects the fewest number of test takers, approximately 10,000 students statewide.
About 2.6 million students in grades 3-11 and any senior who has not met testing requirements for graduation will take the TAKS during this week. |
| Teachers Shine in Educator's Spotlight |
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Each month we highlight an individual, or group of outstanding teachers in the Clear Creek Independent School District. Those IN THE SPOTLIGHT have a passionate interest in education, are giving to their community, and embrace learning as a life-long pursuit. They care about students, parents, and the communities in which they live, work and teach.
This month's edition will feature something new - video. So take a moment to watch an indepth video interview with Robinson Elementary's Holly Bess Kincaid to see why Clear Creek ISD is leading the way in education excellence - every day!
If you know someone you want to see IN THE SPOTLIGHT, email us and tell us why. Email: information@ccisd.net
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| Clear Creek ISD Students Are Leaders in the Community |
Literacy is a team effort in the Clear Creek Independent School District. Clear Brook High School students collected around 1,000 books to share with other schools around the district.
On Monday, February 4 students in Michael Rutledge's advanced speech and debate class visited Whitcomb Elementary School. The students not only delivered books, they took the time to sit down and read with the elementary children. The donated books will enhance classroom libraries throughout the district.
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| You Can Be A Leader |
Support the Clear Creek Education Foundation by joining us at this year's fashion show.
The "Runway Extravaganza at the Hilton" Fashion Show will be held on Friday, April 25, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. at the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake. The show is being produced by Lenny Matuszewski, Jr., nationally known fashion show producer and will feature fashions from Dillard's Baybrook.
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| "Elite 8" Round of National Debate Tournament |
Clear Lake High School is one of the top schools in a national debate competition, advancing to the "Elite 8" round of the Bickel & Brewer / New York University National Public Policy Forum (NPPF). Lake will now square off in the next round of competition, to determine which school's debate team will win an all-expenses-paid trip to the finals competition in New York City.
NPPF is the only national contest that gives high school students the opportunity to participate in written and oral debates on issues of public policy. The competition began in October when more than 100 high schools (representing 26 states) submitted essays on the topic, "Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its AIDS/HIV public health assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa."
Clear Lake High School and Bellaire High School are the only Houston area schools chosen as two of the top 16 schools in the nation. Both advanced through an individual written debate against an opposing school. The schools now move to the second round - competing against each other in written debate. A panel of judges will review the papers in the order they are presented and vote for the winning school. The winner earns an all-expenses-paid trip to the NPPF finals in New York City and the opportunity to compete for $10,000 in scholarship money.
"Clear Lake and Bellaire High Schools have excelled in this competition," said William A. Brewer III, chairman of the Bickel & Brewer Foundation and founder of the NPPF. "The schools now move into the "Elite 8," in one of the most challenging and rewarding debate formats in the nation."
The final four teams will be announced March 9. Those schools will participate in the debate finals April 25-27, 2008, on the NYU campus. After completing written and oral arguments, finalists will be honored during a special banquet and awards ceremony. The Bickel & Brewer Foundation awards the winning team a $10,000 grand prize, presented in the form of individual cash awards for scholarships.
The NPPF was founded by the Bickel & Brewer Foundation in 2001, and is now jointly administered with New York University. The program is available free to all public and private high schools nationwide. Since its inception, the NPPF has awarded more than $400,000 in support of forensic activities at the secondary school and collegiate levels. The NPPF is endorsed by leading forensic agencies, such as the National Forensic League and National Associate of Urban Debate Leagues.
The Bickel & Brewer Foundation is a private, non-profit organization funded by companies, individuals and the national litigation firm of Bickel & Brewer. With offices in Dallas and New York, the Foundation has achieved widespread recognition for its efforts to create, fund and manage a variety of educational outreach programs. Visit the NPPF at www.nppf.net.
