Is cash-strapped HISD decreasing teacher salaries for the upcoming school year? That’s that claim one teacher is making in a viral Facebook post that’s racked up more than 18,000 views and 700 shares.
Victor Treviño III, the teacher behind the video, feels like the current fight over teacher pay is déjà vu of a similar battle in 2016.
Treviño says he’s most upset the plan’s reportedly been in the works since March, but he only recently found out about it after being tipped off by a concerned HISD employee.
“Obviously teachers, we don’t get into this profession to become millionaires, but at the same time, we don’t want to be undervalued. We don’t want to be exploited,” said Treviño, who’s taught at Austin High School in southeast Houston for 11 years.
In a now-viral video, Treviño warns the district is planning to lower teachers’ expected salaries in the upcoming school year, while at the same time, he says, adding high-level, high salary administration jobs.
“If you really care about students’ achievement, we need to be able to attract and retain the most highly qualified teachers in those classrooms,” said Treviño, who wants HISD to scrap the idea and also begin a new superintendent search.
“That draft of the salary schedule freezes salaries at their current level,” said Andy Dewey, Executive Vice President of the Houston Federation of Teachers, the union for HISD teachers. “Nobody would get less money next year.”
However, Dewey says if that draft proposal is adopted, those employees will not make what they expected to make based on the current salary schedule.
“That’s where Victor is saying the pay cut is coming from, the fact that they are not getting the amount of money that was promised them for next year,” Dewey said.
Dewey says if the board approves freezing salaries, that change would come after the July 13 deadline for teachers to resign and potentially find higher-paying jobs elsewhere.
“Frankly, I believe if HISD tries to do that after the resignation date, they’ll be in breach of contract,” he said.
Dewey says union officials will meet with district higher-ups on Aug. 2 during their monthly consultation. He hopes officials will back off the proposal.
KHOU requested an interview with HISD officials Thursday and emailed several questions, including whether the draft proposal was still under consideration and how long it’s been in the works. In response, HISD sent the following statement:
“Teachers will not see a pay decrease in their salaries for the 2018-2019 school year.”
This week, HISD joined with more than 20,000 members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated to publicly thank them for donating thousands of dollars to district students and staff in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
During Houston’s time of devastation, Alpha Kappa Alpha — one of the oldest African-American and Greek letter organizations — provided thousands of dollars in donations, as well as clothes, shoes, nonperishable food items, toiletries, and school supplies that were distributed districtwide to those impacted by the storm.
Members of local chapters also volunteered at donation sites and distribution centers across the city.
“The members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. immediately came to our aid following Hurricane Harvey,” said HISD Board of Education Trustee Wanda Adams, who served as board president during the storm. “The international president of the sorority, Dorothy Buckhanan Wilson, sent out a notice to her members asking them to direct aid and support to HISD students. The ladies answered in a big way by donating countless supplies and resources.”
Adams joined with Board of Education President Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Trustee Jolanda Jones and Interim Superintendent Dr. Grenita Lathan on Monday to present a resolution of appreciation to the organization during their 68th annual Boule. The Boule — the largest of its kind in the country — is an annual international conference that provides women with networking opportunities, leadership training, and development. It was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Karthik Nemmani of McKinney, Texas, has been declared winner of the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Although Karthik, 14, didn’t win his regional spelling bee nor his county bee, he withstood the pressure of 18 rounds of back-to-back spelling in Thursday night’s finals at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md., where he correctly spelled “koinonia” (Christian fellowship or communion, with God or, more commonly, with fellow Christians).
“I knew how to spell it the moment I heard it,” Karthik exclaimed shortly after winning the competition.
The soft-spoken Karthik, who entered the competition through a newly-instituted “wild card” program, snared the first-place $40,000 cash prize from Scripps, as well as other perks including a $2,500 prize from Merriam-Webster and a trip to New York City to appear on ABC’s “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”
Second-place honors went to Naysa Modi,12, of Dallas, who learned that just one letter made the difference in her being awarded the grand prize. Instead, she took home a $30,000 cash prize after misspelling “Bewusstseinslage” — a German-derived word meaning “a state of consciousness or a feeling devoid of sensory components” — for which she left out the second “s.”
Karthik, an 8th-grader who admitted not knowing about nine words in the finals, was complimentary of his final-round foe, calling Naysa “a really, really good speller.”
