This week’s shout out goes to the drivers who were honored by the Beechnut Academy/Camelot for their ultra-professional service to the students.
Drivers Barbara Arceneaux, Bedennia Barnes, Kathryn Greenwood, Terry Harrell, Valerie Humphrey, Diann Jackson, Elizabeth Johnson, Helen Jones, Maria Leblanc, Carey Randolph, Lizzie Revels, and Dwight Willis were recognized on Jan. 9 by the school’s leaders: Executive Director Cynthia Clayton, High School Director Rasheen Murray, Middle School Director Raymond Strickland, and Director of Student Services Cornelius Ford.
“The Beechnut Academy is a charter school that serves children with behavioral problems, so the drivers have to obey certain rules in addition to the usual ones,” explained Transportation Terminal Manager Chandra Robertson-Bailey. “For instance, they cannot hold any personal items for students, and they cannot let students off the bus anywhere except the designated bus stop. But this particular group of drivers also goes out of its way to help each other. They’ll offer to step in if someone is out sick and drive two routes instead of just one, and they come to us if they have any questions.”
Know someone who deserves a shout out? Send an email to info@houstonisd.org with the subject line “Shout Out for eNews!” and tell us why. |
HISD’s own Park Place, Rodríguez, and Sánchez Elementary Schools have been named finalists for the 2014 Excellence in Urban Education Award by the National Center for Urban School Transformation.
Candidate schools are divided into four different categories, and to be considered, they must meet nine different criteria, including high attendance rates, low suspension rates, and excellence in STEM education.
Up to five winners in each category will be announced at the organization’s national symposium in late May, including one grand prize winner, which will take home a $5,000 cash prize. HISD’s three finalists are all in the elementary school category.
You can see the full list of finalists here.
Congratulations also go out this week to:
- HISD’s Transportation Services Department, whose bus safety rap video was named one of the Top Five Most Viewed News Stories of 2013 and one of the Top 10 Most-Liked Stories by School Bus Fleet. A photo gallery from a training exercise was also named one of the Editor’s Picks for photos/videos of the year.
If you know someone who should be featured in Accolades, please email us at info@houstonisd.org and tell us why. |
In this week’s I am HISD, which features district students, graduates, employees, and other team members, we talk to Patrick LaPadula and his son, Luke, about what it’s been like working together at The Rice School, how they came to be serving at the same campus, and who else in their family might be destined for a life in education.
Let’s start with how to pronounce your last name, since I clearly got it wrong. Is that a Spanish surname?
Patrick: No, it’s Italian. And it’s pronounced “LAP-a-DOO-la.”
Fair enough. Patrick, you’re an instructional specialist at The Rice School and your son, Luke, is a teacher there. What’s it been like for you both working together?
Patrick: Well, he comes in the afternoon right before school ends and does carpool duty while I’m with the buses, so we kind of pass in the night. But we see each other briefly and I borrowed a dollar from him yesterday.
Luke: I worked with my mother quite often in her kindergarten class, so it wasn’t really that much of a transition. I go wherever the after-school program needs me, like helping the library with shelving books and checking them in, but if they need me to do other things, I just go help them as quickly as I can.
So your mother is a teacher, too? Is she the Rose LaPadula I saw in the global address book when I looked you both up?
Patrick: Yes. She’s my wife and Luke’s mother. She’s an English as a Second Language kindergarten teacher at West University Elementary School. She served at Rice, too, for three years a long time ago, but this will be her 24th year at West U.
Wow. So you’ve got three educators in one family, and a father and son working at the same campus. That seems a bit unusual. Can you tell me how that arrangement came about?
Patrick: I work with the sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students. He was hired as a lecturer for the after-school program. We had an opening, and he just applied and got it. But he’s only been working here since August. He just graduated from Bellaire High School and he’s going to college at the University of Houston to study engineering.
Oh, so it’s not like you always set out to be a teacher, then, Luke? Do you think you’ll remain in the teaching profession? What do you think are the odds that you’ll switch majors?
Luke: I don’t mind helping children, but I don’t really see myself working with them for the rest of my life. I’m studying mechanical engineering. And I just want to build things.
Patrick: He’ll tell you that I always thought he’d be a math or science teacher, but I think he’ll stick with engineering. The person I really think is going to be another educator is my daughter, Olivia, who’s a senior. Kids always go and hang with her and do school stuff. I think she’s always going to be a teacher at heart. She has it in her.
If you know a graduate, student, employee, or other member of Team HISD who should be featured here, please email us at info@houstonisd.org. |
Every task, request, and assignment that an employee receives can technically be considered a “project.”
The Onboarding and Organizational Development Department is offering a new professional development session to help employees understand the basics of project management so that they can plan and execute their assignments more efficiently.
“Deliverables, Milestones, and Resources: Project Management Basics” will take place from 9 a.m. until noon on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014, at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th St., 77092), and participants will:
- Become familiar with the project management process and its related terminology;
- Receive tools and resources for planning and scheduling;
- Leverage information to effectively implement project management concepts in their department.
