HISD principals, teachers prepare for new STAAR test

HISD staff review writing samples at Hattie Mae White in preparation for STAAR.

 Sharpen your No. 2 pencils – the state’s new accountability test, STAAR, is just two months away. Ever since the Texas Education Agency began releasing information about the new accountability system, HISD teachers and principals have been hard at work preparing students for the exam. Students in grades 3-8 will begin taking the tests on March 27, with more testing dates in late April. High school students will take the majority of their STAAR EOCs – “end-of-course” exams – during the month of May.

(Click here for STAAR overview video.)

Teacher Development Specialists have been training educators, developing assessments, and using feedback to recalibrate instruction in a way that prepares students for the more rigorous STAAR test. That work continued last week at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center.

STAAR is the new statewide, vertically-aligned, testing system that will replace the TAKS test.

Stephanie Rhodes, principal of Ray K. Daily Elementary School, joined other elementary school principals in reviewing writing samples to better understand the writing portion of the STAAR test.

“At first there was a lot of anxiety, because we didn’t have any release questions or a lot of information. We knew it was going to be more rigorous, but we didn’t know how far of a jump it was going to be,” Rhodes said. “We now have a better understanding of the expectations. I think the district has done a great job getting us information and people to train us on the direction we need to go and what we need to do as leaders to make sure our teachers and our students are successful.”

Rhodes said she is working to make sure her school is prepared. She’s meeting in professional learning communities with teachers during their planning time, helping teachers look at data, and holding parent meetings.

“I think the students know that it’s going to be a more difficult assessment, but they also know they are getting the preparation they need.”

How the district is preparing for the STAAR test:

  • Training for teachers, principals
  • Coaching, co-teaching, and model teaching based on STAAR
  • STAAR-focused assessments and feedback throughout the year
  • Revised spring teaching calendar focused on STAAR standards
  • Recruitment of tutors for high-need campuses

ABOUT STAAR

STAAR is the new statewide, vertically-aligned, testing system that will replace the TAKS test. STAAR will continue to be based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills – known as the TEKS. The STAAR tests will be more rigorous than TAKS and are designed to measure a student’s college and career readiness. Key dates:

  • March 26-30:English I, II and III, Grades 4 & 7 Writing, Grades 5 & 8 Math and Reading
  • April 24-27: Grades 3, 4, 6 & 7 Math and Reading, Grades 5 & 8 Science, Grade 8 Social Studies
  • May 7-18: Assessment window for EOC subjects (except English I, II and III)

For sample questions, test dates and more information, please visit houstonisd.org/STAAR

HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT STAAR?

Post a comment on HISD’s STAAR Resources blog at hisdstaar.wordpress.com

Follow STAAR on twitter: twitter.com/HISDSTAAR

Trustee Michael Lunceford Elected 2012 HISD School Board President

Outgoing president Paula Harris recognized for her “outstanding leadership and advocacy on behalf of Houston’s school children.”

HISD District V Trustee Michael Lunceford was unanimously elected Thursday to serve as 2012 President of the HISD Board of Education.

The HISD Board of Education officers for 2012 are (L-R): Assistant Secretary Greg Meyers, Second Vice President Juliet Stipeche, President Michael Lunceford, Secretary Rhonda Skillern-Jones, and First Vice President Anna Eastman.

The father of two HISD graduates, Lunceford is a graduate of HISD’s Westbury High School and a Bellaire resident. Lunceford received a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981 and is currently the vice president of engineering for Pedernales Energy.

In his acceptance speech, Lunceford said he chose to wear a neck tie adorned with the images of children, instead of a more traditional “power” tie, to send a message.

“We’re here for the kids. That’s what we need to focus on this year,” Lunceford said. “The power of the kids is going to empower us to do what’s right.”

Lunceford and the rest of the Board also took time to recognize Trustee Paula Harris for her service as president in 2011, presenting her with a plaque acknowledging her “outstanding leadership and advocacy on behalf of Houston’s school children.”

Other Board of Education officers for 2012 are:

  • Anna Eastman, First Vice President
  • Juliet Stipeche, Second Vice President
  • Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Secretary
  • Greg Meyers, Assistant Secretary

Two HISD Schools Win Chance to Test Projects in Space

Two HISD student science projects are cleared for lift off. Johnston Middle School and Parker Elementary School students will have their microgravity experiments included in Mission One to the International Space Station through the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.

More than 1,000 students submitted proposals and 12 U.S. school communities were given the chance to compete. Johnston and Parker students recently learned that they were among a handful of winning schools whose projects will fly aboard a Soyuz rocket in the spring of 2013.

“The students are just ecstatic,” said Parker science teacher Rebecca Mitchell. “It’s a dream come true. They feel like they can do anything, that any dream can be realized.”

Johnston eighth-grader Emily H. Soice led her school’s winning project. Soice’s experiment explores whether a bioscaffold infused with the TGFB3 protein grows and forms cells faster in microgravity than in normal gravity. Bioscaffold is an artificial structure that can be implanted in the body to serve as a base where tissue can grow.

Soice’s research could lay the groundwork for the growth of replacement tissue, joints, and even organs.

At Parker Elementary School, fifth-grade students Maxx Denning, Michael Prince, and Aaron Stuart will test to see if liquid Vitamin C can preserve bone density in microgravity, which could be helpful to astronauts who stay in space over a long period of time.

Mitchell said the students worked after school, during their lunch break, and even on weekends to create their winning proposal. The students will conduct their Vitamin C experiment using a chicken bone.

“We are splitting a wishbone,” Max said. “Part of it will fly in space and part of it will stay here. It will float in a solution that includes Vitamin C for six weeks.”

Researchers, biologists, physicists and many others from institutions including Baylor College of Medicine, NASA, Rice University, University of Houston and Texas Southern University provided support for the project.

For more information, please visit www.ssep.ncesse.org.