[/media-credit] Jah’Quane Graham, an 11-year-old student from the U.S Virgin Islands, seen here with parents Warren and Jamina Graham, fell short of the final round of the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
“She deserved the trophy as much as I did,” he said. “I got lucky.”
He added that having friends like Naysa in the competition helped.
“I guess [they] gave me a little more confidence,” Karthik said.
The field for this year’s bee, with 516 spellers ages 8 to 15 from the United States and several countries, was the largest in its 91-year history.
Washington Informer-sponsored spellers Noah Dooley, Robert Foster and Simon Kirschenbaum didn’t make it to the finals and neither were immediately available for comment.
However, as a first-time Scripps participant, 11-year-old Jah’Quane Graham from St. Croix, U.S Virgin Islands, also missed out competing in Thursday and Friday’s rounds. Yet, he smiled good-naturedly, saying he still enjoyed the participation.
“I was glad I got the chance to be in the national bee,” he said. “I practiced spelling a lot of words but didn’t get in the final rounds [Wednesday] which disqualified me from further participation. But I plan to keep entering until I can’t be in it anymore. Best of all, I got a free trip to Washington, D.C., and I can’t wait to see the White House.”
This past week, Legends Do Live partnered with Fort Bend ISD to host their first-ever Senior Fest 2018 in Missouri City, Texas at Hightower High School.
Senior Fest is an annual event that focuses on preparing high school graduating seniors for life after high school by providing workshops, financial enrichment classes, scholarship awards (over $60,000 in scholarship raised in previous years), and free concert tickets, to promote a positive lifestyle after high school graduation while still enjoying things that youth are excited about.
Legends Do Live founders, Jarren Small and Douglas Johnson, chose to collaborate with Fort Bend ISD this year in what they refer to as the “Livest” end of the school year event and the hottest ticket in town. The two-day event featured a Senior Luncheon; an All-Star Scholarship Basketball Game, Decision Day; and an Empowerment Forum & Concert.
Legends Do Live is a non-profit organization that focuses on inner-city youth by providing and promoting ways to become accomplished youth, through partnerships, strategic planning, self-esteem building and interactive events. Legends Do Live also provides networking opportunities that cultivate individual gifts and that produces positive youth contributors by focusing on celebrating high school seniors and equipping them with the necessary tools to graduate.
“The kids aren’t the future, they are right now,” said Small. “So many people forget include the individuals who are affected most during this critical time, which are the students. Legends Do Live puts this event on because we were once those kids who needed that push and guidance from our younger peers. We are excited to encourage the youth to continue moving forward.”
On Thursday, May 24, hundreds of graduating seniors got to enjoy complimentary lunch as they geared up for Decision Day, where the seniors decide which college they want to attend. Seniors got to hear from several key speakers during a pep-rally style session in the Hightower auditorium featuring former Houston Texans player Wade Smith, former NFL player Herbert Taylor, State Rep. Ron Reynolds, Missouri City Council Member Jeffrey L. Boney, Blake Simon, Ja’Leah Davis and many more.
Later that evening, Hightower High School hosted an All-Star Scholarship Basketball Game featuring a cast of student All-Stars. Proceeds from the game went towards scholarships for four special students where they were announced during halftime of the game.
On Friday, May 25, seniors attended a power-packed Empowerment Forum featuring keynote speaker Ron “Boss” Everline, personal fitness trainer to Award-winning actor and comedian, Kevin Hart, and a cast of young panelists from various professional backgrounds.
Everline has made personal fitness and training his life’s work. He trained for the royal family throughout Europe, Africa and the United Arab Emirates. His celebrity client list also includes Grammy-award winning R&B artist and actor Ne-Yo; singer, actress and host Christina Milian; former Cheetah Girl and star of “Empire Girls” Adrienne Bailon; and R&B artist and actor Trey Songz, to name a few. The Senior Fest 2018 Concert, in conjunction with Island Def Jam Records and Radio One- 97.9 The Box, featured performances from Rocky Banks, Bobby Session, Tim Woods, and student performer, Jessica Baines.
For Small, he states that Legends Do Live looks to change today’s urban landscape by fostering a generation of higher social awareness, strong intellectual pursuits, and constant economic success.