Interested employees should register on eTRAIN using course code #OB0019 (oh, bee, zero, zero, one, nine). A downloadable flyer (.pdf) is also available.
HISD will be mailing 2013 W-2 forms to employees’ address of record during the last week of January. To ensure you receive your form promptly, please make sure that HISD has your correct home address. Click here to learn how to change your address or make changes to other contact information on the employee portal.
Museum district hosting educators’ open house Jan. 25
Five Houston-area museums will be conducting an Open House for Educators on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, and all interested HISD teachers and administrators are invited to attend. Attendees can learn more about educational resources, tools, and programs available, as well as training opportunities, field trips, and more.
Teachers who present proof of attendance for at least three presentations are eligible to receive Continuing Education credits. Details are available at the Houston Museum District’s website.
Fund for Teachers grant application deadline Jan. 30
Summer may still be months away, but teachers who are interested in broadening their horizons through professional or personal development opportunities should consider applying for a Fund for Teachers grant.
The Fund for Teachers was established in 1998 by Raymond Plank, chairman of the Apache Corporation. Each year, it awards grants of up to $5,000 to individual educators and $7,500 to teams of educators for summer training and enrichment activities.
The grants are as varied as the people who apply for them, and proposals range from “language immersion” projects to geological expeditions and the exploration of historic places or famous travel routes. They are intended to rejuvenate teachers’ passions for learning and teaching so that when they return to the classroom in the fall, they do so with newly gained knowledge and enthusiasm to share. Last year, a teacher from Lovett ES traveled to Iceland to study volcanoes, and in 2012, HISD grant-winners went to Spain, Italy, and Alaska.
Applicants can submit proposals either individually or as a team, but all applicants must have a minimum of three years teaching experience and be full-time teachers, spending at least 50 percent of their time in the classroom, at the time that grants are approved and made.
All applications must be postmarked no later than Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014. For more information, please visit the Fund for Teachers website.
The Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center and all HISD schools and district offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 20, 2014, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Normal school and business operations will resume on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Be sure to check out the HISD website for details on the winners of the 18th annual MLK Jr. Oratory Competition sponsored by Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP on Jan. 17. Videos of the winning speech and those given by all other finalists are expected to be available there by the end of business Friday.
Here are some other dates you might want to mark on your calendar:
- Jan. 14-Feb. 2: Souper Bowl of Caring food drive
- Jan. 17: Deadline to apply for Jones scholarships
- Jan. 25: Museum District’s Open House for Educators
- Jan. 29 (.pdf): Payday
- Jan. 30: Fund for Teachers application deadline
- Jan. 31: 2013 W-2s mailed out
- Feb. 4: New employee orientation
- Feb. 12 (.pdf): Payday
- Feb. 8: HHF Career & Education Day
- Feb. 13: Regular Board meeting
- Feb. 26: State of the Schools luncheon
- Feb. 26 (.pdf): Payday
- Feb. 28: Go Texan Day
- March 3 & 4: 28th annual Child Abuse Prevention Conference
- March 4: New employee orientation
- March 4-23: Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo
- March 9: Daylight Saving Time begins
- March 12 (.pdf): Payday
- March 13: Regular Board meeting
- March 17-21: Spring Break
- March 26 (.pdf): Payday
- March 29: Whole Kids Farmers’ Market
- March 29: Houston PBS Spelling Bee
Law enforcement runs in the family of Jimmy Mapp Jr. The campus officer, who currently serves at the Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center, has two relatives who also work on the district’s police force: cousins Clifton Mapp and Richard McColister.
Jimmy and Richard, who are the same age, entered the police force only 12 months apart more than two decades ago. Clifton, who is younger, followed them a few years later.
“Clifton is a cousin on my dad’s side,” explained Mapp. “His father was an officer in Precinct 6, and he inspired me— all of us, I guess—to become an officer.”
Over the years, Mapp has served at several other campuses, including E. O. Smith, Davis and Yates high schools, and Burbank, Clifton, and McReynolds middle schools.