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| ACADEMIC DECATHLON RESULTS |
| The battle of the brains is over for members of Academic Decathlon Teams at four high schools in the Clear Creek Independent School District. Students from Clear Brook, Clear Creek, Clear Lake and Clear Springs High Schools recently tested their intellect at Regionals.
Clear Brook's Academic Decathlon Team came in fourth in the large school category and just missed out on qualifying for State. Team members did win some individual medals. Banks Miller won medals in Science, Economics and Super Quiz, Alex Scheifler was awarded medals in Economics and Math, and Ranjani Sheshadri received a medal in Economics.
Clear Creek's team placed sixth in overall competition. Haotian Xu earned gold in Scholastic Essay, Kevin Bittner won bronze in Honors Science, Ibreez Ajaz received a silver medal in Scholastic Interview and Corbin Warner earned a bronze in Honors Speech.
Clear Lake's Team ranked eighth in the large school competition, with three students receiving individual medals in math: Zhen Lu, Andy Hsu and Kailey Whelan.
Clear Springs Academic Decathlon Team is made up of freshmen and sophomores who showed their abilities by placing fifth in the medium school division. The students also captured third place in the Team Super Quiz. Michael Altman brought home five individual medals while Taylor Toups won two. | |
Make sure to check out the latest news and information online at www.CCISD.net.
Sincerely,
Office of Public Information
CCISD |
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| Quick Links |
School Boundary Information
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| CCISD Art Students Win Culture Shapers |
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Two art students at Clear Creek High School walked away with first and second place in the sculpture category at the 8th Annual Culture Shapers Awards. Senior Hung Phama and sophomore Anda Brown competed against students from 73 other high school art programs in the Houston Area.
The depth of thought and feeling that went into the creation of these two works made a strong impact on the judges," said teacher Terry Fox-Foltx. Hung received $5000 and Brown $2500 as part of their award. Their artwork titled "Verbal Struggle" and "I am only Human" is on display inside Clear Creek High School.
The annual Culture Shapers Visual Arts contest enables student artists to compete in seven categories.
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| Quick Notes |
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Need information about Clear Creek ISD fast? Check out our new QUICK NOTES.
Quick Notes is designed to keep our parents informed of district-wide issues, events, and programs. If you have a topic you would like to see covered in Quick Notes, contact the Office of Public Information by email at information@ccisd.net.
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| Mark Your Calendars |
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March 10: Groundbreaking for Elementary School #25 at 4 p.m. 1315 Highway 3 South, League City, Texas
March 10-14: Texas Public Schools Week
March 17: CCISD Spring Break
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Groundbreaking for Elementary School #25 Please Join Us |
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March 10, 2008 - 4 p.m.
1315 Highway 3 South, League City, Texas 77573
Architect - Chris Hinton, SHW Group
Contractor - Gamma Construction RSVP: (281) 284-0020 or information@ccisd.net |
| Food Safety is Top Priority in Clear Creek ISD |
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The Clear Creek Independent School District immediately pulled Westland Meat products as soon as the United States Department of Agriculture issued an administrative hold on a series of lot numbers. None of the affected lot numbers made it to the cafeteria lines or was consumed by students or staff of Clear Creek ISD. "We did not want to take any chances and made the decision early to just remove all Westland Meat products from our schools, take the product off our buy list, and adjust campus menus with a different supplier," said Ron McPherson, Associate Superintendent of Operations. |
| Food Service in CCISD |
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The District will establish an in-house child nutrition department by July 1, 2008. This move is certainly not a reflection of the services provided by Aramark since 1997 but rather an opportunity for Clear Creek ISD to save more than $360,000 a year. This will not affect the 250 CCISD child nutrition employees. We will need to hire approximately nine management-level positions. |
| Clear Creek Education Foundation Teacher Grants for 2008-09 |
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The Clear Creek Education Foundation wants to give CCISD teachers money to implement innovative programs in their classrooms. This year the foundation is planning to award $113,000 in grants. The foundation grant application, guidelines, and additional information can be located on the employee portal or by contacting the Foundation at ext. 40031.
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