“Every individual possess the ability to make a difference in this world,” said Small. “Our goal is to merely motivate today’s youth to use their gifts, live life to the fullest, and leave a lasting legacy. Though strong collaborations we understand that if we dedicate ourselves to the advancement of our generation, we will not only be remembered but we will never die. We will be Legendary.”
For more information about Legends Do Live and to become a sponsor for future events, please visit their website at Legendsdolive.com.
Dj Young Streetz, Ron “Boss” Everline, Ja’Leah Davis and Legends Do Live Co-Founder Jarren Small
Legends Do Live Founder Jarren Small, Ridge Point student, Ridge Point Principal Leonard Brogan, Hightower students, and Hightower Principal John Montelongo and Founder Douglas Johnson
Nicki Minaj might have pushed back her album release date, but the Queens rapper is making sure her fans are straight when it comes to school. The Pinkprint hitmaker continues her initiative to pay off her fans’ college tuition fees, student loads and books, which she originally launched with her Student of the Game scholarship program last year.
On May 24, Nicki tweeted a set of instructions for fans on how to become eligible for the program, which includes using the charity’s hashtag, requesting the particular amount of money and then waiting for a direct message from her.
“Ok just send one tweet w/ hashtag #StudentOfTheGame saying how much $ you need & what it’s for,” she writes. “All $ will b paid directly towards the tuition, books, etc. I’ll fave ur tweet & DM you if you’ve been chosen, for more info. Not every faved tweet will get a DM.”
One of the fans was worried that they missed their opportunity to apply for the scholarship, but Nicki assured them that they could wait up to three days for a confirmation message from her.
Last year, Nicki helped a few fans out with their college payments, which inspired her to launch her new charity in order to help ease their financial burdens.
Yesterday, the New York native revealed that she would be pushing her anticipated Queen album from June 15 to August 10. While there’s no word on any tracklist or what the album cover will be, Minaj did say that there would be some surprises coming our way next month.
AUSTIN – Commissioner of Education Mike Morath today announced three specific actions in response to online testing issues that occurred during the April and May administrations of the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR®). The Commissioner’s actions include:
Test results for students impacted by online testing issues will be taken into account in this year’s campus and district accountability ratings;
State passing requirements for 5th and 8th grade students impacted by online testing issues will be waived; and
Liquidated damages in the amount of $100,000 will be assessed against ETS (the company responsible for the statewide delivery and administration of STAAR).
“As we continue to build upon our online platform to provide greater support to students, we cannot allow technical disruptions during testing,” said Commissioner Morath. “We are committed to providing a positive assessment experience for our districts and students.”
In a May 23rd letter, Commissioner Morath notified school districts and charters that TEA will exclude the results of the STAAR tests for students directly affected by the online testing issues. However, if including the results from either the April or May test administration would positively benefit a district or campus rating, that district or campus will receive the higher rating. Additional information will be provided to school systems in the next few weeks.
Commissioner Morath also announced that students in grades 5 and 8 directly affected by April or May online testing issues, and who did not perform satisfactorily on the May assessment, will not be required to retest in June. For the 2017–2018 school year, the Commissioner is waiving the requirement for grade placement committees based on results from affected subject tests. Instead, districts will be allowed to use local discretion and all relevant and available academic information (such as the recommendation of the teacher and the student’s grade in each subject) to make appropriate promotion/retention decisions for these students.
During the STAAR administration in April, 41,702 students were testing online. The connectivity slowdown on that day disrupted online testing for approximately 20 minutes. However, some districts may have been impacted for up to three hours due to login/logout issues.
The number of students impacted by the disruption was determined by establishing the number of students either being logged out of active test sessions or not being able to login to a testing session. Of the 278,434 tested students served in special education statewide, 14,673 were testing online during this specific disruption.
During the STAAR administration in May, 29,307 students encountered a connectivity slowdown of approximately 90 minutes. The students impacted by the system slowdown were determined by establishing the number of inactive test sessions lasting longer than 30 minutes and the number of students who logged in more than five times during the event. Of the 278,434 tested students served in special education statewide, 4,594 were testing online during this specific disruption.
