C-FB ISD Has Much To Celebrate

It's hard to believe that the year 2011 is almost over and we are wrapping up the first semester of the 2011-2012 school year. We have much to celebrate in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District.  Focusing on the single goal of "high achievement of all students," we have had many successes.  While working on our goal, we also have taken time to help others and emphasize the district's character values. (See our video)

I spend every Wednesday in schools visiting classrooms seeing our outstanding teachers and students. We have many "Bright Spots" in our schools. We want to thank the principals, the teachers, and all of our staff for the work they do to help our students achieve academically. These academic "Bright Spots" would not be possible without their tremendous effort. And, of course, we know that effort produces achievement so the time our students spend on their own learning is invaluable.

Just a few academic "Bright Spots":

• For the second year, C-FB ISD earned a Recognized Rating under the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Accountability Rating System; 12 campuses received Exemplary ratings; 19 campuses, Recognized ratings. The district received Gold Performance Acknowledgments on the percentage of students who earned commended status on the Social Studies TAKS and the percentage of College-Ready Graduates in the Class of 2010.

• Davis, Kent, La Villita, and McCoy Elementary Schools were among the schools named to the 2011 Honor Roll by the Texas Business and Education Coalition (TBEC).The schools were recognized for consistent, high performance in all subjects compared to other schools serving similar student populations for three years.

• The Education Resource Group (ERG) annually measures the academic and financial performance of all Texas school districts. By using multiple data, ERG determines the educational productivity of individual school districts in three areas: overall educational value, academic performance and finance performance. For 2010: C-FB ISD ranked 11 out of the 200 Texas largest school districts in overall educational value. For 2010, C-FB ISD ranked 17 out of the 200 largest school districts in academic performance and 49 in finance performance. What this tells our community is that C-FB ISD is achieving at academically high levels while spending tax dollars wisely.

• In early 2012, we will have updated information from ERG with 2010-2011 data.

• Newman Smith’s International Business Academy students J. J. Echaniz,Stephanie Nguyen, David Chi, Shannon Lu, Brian Ng, Mitchell Powell and Mariko Nakamura won the New Venture Creation Contest from the Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of North Texas. This team was the first high school group to win the New Venture Creation Contest, a prestigious entrepreneurship competition. They received the grand prize of $30,000 for the development of Forward Tutoring, an online tutoring program.

Just a Few Arts and Athletic "Bright Spots":

• For the fifth time, C-FB ISD was named one of the Best 100 Communities for Music Education in 2011. C-FB ISD was also chosen in 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Newman Smith Band

• The Newman Smith Trojan Band, one of the top 24 4A Marching Bands in Texas, finished fourteenth overall at the UIL State Marching Band competition in November. This was the Newman Smith's marching band's second consecutive trip to the state contest.

• Our music students continue to excel on the competition road to the All-State Music performance groups which perform at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) conference in February.    You can keep up with their success as well as our other Fine Arts students who are excelling in theatre, debate, art and other areas on our website's Accolades page or our district blog,  Blogabilities. In the 2010-2011 school year, 12 C-FB ISD students performed in the All-State groups in February 2011.

Courtney Okolo

• Newman Smith High School junior Courtney Okolo was the 2011 UIL State Track 400-meter champion for the second year in a row. She also placed third in the 800-meter dash. Courtney was named a Gatorade Track and Field Female Athlete of the Year Nominee.
• The Newman Smith High School 1600 meter relay team of Kaila James, Mia James, Adriana De LaRue and Courtney Okolo won the 2011 UIL State Championship with the time of 3:39:75, a personal best for the team.
• R. L. Turner High School athlete Christina Machado was named All-American Female Wrestler and Texas State Wrestling Free Style Champion in 2011.
• Creevkiew High School’s Bobbi Navarrete was named Free Style All-American Female Wrestle in 2011.

• Creekview High School’s Melissa Gonzalez ran one of the top two 300-meter hurdle times in the country in 2011.

• Our C-FB ISD athletes continue shine this school year.  Our athletes involved in fall sports have already begun receiving recognition for their efforts.  Some of the links from Blogabilities are below; however, but to keep up with the successes of our athletes, check out our website's Accolades page or our district blog,  Blogabilities.
  All District Volleyball, All-District Team, All-District 4-A Team

Just a few Character Values "Bright Spots":

June R. Thompson staff help at
the Navidad Holiday Wrap at Fair Park.

Over the last year, Focus Points has featured our students and staff helping others.  The most recent post was late November 2011.  Other posts were (March 29 and November 4 ). In those writings, you learned how our students honored our veterans and the men and women serving in the armed forces.  Our students also helped local service agencies by donating canned goods, clothing items, toys as well as volunteering their time.  They also raised funds for Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the homeless.

Congratulations to the Blalack Middle School students, parents and community.  The school was named as one of the top 10 schools in the state of Texas for raising money through Hoops for Heart for the American Heart Association. The campus raised $8,086.22.

In 2011, our students helped with Special Olympics and Kacie's Run, and they are already making plans for the 2012 events.  So mark Sat., March 24, 2012 on your calendar, and make Kacie's Run one of your "favorites" so you will be knowlegeable about the event notices and scheduling.

In the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District, we have a rich legacy of parents, educators and the community-at-large working together for students.  This commitment gives us a great road map to follow as we help our students achieve at high levels and learn about helping others.  As we continue this holiday season, let's take time to celebrate the many "Bright Spots" that abound in C-FB ISD.