Mapp officially marked his 20th anniversary with the district on Jan. 14, but several other employees are also marking theirs this week (Jan. 12–18). See if you know anyone on this list:
20 years
- Emelda Bell, senior bus driver, Transportation Services
- Richard Frankie, officer, Police Department
- Martin Olea, maintenance repairer, Construction & Facility Services
- Robert Ratliff, clerk, Welch MS
- Deborah Wesolowski, student information representative, Neff Early Learning Center
- Tammy Wiggins, teacher, Lockhart ES
15 years
- San Juana Torres, crossing guard, Rusk ES
10 years
- Kenneth Aneke, associate teacher
- Anuja Busgeeth, associate teacher
- Charlotte Carrier, associate teacher
- Marcelo Coronado, plant operator, Construction & Facility Services
- Michael Evans, teacher, Waltrip HS
- Nani Ghosh, associate teacher
- Adefolake Reis, associate teacher
- Eva Rivera, bus driver, Transportation Services
5 years
- Norma Cano, teacher, Lanier MS
- Christolyn Carr, teacher, Ross ES
- Daniel Casas, teaching assistant, Franklin ES
- Margarito Cervantez III, teaching assistant, Love ES
- Terri Collins, nurse, Health and Medical Services
- Sandra Davis, associate teacher
- Darrell Ellison, stadium & equipment manager, Athletics
- Astrid Escorcia, teacher, Benbrook ES
- Rosa Gomez, custodian, Construction & Facility Services
- Indira Gonzalez, teacher, Gallegos ES
- Sherry Harris, associate teacher
- Curtis Lee, teaching assistant, Reynolds ES
- Daysi Lopez, teacher, R. P. Harris ES
- Angela Proby, teacher, Walnut Bend ES
- Ana Resendiz, data entry clerk, De Chaumes ES
- Lizabeth Richter, teacher, DeBakey HS
- Esmeralda Sanchez, teacher, Seguin ES
- Adrian Sendejas, teacher, Furr HS
- Archeval Serrano, teaching assistant, R. P. Harris ES
- Luz Skiles, associate teacher
- Valinda Smith, teacher, Elrod ES
- Evan St. Germain, teacher, Herod ES
- Andy Van Tran, mechanic helper, Transportation Services
- Cleo Tucker, crossing guard, Piney Point ES
- Algie Washington, crossing guard, Sanchez ES
Check back next Friday for more January Milestones. Leave a comment below if you’d like to congratulate any of the above employees. |
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School at St. George Place first-graders Mariah Gaitan, Ali Al-Aridhee, and Kaydee Amorosa (L-R) read a book in Arabic on their classroom’s Kindle.
Students at HISD’s School at St. George Place are reading books in more than three dozen different languages right now, thanks to a bright idea developed by Principal Adam Stephens.
Stephens was working with IB coordinator Lisa Hernandez one day discussing the diversity of the student body, and wondering how they could get books in their mother tongues into the classrooms in the quickest and most cost-effective way possible.
The solution he identified was to purchase a Kindle for every classroom, and load them with as many mother-tongue e-books as they could find. He worked with the Parent Teacher Organization to arrange the financing, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“One of the greatest things about the School at St. George Place is our diversity,” said Stephens. “We have over 36 different languages represented on campus.”
The Kindles have proven to be a great resource that allows students to nurture and develop their mother tongue languages while still perfecting their English.
“It is the best of both worlds,” Stephens said. “An as we work towards our authorization as an International Baccalaureate World School, we need to develop internationally minded students who have a broad world view. Exposing them to diverse texts allows us to do just that.”
Had a breakthrough in your classroom? Tell us about it! Just send an email to info@houstonisd.org briefly describing your situation, and we could feature it here. |
In this week’s I am HISD, which features district students, graduates, employees, and other team members, Class of 2010 member Victoria Herrera talks about why she chose to attend East Early College High School (EECHS), how her experiences there led her to a master’s degree at the age of 22, and what it was like to share her college graduation day with her mother, who completed a bachelor’s degree right alongside her.
I understand you were a member of EECHS’s first graduating class in 2010 and that you earned an associate’s degree along with your high school diploma. What was your experience like at EECHS? Was it more, less, or just as challenging as you expected it to be? What was your favorite thing about it?
I was challenged to the fullest of my ability at EECHS. The road to success and graduation was filled with obstacles, but EECHS continued to push me to greater and better things academically and personally. My favorite thing was the feeling of being in a college lecture with other college students, but also being the youngest person in the room. The best feeling was passing these courses and being able to achieve success with peers not only my age, but some 20 years older.
What spurred you to choose an early college high school in the first place, and why East in particular? Which high school were you actually zoned to attend?
I was zoned to attend Reagan High School, but I wanted more than the average high school experience. My parents took me to several campuses to tour, and initially, I chose to attend the campus at HCC Southwest near Post Oak. It was not until my mother started working at EECHS that I applied there. But I passed the interview process and made the toughest decision I had to make at the age of 14. Looking back now, I would not have done anything differently.
Your mother, Belinda, who serves as the school secretary at EECHS, returned to college at the same time you enrolled at the University of Houston to finish your bachelor’s degree. You both earned your diplomas on the same day. What was it like to graduate alongside your mother?
I could not have been more thankful to share that experience with her, and walk the stage the same day she did. It is a moment I will treasure throughout my life. It proved to me that it is never too late to achieve a dream, nor is it impossible to complete any desire in life.
Last month, you became the first EECHS student to earn a master’s degree in criminal justice (from the University of Houston-Downtown). What’s the next step for you?
I plan to public to provide aid in the needed areas of our criminal justice system.
According to your mother, your achievements would not have been possible without the great teachers and opportunities afforded you by HISD’s early college program. Would you agree with that statement?
I could not agree more. The early college program changed my life entirely! I am ahead of the average individual by 2.5 years, as I am 22 with a master’s degree. The professionals and staff within HISD have supported and made me who I am, both academically and motivationally.
If you know a graduate, student, employee, or other member of Team HISD who should be featured here, please email us at info@houstonisd.org. |