Commissioner Morath noted the disruptions in 2018 come one year after STAAR online testing had little or no issues. However, due to the latest incidents, TEA has notified Educational Testing Service (ETS) – the company responsible for the statewide delivery and administration of STAAR – that the agency will be assessing liquidated damages in the amount of $100,000 to address the two recent events. This amount represents the maximum allowable in the ETS contract, reflects accountability for the online testing interruptions and will ensure some safeguards for the future.
The state’s current assessment services are provided through two separate contracts: (1) ETS providing STAAR and program integration; and (2) Pearson providing STAAR Alternate 2 and Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS). Commissioner Morath stated that TEA will move forward with its plans to rebid both assessment contracts, as reflected in its publicly posted schedule.
In that rebidding process, TEA will prioritize and focus on the online testing experience and functionality of the assessment. Any new contract will require greater enhancements and safeguards and will be designed to ensure the agency can offer teachers and students an innovative and comprehensive instructional system.
“TEA is committed to taking a more focused look at how we develop our online assessment program,” said Commissioner Morath in his May 23rd letter to school districts and charters. “It is important that we provide students with learning opportunities that will prepare them for the ever-growing technologies they will face in their future academic and work experiences.”
Washington (CNN) Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday addressed the deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas, telling House lawmakers the shooting “was only the most recent, devastating reminder that our nation must come together to address the underlying issues that create a culture of violence.”
“Our commitment to every student’s success is one we must renew every day, but first we must ensure our children are safe at school,” she said.
DeVos also said the school safety commission she oversees, which was created in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, shooting earlier this year, “looks forward to delivering best practices and findings by year’s end” and gave lawmakers some details of the group’s most recent meeting last week. She described that meeting as “one of the first broader listening sessions” and said members heard from parents of students that had been killed in school shootings.
She stressed that the “primary responsibility for the physical security of schools rests with states and local communities, and made no mention of gun measures or reforms.
Betsy DeVos pushes back against criticism over “60 Minutes” interview, March 12, 2018
DeVos’s Capitol Hill testimony Tuesday marked her fifth time testifying before congressional lawmakers and comes on the heels of a trip to New York in which she was criticized for not visiting any public schools. Instead, DeVos toured two Orthodox Jewish schools and spoke in support of public funding for religious schools.
While DeVos was questioned by several lawmakers about school safety in the wake of another deadly shooting, the issue was not the overwhelming focus of the broad hearing. DeVos took questions on a wide variety of topics including her response to teacher walkouts across the nation, the agency’s Office for Civil Rights and her commitment to the rights of LGBTQ students.
She was pressed by Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott — the committee’s top Democrat — over whether she had approved state education plans that violate the law. Scott repeatedly pressed DeVos on plans where school grades don’t include subgroup performance, suggesting that allowed states to ignore disadvantaged groups.
“All of the plans that I have approved follow what the law requires and it will, we will continue to do so,” DeVos said.
“How do you address an achievement gap if subgroup performance isn’t addressed,” Scott asked DeVos.
At one point during the hearing Florida Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson asked DeVos if she was aware she was “resegregating” the nation’s schools by expanding school choice programs, and in turn, transferring federal funds away from public schools.
Nearly three months—and six school shootings—since President Donald Trump created a commission to seek solutions to school violence, the Cabinet-level panel is being slammed for what critics see as its slack pace, lack of transparency, and limited representation.
Advocates, parents, and educators note that the commission, which is led by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, has met only once since it was set up in the wake of February’s massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. They say there’s been very little outreach to the education community. And they worry that the commission seems to have already made up its mind about where to go on school safety.
“It really begs the question of how seriously they are taking this situation,” said Myrna Mandalowitz, the director of government relations at the School Social Work Association of America. “It’s past time for this commission to meet and get the ball rolling.”
Besides DeVos, the commission includes Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen. It has had one organizational meeting, on March 28. Since the commission was first announced on March 11, there have been six school shootings resulting in death or injury, according to Education Week tracking of such incidents…
Read the full article here: May require an Education Week subscription.
Earlier this year, shortly after 17 students and teachers were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., President Donald Trump created a school commission, led by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, to explore solutions.
And now that there has been another deadly school shooting, at Santa Fe High School in Texas, educators, parents, and others, including advocates in Washington and folks on social media, are wondering just what the commission has been up to since its inception in early March.
As schools all across America continue to get back to a sense of normalcy after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, in Parkland, Florida, they continue to remain on edge as the number of threats and activity that schools have witnessed since the Parkland shooting has significantly increased, especially here in Harris County.
This past week, Houston Community College closed its Central College campus located at 1300 Holman Street on Monday and Tuesday (May 7-8) as a result of a shooting threat that was made on social media over that weekend.
HCC officials immediately responded to the threat and took every precaution to protect students from any potential harm, in spite of finals being scheduled for that week.
“It was my decision to close the campus for the last two days,” said HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado. “It was a decision made out of an abundance of caution and concern for everyone’s safety and based on input from law enforcement and my leadership team.”
After an intense investigation by HCC Police, a person of interest was identified and investigators sought to have charges brought against that individual. Upon review of the information, the Harris County District Attorney’s office charged 21-year-old Luis Antonio Rivera with allegedly making a terroristic threat at HCC’s Central Campus. The HCC Central Campus eventually reopened, but HCC identified that this matter was too important to ignore.
“Houston Community College remains vigilant and responds thoroughly whenever any reports of a concerning nature are received and, as always, we will be proactive in the safety of our campuses,” HCC said in a statement. “We want to thank the many agencies that were involved in responding to this threat and remind everyone if you see something, say something.”
Since the beginning of the year, America has found itself having to deal with countless acts of domestic terrorism as a result of gun violence. Sadly, many of these acts came after warning signs were displayed and threats were made through openly accessible outlets like social media.
In the case of 19-year-old domestic terrorist suspect, Nikolas Cruz, the Florida Department of Children and Families had been alerted to social media posts where Cruz talked about buying a gun and doing physical harm to himself at least a year and a half before he shot and killed those seventeen people in Parkland, according to a state report. Even after a person close to Cruz called into a tip line to identify him as a gun owner who had intentions of potentially murdering people at a school, the F.B.I. publicly admitted to not investigating the tip. Cruz had just legally purchased a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle in February 2017 – a year prior to killing his victims.
Just a day after the Parkland shooting, 17-year-old Jaquinn Alani Smith tried to come to school at the Hobby campus of Houston Can Academy with a gun in his backpack. Because Houston Can Academy had a screening process to enter the school, the gun was discovered and Smith ran away. Smith was eventually arrested by members of law enforcement and charged with carrying a weapon in a prohibited place, but the thought of what had happened the day before in Florida was fresh on the minds of students, teachers, administrators and parents.
This is a prime example of why monitoring these types of threats, particularly social media activity, is critical and can stave off a potential tragic event like the Parkland shooting and others.
Back in September 2016, then-14-year-old Jesse Osborne, went onto social media to ask his Instagram friends whether he should go back to his former elementary school or to the middle school he had been suspended from, a week before he fatally shot 6-year-old Jacob Hall and wounded two others at Townville Elementary School.
According to the F.B.I., Osborne’s social media posts showed that he stated he was going to kill his father, get the keys to his truck and drive to Townville Elementary School to commit the act of violence. Less than a year before the Townville shooting, Osborne was criminally charged with bringing a machete and a hatchet to his middle school because he was being bullied.
On December 7, 2017, 21-year-old William Atchinson went to his former high school in New Mexico and fatally shot Casey Marquez and Francisco Fernandez before killing himself. Minutes before he committed the horrific act, he posted a message on social media talking about what he planned to do.
Ironically, that was not the first time Atchinson had made these types of comments on social media. He was investigated by the F.B.I. a year prior for making disturbing comments on social media, but the F.B.I. did not charge him with anything because they said he was no threat at the time. Atchinson went on to legally buy the gun he used to kill his victims and himself.
According to officials at the Harris County District Attorney’s office, at least 140 criminal cases involving threats against students and school campuses have been filed with their office since the Parkland shooting, with most of the individuals charged being between 12 and 16 years of age.
Much of the gun violence tied to schools can seemingly be prevented, and it begins with a simple focus. If you see something, you must say something – before it is too late.
The Forward Times plans to continue being a part of these discussions related to gun violence, and will keep our readers informed on any new developments surrounding this important issue of gun violence in our country.
Nearly three months—and six school shootings—since President Donald Trump created a commission to seek solutions to school violence, the Cabinet-level panel is being slammed for what critics see as its slack pace, lack of transparency, and limited representation.
